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Cassette tapes and vinyl bought me an island

Music company boss Karen Emanuel has built a business on retro technology

December 11, 2019 10:56
Karen Emanuel
7 min read

Karen Emanuel may be the most successful Jewish businesswoman you’ve never heard of — but that’s all changing.

She’s the CEO of Key Production, which makes CDs and vinyl for artists like Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave, and she’s had a bumper year for raising her own and her company’s profile. This time last year she won a big award recognising her success as a woman entrepreneur, and a prestigious industry award for the house she remodelled in north London, which was featured on Grand Designs.

More recently she’s been in the media talking about the revival of cassette tape, which her company makes. Oh, and there’s the little matter of an island in Nicaragua that she fell madly in love with —and purchased. Crazy but true. The eco lodge she built there has won awards too

We meet at her office, in Kings Cross. It’s a fun space with a snooker table in reception, where neon-lit signs catch your eye; one says “Ideas”— which she’s “always open to” she says, another reads “Passion”. Both are key to her character and drive.