AUG. 16 I CHICAGO MUSIC EXCHANGE I BY ZACH PHILLIPS
100 Guitar Riffs, 3.2M Views

If you logged onto Facebook this summer, chances are you saw a very riffy viral video.

The segment, “100 Riffs (A Brief History of Rock N’ Roll),” stars Chicago Music Exchange Sales Manager Alex Chadwick, who, in the period of 10 minutes, runs through licks by everyone from Chet Atkins to St. Vincent. Uploaded to YouTube on June 4, the video has since nabbed more than 3.2 million views.

Asked what it took to make the video, David Kalt, owner of the Chicago guitar dealership, said simply, “talent, song selection, a good video crew and lots more talent.”

Judging from viewer response, the video also proves the power of viral promotion. Kalt mentioned that “100 Riffs” has attracted thousands of new customers to Chicago Music Exchange’s store and website, creating “a nice uptick in sales.”

Then there’s Chadwick’s star power. “Every day I get a few people who come in and say ‘hi’ just because they saw the video,” he said. “I got the chance to do a number of radio interviews, as well as quite a few online and magazine interviews, which is so beyond what I was expecting when we shot the video.”