Tom Seaman Elinor Seaman
11/1/1940 – 11/1/2025 10/5/1934 – 10/5/2016
Tom Seaman was born into a musical family and started working in his parents’ groundbreaking record store, The Record Hunter, in Manhattan immediately after graduating from college.
He met a captivating and artistic woman, Elinor Abrahams, and they soon had two children, Eve and Ed, while Tom pursued his career, moving on from The Record Hunter to the then-fledgling record retailer, Sam Goody, in New York. An opportunity to run Sam Goody’s merchandising operation led to a move to Philadelphia in 1975, and Tom then continued to grow his career with stints at CBS Records and JEM Distribution.
In 1986, Tom and Elinor launched Music Video Distributors, Inc (MVD), a wholesale operation that focused on music-related content on videotape. Tom had a vision that fans should enjoy not only hearing the music, but seeing it as well, and was a pioneer in the industry. Within a few years, Eve and then Ed joined the team. The original vision of MVD has changed over the years, but Tom and Elinor’s spirit and dedication remain. 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the company, now run by Eve and Ed.
Elinor sadly passed away in 2016, and Tom remained Chairman Emeritus of MVD until his recent passing. He was extremely proud of the company he co-founded and shared a mutual love with all the staff members and trade partners of MVD.
Everyone at MVD is filled with gratitude and appreciation for Tom and Elinor’s vision and tenacity in building the company into the powerhouse that it is today. Eve and Ed are proud to carry on their dream and continue to build on their amazing legacy.
Tom and Elinor are both deeply missed.
