MMR December 2009

w w w . m m r m a g a z i n e . c o m D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 9

NEW, DIGITAL VERSION

www.mmrmagazine.com

Fifty Dealer26th Annual

Fifty State Review & Forecast

28th Annual America’s Top Music Chains

17th Annual Dealers’ Choice Awards

Show Report: PASIC 2009

MMR_COV1 COV1 11/24/09 10:16:46 AM

conservatorio superior demusica de palma (spain)

ecole de musique (france)egå gymnasium (denmark)etta and joseph miller

performing arts centerikast gymnasium (denmark)interlochen center for the artskungsholm gymnasium (sweden)kyoto city university of artslaugalækjarskóli (iceland)

The Premier Piano of Japan

Shigeru Kawai Piano Company2055 E. University Drive

Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220www.shigerukawai.com

310-223-0900

t h e e d u c a t e d c h o i c e .

s h i g e r u p i a n o s s e l e c t e d b y :

listaháskóli islands (iceland)musashino academia musicae (japan)music academy mlinaric vladimir (slovenia)music school nova gorica (slovenia)music school slovenske konjice (slovenia)music school trebnje (slovenia)musikhochschule nürnberg-augsburg (germany)national center for the performing arts (china)national taipei university of educationnational taichung university of educationnational university of ireland maynoothnewington college

nordiska musikgymnasiet (sweden)norges musikkhøgskole (norway)

pacific union collegereinhardt college

scots college (australia)

seitoku university (japan)shanghai conservatory of musicshorter collegeshowa academia musicae (japan)staatliche hochschule für musik

freiburg (germany)taipei municipal university of educationtallinna muusikakeskkoolile (estonia)terni conservatory (italy)tokyo college of musictokyo gakugei universityuniversity of houstonuniversity of nevada - las vegasuniversity of western australiawaseda university (japan)westminster school atlantawheaton collegexi’an conservatory of music (china)

aichi prefectural universityof fine arts and music

american academy ofdramatic arts

beijing conservatorybrigham young universitybunkyo university (japan)the carrollwood cultural centercatholic fu jen universitychapman universitychinese cultural universityclarence valley conservatorium

(australia)clayton state universitythe colburn school

conservatory of musiccolumbia college chicagoconservatoire cuillera (spain)conservatoire de chalon sur

saône (france)conservatoire de

musique de québecconservatoire of liria (spain)conservatoire profesional de

valencia (spain)conservatoire st. brieuc (france)conservatoire superior

alicante (spain)conservatoire superior

castellon (spain)

MMR_COV2 COV2 11/24/09 10:48:21 AM

www.shigerukawai.com

MMR_1 1 11/24/09 10:48:35 AM

www.tkl.com

2 MMR DECEMBER 2009

Features

MMR Musical Merchandise Review® (ISSN 0027-4615) founded in 1879, is published monthly by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781)453-9310, publisher of School Band and Orchestra, Choral Director, Music Parents America and JazzEd. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: U.S.A., US possessions, one year $32; two years $40. Canada one year $80; all other countries one year $159. Single issues $5 each. May Supplier Directory $35. Periodical-Rate Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to Musical Merchandise Review, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853. Periodicals circulation is directed to music dealers and retailers, wholesalers and distributors, importers and exporters and manufacturers of all types of musical instruments and their accessories, related electronic sound equipment, general musical accessories, musical publications and teaching aides. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competion. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Copyright ©2009 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

DECEMBER 2009 VOL.168 NO. 12 Contents20

30

66

www.MMRmagazine.com

Cover design by Laurie Chesna

4 Editorial 6 Upfront 14 People 16 Letters 24 Stats

88 Holiday Buying Guide 96 Supplier Scene 98 Classifi eds104 Advertisers’ Index

Departments

20 Webwise: Mythbusting

24 Stats: U.S. MI Imports 2008

30 26th Annual 50 Dealer 50 State Review & Forecast

50 MI retail outlets across the country offer their opinions on the state of the market in our annual report. While some believe that we’ve turned the corner and hope for positive growth in 2010, other dealers expect continued hardship in the coming months.

64 28th Annual America’s Top ChainsContinued economic uncertainty and sustained online MI retail growth combined to keep overall store-count for brick-and-mortar outlets similar to 2008’s numbers.

72 Print 2009Major names in print publishing provide their top-sellers for 2009 as well as an assessment of the previous year and outlook for the coming months.

78 Daddy’s Junky Music: Holiday Vacation at the Mall

80 17th Annual MMR Dealer’s Choice AwardsThe 2009 Dealer’s Choice Awards yielded some familiar results as well as surprising upsets.

84 Show Report: PASICMMR’s Eliahu Sussman reports form this year’s PASIC Convention, held in Indianapolis.

MMR_2 2 11/24/09 10:19:43 AM

Go baby, go!

© 2009 Samson | samsontech.com

Track. Skype. Chat. Podcast. Anywhere…The perfect portable recording solution, Go Mic improves your sound in every application. Clip it to your laptop, or rest it on a table and monitor with no latency. Go Mic is ready to go when you are.

MMR_3 3 11/24/09 10:48:44 AM

www.samsontech.com

Editorial

4 MMR DECEMBER 2009

PUBLISHERSidney L. Davis

[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERRick Kessel

[email protected]

EDITORChristian Wissmuller

[email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITOREliahu Sussman

[email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORDenyce Neilson

[email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES Iris Fox

[email protected]

CLASSIFIED AD SALESMaureen Johan

[email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGERLaurie Guptill

[email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNERSAndrew P. Ross

[email protected]

Laurie [email protected]

CIRCULATION MANAGERMelanie A. Prescott

[email protected]

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTPopi Galileos

[email protected]

WEBMASTERSanford Kearns

[email protected]

SYMPHONY PUBLISHING, LLCXen Zapis • Chairman

Lee Zapis • [email protected]

Rich Bongorno • Chief Financial Offi [email protected]

Corporate Headquarters26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300, Westlake, Ohio 44145

440-871-1300www.symphonypublishing.com

PUBLISHING, SALES & EDITORIAL OFFICE: 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494

(781) 453-9310 Fax: (781) 453-9389www.mmrmagazine.com

Volume 168, Number 12, December 2009

®

sdavis@ symphonypublishing.com

For those readers who have followed our surveys throughout the year, this month’s 50-Dealer/50-State report serves to underscore what at best might be termed a transitional twelve months. In a very real sense, many among us have moved from music products

dealers to music service dealers, directing a good portion of energies towards furthering ancillary business: repairs, lessons and recording studios to cite three examples. While it’s diffi cult to generalize a shift in product distribution, our collective surveys tell us that lower end goods, institutional sales and a spurt in on-line business helped fi ll the till. That was the year in review… What’s ahead? Hopefully, as Maureen McGovern sang in the Poseidon Adventure, “There has to be a morning after, if we can make it through the night…”

The morning after, for the collective retail body, is a job-fi lled economy. At least fi ve who participated in our “50-Dealer” (Alabama, California, Georgia, Maryland and Nevada) sur-vey specifi cally cited job losses as a major concern and the same might be said for every state. What is equally troubling to this observer is the recent move by the major credit card com-panies to boost their consumer charges prior to the July 2010 mandate by the Federal Reserve and other bank regulators that will prohibit many of the predatory practices now in place by these companies. In summary form, the Federal Reserve have given the credit card companies an 18-month window to reign consumer terror before caps are placed on how much and how often credit costs can be increased. In layman’s terms, how much harder will it be to sell a $2,000 guitar with the buyer holding a card charging 18 percent (or higher) interest…?

One might ask, what percentage of sales are with credit card transactions? Consider the following: for the year 2008 more than nine million households comprising 181 million Americans held at least one credit card. The average household has fi ve-plus cards and carries a balance of $8,329! And this year it’s estimated that the credit card companies will exact $20.5 billion in penalty fees. Much of this before the recent per-centage increases. While the economy tries to remain afl oat (much like ‘The Poseidon Adventure’) our friends in the banking community (who we “bailed out”) are returning the favor by further sinking the American consumer with arbitrary debt (i.e. increasing charges on existing credit cards in some cases with as little notice as 15 days).

How did we get into this mess? We can trace it to a 1949 business lunch between Frank McNamara and two associates at a New York watering hole. McNamara offered to pick up the tab, learned his wallet was in another suit (his wife came and paid the bill) and, vowing not to be caught short again, came up with the Diners Club. His fi rst card was made of cardboard and listed the 14 restaurants that extended credit to the 200 people (mostly salesmen) who signed up. Restaurant owners paid seven percent per transaction and the cardholders $3 per year for the privilege (and prompt payment). In 1954, the card included purchases of liquor and 1959 hotels joined in, and today one can wait patiently in a grocery line while the clerk rings up a credit sale of $7.88…

In a more serious vein, 2009 marks the 28th year of our stewardship in the 130-year history of Musical Merchandise Review. We serve at your pleasure and it has been a plea-sure to serve you. Happy Holidays to one and all, and we look forward to seeing you the morning after the NAMM show opens.

We Bail Them Out And Then They Sink Us!

MMR_4 4 11/24/09 12:36:49 PM

Make it uniquely yoursIt’s your music. It’s your instrument. Design it yourself with the Bedell Custom Shop.

Experience the joy of designing your own one-of-a-kind guitar to express your unique sound. With the Bedell Custom Shop, you create the specs for your custom guitar by selecting the exotic woods for the top, back, and sides; fingerboard material; and tuning machine. The Bedell Custom Shop will even inlay your name. Our luthiers will assist you with your design and keep you updated on the progress of crafting your one-of-a-kind, custom guitar.

Make it your own. Make it at the Bedell Custom Shop

Contact your local dealer or call 877-264-3356 now to start designing your Custom Bedell Guitar today!

Contact your local dealer. | bedellguitars.com | 877.264.3356

HANDCRAFTED, ALL SOLID WOOD GUITARS

MMR_5 5 11/24/09 10:48:57 AM

www.bedellguitars.com

UpfrontOn November 17th, Federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local police seized wood, computers, guitars, and fi les from Gibson Guitar’s Massman Road facility in Nashville.

It’s being reported that the guitar manufacturer is suspected of possibly violat-ing the Lacey Act by import-ing endangered species of rosewood from Madagascar to Germany and, then, to the United States.

Late that same day, Gibson released the following statement:

“Gibson Guitar is fully cooperating with agents of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service as it pertains to an issue with harvested wood. Gibson is a chain of custody certifi ed buyer who purchases wood from legal suppliers who are to fol-

low all standards. Gibson Guitar Chair-man and CEO [Henry Juszkiewicz] sits on the board of the Rainforest Alliance and takes the issue of certifi cation very

seriously. The company will continue to cooperate fully and assist our federal gov-ernment with all inquiries and information.”

However, on November 18th, The Rainforest Alliance announced in an offi cial statement that Henry Jusz-kiewicz had taken a leave of absence from its board. “The FSC Chain-of-Custody audit conducted in 2008 verifi ed that Gibson has purchased hard maple, ma-hogany and muira piranga from FSC-cer-tifi ed forests,” read the statement. “These woods are used in the manufacturing of the company’s Les Paul SmartWood and Raw Power guitars, which are sold as

FSC-Pure with a certifi cate of authentic-ity from Gibson.

“Under the current scope of their certificate, they also have the ability to purchase swamp ash and poplar from FSC-certified suppliers. No other spe-cies are authorized to be sold with a FSC-certified claim under Gibson’s Chain-of-Custody certificate. The certificate does not cover wood from Madagascar.”

Gibson’s next scheduled audit (Nov. 23, 2009) is reported to have been post-poned until December.

At press time, MMR had been unsuc-cessful in getting further reaction from Gibson representatives.

Feds Raid Gibson Offi ces

Musician’s Friend Cutting 75 JobsIt was reported in mid-November that Musician’s Friend will soon be elimi-nating 75 jobs from its Northland/Kan-sas City distribution center, which cur-rently employs 525.

Musician’s Friend is closing a call cen-ter and a retail clearance store at the dis-tribution center. Both decisions are stra-tegic rather than because of the economic downturn, according to the company.

Musician’s Friend acquired another music fi rm with a call center last year, giving the company three such op-erations. The Kansas City call center, which has 60 employees, is slated to close by late February.

The retail clearance center became increasingly irrelevant, as Musician’s Friend and other companies have moved to selling used instruments on-line. That outlet has about 15 employees and is scheduled to close on Jan. 5.

Steinway Signs Agreement with Samick for Private Placement of Common StockSteinway Musical Instruments, Inc. an-nounced in November that it had signed an agreement with Samick Musical Instru-ments Co., Ltd. for a private placement of 1.7 million shares of its ordinary common stock at a price of $16 per share, approxi-mately 37 percent above the closing mar-ket price on October 28, 2009, the date the parties set the purchase price. Steinway

intends to use the proceeds of approxi-mately $27 million to retire outstanding debt and for general corporate purposes. Samick was also granted the right to pur-chase by March 31, 2010 an additional 1.7 million shares of ordinary common stock at an exercise price of $16 per share.

The placement will bring Samick’s holdings in Steinway to approximately 1.9 million shares. Steinway’s Chairman, Kyle Kirkland, and CEO, Dana Messina, continue to hold 100 percent of the Com-pany’s Class A shares which represent over 80 percent of the voting power of the total common stock.

In connection with the placement, Mr. Jong Sup Kim, Chairman of Samick Musical Instruments Co., Ltd., will join the Board of Directors of Steinway Musi-cal Instruments bringing the total num-ber of directors to nine.

6 MMR DECEMBER 2009

MMR_6 6 11/24/09 10:20:14 AM

Your music from the beauty of the forest.

Handcrafted to express the music in you. Inspired by the majesty of the American frontier, Great Divide Guitars are designed to be your musical companion wherever you roam. Built from the natural splendor of spruce, cedar, mahogany, maple, and rosewood. You’ll roam a long way to fi nd a better guitar.

greatdivideguitars.com

Visit your local Great Divide dealer to check them out. Then get ready to embark on a Great Divide musical adventure.

1.877.264.3356

A DIVISION OF TWO OLD HIPPIES, LLC, P.O. BOX 557, SPIRIT LAKE, IOWA 51360.

MMR_7 7 11/24/09 10:49:10 AM

www.greatdivideguitars.com

Verne Q. Powell Flutes announced that it has acquired the assets of E. K. Blessing of Elkhart, Indiana. The two companies have a combined 185 years of instrument making in the USA. Randy Johnson, the fourth generation of the Blessing family to own and operate E. K. Blessing, com-

Upfront

Harmonix Requests Continuation of Gibson SuitThe patent suit brought by Gibson against Harmonix Music and other parties related to Guitar Hero and Rock Band was stayed due to the US Patent and Trademark Offi ce deciding to re-examine the patent. According to Pat-

ent Arcade, Harmonix and a group of retailers have asked a Tennessee court to continue proceedings of the case against them.

When the USPTO recently looked into the patent again, it changed the defi nition of “musical instrument” to include the characteristics of being “adapted for making musical sounds” and “the instrument audio signal comprising an electrical signal output by the musical instrument that varies in response to operation of the instru-ment by the user of the system.”

The popularly held assumption as to why Harmonix would spearhead this move (on the surface, it may seem a little counter-intuitive to push for the continuation of a case where they are the alleged offending party) is that the company believes that, in light of the new defi nition outlined above, the case will be resolved in their favor, at which point Harmonix will fi le a mo-tion for summary judgment of non-in-fringement.

8 MMR DECEMBER 2009

mented on his motivations for selling to Powell: “I had been looking for a buyer who had the vision, the people, and the capital to create a renaissance for the Blessing name. My entire family would have been proud to know that a company with the stellar reputation and strong sense of integrity of Powell is continuing the ‘Made in USA’ traditions of Bless-ing.”

Powell has designed and marketed trumpets under its Sonaré brand over the past three years and Sonaré trum-pets are now endorsed by such players as jazz great Lew Soloff, the San Diego Symphony, the Big Apple Circus, and the U. S. Navy Band. With the acqui-sition of Blessing, Powell will have its own factory to produce Sonaré brass. However, Powell owner, Steven Was-ser, indicated that controlling the So-naré supply was not the only reason for buying Blessing. “As more suppliers buy product in Asia, we believe there is a great opportunity for quality brass instruments made in the USA. Under Randy Johnson’s leadership Blessing has made tremendous strides in the past year to improve production quality. We believe that further improvements can be made in both design and production quality which will position Blessing to

be competitive across the board in the brass market. Our team is excited about the prospects for reinvigorating this iconic American brass instrument mak-er. I am also personally pleased that I have had the opportunity to get to know Randy Johnson, and look forward to a long friendship.”

The Blessing operation will be man-aged in Elkhart by Steve Rorie, who worked for Selmer for over 20 years, and managed the Bach factory. In the past year Rorie has consulted for Blessing and is responsible for the improvement in quality over this period. Rorie, who will serve as vice president and general manager, commented, “The opportu-nity to get back into the music industry with an iconic brand and an owner who is committed to Made in USA was irre-sistible.”

Marketing, sales and administrative functions for Blessing will primarily be handled from Powell’s headquarters in Maynard, Massachusetts. Maryann Zschau, director of Sales & Marketing for Powell’s Sonaré division said, “We are delighted to expand our line of qual-ity wind and brass instruments. Blessing dealers will have the same fair, simple pricing and payment terms offered to our Sonaré dealers.”

Hagstrom Guitars Now Selling on Amazon.comHagstrom Guitars has announced that its full line of electric guitars and basses is now avail-able on Amazon.com for online purchase. Ama-zon will feature the full Hagstrom line, including the Viking, Swede and Super Swede models.

“Amazon’s commit-ment promises musicians from every corner of the

continent fast access to the full breadth of popular models and col-ors of Hagstrom’s unique product line,” notes Chris Griffi ths, vice president of American Music & Sound, Hagstrom’s USA distributor. Hagstrom is distributed exclusively by American Music & Sound in the U.S. and Canada.

Powell Acquires E.K. Blessing

MMR_8 8 11/24/09 10:20:18 AM

MMR_9 9 11/24/09 10:49:17 AM

www.stringswing.com

10 MMR DECEMBER 2009

UpfrontMusic China 2009 Music China, Asia’s largest international music show held from 13 –16 October 2009, was “a huge success,” according to Evan Sha, deputy general manager, Messe Frankfurt Shanghai Co Ltd. “However, in line with the current global economy our visitor numbers were 1.7 percent lower

than last year and those who did attend the show were very happy with the ex-hibitor quality and high standard of our fringe program events.”

In total, 42,499 visitors (40,001 local) were reported to have visited – speak-ing to a commonly perceived trend that the show is becoming more of a “China Show.” Similarly, of the 1,164 exhibitors, only 312 were “overseas exhibitors.”

MMR was pleased to hear from long-time industry veteran, Pete LaPlaca, who offered the following synopsis of this year’s trade show in Shanghai:

“Six years ago, I toured an early ver-sion of this show held at a small local venue in the Pudong sector of Shanghai that was reminiscent of NAMM’s fi rst entry into the Los Angeles Winter Mar-ket show: Makeshift exhibition stands,

minimal security, no air conditioning, smokers prevailed, food stands offered basic Chinese dishes and the buyers were predominantly Westerners.

“The show this year was a 180-degree shift from that event. McDonalds, Papa Johns, Wendy’s, Subway and a 7/11 along-side a Starbucks set the tone for China’s new economic face in our industry. Huge elaborate stages, talented performers, ca-tered events, live on-stage bands with super hi-tech sound systems were everywhere.

The greatest change was watching the Chinese sell to the Chinese. Far fewer westerners were seen on the show fl oor. It was China selling to China… and the cash was fl owing like water. It looked like the Chinese decided to take over their own show… without any doubt.”

Music China 2009 was organized jointly by the China Music Instrument Associa-tion (CMIA), INTEX Shanghai, and Messe Frankfurt. The next show is scheduled for 12 – 15 October 2010 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. For information, see www.musikmesse-china.com or email [email protected]

VH1 Save the Music Donates $1 Million to IPSIn late November, VH1 Save the Mu-sic fi nalized a $1 million donation to Indianapolis Public Schools for their elementary school music programs. Thanks to this donation, IPS has been able to put mu-sic programs into each of its elemen-tary schools, mak-ing it one of only a very few school systems to have instrumental band programs for all of its elementary schools.

The presentation was witnessed by the donation’s benefi ciaries: 645 IPS el-ementary school band students will ac-company the Indiana State University Marching Sycamores in the National Anthem to kick off the Sharp Business Systems IPS Marching Band Tourna-ment on the fi eld of Lucas Oil Stadium. The event and tournament were coor-dinated through Music for All, a local music education partner with IPS and a national music education advocacy partner with VH1 Save the Music. Mu-sic for All’s Bands of America Grand National Championship kicks off four days of events with the IPS Marching Band Tournament this evening.

D’Addario & Co UK Ltd. D’Addario & Company, Inc., has an-nounced the incorporation of D’Addario UK Ltd.

D’Addario UK has been es-tablished to assume the market-ing and distribution leadership for all D’Addario accessory brands in the UK, providing a single point of contact for artists, educators, consumers and dealers.

In addition to formulating a team of sales and marketing professionals,

D’Addario UK will also be opening a new distribution facility in Gateshead.

The new entity will be run by former Summerfield Sales & Marketing director, Simon Turnbull. Over the last fifteen years, Turnbull

has developed extensive experience in the distribution of accessories and played a primary role in the marketing of D’Addario accessory brands in the UK market.

The planned opening date is January 2, 2010 and further information can be found on the D’Addario UK web site: www.daddario.co.uk.

MMR_10 10 11/24/09 10:20:22 AM

We think you will like what we have

COMING IN 2010!Visit us at Winter NAMM in Booth #3304

For a sneak peek at the Mel Bay NAMM fl yer go to:

www.melbaydealers.com/mmr1-800-863-5229 www.MELBAY.com

R

Did you miss some of these?

MB20682BCD MB20871BCD MB22000 MB21883BCD MB21279

MB21068BCD RDR0220 MB21088 MB21511BCD RDR0292

MB20870BCD MB21662BCD MB99583BCD MB21991DVD MB21123BCD

MMR_11 11 11/24/09 10:49:24 AM

www.melbay.com

UpfrontHerman to Distribute SennheiserSennheiser Electronic Corporation has reached an agreement with Herman Procurement &Logistics to be a distribu-tor for Sennheiser integrated solutions throughout the U.S.

Herman will distribute Sennheiser’s innovative evolution and installed sound series microphones, as well as its full line

of conference and RF/infrared assistive-listening systems. Herman plans to stock an extensive array of Sennheiser prod-ucts in all fi ve of its distribution facilities located in Miami, Atlanta, New Jersey, Dallas and Nevada to provide local avail-ability and better serve Sennheiser cus-tomers.

LOUD Distributor ConferenceLOUD Technologies Inc. held a world-wide distributor conference in Ria Bintan, Indonesia, from October 17

– October 19. 45 attendees from 26 dis-tributor companies participated in the three-day event that featured in-depth

sessions on new products, as well as roundtable discussions on the Company’s 2010 busi-ness plans. The event immedi-ately followed the Pro Light & Sound Show in Shanghai (Oc-tober 13 – 16).

The Bintan event is part of LOUD’s overall strategy to in-vest more in face-to-face train-ing and dedicated customer seminars. The Company has hosted two similar seminars in the past 18 months – the fi rst in Opio, France, and the sec-ond in Marrakech, Morocco.


Ben JackLongtime music retailer Ben Jack passed away on Nov 6 at the age of 75.

Jack was born and raised in Arkan-sas and opened up a string of successful stores in and around Fayetteville. As one of the state’s leading music retail-ers, Ben pioneered many of the Ameri-can built instruments in their heydays, such as Fender and Peavey. Ben Jack Music is the oldest Peavey dealer still selling the product today. Along with his wife, Jack began by opening a small store with guitar repair (Jack’s job) and product and accessory sales up front (his wife Shirley’s job). The couple’s success led to a larger shop and soon two more.

Walter EhretWalter Ehret, under various names, arranged for most of the major pub-lishers over a career that spanned 50-plus years.

Ethret’s work was mostly centered around choral music for which he truly loved. He had a strong interest in bringing to light lost works and works of composers who had gone largely unnoticed. Walter used other names along with his own, so that he could work on the music he wanted to have published.

Mr. Ehret passed away on Monday November 16, 2009 in his Scarsdale, NY home.

Trade Regrets:

Committee Meets to Discuss XML Standards at NAMM HeadquartersAn Ad-Hoc Technology Committee formed by the NAMM Board of Directors in 2006 recently met at NAMM headquar-ters in Carlsbad to con-tinue its work in creating a system for electronic transactions between trading partners. The committee extend-ed the scope of its standards to include a ‘Detailed Acknowledgement’ document

as well as continued its work in creating a system for product classifi cation.

Interested parties may view the cur-rent information on these technology stan-dards at www.namm.org/initiatives/b2b. Be-

ginning in January, the group will release version 2010.1 of the NAMM standard for discussion and commentary.

Find it in the Hot Newssection of MMR’s Web site,

Breaking News

www.MMRmagazine.com

MMR_12 12 11/24/09 10:20:26 AM

ADJ Group of CompaniesIs Your Business Partner For

ALL ACCESSTo Greater Sales & Higher Profits!

LED, Stage & Intelligent Lighting For Schools, Clubs, DJs & Indie Bands.

Lighting Accessories: Light Stands, Lamps, Clamps, Strobes, Fog Machines, Mirror Balls & more!

Pro Audio Products For DJs, Indie Bands, Live PA and more!

Full-line of Audio & DMX Cables!

AMERICAN DJ DEALER ADVANTAGES:• Great Profit Margins• Monthly Sales Promotions• Knowledgeable Sales & Customer Support Staff To Help Before & After The Sale!• End Users Can Contact ADJ For Tech Support & Repairs So You Can Focus On Sales• ADJ Advantage Customer Loyalty Program

Quality, Affordable & Reliable ProductsFrom A Company You Can Trust!

Contact us today about becoming an authorized American DJ Dealer: 800.333.0644 / [email protected]

©2009 American DJ® • www.americandj.com • Los Angeles, CA 90040 USA • Kerkrade, NetherlandsDistributed in Canada by Sounds Distribution - Toll Free: 800-26-SOUND • Local: 905-428-9062 •www.soundsdist.com

Winter NAMM 2010, January 14-17, 2010, Anaheim, CA USA -See New Products You & Your Customers Can Rely On From A Company You’ve Trusted For 25 Years!

Winter NAMM 2010, January 14-17, 2010, Anaheim, CA USA -See New Products You & Your Customers Can Rely On From A Company You’ve Trusted For 25 Years!

Visit Us @ Booth #5774

NAMM 2010!Visit Us @ Booth #5774

NAMM 2010!

MMR_13 13 11/24/09 10:49:31 AM

www.americandj.com


PeopleHal Leonard Corporationhas added two new em-ployees to its roster: Chris Klinkhardt has joined the sales department, and Sharon Stosur is a piano publications editor for the company. Both have exten-sive experience in the music industry.

Klinkhardt will focus on educational music sales for Hal Leonard. He has worked for several other publishers – most recently, for Music Sales – and also has music re-tail experience.

Stosur has worked for Hal Leonard as a freelance arranger and author since 1997, and has now accepted the full-time position of piano publications editor.

Newly hired vice president of manufac-turing Eric Dies brings a collection of skills and philosophies that, “will im-prove and innovate the production and manufacturing process at Symetrix.”

Symetrix and its associated SymNet, Lucid, and AirTools brands of pro audio processors are recognized within the in-dustry for delivering powerful cost-effec-tive performance.

Mel Bay Publications, Inc.has announced the addition of René Flores to its team. Flores will represent Mel Bay in the capacity of sales manager for Latin America, the Caribbean and U.S. Specialty Markets. René comes to Mel Bay after working for com-panies such as Warner Bros. Publications and most recently, Music Sales.

Klinkhardt

Stosur

Flores

Find it in the Hot Newssection of MMR’s Web site,

Breaking News

www.MMRmagazine.com

MMR_14 14 11/24/09 10:21:00 AM

www.jodyjazz.com

www.jimdunlop.com

These principles are the foundation of every Yamaha B&O product and

service. They are the reasons you can DEPEND ON YAMAHA.

QUALITY SUPPORT PROFESSIONALISM VALUE

Band & Orchestral©2009 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights reserved.

www.yamaha.com/band

MMR_15 15 11/24/09 10:50:52 AM

www.yamaha.com


Hi Rick:Our company belongs to another association called the National Association of Manu-facturers and I am always receiving e-mails about what is going on up on Capital Hill, as well as surveys about different things, the lat-est of which covered the effect of the current economy on business banking. I was calling a dealer trying to collect on a past due account and we wound up talking in some depth about our respective situations. It is very surprising that, even as a small manufacturer and a small dealer, the two of us are both in the same boat, as far as credit lines being low-ered or cut off – and these are from banks we have been dealing with for years.

He was saying that NAMM should be up there on the Hill fi nding out what they can do for their members as far as getting them credit assistance with lenders and help with health care. As a manufacturer, I have felt somewhat like a bank having to extend lon-ger credit terms, et cetera, and I really can’t afford to do that, but it is nice to let dealers around the states see and feel that we are all in the same boat and that a lot of us have pulled together to work through things.

I would like to know if NAMM knows about this type of thing and if there is any-thing they can do about it up on Capital Hill. How can we save the music if the gov-ernment doesn’t allow dealers and manu-facturers some help getting lending from the banking and the credit card industry? Thanks for letting me express my views.

Regards,Jodi Ann Parker

CEOPlayers Music Accessories

Dear Mr. Wissmuller:I enjoyed reading the article regarding Mapes Piano String Company in the No-vember 2009 issue of MMR. The making of high quality guitar strings is certainly a challenge and would not be possible with-out quality-focused suppliers like Mapes.

I would like to clarify for your readers that C. F. Martin & Co., Inc. designs and manufacturers 100 percent of our string products in our own string manufactur-ing facility. We source high quality musi-cal wire from several vendors, including Mapes. The use of modern technology in our own facility, the fi nest musical wire available, and the acoustic expertise we have accumulated over 176 years combine

to create fi nished guitar strings that pro-vide the playability and performance to satisfy the most demanding musicians.

Best regards, Timothy McNair

C. F. Martin & Co., Inc.Director of Sales & Marketing,

String Division

Dear Christian: In your recent November issue there is an interview with Andy Wilson of Mapes Piano String Company on pages 64 and 65. There is a serious inaccuracy in this story which is probably a misquote or a misunderstand-ing and I would appreciate if you can print a correction or this letter in your next issue.

The article states:“Not only does Mapes produce piano

strings and piano wire, but it’s also one of the major manufacturers of guitar strings. Mapes sources such major brands as Martin, Ernie Ball, DR, D’Addario, and D’Aquisto, to name a few.”

While D’Addario does purchase some raw materials from Mapes, we have never sourced a guitar string from an-other company. We make all our strings at our Farmingdale facility, right in the good ole U.S.A. As Mapes does, we pride ourselves in making our products here, we also have two wire mills of our own manufacturing core and wrap wire for a signifi cant portion of our raw material needs.

I can’t speak for the other brands mentioned in this article, but please in-vestigate this error and print some kind of correction. I am sure that Mapes did not intentionally represent that they make D’Addario strings, however the ar-ticle intimates that they do.

Thank you in advance for your coop-eration.

Yours truly, Jim D’Addario

Chairman & CEO D’addario & Co., Inc.

Ed note: As both Jim and Timothy note, the wording in this particular section was re-grettably misleading and inaccurate. The intent was to illustrate how Mapes Piano Strings supplies raw materials to a number of suppliers (including Martin, Ernie Ball, DR, D’Addario, and D’Aquisto), not to

Letters

MMR_16 16 11/24/09 10:21:27 AM

www.retailup.com

To myGuitar

Indulge your guitar with a Levy’s guitar strap.

NORTH AMERICA TOLL FREE PHONE & FAX 1-800-565-0203 1-888-FAX-LEVY (329-5389)Levy’s Leathers Limited: 190 Disraeli Freeway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 2Z4 Tel: (204) 957-5139 Fax: (204) 943-6655 email: [email protected]

www.levysleathers.com

MMR_17 17 11/24/09 10:51:00 AM

www.levysleathers.com

The Power of One—Your Place in the IndustryWe live in a world of numbers and statistics. Our government throws around spending figures in the billions—and now trillions—of dollars. We see the monthly numbers of unemployment filings and jobs created. Was the Dow up or down today? Are we still in a recession or did the GDP really grow last quarter? We judge the success of an industry by its aggregate sales and trade shows by their size. I get it and understand why we want to see the totals. We’re in a society that wants to know the facts. It makes the headlines and fills the business magazines. Throwing these kinds of numbers around though can depersonalize things to the point where we forget that behind the figures are real businesses and people.

Your business is not a nameless, faceless statistic. It’s made up of you, your employees and often your family. How did your business do today, this week, this month, this year? That’s what really matters to you and that’s what really matters to us.

Like all of our Members, you’ve had to make hard decisions to cope with the economic challenges and look carefully at every aspect of their

operations. We’ve had the privilege of working closely with so many of you this year—one-on-one—to find ways to strengthen your business, save money on expenses and get more customers. The courage of NAMM Members is inspiring, and the work we’ve done together has strengthened the industry and helped more people make music.

So when you make your plans to come to Anaheim for the NAMM Show next month, remember that you will not be a statistic to us. We’ll be ready to welcome you to an event that will provide real value and benefit to you and your business. The show floor will again be packed with the very latest offerings from our exhibiting Members; exciting, new products that your customers will want to see in your store. We’ve lined up a strong NAMM U track that hits today’s challenges head on. We’ll be presenting Idea Center sessions that bring you up-to-date business ideas that you can put to work when you get home. We continue to refine these sessions to be relevant to your business in today’s economy: everything from using social media to increase your customer base, to merchandising your store to increase sales. We are even bringing business mentors to the new H.O.T. (Hands-On Training) Zone. These experienced consultants can provide support in several areas of business, including tips on how to write and implement a marketing plan, helping you apply for a small business loan.

In this year of unprecidented facts and figures, there is one thing I amsure of: attending NAMM will be worthwhile, and possibly the best investment you can possibly make to help you succeed during these unprecedented times.

We look forward to seeing you there!

News ADVERTORIAL • DECEMBER 2009

NAMM News is published by NAMM. To keep up-to-date on the

latest breaking industry news, sign up for our PLAYback Digital e-newsletter

at [email protected].

NAMM News December 2009

Notefrom Joe

NAMM Introduces New Features to Enhance Your Show Experience

visit us online at www.namm.org

Member QuoteQuoteemb“We’re always excited to go to the NAMM Show—I wouldn’t miss it. I’m in the business I love the most and the NAMM Show reminds me of that every year. The highlight of the

show is putting faces with the names, people who we’ve built relationships with on the phone throughout the year, you get

to see them, have lunch or dinner with them and actually have a rapport with these people. I prefer to do business with people I can build a relationship with. I like that I can walk into the show and walk past a supplier’s booth and hear ‘Hi Bill, how are you doing?’ It’s nice to have that one-on-one

relationship with those people, because when you’re talking to them during the year and need to get a quick shipment,

they’ll go the extra mile because they know you.”

BILL YEKEL

The New H.O.T. ZoneThe new H.O.T. (Hands-On Training) Zone welcomes industry partners, publishers, organizations and associations, which will offer FREE specialized training seminars, meetings, networking opportunities and mentoring.

“Follow Me” Mobile ApplicationThe new mobile application, “Follow Me,” provides useful tools to enhance your show experience, including an interactive show schedule and floor maps with routing to booths, events and NAMM U session listings, and access to e-brochures.

The NAMM Show hosts the finals of the first annual SchoolJam USA competition, where the top ten bands will battle it out for big prizes for their bands and their schools’ music programs.

Tools for SchoolsAgain this year, show attendees will have the opportunity to interact with

hundreds of music educators who have been invited to walk the show floor in search of the latest products and the top “Tools for Schools” will be selected.

Ad MMR D 09 i dd 2 11/6/09 4 20 16 PM

MMR_18 18 11/24/09 10:51:35 AM

www.namm.org

1,500 + EXCITING EXHIBITS HOTTEST NEW PRODUCTS

INFORMATIVE PRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS BUSINESS SERVICES THAT CAN SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EACH YEAR

DOZENS OF FREE BUSINESS-TRAINING SEMINARS NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES FUN IN THE SUN AND GREAT LIVE MUSIC

MMR_19 19 11/24/09 10:52:14 AM

www.namm.org

WEBWISE

Walzak was inspired to create software in 1996 when he was trying to “level the playing fi eld” on his own wholesale business. “I was a smaller distributor, and didn’t have the manpower, but was competing against the big companies,” he explains. “I wanted to use technology to do as much of the work as possible.” He has consulted with, and worked for, hundreds of retailers, including many in MI. As president of Pro-Ac-tive Websites he offers turnkey solutions for retailers looking for easy-to-use Web sites to do whatever they need without spending a lot of time.

He’s also more than familiar with the reasons small-business men and women come up with to not invest in their Web site – and themselves.

I’m doing fi ne without an Internet presence. Why should I bother?“If you don’t use the Internet, your ability to grow your business is going to be

very limited,” he says. “People want to check out your business online before they

Myth Busting:

By Kevin M. Mitchell

Eight Roadblocks to Internet Success Debunked


Bill Walzak has been on all sides of the Web site debate – as a

businessman needing to use the Internet to grow his business, and now

as a consultant helping others create sites that work for them. He’s

heard about all the roadblocks, the reasons not to move

wholeheartedly into what is to him a key component of retailing,

and is able to effectively build the case that a great Web site is

imperative to success in today’s marketplace.

MMR_20 20 11/24/09 10:22:00 AM

get in the car and drive. Many are just too busy for casual shopping, and need to know the possibilities of what you can do for them first, before they go to your store. And kids would rather cut their arm off than pull out the Yellow Pages!

“A dealer who doesn’t think he needs the Internet is making a huge mistake.”

Web sites are too technically diffi cult – and we just don’t have time to deal with it.

“How many times have you stood at the cash register and spent a half hour trying to sell one $6 capo? And how much pro t did you make? That same sale online would take seconds, and wouldn’t require any personnel time.

“When creating or upgrading your store’s Web site, a retailer needs to con-sider what is the best value, the best use of the staff’s time. The Internet is the greatest communication tool available today, so it’s more than worth the time you need to make for it. It really should be a priority.”

As to the complexity, there are a lot of applica-tions and approaches that are available. “Our motto is, if your mother can’t op-erate the Web site we cre-ate for you, it needs to be redesigned.”

I don’t even know where to begin to look for a person or a company to build or redesign my Web site – let alone choosing one!

“For the majority of MI retailers, there’s an advantage to having a turnkey solution. The rst advantage is that you, the owner, always have the ‘keys to the store.’” “Go-ing with an individual or company, even on a contract basis, can create a situation where the retailer is “hostage” to someone else when changes need to

be made. So when seeking out a Web site designer and builder, make sure it’s someone who can create a system that’s easy enough for you or a member of the staff to work.

Web sites are too expensive.

“We offer customers two systems: One is a very inexpensive e-commerce solution that allows retail-ers to automatically load up products from their suppliers in addition to adding pages about their store – that costs less than $.99 a day plus a one-time $50 setup fee.” A super-store solution that costs more but has marketing

tools is also available.The retailer who shops and com-

pares options, spends time researching and listening, will nd a solution that

“If you don’t use the Internet, your ability to

grow your business is going to be very limited.”

– Bill Walzak

DECEMBER 2009 MMR 21

“Most people believe that they need to spend most of their time building a Web site, when what they really need to do is spend their time marketing their Web site,” says Bill Walzak of Pro-Ac-tive Websites. “Marketing is the most important part of the pro-cess because it’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell.”

The days of just hanging out the proverbial shingle are gone, he states emphatically. “You can build a wonderful Web site with an extensive back-end system for ecommerce or whatever, but you’ve got to give them a reason to shop.”

Retailers need to think of their Web site as what it is: another

“location.” And what do you do when you launch a new loca-tion? Why, have a grand opening celebration, of course! Walzak says to drum up extra excite-ment with a giveaway. “Post a picture of a jar of picks on your site and have people email their guess as to how many picks are in it, with the winner getting a new guitar.” With this simple idea, you’ve done yourself three favors: Customers are exposed to your world-class Web site; you’ve got potential customers’ email address for future marketing campaigns; and you’ve instantly created a lot of traffi c, which will raise your Search Engine Optimi-zation (SEO) level, so when any-

body Googles “music instrument store + your town,” your store will receive a higher ranking.

“Search engines will see that lots of people are going to the site, so it must be valuable,” he says.

Beyond that, the possibilities are endless. “We have an affi liate code system that assigns a spe-cifi c code to a school or church, so the retailer can then tell them that when they send customers to your site, either the customer gets a special fi ve percent dis-count or that discount goes back to the church or school. That re-ally builds goodwill, and the mu-tual support makes everybody successful.”

Web Marketing 101

MMR_21 21 11/24/09 10:22:04 AM


is a good t and won’t break the bank – but it is an investment that is absolutely necessary in today’s environment.

E-commerce? I can’t possibly compete with Amazon or even Musician’s Friend or Sam Ash!

“You have to pick your areas, your niche, to draw people in,” Walzak says. “If you try to be everything to every-body, you’ll lose. Find your expertise, your niche, and promote that.”

For example, if you have an unusu-ally large print music department with lots of rare or hard-to- nd pieces, pro-mote that. Build a community in that area, and soon customers will be in the habit of buying everything from you. “The Internet levels the playing eld, and allows you to look as big as anybody else.”

I have a wide variety of customers – from heavy metal kids to ministers to band and orchestra parents. How can I possibly create a Web site that serves them all?

“Every segment of your customer base should be represented and served on your site – you don’t want to exclude anybody. So the Web site should re ect every aspect of your store.” It might require extra time and thought, but so does the layout of your store. You have friendly and appealing entry into your store, and then you likely have differ-ent sections to appeal to more speci c segments.

A well designed Web site can really appeal to speci c segments even more than a well-merchandised brick and mortar store. A page dedicated to the church market can relay the message that you deal with houses of worship all the time; a page just for band and orchestra parents can make it so they are comfortable doing business with you, et cetera.

I hear a lot about “creating a community on the Web” – what does that really mean and how do I do it?

“First, stalk out your area of ex-pertise, then have your Web site

ref lect that.” It can be as simple as if you’re primarily a folk/acoustic store, having the site look “folkie.” Have the graphics, the font, every-thing about the look and feel of the site ref lect that. Don’t go for a ge-neric approach.

“Another important part about building a community is including detail about your project that can only come from you, with your speci c point of view re ected.” Providing in-formation through text, graphic, and videos contributes to your site being a “help center” that draws likeminded people who will make up your online community. “People want to come back to a resource. Selling product is the goal, but you also want something people can return to again and again because they see you and your site as a resource.” Not everybody is going to buy a guitar every week, but if they know your site is a source for tips and even lessons, they will return for that – and end up buying accessories there in between those major instrument purchases.

��

��

��

��

��

��

MMR_22 22 11/24/09 10:22:08 AM

www.vandoren.com

University of Alaska (Fairbanks, AK) • Stillman College (Tuscaloosa, AL) • Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Paradise Valley, AZ) • Mayo Clinic (Scottsdale, AZ) • University of California Berkeley(Berkeley, CA) • Zellerbach Hall (Berkeley, CA) • Ansel Adams’ Home (Carmel, CA) • Diablo Valley College (Concord, CA) • Sage & Sound Recording (Hollywood, CA) • Hutchins Street Square (Lodi, CA) • Nethercut Collection (Los Angeles, CA) • Brian Culbertson Studio (Los Angeles, CA) • Petaluma Women’s Club (Petaluma, CA) • CA State University Sacramento (Sacramento, CA) • KOVR 13 TV (Sacramento, CA) • University of CA San Diego (San Diego, CA) • University of the Pacic (Stockton, CA) • Blair House (Washington, DC) • University of Hartford (West Hartford, CT) • Danbury Music Center (Danbury, CT) • Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC) • Church of Latter Day Saints (Boca Raton, FL) • Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL) • Avondale Baptist Church (Jacksonville, FL) • All Saints Lutheran (Port Orange, FL) • 2nd Ponce DeLeon Baptist (Atlanta, GA) • Andrew College (Cuthbert, GA) • Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA) • Briarlake Baptist Church (Decatur, GA) • 1st Methodist Church (Lawrenceville, GA) • Silver Hill Baptist Church (Lilburn, GA) • Christ the King Lutheran (Norcross, GA) • Roswell 1st Baptist Church (Roswell, GA) • New Hope Baptist Church (Senoia, GA) • 1st Baptist Church of Indiana University at Bloomington, (Bloomington, IN) • Reinhardt College (Waleska, GA) • Raue Center for the Arts (Crystal Lake, IL) • Joliet Jr. College (Joliet, IL) • Elkhart Central HS (Elkhart, IN) • Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS) • Wichita State University (Wichita, KS) • Jose Mateo Ballet Theater (Cambridge, MA) • The Piano Museum (Hopkinton, MA) • 1794 Meeting House (New Salem, MA) • AA Scottish Rite (Baltimore, MD) • First Unitarian Church of Baltimore (Baltimore, MD) • Baked Beans Recording (Harrison, ME) • Hope College (Holland, MI) • Hormel Mansion (Austin, MN) • Tripolis Lutheran Church (Kandiyohi, MN) • Mayo Clinic (Minneapolis, MN) • w Fine Arts Center (Mounds View, MN) • University of Lowell (Lowell, MA) • Prior Lake Fine Arts Center (Prior Lake, MN) • First Baptist Church (St. Louis, MO) • Third Baptist Church (St. Louis, MO) • Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church(Durham,NC) • Nebraska-Wesleyan University (Lincoln, NE) • Westminster Presbyterian (Lincoln, NE) • The MacDowell Colony (Peterborough, NH) • Absegami High School (Mays Landing, NJ) • Meadowmount Music School (Essex, NY) • Saratoga Performing Arts (Saratoga Springs, NY) • Grace Christian Academy (Merrick, NY) • The Doghouse NYC (Brooklyn, NY) • Watchtower B & T S (Brooklyn, NY) • University of Findlay (Findlay, OH) • St. Anne Chapel (Lake Oswego, OR) • PDX-Portland Airport (Portland, OR) • Marylhurst University (Marylhurst, OR) • Cedar Crest College (Al-lentown, PA) • Brigham Young University (Provo, UT) • Dr. Edwards Memorial Congregation (Edwardsville, PA) • Settlement Music School (Philadelphia, PA) • 1st United Methodist Church (West Pittston, PA) • 1st Presbyterian Church (Wilkes-Barre, PA) • Kings College Chapel (Wilkes-Barre, PA) • Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT) • YMCA (Wilkes-Barre, PA) • WJAR Radio & Television (East Greenwich, RI) • Marble House (Newport, RI) • Applebutter Inn (Woodstock, VT) • Trinity Lutheran Church (Vermillion, SD) • 1st Con-gregational Church (Charleston, SC) • 1st Presbyterian Church (Greenville, SC) • Marble Church (New York, NY) • Furman University (Greenville, SC) • First Baptist Church (Abilene, TX) • 1st Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin (Austin, TX) • North Texas State (Denton, TX) • PianoTexas Int’l Academy & Festival (Ft Worth, TX) • University Christian Church (Ft. Worth, TX) • Granbury Opera House (Granbury, TX) • Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) • LeTourneau University (Longview, TX) • The Muenster Mu-seum (Muenster, TX) • College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA) • Waterford Old School (Leesburg, VA) • Harvard University (Boston, MA) • Princeton University Graduate School (Princeton, NJ) • Saint Michael’s College (Colchester, VT) • Central WA University (Ellensburg, WA) • University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA) • St. Norbert College (De Pere, WI) • Waukesha County Conservatory of Music (Hartland, WI) • Oconomowoc Arts Center (Oconomowoc, WI) • North Carolina State University • Masonic Temple (Dumbarton, Scotland) • Lincoln Center (New York, NY)

Website: www.masonhamlin.com Tel: 1-800-566-3472 Fax: 916-567-1941

Mason & Hamlin pianos are taking the stage...

MMR_23 23 11/24/09 10:52:32 AM

www.masonhamlin.com

Stats U.S. Imports for Consumption: Quarterly data for 2009

HTS Number First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter In Actual Units of Quantity

Sources: The data presented in this chart been compiled from tariff and trade data from the U.S. Depart-ment of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

* HTS: The Harmonized Tariff Schedule was enacted by Congress and made effective on January 1, 1989. The HTS comprises a hierarchical structure for describing all goods in trade for duty, quota, and statistical purposes.

** NESOI: Not Elsewhere Specifi ed Or Included

Argentina

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 81,000 36,529 52

Australia

GUITARS VALUED OVER $100 EACH, EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE 124 163 225

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 0 33 390

WIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 123 163 37

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 332 293 0

Austria

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 43,803 35,698 106,236

Canada

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED WITH A BOW 3 410 5

GUITARS VALUED OVER $100 EACH, EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE 6,782 7,756 6,298

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 336 640 1,373

CLARINETS 10 512 367

WIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 0 594 116,278

DRUMS 258 255 149

CYMBALS 67,828 57,494 62,175

FRETTED STRINGED INSTRUMENTS 467 479 302

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 0 0 8,601

Chile

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 3,033 0 0

China

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED WITH A BOW 42,290 62,712 87,435

GUITARS VALUED NOT OVER $100 EACH, 272,663 269,881 411,465EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE


STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 83,323 82,492 97,517

BRASS-WIND INSTRUMENTS VALUED OVER $10 EACH 18,741 31,849 25,772

CLARINETS 5,695 10,777 12,629

SAXOPHONES 9,140 10,529 10,968

FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 35,467 122,807 16,681

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 122,543 56,711 195,506

WIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 77,600 26,790 87,044

DRUMS 133,020 104,440 181,042

CYMBALS 3,747 17,617 37,224

MUSICAL SYNTHESIZERS VALUED $100 OR OVER EACH 11,645 9,380 12,258

FRETTED STRINGED INSTRUMENTS 268,204 237,469 325,705


Czech Republic


GUITARS VALUED NOT OVER $100 EACH, 256 0 0EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE

BRASS-WIND INSTRUMENTS VALUED OVER $10 EACH 228 236 185

CLARINETS 90 253 64


Denmark


France

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED WITH A BOW 325 633 2,399


STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 4,424 3 12


CLARINETS 2,865 7,841 3,334

SAXOPHONES 2,503 740 1,664


MMR_24 24 11/24/09 10:22:34 AM



WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 858 751 2,399

WIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 11,322 301 3


Germany



BRASS-WIND INSTRUMENTS VALUED OVER $10 EACH 996 1,404 580

CLARINETS 4,375 4,333 6,243

SAXOPHONES 78 152 89

FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 439 45 40



DRUMS 82 525 342

CYMBALS 14,323 25,099 9,267

MUSICAL SYNTHESIZERS VALUED $100 OR OVER EACH 122 76 120

FRETTED STRINGED INSTRUMENTS 1,015 199 168


Hong Kong

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED WITH A BOW 0 0 1,646

GUITARS VALUED NOT OVER $100 EACH, 0 2,012 480EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE


DRUMS 0 580 0


MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 0 3,675 2,600

India



FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 9,232 0 18



DRUMS 6,786 7,450 3,147

CYMBALS 0 218 66


MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 2,400 0 0

Indonesia


GUITARS VALUED OVER $100 EACH, EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE 182 1,095 361

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 6,209 5,273 3,293

CLARINETS 8,280 2,232 8

SAXOPHONES 1,422 481 316

FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 8,084 3,278 1,154



DRUMS 17,680 20,137 35,011


Ireland


DRUMS 252 450 900

Italy


GUITARS VALUED NOT OVER $100 EACH, 150 1 1,278EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 441 16,001 669

MMR_25 25 11/24/09 10:22:38 AM

Stats U.S. Imports for Consumption: Quarterly data for 2009


Sources: The data presented in this chart been compiled from tariff and trade data from the U.S. Depart-ment of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

* HTS: The Harmonized Tariff Schedule was enacted by Congress and made effective on January 1, 1989. The HTS comprises a hierarchical structure for describing all goods in trade for duty, quota, and statistical purposes.

** NESOI: Not Elsewhere Specifi ed Or Included



Japan


STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 11,011 203 7,345


CLARINETS 1,746 1,083 1,418

SAXOPHONES 1,519 724 2,992

FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 1,175 1,061 869



DRUMS 2,352 2,164 2,882

MUSICAL SYNTHESIZERS VALUED $100 OR OVER EACH 1,655 2,620 4,552


MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 592 11,465 17,340

Korea







DRUMS 3,900 4,800 0




Mexico




DRUMS 1,090 2,164 1,253

CYMBALS 0 0 628


MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 1,979,575 1,900,631 1,561,332

Netherlands

WIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 1 3,374 1

DRUMS 891 95 241

Pakistan


FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 0 0 130

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 36 122 0

DRUMS 1,000 2,220 4,706

CYMBALS 0 0 756

Peru

FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 0 3,900 3,841

DRUMS 0 1,137 0

Romania

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS PLAYED WITH A BOW 3,918 4,621 7,629

GUITARS VALUED NOT OVER $100 EACH, 3,514 0 2,238EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE


MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 1,944 0 3,903


MMR_26 26 11/24/09 10:22:41 AM

First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter In Actual Units of Quantity

Spain

GUITARS VALUED OVER $100 EACH, EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE 500 1,518 1,833

CLARINETS 0 221 0

DRUMS 0 410 0


MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 0 1,176 0

Sweden

MUSICAL SYNTHESIZERS VALUED $100 OR OVER EACH 1,073 188 793



Switzerland

WIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 3,154 4,115 12

CYMBALS 5,424 8,470 2,943

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT STRINGS 0 1,000 835

Taiwan

GUITARS VALUED NOT OVER $100 EACH, 1,100 2,229 592EXCLUDING THE VALUE OF THE CASE

STRING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 0 92 2,940


SAXOPHONES 4,822 6,191 6,526

FLUTES AND PICCOLOS (EXCEPT BAMBOO) 1,528 573 15,529



DRUMS 32,934 46,771 66,936

CYMBALS 3,030 1,364 4,615

MUSICAL SYNTHESIZERS VALUED $100 OR OVER EACH 740 3,721 5,639

Thailand

DRUMS 18,455 22,416 21,120

Turkey


DRUMS 1,446 516 1,550

CYMBALS 2,645 4,314 2,308

United Kingdom


WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS, NESOI 7 151 309


DRUMS 24 557 142



Find it in the Hot News section of MMR’s Web site, www.MMRmagazine.com

Breaking News

MMR_27 27 11/24/09 10:22:45 AM

MMR_28 28 11/24/09 10:52:44 AM

www.madarozzo.com

MMR_29 29 11/24/09 10:52:53 AM

www.madarozzo.com

RETA I L

So, are things getting better? Have we already turned the corner with respect to this mess? Since the summer months, various pundits and experts have been re-porting that early indicators point to an end to our country’s economic tailspin. In September Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernake said that, “From a technical per-spective, the recession is very likely over at this point.”

Reassuring words, to be sure, but does that evaluation ring true with music re-tailers? “My outlook for 2010 is positive because I believe we have already bot-tomed out,” states Magnolia Music Cen-ter’s (Gulfport, Miss.) Tony Strong and that cautious optimism is shared by many we spoke with while compiling this year’s 50 Dealer 50 State Report. However there are plenty who see all such analysis as be-


26th Annual

Fifty DealerFifty StateReview & Forecast

“The recession hit us

pretty hard, as it did

everyone else,” says

Marc Forman of Albuquerque’s

Marc’s Guitar Center and, while

the assessment hardly qualifi es

as “breaking news,” Foreman’s

statement pretty much sums up,

in succinct manner, the overall

shared experience of the past

few years in the world

of American MI

retail.

MMR_30 30 11/24/09 10:23:34 AM


ALABAMAGreenbrier Music ShopAnnistonWayne Brown, owner

2008 vs. 2009: Sales were way off from 2008 — prob-ably as much as 40 percent.

Highlights and lows of 2009:

Repair service was way up. It seems a lot of people were getting their instruments fi xed instead of buying new ones. Low-end acoustic sales were good, but the higher end products didn’t do as well. My record-ing studio was down, but our teaching department stayed booked all summer. Service has made a comeback. People are shocked and very happy when you offer to take care of a problem on the spot with no hassle. I do a lot of guitar repairs while they wait. This is the best way to compete with mail-order.

Concerns:We have had some companies close in my area with a lot of lost jobs. I hear a lot of people growing tired of mail-order. They want to touch it and hear it before they spend their money.

Outlook for 2010: I am fully stocked up for the holiday season and I am approaching 2010 with hopes that it will be better than 2009. The fi rst three months of the year are usually my strongest months so I plan on being ready. I have some major repairs already scheduled into January.

Product of the Year: Alvarez acoustics and Boss pedals.

ALASKAThe Music ManAnchorageAl Green, manager

2008 vs. 2009:Fairly fl at

Highlights and lows of 2009: Native Flutes have been a consistent and fun growth area for

us for the last two years. Our summer band program has been a nice part of our outreach for the past several years cater-ing to middle school and high school age students. This year we added a beginning band program in addition to our jazz and concert band classes. Our combo staff has been running an “Alaska School of Rock,” having their students perform in a local club.

Concerns:I’m concerned about how to improve what we do, and freight, which is always a concern in Alaska.

Outlook for 2010: We have a new storage and lesson fa-cility next to the store, and I’m hoping to expand our educational offerings this next summer. I’m positive about the next year. Guitar sales are picking up again, and we just had a successful school rental season. Staff is stable and reliable.

Product of the Year:Yamaha band instruments.

ARIZONAAtomic Guitar WorksPeoriaHarry Howard & Tim Mulqueeny, owners

2008 vs. 2009:2008 was strong, but towards the end of the year people became very careful with how they were spending their disposable income. This has carried over into 2009. Although this can be looked at as a bad thing, we have taken this as an opportu-nity to focus on the most profi table seg-ments of our operation.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The year started off with a bang with us launching our guitar line at the Winter NAMM show. There we were concen-trating on making the transition from a “Factory Direct” operation to establish-ing a dealer network.

We have changed our retail opera-tion signifi cantly. We have stopped sell-ing amplifi ers and effects pedals. We are concentrating more on parts and accessories sales while boosting the ser-vice side of our operation. Although we have maintained the number of repair tickets, we have noticed that people are spending less per instrument. We offer a handmade, American guitar starting at $895. The hardest part has been convey-ing the value and quality of our guitars to the retailers. We understand they can buy two imports to each one of ours. The difference is that we offer service beyond the sale. If a retailer has a problem they need to know that their customer is taken care of and they can concentrate on their operation.

Concerns:The attrition of small music stores in our market this last year has been massive. The

ing only so much smoke and mirrors: “No recovery,” declares Joe Kane of Stafford, Virginia’s Bang Music. “It’s up to us to recreate our business and oper-ate with the available resources… I ex-pect that the new economy will be one of consumer spending that is more in line with actual family income than in the past 20 years. The false economy of credit card debt and home equity debt is over.”

Predictions are, of course, merely educated guesswork and only time will tell how things pan out in the coming months. As Front Porch Music’s (Ba-kersfi eld, Calif.) Artie Niesen puts it, whatever your own, personal take on the immediate future, “Always hope for the best!”

MMR_31 31 11/24/09 10:23:39 AM


Fifty Dealer Fifty State Review & Forecast

three closest retail shops to us shut down in May 2009. Some of these stores have been in business for 17 or more years. This is directly related to the lack of music pro-grams in the public school system. With the cancelation of these programs, it has greatly decreased the demand for lessons and band rentals from retail stores. Kids are the future of all music-based indus-tries, local and abroad. I’m sure it is this way across the country, and we should all be very concerned.

Outlook for 2010: Things will pick up in 2010. We will con-tinue to focus on streamlining produc-tion while increasing distribution of our guitar line. We are committed to retain-ing our lessons and band programs we have in place.

Product of the Year: Atomic Guitars Standard model

ARKANSASRed River Music CompanyHeber SpringsRick Gardner, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2009 has been disap-pointing to say the least.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The year started

great; sales were double the previous year through the fi rst quarter, then the reces-sion hit. My local customer base changed their buying habits, willing to spend up to $200 to $250 but nothing more. We also experienced a fl ood in May, losing about $60k in inventory, lost sales, and other equipment.

Concerns:Recovery and survival, fi nding product to sell with decent margins and no buyins.

Outlook for 2010: Our area has historically run six months behind the national economy. I am hop-ing for a better economy in 2010, but re-alistically I am hoping to hold ground. I am investing in low-end stock that will sell with a decent margin and trying to keep stock levels down.

Product of the Year: Samick Gold Rush D-1 guitar.

CALIFORNIAFront Porch MusicBakersfi eld Artie Niesen, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 was pretty much a struggle and 2009 hasn’t been much of one.

We had three inde-pendent stores close in our area in 2009,

which helped our business.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlight of our year was staying around in this economy.

Concerns:The thing that concerns me the most is unemployment and the rapid destruc-tion of the middle class in America

Outlook for 2010: Always hope for the best!

Product of the Year: Behringer P.A.gear.

COLORADOAllegro MusicParkerJoe Wilkinson, co-owner

2008 vs. 2009: Overall sales are down about 10 percent, but our student base has stayed strong.

Highlights and lows of 2009:

Our strong student base, great teachers, our 11th anniversary party, and back to school season were the highlights. The economy and sluggish turnaround were low points.

Concerns:Reasonable expectations of creditors.

Outlook 2010: 2010 should be better than 2009, recitals and plans for events are shaping up.

Product of the Year: Fender Stratocaster.

CONNECTICUTThe Music ShopSouthingtonScott “Spidey” Mulrooney, manager

2008 vs. 2009: 2009 was down from the fi rst eight months compared to 2008. September and Octo-ber 2009 beat expec-tations. I’m cautiously optimistic about the

fourth quarter and holiday sales fi gures.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Peavey Vypyr 15. Our lesson program continues to gain ground and we built four new studios to keep up with de-mand. The low has been dwindling foot traffi c – the slowest I’ve seen in 25 years. There’s also tight credit with vendors.

Concerns: I’m a little concerned with the sustain-ability of small retail merchants vs. big box, the Internet, or price clubs. Each year on Black Friday we piece together a collage composed of sales circulars from the previous day’s newspaper. The num-ber of giant retailers who jump on the holiday instrument bandwagon is almost laughable. To survive you must offer les-sons, rentals, and repairs; guitar, amp, and drum sales alone won’t cut it.

Outlook 2010: I will feel optimistic once the housing and jobs situation is corrected. I think we will have a strong third and fourth quar-ter for 2010.

Product of the Year: The Peavey Vypyr 15.

DELAWARESeaford MusicSeafordDavid Herring, owner

2008 vs. 2009: Although our sales were down about fi ve percent for the same period last year,

MMR_32 32 11/24/09 10:23:44 AM



we’ve actually been able to increase our net income. The cur-rent economic condi-tions have caused us to take a closer look at our buying habits, and we’ve tried to fo-

cus more on selling existing inventory rather than being totally reactive to all the new products that come along. By reducing our expenses and paying closer attention to inventory levels, we’ve been able to minimize the stress of this eco-nomic slump.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlight for the year had to be our ability to adapt to the changing condi-tions that came from the tough economic times. By learning to use our strength in customer service we were able to keep the store running smoothly, support our loyal customer base, and recruit a few new ones. Unfortunately, the lows were the folks in my area, who supported our business, lost jobs and income.The lack of discretionary funds among most of the residents in this area has had a big impact on most of the local retailers.

Concerns:Although a few of the vendors I deal with have realized the situation, many are still holding fi rm on their old commitments that were in place when times were a lot better. I am concerned that those vendors who don’t relax their buying level re-quirements will cause us to drop lines or be much more selective in what we carry. When buying, I now look harder at deals and see how fl exible the vendors are with stocking or buying requirements. I am concerned about my ability to properly support lines that I have been loyal to, if some give-and-take doesn’t occur from the manufacturers or distributors.

Outlook for 2010: I feel like we are getting ready to see a swing in the right direction. I have wit-nessed what looks like the beginnings of a grass roots movement to take back this country despite whatever obstacles the temporary residents in Washington D.C. can throw in the way. If we can afford to keep our employees working, they can afford to support themselves. I’m hope-ful that government regulation won’t kill

the small independent business in this country.

Product of the Year: Rapco/Horizon cables and Paul Reed Smith guitars.

FLORIDASeminole Music & Sound SeminoleJohn Spinelli, manager

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 was tough and 2009 was even tougher.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlights where that we had to re-

evaluate ourselves and cut non-produc-tive practices in many areas, defi ne our core value to our customers, business and self. The lows were accepting that

Cremona bowed instruments have set the pacefor the vibrant student and rental markets for over25 years. Strict adherence to international sizingrequirements, domestic educational set-up standardsand continuous quality improvement have madeCremona Violins, Violas, Basses and Cellos provensales leaders.

Our best-selling, ebony fitted SV-175 CremonaPremier Violin Outfit has again been upgraded toinclude the new LaSalle LB-13 Octagonal Bow andthe TL-33 deluxe rectangular Travelite case.

Meeting the Needs of Studentsfor More Than 25 Years ...

Our Best-Selling SV-175 Cremona Violin!

SV-175

[800] BUY-SAGAwww.sagamusic.comDealer inquiries invited.

•Six sizes from 4⁄4 to 1⁄16

•Long lasting ebony fittings

•Finetuner tailpiece for precise, easytuning

•Rugged TL-33 Travelite case

•All-solid carved, graduated construction

•Well-balanced LaSalle LB-13 bow with ebony frog

Cremona SV-175 Violin Outfit:

$249Suggested Retail

MMR_33 33 11/24/09 10:23:49 AM

www.sagamusic.com



business has changed and changes had to be made.

Concerns:We’re hoping that everyone has been learning from the times we’re experienc-ing, this includes ourselves, the consum-er and especially the larger vendors. As for our store, we’ve made some positive changes and our customers have appreci-ated them. The customers are hopefully fi nding out that things aren’t always so bad and music is a great plus for them-selves and their children at times like this. As for the vendors, there are a lot of vendors heavily tied into the big box stores and if things turn for the worst it could get pretty ugly. I hope vendors are planning ahead and won’t try to choke the independent dealer if things start to get worse. Let’s just hope we won’t have to tread that water.

Outlook 2010: 2009 was tough because we didn’t know where we were headed, in 2010 we should have a pretty good handle on things be-cause of ‘09. The planning and restruc-

turing of our business should maintain us through the ups and downs of 2010 and beyond.

GEORGIAStephens’ Music Company, Inc.CalhounShane West, president

2008 vs. 2009: We have had a much better year in 2009 than 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Lows were our local

economy. Job loss in our area is a big con-cern just like most of the country.

The highlight is the fact that we are growing in hard times. We look to fi n-ish the year up and we are working hard to keep growning. We have worked ex-tremely hard to simply keep the doors open and we want to motivate our staff to keep doing the things that are working in our favor.

Concerns:Unemployment. Our area has been hit hard and we hope that our customers, present and future will prosper so that we can continue to serve them.

Outlook 2010: 2010 is going to be our best year ever. We relocated in 2008 and our new location is drawing more traffi c. We do more les-sons than ever and we are reaching out beyond our previous market.

Product of the Year: Nothing stands out immediately.

HAWAIIEasy Music CenterHonoluluPeter Dods, president

2008 vs. 2009:We have been slightly up for most of 2009. It has been a tougher year for posting large sale increases, but we have more than held our ground. While each customer seems to be spending less, we

MMR_34 34 11/24/09 10:23:56 AM

www.vandoren.com

To succeed in the future, not to mention the present, you need to expand the number of

people who make music. With several music education courses for children and adults,

Yamaha can help. Yamaha programs create regular store traffic, generate steady revenue

and seed the market for many years of lucrative digital piano and acoustic piano sales. ■

From the world-renowned Yamaha Music Education System (YMES) to the upcoming

Clavinova-based Yamaha QuickPlay course, Yamaha provides excellent opportunities for

you to grow and prosper. Call the Yamaha Music

Education Department today at (800) 722-8856

to discuss your options for long-term success.©2009 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights reserved.

MMR_35 35 11/24/09 10:53:04 AM

www.yamaha.com



are dealing with a lot more foot traffi c than we did a year ago. The net result is we seem to be working a bit harder for the same amount of sales. It is energizing to see

the store so busy all the time though. We rarely get lulls anymore. It is hectic in here at times, but we will take that over a ghost town any day of the week.

I’ve actually had to increase my staffi ng to accommodate for the increase in foot traffi c over the past year. The sales guys just don’t have time to stock the way they used to. I hired a full time receiver and helper in the store recently in addition to my inventory manager. I’ve noticed that it is a lot easier to sign up as a new deal-er with vendors these days. When they might have had a larger buy-in or said no before, they are telling me yes all the time now. it pays to have some capital to play

with during tough times. We have signed up new vendors aggressively this year.

Highlights and lows of 2009: We put on more clinics, performances, and promotional events this year than we have in the history of the store. We launched a new blogger format Web site where my guys can post new product pictures and videos direct from their iPhones. We re-mained steady and busy when it seemed like the world was about to end. I was able to be a guest speaker at the SNAMM SO-TIA. We built two new lessons rooms and renovated our acoustic guitar room. We added a lot of new vendors to our lineup.

Contending with all the doom and gloom in the news was a low. We had/have to remind ourselves daily that we can stay ahead of the rest of the economy. We kept our heads down and plowed ahead this year. It is hard to get too depressed when you have customers beating down your door.

Concerns:The longterm sustainability of the planet concerns me most.

Outlook 2010: Spending seems to be picking back up, but I think that is because people who already had money are starting to spend it again. What we are missing is the part of the mar-ket that doesn’t have a job anymore, or is afraid to lose their job soon. It is nice that we backed away from the precipice we were on though, but it is going to take a larger increase in consumer demand and confi -dence before tourism increases in Hawaii and companies start hiring again. I think people are still feeling cautious about the economy. I hope that we can stay ahead of the curve here at Easy Music Center, but I am not predicting a great rebound for the American economy as a whole. It may very well be years of slow to zero growth ahead.

Product of the Year: Yamaha Acoustics.

IDAHO Welch Music Twin Falls Randy Welch, president

2008 vs. 2009: Sales for both 2008 and 2009 were be-low our best year of 2007. However, the

It’s jj Babbitt’s

90th AnniversaryCelebrate the sound!

Introducing... the Otto Link Vintage mouthpiece

by jj Babbitt. Commemorating 90 years of helping you

make great music.

www.jjbabbitt.com • E-mail: [email protected]

M O U T H P I E C E S F O R C L A R I N E T S A N D S A X O P H O N E S

MMR_36 36 11/24/09 10:24:00 AM

www.jjbabbitt.com

MMR_37 37 11/24/09 10:53:14 AM

www.cortguitar.com



result of reducing in-ventory, short term debt, and operating expenses as much as possible, has pro-duced better gross margins in 2009 than we achieved in 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Highlights? We’re still looking for some.

Concerns:It appears to me that many people are becoming more and more demanding and dependent on government to solve problems in their lives. The confl ict be-tween those who support less govern-ment control and those who support greater government control has pro-duced an ugly division in this nation. I don’t see the confl ict going away any time soon.

Outlook 2010: I’m trying to be optimistic about the year 2010. We are going forward and trying our best to offer products our customers want and provide service they don’t ex-pect. I’m confi dent that by doing we give ourselves the greatest opportunity to be successful.

Product of the Year: Yamaha Clavinova.

ILLINOISSamuel Music Effi ngham Bruce Bannister, president

2008 vs. 2009: We were just about two percent up in sales with a very slight margin increase as well. Based on what the economy did in the last few months of

the year, we were pretty happy with those results.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Being a full line dealer we are used to one particular product category or seg-ment being down while another may be up, and 2009 was certainly no excep-tion. Toward the latter part of the year we saw drops in higher price points like everyone else. I think we were very for-tunate because we focus a lot on getting people started in music. So when the economy tanked and people were look-ing for family activities that could take place at home, that part of our business picked up. Guitars, drums, band in-struments, acoustic, and digital pianos all exceeded 2008 because of a fairly substantial increase in the number of units we sold.

Concerns:Stability! There are so many variables now - the global economy, the banking system, healthcare, you can go on and on - that you simply don’t know what curve will be thrown at you next. The biggest concern I have is that we remain fl exible enough and have the forward thinking and energy required to adapt to whatever comes at us.

MMR_38 38 11/24/09 10:24:06 AM

www.ricoreeds.com

MMR_39 39 11/24/09 10:53:25 AM

www.amtis.us



Outlook 2010: Our entire staff is probably working hard-er than ever. So, although it has not been easy, 2009 has been pretty good. Recently we are even seeing more of the higher end purchasers returning to the market. If the holiday season comes through for us, we expect to be slightly ahead again this year. And that will make us all happy.

Product of the Year: Yamaha acoustic guitars.

INDIANAW.H. Paige & Co., Inc. IndianapolisMark Goff, president

2008 vs. 2009: We ended 2008 on a very positive note, and so far 2009 is up about fi ve percent. So, our business is moving in the right direction.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlight of 2009 has to be the attitude and performance of our staff in imple-menting a disciplined plan to achieve bot-

tom-line growth this year in spite of the challenging economic circumstances around us.

Concerns:With things going so well, I’m concerned that we will be tempted to let down the discipline that has delivered such positive results.

Outlook 2010: We expect to carry a positive momentum into 2010 and continue to improve our customer satisfaction, employee satisfac-tion, and fi nancial performance.

IOWAUncle Ike’s MusicDubuqueKevin Hedley, owner

2008 vs. 2009: We are up over 10per-cent, although most all of the gains have been with online sales, an area that we are still learning our way in. In-store sales

have been right on course with 2008. We carry a large selection for our store size, which presents a whole set of problems.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Locally we had a great start to the year with IBM announcing 1300 new jobs here in Dubuque. The effect has been an overall positive attitude in the town. In-store as I mentioned, we are starting to understand the online business, so that has brought some nice sales our way. We have been very fortunate; the lows are mostly just us trying to learn how to pol-ish up our act. I look at other industries along with some of the big box stores and admire the organization and systems that give people a warm confi dent feel-ing about doing business there.We some-times seem a bit slocky in the way we op-erate so that can get you down.

MMR_40 40 11/24/09 10:24:12 AM

www.antiguawinds.com

NEW STICK BAGS

ON-LINE VIDEO RESOURCES

WEB FEATURES

New Educational Feature launched—Band Director’s Percussion Survival Guide. FREE on-line video resource center for your answers to common percussion questions and which products to use. Learn from the experts at: www.vicrth.com/education/bdpsg

New VF products are selling VERY well. Need additional merchandising displays to increase your VF product selection? What VALUE PACKS are currently available? Visit: www.vicrth.com/pop.html

Check out the recent photos/video of Vic Firth artists at Drummer Live ‘09 in London, the Meinl Drum Festival in Russia and the New England Metal Festival in Boston. Now that is some global coverage! www.vicrth.com/features/drummerlive09.htmlwww.vicrth.com/features/meinldrumfest.htmlwww.vicrth.com/features/NEMHF09.html

Many make claims, Vic Firth makes sticks. See how the best sticks are made during your factory tour. Get a factory tour DVD for your store’s customers! www.vicrth.com/features/factorytour.html

PROMOTIONAL SUPPORT

New educational poster introduced for your teachers and customers: Groove Essentials 2, 52 new grooves with Tommy Igoe at: www.vicrth.com/education/drumset/GrooveEssentials2.html

Have a question on a specic stick size? Which mallet should you recommend for the Marimba? Environmentally friendly, instant catalog access 24/7 at: www.vicrth.com/catalog2009/index.html

DCI 2009

Vic Firth products continue to be the top choice for the serious Drum Corps. See all the DCI 2009 coverage at: www.vicrth.com/features/DCI2009.html

NEW PRODUCTS

What do Aaron Spears, Marky Ramone and Christoph Schneider have in common? Each has a new signature stick from VF: www.vicrth.com/products/newproducts.html

Special limited time offers—Holiday gift packs and new stick bags can be seen at: www.vicrth.com/promo.html

Vic Firth’s Sales Support Helps You Earn More Money

VIC FIRTH DEALER NEWS

Vic Firth, Inc. remains committed to providing multiple layers of support designed to increase your sales at the margins you require. We know how important stock replacement is to satisfy all customer demand—all orders are shipped within 24 hours of receipt to distribution partners with a 99% line item ll. We invest in VF marketing programs, educational programs and web activities to increase customer pull through for the #1 selling brand in the world. Read on to see which activities customers and artists are viewing today.

3rd Edition

MMR_41 41 11/24/09 10:53:32 AM

www.vicfirth.com



Concerns:The race to the lowest price on nearly every item concerns me. So you’re left on your own when it comes to margins. You have to fight for every point, watch every item, negotiate for free freight, take the quick pay discounts, maybe wait and buy in larger shipments, any-thing to add on a few extra GP points. We carry a large selection for our store size, which presents a whole set of problems from extra insurance costs to outdated stock. Merchandising can be a challenge.

Outlook 2010: We should be fi ne in the next few years. We have been around for more than 20 years, and our store is fairly established. Not that things can’t change and change quickly, but we work hard every day so they don’t. We have some great people on staff right now. Probably the best we have ever had. So that helps tremendously.

Product of the Year: Ibanez products.

KANSASSenseney Music, Inc.WichitaLori Supinie, president

2008 vs. 2009: The fi rst three quar-ters of 2008 were great for us, but you could defi nitely see signs of a slow down by the fourth quarter. 2009 has been down fi ve to

10 percent in most product categories.

Highlights and lows of 2009: We’ve just completed a great back-to-school season - our beginner band and orchestra rental numbers are almost equal to what we did last year, which was a strong year. This was somewhat unex-pected, but very encouraging. Our edu-cation (lesson) department has remained very strong this year, as well. Piano sales and step-up instrument sales are off over last year. School bids instruments, and sales to schools of print music and acces-sories are also down due to decreases or uncertainty in school budgets.

Concerns:Keeping the “cash pump” pumping! Keeping expenses in line with revenue levels and keeping inventory turning.

Outlook 2010: I’m expecting 2010 to be like 2009 - may-be some growth in the second half of the

year. I don’t think anybody has a clear picture on this, though.

Product of the Year: Zoom digital recorders.

KENTUCKYBizianes MusicLouisvilleJohn Bizianes, co-owner

2008 vs. 2009: Our business was down from the pre-vious year. We are a mom and pop mu-sic store. My parents opened the business in 1965. Many stores

have come and gone. What has sustained our business through the retail downturn has been our teaching studios and record-ing studio. When we saw the retail decline on the horizon, we chose to move toward education and recording - elements that can’t be purchased on the Internet or mail-order. We thought about going the direction of being a mail-order retailer but, frankly, there’s not much fun in that. No personal relationships - just push-ing boxes for low margins. No thanks.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Not much new in the way of new product innovation. I guess the R and D budgets of manufacturers have taken a hit with the recession. The highlight of our busi-ness has been the way our family has been able to weather the storm of the economy and even become closer as a result. Being in a family business has its challenges, but we are stronger than we have ever been.

Concerns:What concerns me most is legisla-tion that will hurt small businesses. Health care over-regulation and big government will make it diffi cult to stay profi table in the near future.

Outlook 2010: I am anticipating big things for 2010. We are ramping up for bigger sessions and more business with the recording stu-dio. I’m hoping that we will experience growth there

Product of the Year: Kurzweil.

[email protected]

www.orlausa.com

Grand, Upright,Console &

ContinentalModels

Grand, Portable, Traditional, Church

&Ensemble Models

You’veJust Gotta

Hear Them!

W Y M A N

[email protected]

www.wymanpiano.com

The Soundof

Italy

The Soundof

AsiaORLA usa

W Y M A NMusical Instruments

MMR_42 42 11/24/09 10:24:18 AM

www.wymanpiano.com

MMR_43 43 11/24/09 10:53:43 AM

www.skbcases.com


LOUISIANAShreveport Music Co.ShreveportDon Teach, president

2008 vs. 2009: Overall business has been down, but I have great hopes for a bet-ter ending. Guitar sales have been about the same for both years in the high end

models and the low end models. The middle has really slowed down. The low end guitars are much better today than they were ten years ago. Acoustic piano sales for us have slowed to a trickle with electric piano sales staying steady. One of the biggest markets for acoustic pianos in our area were churches. Now churches are using electronic keyboards for their services.

Highlights and lows of 2009: 2009 started off great and then it

slowed in the summer. In our area there was a big economic boost with the dis-covery of natural gas. There was a rush by the gas companies to lease land that resulted in many churches and land own-ers gaining instant money to spend. The biggest rush was in the fi rst couple of months of 2009. In August the gas com-panies had leased all they wanted to lease and the price of gas had dropped so the big rush was over which was the low of the year.

Concerns:Lack of young musicians or first time musicians seem to be declining. We still have plenty of students but this summer we had lots of vacancies in the lesson program for the first time in several years. The age of our student population seems to be young adults and teenagers.

Outlook 2010: Hopeful. We feel that sound systems sales will be good in 2010 as that is the one de-partment that gains every year. We hope to expand our sales in sound systems. Small systems are our specialty.

Product of the Year: Yamaha sound systems.

MAINEMidtown MusicBiddefordNick Noiseux, president

2008 vs. 2009: After the price of gas hit $4 per gallon in June of 2008, our numbers dropped 30 - 40 percent. The numbers are still

down but we’ve discovered ways to cut our overhead. We continue to be hopeful and continue to look for ways to improve our services and sales.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The personal highlight for me was when, upon talking to a customer about his les-sons, he exclaimed, “I can’t wait to come back!” That brought the revelation to me that we need to cultivate that emotion in all of our customers and serve them to bring that end. Corporate highlights for 2009 were fi nding manufacturers and suppliers eager to sell and not be as greedy with their minimums. Our low for 2009 was when we had a sewer line check valve break just when the city pump timers turned on and pumped thousands of gallons of sewer water into our store. It shut us down for eight days and cost $50,000 in clean-up and repair costs. That customer who exclaimed, ‘I can’t wait to come back’ was in the store that day when the sewer line blew and helped us bail for an hour and a half.

Concerns:Marketing.

We’ve got to fi nd the most effective ways. Finding the time to dedicate to this end is very hard for me. It’s so important, and there is so much for us to do, but sometimes we just don’t know where to begin.

Outlook 2010: Great question! We needed to be asked that! Thank you! Aside from trying to fi gure out how we’re going to pay for Christmas and survive the winter, I think we have got to move forward step by step to get the word out. We offer everything everyone else offers at competitive prices, and we love to serve. Loving our custom-ers is what we’ll do. That means putting


MMR_44 44 11/24/09 10:24:31 AM

www.vicfirth.com

(Paid to our Licensed Affiliates)The financially stable program of choice for discerning dealers

whose eye is on the future.

Now is the time to get out from under thefinancial RISK and BURDEN

of running your own rental program.

$31,697,467.00

The NEMC Affiliate Program Offers:

A No Fee Licensed Affiliate Rental Program. Rental agreements that are customized to the specific laws of the Affiliate’s state.

State licensing and/or registration of the Affiliate’s rental program at NEMC’s expense. Only one quality level of name brand instruments in New and Like-New condition only.

The restoration of all rental returns to Like-New condition at NEMC’s service facility. Multi-colored Promotional & Educational handouts provided.

Motivational mailings to the Affiliate’s customers. No inventory investment and all normal freight costs are paid by NEMC.

One of the largest staffs of skilled repair technicians dedicated only to rental instrument service. Hands-on repair training in our NJ repair center with one-on-one private instruction (FREE).

Billing and collecting rental fees for the Affiliate’s accounts. Ability to review customer accounts 24/7 through a dedicated web site.

The NEMC Calling Plan for collections. Working for the Affiliates from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.The Platinum Plan Plus - to increase commission percentage.

The Annual Rental Bonus Plan - for an additional cash bonus.

Plus:

Each Affiliate is able to create a Custom, Competitive, and Profitable price schedule for theAffiliate’s individual marketplace. NEMC does not post rental prices on the Internet.

Business is promoted into the Affiliate’s retail store, not onto the Internet. NEMC does notcompete against its own Affiliates by renting ‘On-Line’.

An Affiliate’s territory is protected. NEMC does not own any retail stores.

For Complete Information: Call Toll Free (800) 526-4593 Ext. 240 Ask For Gene Garb

Why We’re #1

NEMCNational Educational Music Company1181 Route 22, Box 1130Mountainside, New Jersey 07092 www.nemc.com

NEMC

SINCE 1957

NEMC

QU

ALI

TY

SERV

ICE

Over

50 Years

Be A Part Of Our Next Successful

50 YEARS!

See Us At NAMM Booth 4221Ask for your free gift.

(While supplies last)

MMR_45 45 11/24/09 10:55:50 AM

www.nemc.com



them fi rst, even if we have to send them to a competitor. As long as we serve, I be-lieve they’ll always want to come back!

Product of the Year: Anything Peavey.

MARYLANDBender MusicElktonKathryn Bender-Jones, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2009 has been a tougher year for sales, but our customers are loyal and wonderful. They take music se-riously so our lesson programs have in-

creased. Our customers always send their family and friends. Over the years they have seen we already have the products they want and our prices marked as low

as or lower than Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, and all the box stores. If there is ever a doubt, we simply go online and look it up to fi nd that 90 percent of the time we are matching or beating the com-petition. We continue to grow the Bender School of Music with ten private stu-dios, 23 teachers, and over 300 students.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Our two biggest highlights were, at the request of our customers, adding Paul Reed Smith Guitars in the spring and C.F. Martin Guitars this October. We are so excited that we were able to part-ner with these wonderful companies and look forward to a long successful relationship. Our lows have to include the hardships our customers are facing with the shut down of several large com-panies in Maryland and Delaware and seeing some of our students leave the music program due to overall fi nancial burden.

Concerns:Our economy and government poli-cies that go against small businesses like ours.

Outlook 2010: I believe we will continue with a tough economy. Music is necessary for good living, and we will be here for our customers to share in their hopes and dreams through music.

Product of the Year: All Takamine Guitars.

MASSACHUSETTSGuitar StopCambridgeJeanne Oster, proprietor

2008 vs. 2009: Overall my busi-ness is down ap-proximately eight percent from last year. It seems like things are turning around.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The customers seemed to be getting more optimistic as the year has been progress-ing. As opposed to last year, when people

MMR_46 46 11/24/09 10:24:36 AM

www.thinkns.com

Distributed by EMD Music.For further information, please contact EMD Music, [email protected] 871 5800 Toll Free 877 231 6653 Toll Free Fax

MMR_47 47 11/24/09 10:55:55 AM

www.ashdownmusic.com


seem to be getting more pessimistic as the year progressed.

Concerns: I am mainly concerned with main-taining my student base for lessons and providing quality merchandise and ser-vice for my customers.

Outlook for 2010: I have a positive outlook for 2010. I think that business will be better next year as our overall economy improves.

Product of the Year: Fender brands.

MICHIGANMid-Michigan MusicMidland/Bay CityRick Allen, CEO

2008 vs. 2009: Obviously the col-lapse of our econo-my in 2009 affected everyone especially those in the retail world.

Highlights and lows of 2009: I am a land lord for two other businesses which helps subsidize my income and helps with the cost for the real estate I use for my own retail business. This en-abled me to weather the storm that we all had to deal with for the last year. We have a large brick and mortar presence and do a lot of lessons, audio repair, instrument repair, and sound installa-tions for schools and churches. We sell on eBay and have a Web site where we are selling products out the back door every evening to customers all over the world. I feel that my employees deserve all of the credit for making my opera-tion a success; I have people that share a sense of ownership in what they do. This is one of the most important things I look for when I hire.

Concerns:I had concerns for those who run their businesses on debt. I have some very close friends that are no longer in business be-cause they were fl oor planning their mer-chandise and could not keep up with the monthly payments they had.

MMR_48 48 11/24/09 10:24:44 AM

www.georgels.com

www.ac-cetera.com

$69900U.S. MAP

MMR_49 49 11/24/09 10:56:03 AM

www.hughes-and-kettner.com



Outlook 2010: I see things getting better for the music industry and expect 2010 to be better for us in Midland/Bay City. We have a few large companies in our community that are making plans to open up new manu-facturing facilities in the next couple of years. I am very thankful to be in this community.

MINNESOTASarlettes MusicMorrisDel & Carlene Sarlette, owners

2008 vs. 2009: 2009 is a little down from 2008, but not as bad as we feared.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Band rentals were somewhat lower than last year, but step-up sales and repairs continue to do well.

Concerns:Student-level instrument rentals and sales will probably dip due to economy plus shrinking school enrollments and budgets. We’re losing a few school music teachers in the area due to budget cuts, and that is, of course, refl ected in band programs.

Outlook 2010: Schools won’t fare any better next year in this area, some worse, but music parents are very supportive of their kids, which should translate into continued partici-pation in band programs and piano les-sons. I do instrument repair, so when the economy dictates more horns coming out of the closet, I can still keep the cash fl ow going. Most piano teachers in the area have waiting lists, so piano methods and related literature will continue to do well. Our local college, the University of Min-nesota, has a very strong music depart-ment, so that always bodes well for us.

Product of the Year: Faber Piano Adventures piano method.

MISSISSIPPIMagnolia Music CenterGulfportTony Strong, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 was on par un-til October, and then the bottom dropped out. We had an aver-age last quarter. 2009 has been a tough year with the summer be-

ing as tough as we can remember. Things have seemed to have picked up here in the last quarter, and we are optimistic for Christmas.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Our pro audio contracting division was very steady with large church in-stalls making up for slower traffi c in the stores.

Concerns:I am concerned about the unemployment rate. If America can get back to work the economy will fi x it self.

Outlook 2010: My outlook for 2010 is positive because I believe we have already bottomed out.

Product of the Year: Taylor 200 Series guitars.

MISSOURILacefi eld MusicSt. LouisSteve Lacefi eld, vice president

2008 vs. 2009: Unit-wise, Lacefi eld Music is even. Margin wise we are even. Dol-lar wise we are down. People are still buy-ing but spending less. 2008 was the best year

in Lacefi eld Music’s 13 year history. In 2009 we reduced expenses without elimi-nating any staff. Our goal was to increase our level of service, so we worked hard to bring our expenses down. We actually added a staff member.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Highs were our Lowrey Magic recre-ational music classes. The Lowrey pro-gram keeps customers coming through the door and gets them excited about their products. Lows were the inconsis-tencies in promotions. We had great suc-

MMR_50 50 11/24/09 10:24:49 AM

www.usbandsupplies.com

MMR_51 51 11/24/09 10:56:30 AM

www.wittner-gmbh.de


cess with the Roland E-80 promo. High-end grands have gone cold.

Concerns:The mindset of the consumer. All the average person hears is negative news on television, the Internet, and in the papers. The consumer has already tight-ened their belt.

Outlook 2010: Cautiously optimistic. We have reduced overhead and expenses. We have main-tained advertising and promotions. Our people work hard in the store and outside the store.

Product of the Year: Kawai CP series digital pianos.

MONTANAOutlaw Music Inc. MissoulaSam Catalona, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2009 was very good sales were up by 15 percent for the year.

Highlights and lows of 2009: We specialize in gui-

tars and amps. This year Gibson, Fender, and PRS sales were very strong, while pro audio was our low point.

Concerns:Consumer perception of the economy in the Northwest, which I hope remains steady and good.

Outlook 2010: I predict continued growth due to the addition of PRS, Vox, Line6, and Fender amps to our line up.

Product of the Year: Gibson.

NEBRASKAColumbus MusicColumbusMike Moser, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 was a good year, so it was hard to top, due to the economy. 2009 has seen

some months better and some worse than 2008. Strong fourth quarter sales could make the difference in beating last year. We have seen some encouraging sales

spurts beginning in September.

Highlights and lows of 2009: April and July are always the slowest months of the year. Acoustic guitars from $200 to $500 have sold well.

Concerns:Having everyone collect sales tax on mail-order and internet sales to make a level playing fi eld.

Outlook 2010: I’m planning for a good year. I pPlan to continue to update our look on the sales fl oor and Web site.

Product of the Year: Peavey Vypyr amps.

NEVADAKessler & Sons MusicLas VegasChuck Kessler, president

2008 vs. 2009: Overall, our business was pretty even. We saw an increase in our local business. The one area where sales were weaker was high ticket sales.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlight of our year was the suc-cess of our private label Kessler Custom instruments. The low of the year was the high end sales. We are fi nding that customers are looking more for the best value rather than just the best. This is one of the reasons why our private label instruments have been such a good item for us. They offer customers the value that they are looking for. There were other brands/items that saw an uptick in sales numbers, and they too were items that we considered to be better value instruments. A great example of this is the Classical Strings brand of orchestral


THREE GREAT STRING LINESONE GREAT SOURCE

RS Berkeley offers music dealersa wide selection of well-designed and beautifully-made band and orchestra

instruments, all at meaningful price points with MAP pricing that assures healthy

margins and solid profits.

ERWIN OTTO

Highly crafted strings in every size1/32 to 4/4 Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass

$175 – $2,100 MAP

MOZART from MEISEL

A Great Way to Start4/4 to 1/16 Violin, Viola, Cello

$279 – $760 MAP

MEISEL

Reliable Strings for Student Performers 1/32 to 4/4 Violin, Viola, Cello

$279 – $1050 MAP

REGINA CARTERCOLLECTION

Concert Quality ViolinsEndorsed by Regina Carter

$1,995 – $3,195 MAP

www.rsberkeley.comT 1.800.974.3909 F 1.908.790.0407

MMR_52 52 11/24/09 10:24:54 AM

www.rsberkeley.com

D E A L E R T O U G H L O V E L E S S O N # 1

Guitar Hero® makes millions because it’s easy and fun. B U T

If you want people to have fun learning and playing a real guitar, it’s time to give them something other than a Mel Bay® book.

T H E N E W F R E T L I G H T G U I T A R P O I N T - O F - P U R C H A S E D I S P L A Y

G I V E T H E M A N A L T E R N A T I V E T O T H E T O Y .

G I V E T H E M F R E T L I G H T .

800-575-6511 • www.fretlight.comGuitar Hero® is a registered trademark of Activision. Mel Bay® is a registered trademark of Mel Bay Publications, Inc.

MMR_53 53 11/24/09 10:56:56 AM

www.fretlight.com



string instruments. They have been ab-solutely wonderful instruments at a great value.

Concerns:My concern is the Las Vegas’ local economy and housing market. The Las Vegas housing market was one of the hardest hit. There is a very high foreclosure rate, and the general local economy is weaker with a very high un-employment rate.

Outlook 2010: Overall good. Even with our weaker local economy, our local business was up over 2008. We work hard to of-fer our customers the best values that they can find locally, whether it is on instruments, repairs, rentals or reeds. Customers are shopping more for the best value than ever before. So rather than just visiting the closest store, they are willing to take the time to find the best value and are more willing to drive a little further if it means even a small savings.

Product of the Year: Kessler Custom line of saxophones & the Classical Strings brand string instru-ments.

NEW HAMPSHIRERockingham Music SupplyDerryCraig O’Leary, owner

2008 vs. 2009: We are having a bet-ter year this year than 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlights for

2009 were not losing any students, and are rental business was up. We were able to branch out into new school districts and make new contacts. As far as lows go, I don’t see as much impulse buying.

Concerns:I think my biggest concern is the econo-my. If people are not working they can’t

pay for the band instrument rental or that extra money for lessons.

Outlook 2010: I really believe that 2010 is going to be a good year for us. We are going to build on what we have been doing and have a few really good ideas we been throwing around for a while that we will imple-ment.

Product of the Year: Vineyard guitar.

NEW MEXICOMarc’s Guitar CenterAlbuquerqueMarc Foman, owner

2008 vs. 2009: The recession hit us pretty hard, as it did everyone else. We’ve been fortunate in that we’ve always been oriented towards

HUNTER MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS3300 Northern Blvd. Long Island City, NY 11101

(718)706-0828 FAX (718)706-0128www.huntermusical.com

QUALITY BAND INSTRUMENTSFROM HUNTER

Provide your customers with the highest quality instruments and the best possible price points. Hunter offers a full line

of instruments that are made to the best standards. Call us today to find out how you can profit

from Hunter Musical Instruments. Fast shipping available from our New York warehouse.

HUNTERNEW YORK

UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR GUITAR.The components found in Graph Tech’s Electric Supercharger Kits are specifically designed to unlock the harmonics and tone of any guitar.

www.graphtech.comp 604.940.5353

The Evolution of Guitar Performance.

MMR_54 54 11/24/09 10:24:59 AM

www.huntermusical.com

www.graphtech.com



students and semi-professionals. We’ve given over 200,000 lessons over the last 31 years so we get a lot of repeat business, even during slow times.

Highlights and lows of 2009: 2009 has been challenging. We’ve had to watch our inventory levels very closely. We’ve been stocking less and relying on our vendors to fi ll our orders quickly with few backorders. Fortunately, we’ve had a busy back to school season, con-siderably better than usual. People are buying more quickly and easily then they have been since the beginning of the re-cession.

Concerns:Our main concern is that the major lines have increased their demands on how much product we carry during the worst economy we’ve seen in the last 31 years. We’ve dropped most of them and are actually doing better with off brands that are much more profi t-able. Thank you big guys.

Outlook 2010: I think the recession will get better for 2010, although I don’t see us getting back to pre-recession levels for a long time.

Product of the Year: Samick guitars.

NEW JERSEYEighth Street Music PennsaukenRandy Segal, vice president

2008 vs. 2009: Our business was down 15 percent from 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Many changes within the industry has been the most challenging so far to date for us. We keep things rolling by adjust-ing to the fl ow and needs of the econo-my.

Concerns:Too many outlets selling traditional MI products that were in the past primarily handling through MI stores only. Our products are becoming too widely dis-tributed, and margins are falling. Many dealers will fi nd it hard to keep there doors open and support their customers as needed.

Outlook 2010: I see things slowly picking up and hope for the best for our industry, especially with all the recent law suits and inquiry’s into MI selling practices.

NEW YORKDick’s Country Store & Music OasisChurubuscoTony LaClair, manager

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 and 2009 have been rather steady, most recently purchases have been up, and higher priced items are starting to move a little better.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Our highlight was adding 2000 Square feet onto our store, but I would also say that many companies in the industry changing their buy in policies to suit the economic conditions, making it easier for us to carry their products.

One of the lows would be a couple of companies continuing to make it diffi cult for small businesses to sell their product and of course losing Les Paul.

Concerns:What concerns us the most is that peo-ple will consider musical instruments a luxury, and sacrifice them in an uncer-tain economy. Another concern is the trend of some companies to cater to the big box stores, under the false assump-tion that musicians don’t care about customer service, and knowledgeable staff.

Outlook 2010: The outlook for 2010 is positive. We see a trend of more spending in our region, and enjoy the more proactive approach the industry seems to be taking to pro-mote their products, and get the word out.

Product of the Year: VOX VT series amplifi ers.

MMR_55 55 11/24/09 10:25:07 AM

www.meiselaccessories.com



NORTH CAROLINABurrage Music Company RaleighDeedy Neville, president

2008 vs. 2009: The last half of 2009 seems to be slowly coming around. Customers seem to be spending more for back to school and for their own enjoyment.

Highlights and lows of 2009: There seemed to be more students rent-ing instruments and starting piano lessons this fall. School bud-gets have really been

cut, and any money the music programs can get has to be through fundraising ac-

tivities. Sales were down the fi rst half of the year.

Concerns:Competition from the Internet makes it diffi cult to maintain our numbers.

Outlook 2010: We hope for improvement in school bud-gets and a better economic outlook for all of us.

Product of the Year: Print music — movie and Broadway songs

NORTH DAKOTAKenny’s MusicGrand ForksKenny Holweger, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2009 was pretty much level with 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: We did well with some of our higher

end amps, acoustics, and a lot of acces-sories. I also saw an increase in repairs on used equipment. Because of mail-order and the Internet, electronic sales were down.

Concerns:One of my concerns would be box stores getting into musical instruments.

Outlook for 2010: I have been in business since 1982 and have seen ups and downs before. It seems that people always go back where they get good service. So I look for 2010 to turn around.

Product of the Year: Line 6.

OHIOBlue Eagle Music AthensFrank McDermott, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2009 was up slightly - around 5% over 2008. Instrument sales were down a bit, but sales of accessories led the increase.

Nothing New to Offer?

North American importer • 818 W. Evergreen Ave., Chicago, IL 60642 • 888-707-4455www.deniswickusca.com • [email protected]

Attract customers and establish your store as the place with the lat-est and greatest with exciting new products from Denis Wick. Wickdoesn't just offer one or two new sizes; they've developed entirelynew mouthpiece lines and accessories, and are on the cutting edgeof new mute materials. Set your store apart with Denis Wickproducts. You'll always have something new to talk about.

To get your store on the leading edge, call a DANSR representativeat 888-707-4455 or email us at [email protected]

Products in Demand. Performance by Design.

MMR_56 56 11/24/09 10:25:12 AM

www.deniswickusa.com



Highlights and lows of 2009: Highlights: Consider-ing the general state of the economy, a small amount of growth is a good thing. We also managed to increase

our inventory 5-10 percent over the last year. Nothing comes to mind on the low side.

Concerns:We have a disproportionately large popu-lation of musicians for such a small town. My main concern is to keep them supplied with everything they need to keep our di-verse music scene moving smoothly.

Outlook 2010: I see no reason why 2010 shouldn’t be at least as good as this year. The state of the economy at large doesn’t seem to be refl ected in our little niche. We’re plunging boldly forward!

Product of the Year: Recording King Guitars.

OKLAHOMAOKC Music and SoundOklahoma CityRobin Venters, owner

2008 vs. 2009: Just opened in Octo-ber or 2008. So 2009 was much better. Af-ter a year open, we are just now starting to break even.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Highs would be Peavey, Collings Guitars, and Kala Ukuleles.

Concerns:Suppliers maintaining brand equity, by avoiding poor distribution practices.

Outlook 2010: Very optimistic.

Product of the Year: Kala Ukuleles.

OREGONMusic MakersBendDan McClung, owner

2008 vs. 2009: We are down 20 percent from 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Lows: no more inventory fl ooring. What highlights?

Concerns:The trend for quality manufacturers that used to support independent dealers to believe that it is in their longterm inter-est to make their products not only avail-

able everywhere on-line and in the big box music stores, but now even at Best Buy or Bed Bath & Beyond. My concern for the independents is that eventually there won’t

be any. My concern for the customer is low quality decision making environ-ment and purchasing experience leading to fewer repeat or expanded purchases.

MMR_57 57 11/24/09 10:25:17 AM

www.keysermusical.com


Outlook 2010: It’s the year of decision for me: either keep doing what I love - providing a quality, personable, hands-on, and edu-cational experience, building long term relationships with our local music com-munity, or go ahead and acknowledge that the musical instrument industry has in general become a shipping and receiv-ing industry at which time I’ll move on.

Product of the Year: Eastman guitars and mandolins.

PENNSYLVANIAMarket Street MusicMechanicsburgJimmie Johansen, owner

2008 vs. 2009: The fi rst half of the year we were slightly ahead of 2008, but August, Sept and October of this year we have only half the sales we had in 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Grandma spending over $1,000on her granddaughter who is one of our stu-dents. It was after hours, and I was in the store doing paperwork and let them in to look around. The low is we really thought the Gong would sell by now [laughs].

Concerns:In these tough economic times, people think of music lessons as a luxury when they should be a necessity. Rock Band 2 is not a music lesson.

Outlook 2010: I want to to increase our student base with the Christmas sales.

Product of the Year: Vox VT series amps.

RHODE ISLANDRobert’s Musical InstrumentsWest WarwickTerri Viveiros, president

2008 vs. 2009: So far for 2009, revenues are up from 2008, which was up from 2007. Some of

our teachers have seen some attrition due to the economy, but in-store traffi c and pur-chases have stayed healthy.

Highlights and lows of 2009: We were happy to see people’s commit-ment to making music. With the econ-omy so questionable, we didn’t have a good sense for what would happen this year. Many of our customers made mu-sic a priority and bought the things they needed. Whew!! As a low point, we saw a long standing Rhode Island music store have to close its doors. Our store will see more business because of this, but it was sad to see. Most Rhode Island mu-sicians, ourselves included, had worked with that store over the years. It was also a reminder of how fragile business can be and how diligent and determined my husband Rob and I need to be as the owners.

Concerns:Rhode Island is suffering right now. Our unemployment rate is 13.8 percent, and from the state down to the local schools, most budgets are looking at major defi -cits for 2010. I hope that some of the cre-ative tax ideas, revenue ideas, and busi-ness boosters that the state government is exploring will come to fruition. I don’t know how many more cuts the school music programs can handle. Verbally, everyone seems to support music in the schools. Let’s hope they can fi nancially continue to do so. In store, my big-gest concern is a rise in expenses. From healthcare costs to the electric bill, I ex-pect costs to rise signifi cantly going into next year. We’ve got to make sure we have the business to support that.

Outlook 2010: I’m optimistic. Every day we see new cus-tomers come through our doors. We’re seeing an increase, not just in our core customers (the families with middle and high school age kids), but also with lo-cal professionals and recreational music makers ages 45 and up. We have to be diligent. I think if we can stay focused, only act on good growth opportunities, and watch expenses then 2010 will be a good year. It better be; we’ll be celebrat-


MMR_58 58 11/24/09 10:25:21 AM

www.jonesdoublereed.com



ing the 10th anniversary of us buying the business.

Product of the Year: Yamaha’s 82Z saxophone.

SOUTH CAROLINAThe Music StoreColumbiaJohn D. Futch, Jr. and Bobbie J. Futch

2008 vs. 2009: It was not too bad. It could have been bet-ter. The overall econ-omy caused people to tighten their belts and put food on the table.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlights were businesses and indi-viduals who could afford musical equip-ment and who have saved for the future. The people who were saving for college and the downturn in the economy caused them to be extremely aware of spending habits. The upside of the business is that there seems to be some light at end of the tunnel, whether it is from higher end guitars and equipment to medium priced equipment.

Concerns:Manufacturers continue to mass produce their product whereas the product could become less and less important. It could be that the product could become less important, or no longer exist.

Outlook 2010: I believe the market is rebounding and be-ginning to become stronger, but if all of the products are sold everywhere and not protected by local music dealers, we will all continue see shrinking profi t margins.

SOUTH DAKOTABatchelder’s Plummer Piano and Organ Co.Rapid CityMatt Batchelder, owner

2008 vs. 2009:2009 is showing to be about 10 percent slower than 2008. The economy in South Dakota started normal in the fi rst and second quarters, but then started to slide

in the beginning of the third quarter with the fourth quarter continuing the trend. The band and or-chestra department followed the same de-cline as our piano and

organ business. Our rentals were down slightly as were purchases of band and orchestra instruments. Those that did sell, followed the piano market and were low margin or of lesser quality.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Our celebration of our store’s 50th An-niversary was the highlight. The low was defi nitely the decline of the South Dakota economy in the second half.

Concerns:What concerns us most is the vendors not keeping the margins high enough for brick and mortar businesses to com-pete. When MAP is set there is a trend to make MAP just a few points over online pricing. These prices make it diffi cult

for music stores to compete. Now major manufactures are starting to put sites up and setting the price there and making its dealer accept those prices. These prac-tices are going to be the demise of the local music store and the decline in the music industry as a whole.

Outlook for 2010: Our store’s outlook for 2010 is a shift to more institutional selling than consum-er. The consumer continues to be more educated (which is a good thing) and will try the instrument in the store, then pur-chase it online at a “mega-site.” I believe that if the manufacturers don’t regain the pricing control, then we will continue to lose market share to those companies.

Product of the Year: Casio Privia line.

TENNESSEParadise MusicClintonBryan C. Loy, owner

MMR_59 59 11/24/09 10:25:27 AM

www.pearlriverusa.com



2008 vs. 2009: We were down a bit from 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: High point for the year was discover-

ing and joining the IMSO. Even after 24 years in music retail, I have learned plenty from my fellow members, and I am learning more about how to survive as a dealer every day. The low this year would be overall fl at sales.

Concerns:The continuing race to the bottom on prices and the lack of a level playing field when dealing with manufactures concerns me. At some point, we all have got to say enough is enough: if I can’t buy it from you at the same price everybody else gets, then I will go else-where.

Outlook 2010: It’s going to be better. It’s time this slug-gish economy turned itself around; we’ve all been down long enough.

Product of the Year: Crafter Guitars.

TEXASArbor MusicMagnoliaEric Williams, owner

2008 vs. 2009: In some ways it was better. We have added teachers to our teach-ing studios, so that part is growing. I think sales are even up a bit due to the fact that we are a

young store and we are growing. We are lo-cated in a suburb of Houston and there are lots of kids who want to learn how to play music. We added some teaching rooms to our store in 2008 and that has paid off.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Beginning with the low, our guitar sales came to a screeching halt in the spring of 2009. The highlight is that we have a great teaching staff, and our reputation as a place to learn to play is growing. And our accessory and sheet music sales grew. Accessory sales out-paced instrument sales. We are selling more strings, picks, cables, and things that have a good mar-gin. So, instead of buying more guitars, I am stocking more accessories and sheet

music. Being a teacher I have an affi nity for sheet music anyway.

Concerns:At the risk of being politically incor-rect, I am concerned that if the “Cap and Trade” bill passes it will further destroy the economy, especially here. My cus-tomers work in oil and energy related industries. It will drive up energy costs and hurt business and consumers. Also, with the national debt, we are about to be taxed out of what is left of discretionary income, which will hurt a retail business even more but that probably won’t hap-pen until after next year. On the other side of the coin, I do think that a lot peo-ple will keep sending their kids to music lessons until they are down to their last penny because music is important them.

Outlook 2010: I don’t think 2010 will get any better, but we will make it through by tightening our belt and focusing on our strong points. Not having a lot of debt is the best way to ride out a recession. And I will take the advice of the champion bull rider, who once explained what he does to prepare for the gate to open, “Get a fi rm grip and a far away look.”

Product of the Year: IMT 500 clip-on tuners.

UTAHPark City Music Park CityDr. Fredric Cook, owner

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 and 2009 have not been good years since the recession be-gan at the end of 2007. We have struggled to maintain our clien-tele, especially since

much of our business is competing with the internet.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Our only highlight was the beginning of school in August and September. How-ever, the local school district discontin-ued the fi fth grade music programs, so we have several band and orchestra in-struments unrented, which reduces our

Dealer Inquiries: 866-263-7965 [email protected]

Guitar Humidifier

®

Patent Pending

Humidifies7-10 DaysBeforeBeing Ready For Refill

The Humidifier That Lets

You See When It’s ReadyFor Refill

Filled

Ready For Refill

MMR_60 60 11/24/09 10:25:32 AM

www.oasishumidifiers.com



income substantially, actually cutting it in half. So with the highs come the lows.

Concerns:The economy and the devaluation of the dollar, which will skyrocket our invento-ry costs, as much of our guitar inventory comes from China.

Outlook 2010: We are hopeful, and yet, cautious, not to overspend on inventory. Our rental program should pickup in the Fall, as the students will begin their sixth grade mu-sic programs.

Product of the Year: Indiana guitars.

VERMONTAdvance MusicBurlingtonJeff Wheel, general manager

2008 vs. 2009: We are down roughly 10 percent from 2008.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Despite a faltering economy, we’ve main-tained a good level of activity. High end sales in most catego-ries are down, acous-

tics continue to sell well as do electrics and drums. Our audio/visual installa-tion department and lesson program have helped counter the decline in retail sales. Taylor guitar sales remain strong, we have taken on Yamaha guitars, PA, and drums, which are doing well.

Concerns:We are concerned with increasing op-erational costs such as health care, insur-ance, and utilities. Most of our accessory vendors have relocated, increasing deliv-ery time, so we need to be more accurate in anticipating our needs.

Outlook 2010: We are cautiously optimistic with re-gards to 2010. We continue to examine

all departments and focus our energies on customer service and the more viable profi t centers. We’re excited by the new Bose compact PA systems and Yamaha products.

Product of the Year: Taylor guitars.

VIRGINIA Bang MusicStaffordJoe Kane, president

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 started well and ended down. 2009 has been down all year. A few bright spots like the band rental sea-son were encouraging. I am not expecting

more than an average month totals for November and December. We have been repositioning ourselves for the new low income levels.

MMR_61 61 11/24/09 10:25:38 AM

www.thestringcleaner.com

www.eastwoodguitars.com



Highlights and lows of 2009: Band season was the only high sales area. We experienced losses in all other cat-egories.

Concerns:The second round of bank and corpo-rate failures worries me. There is no way to tell how many companies can be absorbed into the bail out compa-nies. Without real jobs in construction and disposable goods sales, we can-not expect to put five percent of the American people back to work any-time soon.

Outlook 2010: No recovery. It’s up to us to recreate our business and operate with the available resources. The common wis-dom is that 2010 will be tough as well. I am looking for the third quarter to stabilize and settle into a level of busi-ness that we can count on. I expect that the new economy will be one of consumer spending that is more in line with actual family income than in the past 20 years. The false economy of credit card debt and home equity debt is over.

Product of the Year: Our lessons.

WASHINGTONMoore Brothers MusicSammamishScott & Troy Moore, owners

2008 vs. 2009: Exactly the same.

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlight was our fi ve year anniver-sary concert in front of our store featur-ing instructor and student bands. We gave away thousands dollars in swag and donations from other local businesses. We had a one-day sale that was extremely successful. One gentleman heard the music from the grocery store across the street, saw the tent, and spent over $1,000 in our store that day. He never knew we were here before. We heard over and over all day: “You should do this every year.” The low was watching the other stores in our strip mall close and lay vacant. Two spaces have been vacant all year. One res-taurant was replaced within six months.

Last week, the restaurant next door closed, and we’ve seen a dramatic drop in walk-in traffi c.

Concerns:Maintaining our student base. We haven’t seen any growth in student counts this year. After our remodel in 2008, we added capacity for another 100 students per week, though never hit above our peak counts prior to the remodel. Now we’re adding to the types of instruments taught.

Outlook 2010: Very positive. We have spent all year building our e-commerce Web site and fi nally made it available to the public this month. In 2010, we will focus our atten-tion on improving the site, promoting the site, and increasing our products of-fered online.

Product of the Year: Taylor guitars.

WEST VIRGINIAShowtime Music BridgeportHarry Gillum, president

2008 vs. 2009: 2008 was our record year, so we had some pretty big numbers to go up against. 2009 is fl at and somewhat off from 2008, but has been more like 2006-2007.

Highlights and lows of 2009: West Virginia has faired better than most other states during these tough times. The continued growth of Independent Music Store Owners (IMSO) organiza-tion has been a tremendous plus. The lows for 2009 have been seeing the cut back of purchases of high ticket items and the national slow down of piano sales.

Concerns:I am concerned about there being fewer new, young musicians entering the entry level market. They are our seeds of to-morrow.

Outlook 2010: I feel we will see a continued slow down through the fi rst three quarters of 2010.

MMR_62 62 11/24/09 10:25:44 AM

www.ohana-music.com



Product of the Year: Peavey viper 75.

WISCONSINSteve G’s Music ConnectionNorth PrairieSteve Gunther, owner

2008 vs. 2009: Seems 2009 possibly on the up turn for the better!

Highlights and lows of 2009: The highlights were

better band and orchestra rentals, im-proved music lessons, and guitar setups were way up this year. Internet sales were good too. The economy is still tight, and sales still need to improve.

Concerns:I am hoping that things keep getting bet-ter, that music stays in the schools, and to get people interested in adding music to their lives.

Outlook 2010: I hope it will be better. Keeping music fun, getting everyone excited to play (and keep playing) a musical instrument, and personalized service are key.

Product of the Year: Samick guitars.

WYOMINGThe Hill Music CasperDan A. Hill, president

2008 vs. 2009: We are down about three percent. 2008 was a record year for us.

Highlights and lows of 2009: Rental income was up, but piano sales were down signifi cantly

Concerns:Wyoming is usually several years behind the trend for the rest of the nation. We have just now begun to feel the effects of the economic downturn. Our legis-

lature funds school on a bi-annul, and the funding will be on a smaller scale for 2010 – 2011.

Outlook 2010: A more conservative spending populous will put us at a fl at growth rate.

Product of the Year: Yamaha professional and step-up band instruments.

Find it in the Hot News section of

MMR’s Web site,

BreakingNews

www.MMRmagazine.com

MMR_63 63 11/24/09 10:25:50 AM

www.tuners.com

www.elecaamps.com


28th Annual

America’s

TopMusic Chains

“For us, 2009 was pretty even with 2008,” says Randy Welch of Boise, Ida-ho’s Welch Music. “In 2008, it felt like someone put on the brakes. I hope to see small, solid growth in the coming year.” Bruce Bannister of Samuel Mu-sic in Effi ngham, Ill. shares such unas-suming hopes for slight improvement in the coming year: “2009 was mediocre, but the last half of the year has come back rather nicely… Hopefully this re-cent trend will continue and we will see modest growth in 2010.”

The 69* dealerships (on par with last year’s total of 70) included in our 28th edition of “America’s Top Music Chains,” fi eld a total of 774 units. Signifi cant departures from our “Top Chains,” listing three or more stores in the past year include the venerable M. Steinert & Sons operation, as well as Mom’s Music.

In 2009, there were no epic implosions of mammoth chains, nor were there sig-nifi cant entries into the fi eld from poten-tially giant competitors, as with last year’s Best Buy evolution. In a lot of ways, really, 2009 was a whole lot of “more of the same.”

This isn’t the best of news, given that “the same” has been, for the most part, fairly bleak in the past couple years. However, if one considers what many feared might transpire in these past 12 months – espe-cially when folks were fi rst trying to come to terms with the colossal economic melt-down of 2008 – then it’s fair to say that fi nding ourselves in roughly the same po-sition of “cautious optimism” and “wait and see” isn’t necessarily all that bad.

* Not Counting Best Buy

So what’s different between 2009 and the

previous year? Well, for one, the U.S. welcomed

a new presidential administration – one that

spearheaded some fairly radical “economic

stimulus” government spending, too. So why are the

numbers in this report and the sentiments expressed by MI

retail owners so very similar to 2008’s results? “Cautious

optimism” was the name of the game at this time last year

and, 12 months later, that still seems to be the common

theme. Maybe we’re just turning the corner now and

haven’t yet seen those big, positive results everyone’s been

holding their collective breath for. Whatever the case, the

MI marketplace – and many aspects of the economy in

general – seems stuck in a bit of a holding pattern.

MMR_64 64 11/24/09 12:15:17 PM


Tota

l Uni

ts

Ope

ned

’09

Clos

ed ’0

9

Volu

me

(est

. ’09

)

PO Piano/OrganP PianoDP Digital PianoBO Band InstrumentsPC PercussionFA Fretted Instrument/ Amplifi cationSR Sound Reinforcement/ Recording EquipmentEK Electronic KeyboardPM Print MusicDJ DJ EquipmentLT LightingIN Installation

As the majority of the dealers represented in this report are privately held, in most cases data being presented in “America’s Top Chains” was supplied by the companies, themselves.

*

Guitar Center 311 0 2 $2.0 billion(Music & Arts, Brasswind & Woodwind) 5795 Lindero Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362(818) 735-8800 [email protected] • www.guitarcenter.comCEO: Marty AlbertsonDP,PC,FA,SR,EK,DJ,LT,IN

*Best Buy MI Store 98 93 0 NA7601 Penn Ave. South, Richfi eld, MN 55423www.bestbuy.com(612) 291-1000CEO: Brian DunnDP,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT

Sam Ash Music 45 0 0 $440 MMP.O. Box 9047, Hicksville, NY 11802 (516) 932-6400 • Fax (516) [email protected] • www.samash.comCEO: Richard AshDP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT

Music Go Round 36 0 0 $28.5 MM4200 Dahlberg Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55422 (763) 520-8500 • Fax (763) [email protected] • www.musicgoround.comTim Kletti - directorDP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,DJ

Fletcher Music Centers 22 0 1 $15 MM3966 Airway Circle, Clearwater, FL 33762 (727) 571-1088 • Fax (727) 572-4405dave@fl etchermusic.com • www.fl etchermusic.comCEO: John K. Rileyhome organs

Daddy’s Junky Music 20 0 0 $31 MM1015 Candia Road, Manchester, NH 03109 (603) 623-7900 • Fax (603) 623-7995www.daddys.comCEO: Fred BramanteDP,SR,EK,PC,FA,DJ,IN,PM

Schmitt Music Co. 18 2 0 $45 MMButler Square100 N. 6th St., Ste. 850 B, Minneapolis, MN 55403(612) 339-4811 [email protected] • www.schmittmusic.comCEO: Tom SchmittP,DP,SR,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM

J.W. Pepper & Son 14 0 1 $62 MM(Malecki Music, Wingert-Jones Music) P.O. Box 850, Valley Forge, PA 19482(610) 648-0500 • Fax (610) [email protected] • www.jwpepper.comPM

Piano & Organ Distributors 12 1 1 $12.5 MM2403 New Raleigh Rd., Durham, NC 27703 (919) 596-2105 • Fax (919) [email protected]: W.C. Boyce IIIPO,DP,EK

Mills Music, Inc. 11 0 0 $6.1 MM10120 Main St., Bothell, WA 98011 (425) 486-5000 • Fax (425) [email protected] • www.millsmusic.comCEO: Sam MillsP,DP,SR,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM

America’s Top Music Chains

“2009 was a

disapp ointment.

We had a 15 percent

dec rease in volume.

I am concerned

that artifi cially low

interes t rates will have

a negative, long term

impact in areas

of rec overy

and infl ation.”

John K. RileyFletcher Music CentersClearwater, Fla.

MMR_65 65 11/24/09 12:15:22 PM


Tota

l Uni

ts

Ope

ned

’09

Clos

ed ’0

9

Volu

me

(est

. ’09

)


George’s Music Stores Inc. 10 0 1 $23.0 MM650 W. Swedesford Road, Berwyn, PA 19312 (610) 640-0777 • Fax (610) 640-0908www.georgesmusic.comCEO: George HinesDP,SR,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM,IN,LT

Sherman, Clay & Co. 9 0 0 $20 MM1111 Bayhill Dr., Suite 450 , San Bruno, CA 94066 (650) 952-2300 • Fax (650) [email protected] • www.shermanclay.comCEO: Eric SchwartzP,DP

Piano Gallery 8 1 0 $19.0 MM5478 Green St., Murray, UT 84123 (801) 266-9550 • Fax (801) [email protected] • www.pianogallery.comCEO: Stan BeagleyPO, DP

Brook Mays Music 8 2 0 NA8805 Carpenter Fwy., Dallas, TX 75247(214) 905-8614 * Fax (800) 637-9399www.brookmays.comCEO: Bill Everitt, Jr.

Jordan Kitt’s Music 8 0 4 $38 MM9520 Baltimore Ave., College Park, MD 20740(301)513-1212 • Fax (301) 474-3648www.JordanKitts.comPO,DP

Kennelly Keys Music Inc. 7 0 2 $8.0 MM 4918 196th St., Lynwood, WA 98036 (425) 771-7020 • Fax (425) [email protected] • www.kennellykeysmusic.comCEO: William J. KennellyDP,PC,BO,FA,SR,EK, PM

Willis Music Co. 7 0 1 $7.0 MM7380 Industrial Road, Florence, KY 41042 (859) 283-2050 [email protected] • www.willismusic.comCEO: Kevin CranleyP,DP,PC,FA,EK,PM

Eckroth Music Co. 7 0 0 $8.9 MM1221 W. Divide Ave., Bismarck, ND 58501 (701) 223-5320 • Fax (701) [email protected] • www.eckroth.comCEO: Jeff EckrothP,DP,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM

C&M Music Center, LLC 7 0 0 $9.1 MM2515 Williams Blvd., Kenner, LA 70062 (504) 468-8688 • Fax (504) [email protected] • [email protected] CEO: Chris Nail, Melvin Volz, Jr.SR,EK,PC,FA,LT

Quinlan & Fabish Music Co. 7 4 1 $19.5 MM 166 Shore Dr., Burr Ridge, IL 60527 (630) 654-4111 • Fax (630) 654-4128www.qandf.comCEO: George Quinlan, Jr.BO,PM

“2009 looks to be slightly ahead

of 2008, wh ich was our bes t

fi nancial year in the hist ory

of our brand. Our dedication

to our compet itive advantage

is one of the main reasons

behind our continued growth.

At the store level, we had two

of our highes t revenue stores

move into new locations that

doubled their size in 2009.

We have a few more looking

to move into much larger

locations in 2010.

I am concerned about the

impact that this ec onomy

is having on traditional

music stores and the rapid

deplet ion of independent MI

ret ailers across the country.

I also spend time concerned

with managing our growth.

Business has been very solid

and growth opp ortunities

are available everywhere.

We just need to choose the

corr ect avenues for long-term,

sustainable growth and not

just a quick hit. In January

2010 we will be opening a new

location in the Boston market ,

wh ich we will be putt ing a lot

of res ources behind.”

Tim Kletti

Music Go RoundMinneapolis, MN

MMR_66 66 11/24/09 12:15:27 PM



Tota

l Uni

ts

Ope

ned

’09

Clos

ed ’0

9

Volu

me

(est

. ’09

)

Nick Rail Music 7 1 0 $8.8 MM2801 De la Vina St., Santa Barbara, CA 93105 (805) 569-5353 • Fax (805) [email protected] • www.nickrailmusic.comCEO: Nick Rail DP, BO, PC,FA,SR,EK

Marshall Music Co. Inc. 6 0 1 $20.0 MM3240 E. Saginaw St., Lansing, MI 48912 (517) [email protected] • www.marshallmusic.comCEO: Dan MarshallPO,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT,IN

Rieman Music 6 0 0 $10.2 MM4420 E. Broadway, Des Moines, IA 50317 (515) 262-0365 [email protected] • www.riemans.comCEO: Paul F. RiemanP,DP,SR,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM,DJ,LT,IN

Jacobs Music Co. 6 0 1 $13.0 MM1425 Walnut St., Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215) 568-0021 • (215) [email protected] • www.jacobsmusic.comCEO: Al C. RinaldiP,DP

Henderson Music Co. 6 0 0 $6.0 MM 910 Madison Ave., Covington, KY 41011 (859) 431-2111 • Fax (859) 431-8426www.hendersonmusic.comCEO: Carl HendersonP,DP

West Music Co. 6 0 0 $30.0 MM 1212 5th St., Coralville, IA 52240 (319) 351-2000 • Fax (319) [email protected] • www.westmusic.comCEO: Robin Walenta PO,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT,IN

Falcetti Music Inc. 6 0 0 $5.5 MM 1755 Boston Rd., Springfi eld, MA 01129 (413) 543-1002 • Fax (413) [email protected] • www.falcettimusic.comTony Falcetti, presidentPO,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ

Keyboard World 6 0 0 NA14701 National Highway, Lavale, MD 21502 (301) 689-2534 • Fax (301) [email protected]: Ronald B. KlinetobPO,DP,FA,EK,PM

White House of Music 6 0 0 $8.0 MM 2101 N. Springdale Rd., Waukesha, WI 53186 (262) 798-9700 • Fax (262) [email protected] • www.whitehouseofmusic.comCEO: Christopher White P,DP,BO, PC,FA,SR,EK,PM

Ken Stanton Music 6 0 0 $10.5 MM 119 Cobb Pkwy N., Ste. A, Marietta, GA 30062 Phone: (770) 427-2491 • Fax (770) [email protected] • www.kenstantonmusic.comCEO: Ken Stanton, Jr.P,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK

“Sales were down

10 percent in 2009,

mainly due to

low key board sales .

And due to the

ec onomic crisis,

we saw a dec line

in the higher priced

instruments.

Right now I’m very

concerned about the

budget cuts in

public schools and

universities .

Looking ahead to 2010

I think we will see

an increase in

some departments.

Hones tly, we will be glad

if we are fl at with

last year. Th e holiday

will be a good indication.”

Rosi K. JohnsonMississippi Music, Inc.Hattiesburg, Miss.

MMR_67 67 11/24/09 12:15:31 PM


Tota

l Uni

ts

Ope

ned

’09

Clos

ed ’0

9

Volu

me

(est

. ’09

)


Portland Music Co. 6 1 0 $5.6 MM531 S.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97214 (503) 226-3719 • Fax (503) [email protected] • www.portlandmusiccompany.comCEO: Mark TaylorDP,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT

Rincon Musical 6 1 2 $5.0 MM696 10th Ave, New York, NY 10019 (212) 397-4201 • Fax (212) [email protected] • www.rinconmusical.comCEO: Amalio Santos Jr.PC,EK

Keyboard Concepts 5 0 0 $19.0 MM 5600 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91401 (818) 787-0201 • Fax (818) [email protected] • www.keyboardconcepts.comDennis Hagerty, presidentP, DP

Frank & Camille’s Keyboard Centers 5 0 1 NA 482 Route 110, Melville, NY 11747 (631) 385-0606 • Fax (631) [email protected] • www.FrankandCamilles.comCEO: Frank Sicari PO,DP, EK

Ted Brown Music Co., Inc. 5 0 0 $11.5 MM 6228 Tacoma Mall Blvd., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-3211 • Fax (253) [email protected] • www.tedbrownmusic.comPresident: Whitney Grisaffi BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,DJ,LT,IN

Saied Music 5 0 0 $12.6 MM3259 S. Yale Ave., Tulsa, OK 74135 (918) 742-5541 [email protected] • www.saiedmusic.comCEO: Bob SaiedP,PO,DP,SR,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM

Trombino Music Centers Inc. 5 0 0 $3.5 MM 1049 Broad Ave., Belle Vernon, PA 15012 (724) 929-6707 • Fax (724) 929-2049www.trombino.comCEO: Robert A. TrombinoP,PO,DP,PM

Firehouse Guitars 4 0 0 $5.0 MM3125 28th St. S.W., Grandville, MI 49418(616) 532.FIRE • Fax (616) 532.7153www.fi rehouseguitars.comPC,FA,SR,EK,DJ,LT

Mr. E’s Music 4 0 0 $9.0 MM4913 Airport Fwy., Fort Worth, TX 76117-7263 (817) 595-1910 • Fax (817) 595-1920www.mr-e-music.comCEO: William C. EverittPO,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT

Samuel Music 4 0 1 $4.6MM908 W. Fayette Ave., Effi ngham, IL 62401 (217) 342-9221 • Fax (217) [email protected] • www.samuelmusic.comPresident: Bruce BannisterPO,DP,EK,SR,PC,FA,PM

“For us, 2009 was

prett y even with 2008.

In 2008, it felt like

someone put on the brakes .

By preparing for 2009,

even though sales were fl at,

we were able to be

profi table aft er changes

were made. People

are still fearing

the future. I hope

their confi dence will

start to come back.

I hope to see small, s

olid growth in

the coming year.”

Randy WelchWelch MusicBoise, Idaho

“I think that we will see

a good last quarter

in 2009 and an increase

in 2010. I’m mostly

concerned that the

unemploy ment rate

will continue to drop.”

Tony Strong

Magnolia Music Gulfport, Miss.

MMR_68 68 11/24/09 12:15:35 PM



Tota

l Uni

ts

Ope

ned

’09

Clos

ed ’0

9

Volu

me

(est

. ’09

)

Critchett Piano & Organ Co. 4 0 0 $2.8 MM 3304 100th StreetUrbandale, IA 50322(515) 278-1000fax: (515) 278-4770www.critchetts.comCEO: David R. BrownPO, DP, EK

Dietze Music House 4 1 1 $5.9 MM1208 O St., Lincoln, NE 68508 (402) 476-6644 • Fax (402) [email protected] • www.dietze.comCEO: Douglas FentonP,DP,SR,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM

Tarpley Music Co., Inc. 4 0 0 $6.5 MM 2420 Commerce, Amarillo, TX 79109 (806) 355-0795 www.tarpleymusic.comCEO: David Tarpley & John TarpleyP,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,LT,IN

Mississippi Music Inc. 4 0 0 $7.3 MM 222 Main St., Hattiesburg, MS 39401 (601) 544-5821 • Fax (601) [email protected] • www.mississippimusic.comCEO: Rosi K. JohnsonPO,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT,IN

Heid Music Co. 4 0 0 $9.6 MM308 E. College Ave., Appleton, WI 54911(920) 734-1969 [email protected] • www.heidmusic.comCEO: Paul HeidP,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT

Buddy Roger’s Music, Inc. 4 0 0 $5.2 MM6891 Simpson Ave.Cincinnati, OH 45239 (513) 729-1950 • Fax (513) 728-6010www.buddyrogers.comCEO: Dave MillerDP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,DJ,LT,IN

Bob and Elliott’s Piano Shoppe 4 1 0 $4.0 MM285 West Central Parkway, Suite 1720 Altamonte Springs, FL 32714(407) 774-2667www.bobandelliottspiano.com s

Ace Karaoke 3 0 0 $10.0MM161 S. 8th Ave., City of Industry, CA 91746 (888) 893-7464 • Fax (626) [email protected] • www.acekaraoke.com

Piano Music Center 3 0 1 NA 3386 Tyler Street, Riverside, CA 92503 (951) 687-9800 [email protected] • www.pianomusiccenter.comCEO: Anthony SicilianoP,DP,PM

Steinway Hall 3 0 0 NA109 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019 (212) 246-1100 • Fax (212) [email protected] • www.steinway.comCEO: Thomas Kurrer

“Sales over the past year

were a bit down

and things were

much more challenging.

In South Carolina,

the schools have

no money , and

unemploy ment is

at 13 percent.

I’m very concerned

about the lack of f

unding for our schools.

I see no increase in sales

for us in 2010.”

Scott PeckPecknel Music Co.Greenville, S.C.

MMR_69 69 11/24/09 12:15:39 PM


Tota

l Uni

ts

Ope

ned

’09

Clos

ed ’0

9

Volu

me

(est

. ’09

)


Griggs Music 3 0 1 $3.1 MM3849 N Brady St., Davenport, IA 52806 (563) 391-9000 • Fax (513) [email protected] • www.griggsmusic.comCEO: Steve JudgeDP,SR,EK,PC,BO,FA,PM

Alto Music 3 0 0 $27.0 MM180 Carpenter Ave., Middleton, NY 10940(845) 692-6922 [email protected] • www.altomusic.comCEO: Jonathan HaberBO,BK,PC,DP,SR,FR,PM,LT,IN

Skip’s Music 3 0 0 $10.4 MM2740 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95821(916) 484-7575 * Fax (916) [email protected] • www.skipsmusic.comCEO: Skip MaggioraPC,FA,SR,EK,PM,DJ,LT,IN

Jackson’s Music 3 0 0 $4.5 MM 1409 S. Stratford Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27103(336) 760-9635www.jacksonsmusic.comCEO: Douglas J. DrydenP,PM,DP,EK,BO,FA,SR

Jent’s House of Music 3 0 0 $4.8 MM 2646 34th Street, Lubbock, TX 79410(806) 795-5579www.jents.comCEO: Ray JentP,PM,DP,EK,BO,FA,SR

Instrumental Music 3 0 0 $6.0 MM 3328 State St., Santa Barbara, CA 93105(805) 569-5055 www.instmusic.comCEO: Brian McCannP,PM,DP,EK,BO,FA,SR

Evola Music Center 3 0 0 $7.6 MM 2184 Telegraph Rd., Bloomfi eld Hills, MI 48302(248) 334-0566 • Fax (248) [email protected] • www.evola.comCEO: Jim EvolaPO,DP, EK,PM,church organ

Henri’s Music 3 0 0 $8.0 MM500 S. Military Ave. P.O. Box 3589 Green Bay, WI 54303 (920) 496-3700 • Fax (920) 496-3704www.henris-music.comCEO: Jim JannsenPO,DP,EK,SR,PC,BO,FA,PM

Forshey Piano Co. 3 0 0 $8.0 MM1240 Clear Lake City Blvd., Houston, TX 77062 (281) 286-6300 • Fax (281) 286-6900 [email protected]: Fred ForsheyPO, DP

Riverton Music, Inc. 3 0 1 $4.9 MM 4650 South 3740 West, West Valley City, UT (801) 254-4489 • Fax (801) 746-1140www.RivertonMusic.comCEO: Kevin RindlisbacherPO,DP,EK,PC,BO,FA

“2009 was mediocre,

but the last half

of the year has come

back rather nicely.

We’ve been working

very hard to make

things happ en and it

seems to be paying off .

We really felt the dec line of

the high end purchases .

By shift ing our focus

even more toward the

beginner and the hobbyist ,

we were able to somewhat

overcome the loss

of the high end sales .

Hopefully this rec ent trend

will continue, and

we will see modes t growth

in 2010. Rampant infl ation

may be ext remely diffi cult

for the entire industry.”

Bruce BannisterSamuel MusicEffi ngham, Ill.

MMR_70 70 11/24/09 12:15:43 PM


Tota

l Uni

ts

Ope

ned

’09

Clos

ed ’0

9

Volu

me

(est

. ’09

)


“Th is past year

we ex ceeded

lowered ex pect ations,

even though people

were more cautious

and less likely to

use credit. I am

cautiously optimist ic

about the coming year.

I think we will make

more of a profi t,

perhaps with less gross

sales . We will win by

controlling costs.”

Ted Eschliman Dietze MusicLincoln, Neb.

Prosser Piano & Organ 3 0 0 $4.2 MM 13400 Interurban Ave., South Tukwila, WA 98168 (206) 957-8732 [email protected] • www.prosserpiano.comCEO: Kerry ProsserPO,DP,EK, PM

Steinway Hall / Dallas – Ft. Worth 3 0 0 $7.2 MM5301 N. Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75205(469) 656-3669www.steinwaydfw.comPO

Art’s Music Shop, Inc. 3 0 0 $7.2 MM 3030 East Blvd., Montgomery, AL 36116 (334) 271-2787 • Fax (334) [email protected] • www.ArtsMusicShop.comCEO: Paul FreehlingP,DP,BO,PC,FA,SR,EK,PM,IN

Robert M. Sides 3 0 0 NA201 Mulberry St., Williamsport, PA 17701 (570) 326-2094 • Fax (570) [email protected] • www.rmsides.comCOO: Peter K. SidesPO,DP,BO,SR,FA,PM

Dave Phillips Music & Sound 3 0 0 $5.8 MM377 Irwin St., Phillipsburg, NJ 08865 (908) 454-3313 • Fax (908) [email protected] • www.davephillipsmusic.comCEO: Dave Phillips DP, PC,BO,FA,SR,EK,PM,LT,IN

Pecknel Music Co., Inc. 3 0 0 $6.2 MM 1312 N. Pleasantburg Dr., Greenville, SC 29607 (864) 244-7881 • Fax (864) 244-7894www.pecknelmusic.comCEO: Scott N. PeckDP,BO,FA,SR,EK,PM,IN

Meyer Music 3 0 0 $7.5 MM1512 W. Highway 40, Blue Springs, MO 64015 (816) 228-5656 • Fax (816) 228-6059www.meyermusic.comCEO: Ted MeyerP,PO,BO

Piano & Organ Center 3 0 0 $3.0 MMGreat Northern Mall, Clay, NY 13039 (315) 622-3926 • Fax (315) [email protected] • pianoandorgancenter.comPresident: David Constantino

Kessler & Sons Music 3 0 0 $3.2 MM3047 E. Charleston, Las Vegas, NV 89104 (702) 385-2263 • Fax (702) [email protected] • www.kesslermusic.comCEO: Charles KesslerBO,PC

Welch Music 3 0 0 NA 8255 Franklin Rd., Boise, ID 83709 (208) 322-3388 • Fax (208) [email protected] • www.welchmusic.comCEO: Randy WelchP,DP,BO,FA,SR,EK,PC,PM

MMR_71 71 11/24/09 12:15:47 PM


PR INT

Print Publishing: “The print music market once again showed its resilience compared to

other segments of the MI business,” notes Hal Leonard’s Larry Morton,

when refl ecting upon the past year. That’s good news for publishers

– and good news for dealers who stock any of the top titles outlined in

this report.

Though challenges remain and no one, single answer is the cure-all

for the market’s woes – or for MI retail, in specifi c – things do seem to

be looking up. As Alfred Music Publishing’s Andrew Surmani puts it, “It’s

a tough economy right now and it will be a slow recovery, but we are already

seeing signs that things are turning upwards.”

Review and Forecast

Despite the tough economy, the print music market once again showed its resilience compared to other segments of the MI business. Our songbooks, methods, and in-structional materials con-tinued with steady sales in

2009 and we’re antici-pating a growth turn-around in early 2010. Our focus for next year is to pro-vide even more expanded services to our dealers, par-ticularly with merchandising, and also to stay focused on new

publications that encourage more people to play music.

Larry MortonPresident

Hal Leonard Corp.

Top Sellers 2009

Twilight Soundtrack & Score

Hannah Montana - The Movie

Taylor Swift

Beatles Publications

Sound of Music(40th Anniversary)

Glee (TV show)

Kings of Leon

At a Glance (book/DVD series)

Guitar for Kids

Essential Elements for Band & Orchestra

Hal Leonard

MMR_72 72 11/24/09 10:27:11 AM

CUSTOM SPINNER Display Books, DVDs, Software, or a combination!

Alfred’s

InstantPRINT

CASCADING RACKS Choose from 32 or 64 facings!

EASY • PROFITABLE • 100% GUARANTEED

• Low start-up cost • Top discounts• Automatic replenishment of best-sellers and hot new releases• Full exchangeability • FREE displays!

IPC tPri

ntCeAlfred’s Instant

Prin

tCenter•Alfred’sInst

antPri

ntCent

er•

Choose from Pop, Piano, Guitar, Classroom, Instrumental, Percussion, or any combination, and let our print experts do the rest!

PHONE (800) 292-6122 FAX (800) 632-1928

WEB alfred.com/dealerE-MAIL [email protected]

CONTACT YOUR SALESREP TODAY!

CENTER

MMR_73 73 11/24/09 10:57:36 AM

www.alfred.com

Alfred Music Publishing

Top Sellers 2009

Alfred’s Adult Piano Course, Book 1

Alfred’s Adult All-in-One, Book 1

Alfred’s Basic Piano Library,Lesson 1A

Alfred’s Basic Guitar Method,Book 1

Suzuki Violin School, Book 1 Revised Edition

Led Zeppelin Mothership – Guitar Tab

Premier Piano Course, Lesson 1A

Michael Jackson Number Ones – Piano/Vocal/Guitar

Accent on Achievement, Trumpet Book 1 & CD

Alfred’s Basic Prep Course, Lesson A

Customers want to buy books with play-along CDs or DVDs. It’s now expected that we pro-vide audio or video and tone and tempo adjusting software along with our books. They also want to easily fi nd informa-tion about our products online, where they can view sample pages and recordings. This is why we just launched our new Web site, which also allows a mechanism for dealers to fulfi ll those orders.

Social media is the buzz these days, but you have to be careful that you are providing something of value to custom-ers or they’ll just tune you out. We are active on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and iTunes podcasts. We are seeing a great interest in digital print music sales through our TotalSheetMusic.com Web site,

especially from dealers who are selling this to walk-in customers and are very happy

with being able to offer this service. And for those customers who still prefer a print-ed book, our digital printing technology allows us to keep slower sellers in print so there is no reason for a book to go out of print anymore. It’s a tough economy right now and it will be a slow recovery, but we are already seeing signs that things turning upwards in our business.

Andrew SurmaniSenior Vice President, Marketing

Alfred Music Publishing

Kendor MusicTop Sellers 2009

Pink Panther - various arrange-ments of instrumental solos and ensembles

Contest Series for Percussion byMurray Houllif

Effective Etudes for Jazz (with per-

formance/play-along CD) by Mike Carubia and Jeff Jarvis

Kendor Concert Favorites (with full

Mel Bay Top Sellers 2009

Modern Guitar Method Grade 1

Modern Guitar Method Grade 1, Expanded Edition

Modern Guitar Method Grade 2

Guitar Class Method Volume 1

First Lessons Ukulele Book/CD Set

Mastering the Guitar Book 1A

Electric Bass Method Volume 1

Guitar Chords

Ukulele Chords

First Lessons Banjo Book/CD Set

January, 2009 brought an unwel-come, unexpected, and significant de-cline in sales as compared with January, 2008. While the economy precipitously declined from September onwards, our sales held steady... until January. Sales for us did not begin to recover until late

spring (‘09). Since then we have been climbing steadily upwards, but not at the same rate at which sales fell. Inter-estingly, sales of our Modern Method series have leapt and continue to be stronger than expected.

Additionally, we continue to see substantial growth in in-ternational markets.

Bryndon BayPresident

Mel Bay Publications, Inc.


MMR_74 74 11/24/09 10:27:16 AM


Sher Music Co.

Top Sellers 2009

The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine

The Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine

The Real Easy Book - Vol. 1

The New Real Book - Vol. 1

The Standards Real Book

The Real Easy Ear Training Book

Jazz Piano Masterclass: The Drop 2 Book by Mark Levine

The Serious Jazz Practice Book by Barry Finnerty

101 Montunos by Rebeca Mauleon

The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnaro and Chuck Sher

Of course, 2009 was greatly impacted by Wall Street’s loot-ing of our economy. We are a bit dismayed that the Obama administration still believes that the “top-down” ap-proach of giving more money to the already well-off will fix things, as opposed to strength-ening the economy from the

bottom up. Nonetheless, we’re hopeful that Sher Music Co., and the rest of our partners in the music industry, can ride out the downturn until things improve. Economizing, like dieting, is good for you, and we’ve done our share of that, but we are very grateful that people still look for Sher

Music’s high quality products when they shop for music books.

Chuck SherOwner

Sher Music Co.

As an independent publisher, focusing primarily on perfor-mance works for school instru-mental programs, I have seen over the past couple years a decline in the number of retail print music dealers that actu-ally stock and promote our prod-ucts. Many dealers are happy to rely on just-in-time purchasing, which is fi ne, but we have lost a great deal of showroom space. As in all in-dustries, as the larger companies continue to grow through acquisitions, it becomes increasingly challenging for the smaller in-

dependents to maintain market share and remain competitive. We are continually looking at ways to streamline our operation to reduce expenses, and have ad-ditionally made the decision to reduce the number of new publi-cations we annually produce.

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when we recouped all of our produc-

tion costs with the dealer New Issue Pro-gram. This is no longer true for all prod-uct lines. So our editors are charged with being extremely selective in our search for

quality new products, and we plan on re-pro-moting many of our standard jazz ensemble and string orchestra publications with future marketing campaigns to the educators. We started our re-promotion efforts this fall with our jazz ensemble demo CD package, and we have already realized a sizeable increase in the sales of these established titles. Last year the economy had a noticeable effect on our business, but we are optimistic as we see sales climbing this fall.

Craig CornwallPresident

Kendor Music, Inc.

performance CD) - 10 selections for young string orchestra

Flextrios for Brass of Woodwindsarranged by Lennie Niehaus

Kendor Recital Solos (with perfor-mance/play-along CD) - instru-mental solo collection, separate piano accompaniment book available

Inside the Score (with full perfor-mance CD) by Rayburn Wright - analysis of classic jazz ensemble

charts by Bob Brookmeyer, Thad Jones & Sammy Nestico

Wedding Masterworks (with play-along CD) arranged by Frank Halferty - instrumental solo col-lection, keyboard accompaniment included

Today’s Sound for Drumset byMurray Houllif - drum set method

The Jazz Educator’s Handbook (with 2 CDs) - by Doug Beach and Jeff Jarvis

MMR_75 75 11/24/09 10:27:20 AM

www.hailun-pianos.com


Still, awards don’t help the bottom line and with the economy wreaking havoc on retailers, Daddy’s is no excep-

tion. “It’s been tough, our business is down and it’s been challenging,” says Fred Bramante, CEO of Daddy’s Junky

Music. “We’re trying to do some out-of- the-box type things to help us get back to where we need to be.”

Candi Bramante, the head of promo-tions and artist relations is optimistic. “We’re taking it one day at a time, and so far so good.” Her father agrees, add-ing, “These times force creativity.” MI dealers take notice; Fred Bramante is not one that needs to force the creative juices as he always seems to know where to look for inspiration. To combat the oppressive economy, Daddy’s is tempo-rarily opening up a retail store in the Burlington Mall.

The New DigsThe new location is just under 2,000

sq ft. and has four to fi ve employees on the fl oor at any given time. “It’s a former Ritz Camera,” says Fred. “The Burling-ton Mall is an upscale mall that had re-strictions on what [the store] was going to look like, so we got a nice sign and I

Daddy’s Junky Music: Holiday Vacation at the Mall

When talking about the MI market in New

England, one name says it all: Daddy’s.

Daddy’s Junky Music has been around for

over 36 years for a reason. The chain has

won numerous awards, including “Retailer of the Year”

from the Retail Merchant Association of New Hampshire,

and is proud to boast that their service department has

been honored with so many “Best Service in the U.S.”

awards that the category was retired after Daddy’s won

eight consecutive times.

RETA I L

MMR_78 78 11/24/09 10:28:18 AM


think they were very happy with how the store came out.”

When asked what prompted Daddy’s to look to the mall, Fred is quick to answer, “I was thinking more and more about the Halloween stores that pop up every year. We’ve all seen those kinds of seasonal stores before and I thought, ‘Let’s give it a try.’ So we went looking and found a spot that we liked and moved in.”

“It’s actually just a holiday store,” ex-plains Candi. “We’re here for all of No-vember and all of December and we’re just trying to catch all of those mall shoppers. We have a permanent location less than a mile down the road from here, but the Burlington Mall over the course of the holidays, I believe has close to fi ve mil-lion shoppers. We’re just trying to capture those that are in the mall and maybe try to make it a little bit easier for them to get all of their shopping done in one place.”

Fred agrees: “The Burlington mall is the number one mall in New England.

So, we went there fi rst, took a peek and found a space. We’re doing what we can to pick up some of the business from the mall.”

Mass MarketingIn their attempt to pick up

some more business, Daddy’s has had to market to a com-pletely new clientele. “At the mall store, we’re really cater-ing to a different audience,” says Fred. “It’s geared towards a Christmas crowd and this is the rst time we’ve ever done this. We’re still nding that the customers coming into the store don’t know who we are, so it’s a different audience. The Burlington Mall has huge traf c coming through it, so we think that there’s something to capitalize on there. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll tell you at the end of December whether it worked or not!”

“This store is mostly for the holiday guitar and bass packages,” says Candi. “We’re selling lots of accessory-type stuff. We do have lots of guitars and basses here but it’s really geared towards that shopper

who’s not coming in to noodle. They know what they want or they come in to talk to somebody to get an idea of what it is that they want and we just kind of point them in the right direction. We don’t have any used gear like a typical Daddy’s location, so it’s very much the packaged gear, ready to go,” says Candi. “This is de nitely a test run for us. The exposure alone – obviously, with

that many shoppers – is quite extraordi-nary for us and it will certainly give a lot of visibility to our company and the store down the street, as well,” explains Candi. “I think we’ll just have to wait and see how we do this holiday season. We’re tak-ing it one day at a time.”

Candi Bramante

“We’re still fi nding that the customers

coming into the store don’t know who we are, so it’s a

different audience.”

MMR_79 79 11/24/09 10:28:24 AM


Dealers’

AwardsChoice

Product of the YearYamaha Disklavier

Yamaha Corporation of America

17th Annual

This year, MMR’s annual survey of MI retailers to determine top products

yielded some familiar results (Yamaha’s Disklavier as Product of the Year,

Hal Leonard as Print Publisher of the Year) as well as some fairly surprising

upsets (Gibson’s Les Paul trumping longtime Electric Guitar

Line of the Year winner, the Fender Stratocaster).

Selections were solicited via e-mail, online, and in a ballot

appearing in the October issue of Musical Merchandise

Review.

Much like 2008, this year’s replies were widely

varied, refl ecting the continued (though

possibly/hopefully on the way out)

economic upheaval throughout the

market. Our thanks go out to all

retailers who participated in 2009’s

Dealers’ Choice voting.What’s to say that hasn’t already been said? Yamaha’s Disklavier series has been the clear winner in this

category since George W.’s fi rst year in offi ce.With an exhaustive array of Grand Pianos,

Uprights, and the distinctive Elton John Limit-ed Edition Signature Series Red Piano, Diskla-

vier consoles offer a wide range of options for users at a number of price points. With ongo-

ing improvements and innovations, Yamaha’s likely to be in the running for top honors in 2010, as well.

MMR_80 80 11/24/09 10:29:58 AM


Electric Guitar Line of the Year

Gibson Les PaulGibson Guitars

Breaking the Fender Stratocaster’s formidable stranglehold on this category, Gibson’s iconic Les Paul model comes out on top in 2009.

Whether due to an increased number of signature models and high tech improvements, or an up-tick in interest after the passing of the legendary guitarist who shared his name with these instruments, the Les Paul made quite an impact.


Electric Bass Line of the Year

Last year, Ibanez’ SR Series came out ahead in this category. In this year’s balloting, many respondents simply replied, “Ibanez,” speaking to the company’s wide array of popular models that resonate with players of all types.

Acoustic Guitar Line of the Year

Martin GuitarsC.F. Martin & Co., Inc.

Martin Guitars continued its win-ning ways, once again claiming victory in the Acoustic Guitar cat-egory in convincing fashion. With a storied history, a reputation for impeccable quality and workman-ship, and a dizzying lineup of avail-able styles, the venerable Pennsyl-vania guitar manufacturer is tough to beat.

Amplifi er Line of the Year

Peavey VypyrPeavey Electronics

An exceedingly tight race in this category nonetheless once again saw Peavey’s popular and afford-able line of modeling guitar ampli-fi ers eke out a win.

Recording EquipmentLine of the Year

Zoom H4n RecorderSamson Technologies

In 2008, Zoom’s H4 emerged as the leader in the world of the handheld digital recorders. The newer H4n with increased functionality built upon the appeal of the previous model and came out tops in 2009’s voting.

Sound Reinforcement Line of the Year

Yamaha Yamaha Corporation of America

Yamaha’s comprehensive sound reinforcement offerings at a vari-ety of price-points were a hit with churches, schools, arenas, and other venues.

IbanezHoshino USA, Inc.

MMR_81 81 11/24/09 10:30:07 AM



Microphone Line of the Year

Audio-Technica 2000 Series WirelessAudio-Technica

In one of the upsets of 2009, A-T’s versatile 2000 Series Wireless sys-tem unseated longtime category winner, Shure SM57/58.

Band & Orchestral Instrument Line of the Year

Cannonball A5-LCannonballMusical Instruments

Acoustic Piano Line of the Year

Kawai K-3Kawai America Corporation

Kawai’s K-3 Upright connected with performers and educators of all types. Dealers once again not-ed that brand loyalty, quality, and value make the K-3 a compelling option.

Home Digital Keyboard Line of the Year

Yamaha’s impressive winning streak continues in this category with the venerable Clavinova tak-ing the top prize in ‘09. Players of virtually all ability levels and budgets can fi nd something that matches their needs within the ex-tensive line of models.

Pro Digital Keyboard Line of the Year

Percussion Line of the Year

Consistently one of the most hotly contested categories, this year’s Percussion Line of the Year honors go to Pearl Drums.

One of 2009’s Dealer’s Choice Awards’ tightest races was won by Cannon-ball’s popular A5-L alto sax.

Roland RD SeriesRoland Corporation

Last year saw Roland’s FP-7 emerge as the winner in this cat-egory, but this time around the RD digital pianos – RD-300GX and RD-700GX – get the nod. A number of onboard pianos and EPs make this highly portable stage piano a hit with players.

Pearl DrumsPearl Corporation

Yamaha ClavinovaYamaha Corporation of America

MMR_82 82 11/24/09 10:30:13 AM



Lighting Line of the Year

American DJAmerican DJ Supply, Inc.

American DJ snags their fi fth con-secutive win as Lighting Line of the year. Dealers and end users alike appreciate ADJ’s extensive prod-uct catalog and continued spirit of innovation.

DJ Line of the Year

Gemini/GCIGCI Technologies Corp.

DJ Line of the Year this time goes to Gemini. Readers point to vari-ety, quality, as well as cutting edge technological features as strong selling points.

Print Music Publisher of the Year

Hal LeonardHal Leonard, Corporation

Even more so than Yamaha’s Disklavier, Hal Leonard seems to have sewn their category up tight. Print Music Publisher win-ners each and every year since the very fi rst MMR’s Dealers’ Choice Awards, the company’s exhaus-tive library of high profi le, popular titles makes it a hard competitor to best.

Software Line of the Year

Finale 2010MakeMusic, Inc.

Finale’s music notation software is a resounding hit with educators and students. The newest incarna-tion of the title offers greater auto-mation and enhanced functional-ity.

Accessory Line of the Year

D’AddarioD’Addario & Company

D’Addario was given the nod by dealers in this category. Guitarists and bassists continue to be drawn to the strings’ durability and qual-ity, while an assortment of tuners, drumheads, straps, and more ap-peal to musicians of virtually all types.

Web Site of the Year

The Music PeopleThe Music People, Inc.

Visitors to Music People’s online portal can easily browse a number of categories to gather general (or more detailed) info, review prod-uct offerings, and interact with the company directly.

MMR_83 83 11/24/09 10:30:19 AM


SHOW REPORT

PASIC 2009

Adjacent to PASIC’s Indianapolis Convention Center location is Lucas Oil Stadium, which was hosting the Bands of America Grand National Champion-ships Finals Competition. The proxim-ity of the two events boosted the number of young people teeming the PASIC show fl oor, and the many school groups in at-tendance abetted the typical deafening

cacophony of eager drummers testing gear.

The convention also featured the soft opening of a new PAS museum, the Rhythm! Discovery Center, which, lo-cated in downtown Indianapolis, houses percussive instruments from around the world along with interactive displays, vid-eos and other multimedia. The center-

piece of the new museum features original drum sets of two of the all-time legends, Buddy Rich and Gene Kruppa.

Back on the convention’s showroom fl oor, MMR caught up with a few exhibi-tors who shared their thoughts on the 2009 show, and what to expect from the economy – as it pertains to the percus-sion market – going forward.

The Percussive Arts Society’s 2009 International

Convention (PASIC), took place in Indianapolis,

Indiana from November 11-14. The three-day

event included performance clinics, roundtables,

and an exhibition fl oor featuring wares from many of the

top percussive instrument and accessory manufacturers,

music publishers, and several retailers. While some

exhibitors opted to scale back their booth sizes and

displays as compared to years past, there was no shortage

of foot traffi c on the exhibition fl oor, and the mood was

decidedly optimistic about the future of the percussion,

and greater MI, industry.

MMR_84 84 11/24/09 10:33:33 AM

Shawn LafrenzPearl Corporation It’s been a great show so far. We’re really pleased with the num-ber of people through the show early on. We like to think it’s be-cause of the draw we create at our booth, of course, but obviously there are many drummers here. There is a very posi-tive feeling and a lot of people who are really excited about music. We’re having a great time.

There’s still money being spent out there, and the trick in any business is to be the one that people spend their money with, to create the need for them to come to you. That’s what everybody’s charged with. There are some areas of the mar-ket that are coming out of the recession and there are other areas that are going to feel it for a long time. The school mar-ket is probably going to be affected for a couple of years because of the way that the funding cycle against taxes happens. [Economic downturns] tend to have a much longer-term effect in that end of the market.

John Sorenson Avedis ZildjianWe’ve seen some really good traffi c here at the show, and a good di-versity of players – ev-eryone from orches-tral to the drum corps guys. It’s always an enthusiastic crowd here at PASIC, and this one’s defi nitely right there.

It’s obviously a challenging time for everyone. I think the percussion and musical instrument market may have gotten hit harder than some oth-ers, and in other ways perhaps not as hard as others; we’ve certainly taken our lumps. The types of products that Zildjian sells are – I wouldn’t say reces-sion proof, but – a little more reces-sion resilient than other products. A cymbal is a great way for someone to freshen up their sound without having


Jerry Smith, Sarah Malaney, Debbie Zildjian, Matt Read, and Ron Allman of Avedis Zildjian Company.

Rich Lakowski, Alfred Publishing.

Yamaha Corporation’s Bob Terry.

Bruce Schneider of Gator Cases.

Chris Crockarell of Row-Loff Productions.

Wenger’s Kim Steinbauer.

Remo’s Remo Belli. Lauren Westendorf, Berklee College of Music.

WGI’s Jim Haskell.

Wayne Wilburn and Tim Shahady of Paiste America, Inc.

Kevin Jahoda and Jeffrey Meegan, Mike Balter Mallets

The Percussive Arts Society’s debuted their new museum, the Rhythm! Discovery Center, in downtown Indianapolis.

James Sajeva of Korg with the new Korg Wavedrum.

MMR_85 85 11/24/09 10:33:38 AM

to make a major financial investment – it’s not like shelling out a thousand dollars. For a couple hundred dollars, drummers can freshen up the sound on their kit and I think that’s what people are looking for.

Also, the economy is making every-one get back to value and as the market leader, we’ve benefi ted from that because people have tended to go with the tried and true – with the things that they feel comfortable with and that they know are going to bring them value. They know that if they’re buying Zildjian, they’re go-ing to get value for the money that they’re spending. We consider ourselves fortu-nate to be in that position, but then again, it has made us work a lot harder to earn the customer’s business. We can’t take as many fl iers in terms of innovation thing and crazier projects that we might have done in the past; it really is a correction back to basics, and that has put our R&D and promotional efforts into high gear. We have to work harder to make the sale.

James SajevaKorg USAMy impressions of the show are fantastic. This is actually our fi rst PASIC in a very long time. Korg USA hasn’t been to PASIC since we used to distribute Sonor many years ago, but for our fi rst time back with this great new product, the energy is great, a lot of people are attracted to the booth, the Wavedrum is getting a lot of attention at the show, and we’re very happy to be here.

If you watch the economic trends, there are some green sheets out there. The thing you have to remember is that it’s not just one industry struggling, it’s the whole economy and you just have to persevere. That’s why it’s so impor-tant to keep coming out with innovative products that are going to capture the attention of the consumers, and that’s what we’re hoping to accomplish with

the Wavedrum and many other products from Korg.

Gerren YoungGeneration Custom DrumsThis is my fi rst time here as a vendor. It’s a little interesting be-ing such a small-time drum builder sur-rounded by giants like Sabian and Pearl, among others. I defi nitely have a prod-uct that’s different from anyone else. I’ve sold a few things, but it’s a little early to gauge the success of the show at this point. It’s really great to be able to show my product to people that will recognize the quality and care about it. There are a lot of younger kids, so that makes it a little more challenging for me, seeing as college students probably don’t have the money to throw at custom drums, but there is also a lot of excitement, too.


Bill Youhass, Fall Creek Marimbas.

Dr. Nick Patrella of Sabian.

Mike Berg of Humes & Berg Mfg.

Regal Tip’s Carol Calato.

Ben Patterson and Nathaniel Dominy, Malletech/Marimba Productions.

Chad Brandolini, Chad Cunningham,

Alan Vater, Drew Davey, and Bill

Morgan of Vater Percussion.

Davis Douglas and Josh Touchton of D’addario/Evans.

Mark Schafer and Mark Reynolds, Dynasty.

Scott Strittmatter and Rusty Membreno, OnBoard Research Corporation.

Vic and Tracy Firth of Vic Firth.

Recording and touring artist Felix Pollard presented a drumset clinic on Friday, November 13th.

PASIC.indd 86 11/24/09 12:14:01 PM

This might be a bad time to be trying to sell custom drums, but that’s where I am in my life, so I fi gure that if I can make it through the next few years, after that the market for MI will grow and I’ll grow with it.

Neil GroverGrover Pro PercussionI think this is a ter-rifi c show. It started out with a real bang and attendance seems to be really strong. You’d never know that there’s a recession from the turnout here at the convention.

I personally think the market has bot-tomed out and we’re starting a very slow recovery. I see signs of turning. It’s going to be a slow recovery, but we’re defi nitely heading in the right direction. Acces-sories remain strong throughout. I’m guessing what might have taken the big-gest hit are the big ticket items – high end

drum sets and things like that – but as far as 50- or 60-dollar items, they have remained strong throughout.

AnthonyMerlinoMalletech/Marimba ProductionsIt’s great seeing all of the artists, employees, workers and the stu-dents coming out and working together. It’s a great event for everyone. This is the most cohesive and smoothest run show of any PASIC, or any convention, really, that I’ve been to.

I think a lot of companies are ca-tering to the economy right now, and that’s good for everyone. The more people buy, the more the companies will grow and the better the economy will be. Some companies are lower-ing their prices a little bit, or even just showing up and helping out students or

whoever can purchase their products, and that really is going to be good for everyone.

GarwoodWhaleyMeredith MusicThis show has been un-believable. The open-ing of the museum was really incredible. I can’t believe how it turned out – far be-yond anyone’s expectations. The atten-dance here is great, the board meetings have been very positive and uplifting, so it’s a very positive show.

I think the beginning of the year, as we know, was not a good one for the economy in general, but there’s such pos-itive vibes here at this convention that I’m sure that it is going to spill over and help sales for our industry. We are going to leave this show really upbeat, so I see really great things ahead.


Hal Leonard’s Marylin Fleenor and David Cywinski.

Bob Henry of Ludwig/Musser.

Will Wernick of Wernick Musical Instruments.

Tabor Stamper, Mapex/Majestic

Nick Cole of Drumsense.

John Norris and Chris Labriola of Peterson Electro-Musical Products.

Leslie May and Micheal Boyt, Randall May International.

Shawn Lafrenz and Raymond Massey of Pearl/Adams.

Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan and Coheed and Cambria performs during a PASIC drumset clinic.

Staci Stokes, Steve Beck, Pat Brown, Don Click, Bruce Salyers, and Mark Petrocelli of Pro Mark.

George Balmaseda and David Kelley, Tycoon Percussion.

PASIC.indd 87 11/24/09 12:14:17 PM


HolidaybuyingguideKorg’s WAVEDRUM Digital Percussion SynthesizerKorg’s WAVEDRUM Digital Percussion Synthesizer can be used as a stand-alone percussion instrument, or integrated into an existing drum kit or percussion rig. Unlike digital trigger-based systems, WAVEDRUM uses a real drum head as the playing surface, providing a familiar feel. This allows the performer to employ sticks, brushes, mallets, and/or tradi-tional hand-drum techniques to play.

There are two playing surfaces on WAVEDRUM: the head and the rim. Under the head is an audio transducer,

similar to a microphone. This transducer drives WAVEDRUM’s DSP and PCM sound engines. The rim is outfi tted with different-sized raised patterns on the left and right sides. In addition to using the rim as a traditional playing surface, rub-bing a stick or mallet over these raised patterns can create percussion effects, similar to an afro-cuban güiro, for ex-ample.

By combining 36 advanced DSP (Digital Signal Processing) synthesis al-gorithms with 200 PCM samples (100 for the head; 100 for the rim), WAVEDRUM provides a wide palette of sounds, rang-ing from traditional drum and percus-sion instruments to complex synthetic tones and sound effects. WAVEDRUM also re-creates a vast array of instru-ments.100 preset programs and 100 user programs are stored in memory, with 12 favorites available for instant access. The Korg WAVDRUM Digital Percussion Synthesizer will be available in January 2010. www.korg.com

The Offi cial Vintage Guitar Price Guide 2010Published annually by Vintage Guitar magazine The Guide not only includes historical data, it is the only book that lists values derived from comprehensive research and realistic market analysis on thousands of vintage and recent-model guitars, amps, bass-es, effects pedals, mandolins, lap steels, ukuleles, and banjos.

The Guide includes information on more than 1,800 brands supplemented by over 1,100 photos, along with an in-depth look at the factors that drive the collect-ible instrument market. The Guide re-tails for $29.95.www.vintageguitar.com

Paul Reed Smith 25th Anniversary Dragon ModelIn celebration of the model and in honor of PRS Guitars’ upcoming 25th anniver-sary, a special 25th Anniversary Dragon model featuring a new complex dragon fretboard exotic multi-material inlay will be available later this year in very limited quantities. The headstock will feature a green ripple abalone Modern Eagle with a black composite shadow veneer.

Appointment highlights include 24 frets, 24-1/2” scale length, rosewood neck and fi ngerboard, carved curly fl ame maple Private Stock top and African

striped mahogany back wood. The guitar will feature the new 59/09 treble and bass pickups and a PRS tremolo.

The body shape and electronics for the 25th Anniversary Dragon are mod-eled after one of Paul Smith’s early gui-tars which was most recently featured on the Howard Leese Private Stock guitar released in 2009. Dragon models painted by renowned artist Jeff Beasley are also being planned as part of this exclusive run. Limited quantities will be available in the fourth quarter of 2009 with the re-mainder being completed in 2010. www.prsguitars.com

B-Band U-Series Ukulele Pickup SystemsThe new U-Series ukulele pickup systems from B-Band and UKKO brand pickups, in alliance with Belcat Co., Ltd, China, will be available in 2010. The U-Series preamps will be partnered with a newly

developed ukulele specifi c UST under-saddle pickup produced with the same Emfi t material found in all B-Band pick-ups. The U1.0 single input preamp is an all-in-one matchbox size assembly with preamp, output jack, and a disc battery holder included.

The B-Band U1.3T sidemount single input preamp with fully chromatic tuner has small dimensions to fi t at the side of most any ukulele. The preamp also fea-tures rotary controls for volume, bass, and low battery LED. The preamp is a one-piece, drop-in installation format and comes supplied with remote output jack and battery holder assembly.www.b-band.com

Holiday Buyers Guide December.in88 88 11/24/09 1:44:55 PM


Wiggles N’ Tunes’ Music Instrument Shaped LollipopsWiggles N’ Tunes musical instru-

ment lollipop shapes include vio-lins, violas, cellos, trumpets, saxophone, harps, drum,

accordions, guitars, and musical eighth note. All lollipops are available in a multitude of fl avors and a variety of sizes. Wiggles

N’ Tunes also offers vari-ous advertising specialties such as imprinted egg shak-ers and maracas. www.wigglesntunes.com

ToneRite’s Play-In AcceleratorsToneRite’s play-in accelerators rapidly accelerate the opening up of an acoustic instrument. The ToneRite safely recre-ates the same physics that occur natu-rally while playing and through its ef-fi cient transfer of energy is able to bring about the same developments in a matter of only days. After as few as 72 hours of treatment with the ToneRite, improve-ments in tone, clarity, resonance and volume are said to be noticeable. As the treatments continue instruments begin to increase in playability with greater tonal balance across the strings. Small enough to carry in a case and nearly si-lent in operation, the ToneRite is easily attached or removed from an instrument without any modifi cations.

ToneRite models are available for gui-tar, mandolin, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. All ToneRite products are backed by a 30-day money back guaran-tee and three-year full warranty. Tone-Rite models retail for $185 - $300. www.tonerite.com

New Titles from Sher Music Co. Foundation Exercises for Bass, by Chuck Sher, features a creative approach to learning the fundamentals of acoustic or electric bass. The book covers the basic scales and chords used in contemporary music; how to count rhythms and im-provise around them; correct hand posi-tions, fi ngerings, and shifting; training

your ear to identify music that’s inside you, or that others play; a way to learn to read music, starting with fi ngerboard diagrams; and how to connect the roots of chord progressions to create a solid foundation for a bandFoundation Exercises for Bass is appro-priate for beginning/intermediate bass method.

Jazz Guitar Voicings: Vol. 1 – The Drop 2 Book, by Randy Vincent, includes a thorough discussion of all the basic prin-ciples of drop 2 melody harmonization, including passing tones and extension tones, as well as basic chord tones.

Also covered are practical, guitar-friendly methods for creating modern sounds by tweaking the basic drop 2 voicings. Vincent explains how to create an organized practice routine, including fi ngerboard diagrams as well as standard notation, to fully develop all of the above, with a minimum of theory. The book in-cludes two CDs demonstrating each ex-ercise.www.shermusic.com

SBr Cymbal from SabianSabian’s SBr is a new series of brass cym-bals designed to offer improved quality and value for the entry level drummer. Produced from a special-formula brass alloy, the budget-priced SBr is avail-able in a full range of popular sizes and models, each featuring deep, large-peen hammering and pinpoint lathing. SBr is available exclusively in Natural Finish. The SBr series includes hi-hats, splashes, crashes, and rides. Also available are Son-ically Matched pre-packs including the Performance Set (14” hi-hats, 16” crash, 20” ride), the First Pack (13” hi-hats, 16” crash), and the 2-Pack (14” hi-hats, 18” crash ride).www.sabian.com

Hal Leonard’s New TrackPak Titles for GarageBandThe latest titles in Hal Leonard’s Track-Pak line of software/songbook packs were designed for use with Apple’s Ga-rageBand recording software. The three new titles are Acoustic Rock, Hard Rock,

and 1970s Rock. Part of Apple’s iLife suite of applications, GarageBand is a digital recording program that comes standard on all iMac computers. Hal Leonard’s TrackPak titles feature software plus a songbook with sheet mu-sic notation for reference. Users can ma-nipulate the tracks in any way they wish, such as removing the part for their in-strument so they can jam along with the song. They can remix and modify any or all of the tracks and use them as a spring-board to create their own music. Garage-Band-compatible TrackPaks retail for $29.99 each. www.halleonard.com

Rico Reserve Classic ReedsThe Reserve Classic reeds differ from the original Rico Reserve reeds in that they feature increased warmth of sound and lightened articulation by way of a newly designed tip radius. So players can fi ne tune their exact strength, the Classics have been specially measured to offer hard-to-fi nd desired strengths including 3.5+ and 4.0+. In addition, the Reserve Classic reeds use a special cane treatment process to help reduce reed warping. www.ricoreeds.com

The Ring Ligature from JodyJazz The Ring ligature is designed for the DV and DV NY series of saxophone mouth-

pieces. The Ring’s self locking CNC ma-chined taper touches on three points only - the left and right side of the reed and on top of the mouthpiece. The ring has no moving or added parts, and is said to thereby increase the effi ciency of vibration. The optimum wall thickness has been chosen to create the most free-dom and vibration for the reed which in-creases the amount of harmonics present in the saxophone sound. The Ring will



be available in a blackened brass fi nish as well as 24 karat gold plating on brass. Retails prices are $69.95 - $79.95.www.jodyjazz.com

Peavey IPR Power Amps with Waves’ DSP Technology Peavey Electronics’ IPR DSP Series of pow-er amplifi ers feature the Waves’ MX5010 semiconductor. The Waves MX5010 fea-tures proprietary Waves’ technologies such as MaxxBass; Bass Extension; Maxx-Treble; High Frequency Enhancement; 7-Band Paragraphic MaxxEQ; MaxxStereo; MaxxVolume; and Level Control.

Weighing as little as seven pounds, the Peavey IPR Series utilizes a design that al-lows a reduction in weight while increasing

thermal effi ciency and output power (up to 6,000 watts at two ohms stable). IPR Series amplifi ers are designed with a resonant switch-mode power supply and a high-speed class D topology that yields the high-est audio resolution and effi ciency avail-able. Four DSP-equipped models feature 32-bit, fl oating-point digital signal process-ing with program-specifi c EQ presets.

The Waves MX5010 semiconductor integrates a 24-bit DSP core with pre-programmed MaxxAudio algorithms for a cost-effective sound enhancement solution. MaxxVolume will protect the speaker and electrical components from electric surges and speaker fatigue without requiring a dedicated limiter. The unit’s Delay function can be used to create programmable speaker arrays and delay towers without an external de-lay module. MaxxTreble can be used to enhance high frequencies dynamically without painful high end. MaxxEQ and MaxxBass can be used for designing ef-fi cient and programmable active cross-overs for both amplifi ers and powered

speakers. The MX5010’s router section can be used to control levels for multiple speaker outputs, also allowing the user to create presets for various I/O scenarios.www.peavey.com

Hercules’ Deejay Trim 4&6 + Scratch Starter KitThe Deejay Trim 4&6 + Scratch Starter Kit allows users to mix with timecod-ed vinyl records and CDs. The Deejay Trim 4&6 audio interface includes the new VirtualDJ 6 LE Timecode software, along with two timecoded vinyl records, two timecoded CDs, and a set of cables to connect vinyl turntables and scratch-ca-pable CD players to the audio interface.

The Deejay Trim 4&6 + Scratch starter kit allows DJs to use their analog mixer and two vinyl turntables or two CD players (featuring jog wheels that can be used for scratching) to control the mixing of music fi les stored on their computer. The Virtu-alDJ 6 LE TC software reproduces the ac-tions made by DJs using their vinyl records or CDs and applies the actions in real time to their digital music fi les, which allows the DJ to control music track and speed play-back as well as the position in the track. It also allows DJs to apply different mixing techniques to their digital audio fi les that they use with their vinyl records or CDs, for different types of scratching.www.hercules.com

Daisy Rock’s Butterfl y Jumbo GuitarDaisy Rock Girl Guitars’ Spalted Maple Butterfl y Jumbo Acoustic-Electric is con-structed from Spalted Maple, complete with white binding, and a butterfl y on the 12th fret marker. The Butterfl y guitar is designed to be lightweight and sports Daisy Rock’s trademark “Slim & Narrow” neck design, so females can pick it up and play with comfort and ease. The Butterfl y features a mahogany neck, rosewood fi ngerboard, and powered by a Fishman Isys system with volume, contour, and phase controls. The Butterfl y Jumbo Acoustic-Electric guitar arrives fully set up and ready to play and is backed by a limited lifetime warranty. The Butterfl y gui-tar is available in Bubinga, Zebrawood, and

Holidaybuyingguide


www.tonerite.com


the new Spalted Maple fi nish, each for a re-tail price of $589. www.daisyrock.com

Brady Drums’ Spotted Gum Snares & Drum KitsBrady Drums’ new range of snare drums and drum kits are handcrafted from ex-tremely thin shells of Spotted Gum, a very dense Eucalypt timber species (Eucalyp-tus Maculata) with an interlocked grain which can grow up to 230 feet high. The Spotted Gum range still retains musical-ity, but comes with projection in a wood

shell, while carrying a solid, low tone. All Spotted Gum snare drums, tom toms, and bass drums are available only in their nat-ural timber fi nish and are adorned with a handcrafted inlaid parquetry Brady badge consisting of 31 individual pieces carved from 17 different species of timber.www.bradydrums.com.au

Hosa’s Da-Cappo In-Ear Mic & MonitorHosa Technology’s Da-Cappo DA15 car-dioid earset microphone with earbud

monitor incorporates a sensitivity rating of -51 dB and a maximum SPL rating of 130 dB—making it well-suited for vocal performers who routinely fi nd themselves in loud performance surroundings. This back-electret condenser microphone provides off-axis rejection by using a front-facing capsule engineered to be po-sitioned at the corner of the performer’s mouth. As the microphone’s cardioid po-lar pattern offers rejection at the rear of the capsule, the new DA15 provides isola-tion from surrounding noise.

Integrated into the DA15’s ear cushion is the earbud monitor. This dual-driver earbud offers a full-range frequency re-sponse of 20 Hz – 20 kHz with a sensi-tivity rating of 102 dB—making this

monitor capable of handling high in-ear levels. With the earbud monitor’s ability to function equally well for both perfor-mance monitoring and IFB (interrupt-ible feedback), the new DA15 is equally at home on the music stage or in the TV newsroom. The earbud is discreet and lightweight.

The new DA15, like other Da-Cappo headset microphone systems, features a hypoallergenic ear cushion that is de-signed for long wearing comfort. This cushion conceals a fl exible, sprung-steel mechanism that may easily be adjusted to fi t ears of all sizes. Further, the DA15 features the same adjustable microphone boom, enabling adjustment of the micro-phone to fi nd a good fi t.

The DA15 system includes a four-foot carbon Kevlar microphone cable (com-pact screw to same), a four-foot carbon Kevlar earbud cable (compact screw to 3.5 mm TRS), a single-cable clip for af-fi xing the microphone and earbud moni-tor cables to one’s clothing, and a low-density pop fi lter, all of which is stored in


www.cavanaughcompany.com


the included leatherette case. The retail price for the kit is $652.www.hosatech.com

Percussion Plus Drum PedalsMusicorp’s Percussion Plus is expand-ing its line with two new pedal models, the 2500P Drum Pedal and the 8500P Double Bass Pedal. Both pedals are heavy-duty bass drum pedals with dou-

ble chain drive systems that provide fast and smooth response. A side mounted clamp adjustment makes it easy to at-tach or remove the pedals from bass drums. Both feature adjustable stroke and tension, and include built-in sta-bilizing spurs with dual surface drum beaters. The 2500P retails for $99.95 and the 8500P for $299.95.www.musicorp.com

Zoom Q3 Handheld Video Recorder with HD Audio Zoom’s Q3 Handheld Video Recorder records stereo sound with two con-denser microphones, which allow users to capture clear HD audio with their movies. The ability to capture audio at 24-bit/48 kHz is important for users planning to upload their footage to video share sites like YouTube, which compress

video but now allow fi les with stereo au-dio at 44.1 kHz, which is CD quality. Powered by two AA batteries, the Q3 will record for up to two hours in true stereo and clear 640 x 480 resolution refreshed at 30 frames per second. The Q3 features a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution LCD that displays audio level meters, a battery indicator and time elapsed. The Q3 accepts up to a 32 GB SDHC card to deliver up to 16 hours of movie making capacity. Users can upload videos to a computer with the USB cable for im-mediate editing and sharing.www.samsontech.com

Holidaybuyingguide

Vibration TuningAt It’s Finest!

800-475-7686

5 Models To Choose From!

Call Toll Free

Tunes Almost Anything!

or order online @ shsint.net

Guitars - Bass - Banjo - MandolinResonator - Violin - Viola - Cello

Brass - Woodwinds


www.shsint.net

www.dreamcymbals.com


Ultrasone HFI Series Headphones Ultrasone’s HFI Series headphones, the HFI-2400s, are the fl agship headphones in Ultrasone’s HFI Series. These head-phones feature Ultrasone’s patented S-Logic technology. The HFI-2400 comes outfi tted with MU Metal shielding, simi-lar to all other Ultrasone headphones, which reduces the amount of magnetic radiation emitted from standard head-phones by up to 98 percent. Each HFI-2400 comes with a removable three-meter long, straight cable with 6.3 millimeter gold-plated stereo plug, a velvet carrying bag and the Ultrasone demo CD.www.ultrasone.com

Alesis’ DM10 Pro KitAlesis’ new electronic drum kit, the DM10 Pro Kit, features a new sound module, new pads, new rack, and new pedal. The DM10

also features Alesis’ RealHead drum pads, SURGE Cymbals made of real cymbal al-loy, and an ErgoRack mounting system. The drum sound module contains true drum, cymbal, and percussion sounds built from real samples of classic studio drums and prized cymbals. Multiple dy-namic-level samples and articulations are all built in so as the drummer plays harder and softer, the drum or cymbal changes its timbre, not just its dynamics.

The DM10 module not only has a collec-tion of sounds on board, it also enables play-ers to load new sound sets via USB connec-tion to their computer. Drummers can also use the DM10 as a trigger-to-MIDI interface for performing and tracking with software drum modules such as BFD, Toontrack, and Reason. Drummers can play along with the tracks in the DM10’s internal sequencer, mix in an iPod, or other MP3 player and play

along. The DM10 module has 12 inputs, en-abling drummers to create custom confi gu-rations. Its top-panel mixer gives easy access to creating custom mixes. The DM10 Pro Kit retails for $1,799.www.alesis.com

CAD Audio’s Condenser Microphone SystemThe CAD Audio’s Astatic Commercial 1700VP is the fi rst continuously-variable pattern condenser overhead recording mi-crophone system with remote polar control design and a 56” carbon fi ber boom with an exclusive clutch rotational system.

The 1700VP’s variable polar pattern with remote control allows the user to precisely adjust the shape of the pick-up pattern to provide the best gain before feedback from a remote location using the standard mic cable. Designed to be



Holidaybuyingguidemounted on any microphone stand, the 1700VP’s carbon fi ber boom is highly effective in the recording and sound re-inforcement of vocal groups, orchestral point miking of in-struments and gener-al miking for record-ing, broadcast, and live applications.

The remote vari-able polar pattern control uses a two-conductor shielded cable (max length 2,000 feet) between the microphone head and the pattern-con-trol box (VPC-1), giving the installer or end user the ability to change polar pat-terns when installed, or from scene to

scene without inducing noise into the au-dio chain. Adjustments to the pick-up pat-tern can be made quickly without chang-

ing capsules or using additional micro-phone accessories.

The large-diam-eter, low-noise ele-ments produce a fre-quency response of 40Hz to 20KHz with a selectable, recessed 80Hz, 12dB/octave high-pass fi lter that removes unwanted low-frequency energy when engaged. The fi lter control is conve-

niently located on the control box. Up to six control boxes can be mounted in one rack unit. The polar-pattern dial is positioned for

easy adjustment and can be secured with a single “fl at style” blank panel when rack mounted. The 1700VP has been designed to resist interference from cell phones, two-way communication devices, and lighting apparatus. www.cadaudio.com

Washburn Guitars’ Cracked Mirror SeriesWashburn Guitars has launched their new Cracked Mirror Se-ries with the introduction of the PS1800CMK and WV1800CMK guitars. The cracked mirror concept for a guitar original-ly stemmed from an idea that Paul Stanley had in the 70s. The Washburn PS1800CMK is one of Paul Stanley’s signature models and is



crafted out of a mahogany body with a mahogany set neck, a rosewood fretboard, and abalone mother-of-pearl split block inlays. The guitar also features a Tune-O-Matic bridge, custom star tailpiece, Grover Exclusive tuners, Buzz Feiten Tuning Sys-tem, Randall UL neck, and Ultra XL bridge pickups.

The Washburn WV1800CMK offers all of the same fea-tures as the PS1800CMK, but with a stop tailpiece in lieu of the custom star. The PS1800CMK retails for $2,079.90 and the WV1800CMK for $1,599.90, both include a padded gig bag.www.washburn.com

Rhythm Tech’s StickballThe Stickball is a percussive shaker/effect that slips on and off any drum stick and offers a clas-sic dry shaker sound. It slides on and off the stick and holds securely without the use of a wing nut or other tightening mechanism.www.rhythmtech.com

Teen’s Musical Theatre from Alfred PublishingBroadway Presents: Teen’s Musical Theatre Anthology is a collection of musical theatre songs from a variety of shows that span de-cades of theatre history. Using the original vocal scores, the songs have been selected and adapted with the ranges and skills of

teen singers in mind. Historical and contextual commentary, audition tips, and 16-bar cut suggestions are included. Table of contents is different for both the female and the male editions and have been carefully chosen to suit each.www.alfred.com

Helius Press’ The Savvy MusicianThe Savvy Musician, by Dr. David Cutler, is cre-ated to help aspiring musicians build a career, earn a living, and make a difference. It exam-ines elements often overlooked or misunder-stood by musicians, such as entrepreneurship, product development, branding, marketing, networking, the new recording paradigm, per-sonal fi nance, funding, relevance, and legacy. www.helius.com

Jupiter Builds XO SeriesFor 2010 the Jupiter’s XO series of professional horns continues to build by adding low brass, bass trombones, and a lead trumpet.

The 1240L-T bass trombone features a .571” bore, open wrap design and incorporates an independent Dual Thayer rotor valve assembly. The XO 1242L bass trombone features a .562” bore, open wrap, offset dependent rotor, and mechanical-link tapered rotary valves. A D tuning slide is provided with the 1242 as standard equipment. Both models are available with a lac-

quered yellow brass body and a two-piece 9.5” bell in either yellow or rose brass. They have a brass outer slide with nickel-silver crook and chromed inner slides three interchangeable mouth pipes and the XO Series wood-frame case.

The 1600I trumpet features a .453” bore, silver-plated yellow brass body and a 4.8” hand crafted B1 bell with heavy bead to provide additional mass and resonance. It features a reverse leadpipe and professional two piece valve casing with nickel silver balusters. It uses stainless steel valves and a vertical 3rd valve stop. Players can customize their horn with the pearl inlaid and metal fi nger buttons, regular and light action springs, and standard and heavy weight bottom valve caps.

The 1284 CC Tuba features a graduated .732”-.787” bore, an 18” yellow brass bell, and rose brass leadpipe. There are four front action stainless steel pistons with additional rotary valve with nickel silver rotor and metal linkage. It features elliptical tuning slide crooks and an adjustable thumb ring.www.jupitermusic.com


www.rolls.com


Vater Honors Memeory of Jeffrey PhillipsIn October, Vater Percussion brought Xavier Muriel, drummer for Buckcherry, to Weymouth High School in Massachu-setts, as a guest speaker for the school’s music students.

Xavier spoke to the 60 plus mu-sic students about his personal back-ground, the history of Buckcherry, life on the road, his inf luences, and what his hopes and dreams were when he

was a high school music student back in Austin, Texas. Xavier also took some

time to answer questions and to sign autographs.

The Xavier Muriel session at Weymouth High School was part of Vater’s ongoing in-volvement with the school in memory of Jeffrey Phillips, who passed away this past July. Phillips who graduated from Wey-mouth High in 1996, was an employee of Vater for 10 years. Additionally, Vater has donated $14,000 worth of drumsticks and percussion accessories to the school.

For more information, visit www.vater.com.

Anthem Partners with D’Addario Anthem Musical Instruments, Inc. has announced a partnership with D’Addario

to provide Anthem with Rico mouth-pieces, ligatures, and reeds for the entire Anthem line of woodwind instruments.

65amps enlists Mad Sun Marketing65amps has contracted the services of Mad Sun Marketing, a marketing agency special-izing in the music and audio industries.

Mad Sun Marketing is run by veteran music industry marketer, Laura B. Whit-more. As the marketing manager at Korg USA, Whitmore handled strategic market-ing, planning, and execution for the Korg, Marshall and VOX brands for the company.

For more information, visit www.65amps.com.

SONiVOX Worldwide Distributing Way Out Ware SONiVOX have acquired exclusive distri-bution rights to Way Out Ware’s existing product set as well as all future Way Out Ware products. SONiVOX will sell and market Way Out Ware’s existing prod-ucts through its worldwide distribution channels as well as collaborate with Way Out Ware on a creative level. Moving for-ward in this partnership, Way Out Ware will shortly unveil the fi rst of many new

Over 900 organizationsswitched to Jackrabbit

Tired of Paper?Allow your customers to sign up and pay online!

Worried about switching systems?Free import of your current customer data.

View Online Training Videos & User Guide

Super Easy web-based Music School Management Software

“Jackrabbit web-based software is the most comprehensive, user-friendly program available; it's completed by constant enhancements, tireless support, and cutting edge technology.”

- Matt Coker – www.CokerMusic.com

Request a FREE trial at: JackrabbitMusic.com

Supplierscene

Supplier Scen December.indd 96 11/24/09 3:00:25 PM

www.jackrabbitmusic.com


products being designed for the comput-er-based musician and producer.

Way Out Ware’s current products, including the TimewARP 2600 and Ki-kAXXE, are available now at www.sonivoxmi.com.

The Schimmel TwinTone Receives Award in FranceIn the latest comparison of pianos, publicized by the French music periodical Classica, the Schimmel C 120 International TwinTone was awarded with the Choc de Classica.

The Schimmel TwinTone is an integrat-ed digital piano, which allows the pianist to switch the piano’s acoustic sound pro-duction to silent playing. The key move-ments are transformed into sounds by the digital piano and can be heard through headphones. Thus, the pianist can choose between classical piano sound and silent

piano playing. Classica pronounced the judg-ment: “The German piano manufacturer Schimmel has made a masterly move by reconciling the Ger-man tradition with the Japanese technology by Yamaha.”

To fi nd out more, visit www.schim-mel-piano.de.

The NAMM Foundation Invites Music Educators to Music Education DaysThe NAMM Foundation is inviting school music educators to attend the third annual Music Education Days event at the 2010

NAMM Show, held annu-ally in Anaheim, Calif. in January. Although the NAMM show is closed to the public, the NAMM Foundation invites mu-sic educators on January 16th and 17th to learn about the instruments and accessories that can best help them teach

their students how to learn and play music.Music Education Days events provide an

opportunity for music teachers to interact

with each other and music products indus-try professionals and address mutual con-cerns about access to music education for all children. This year’s Music Education Days also feature a Best Tools for Schools pro-gram developed by Symphony Publishing that will allow music educators to identify music products and materials that provide innovative solutions and opportunities for music learning.

“School Band and Orchestra magazine is looking forward to presenting the Best Tools for Schools program,” said Sidney Davis, group publisher, Symphony Publish-ing. “Music teachers will make the product selections during the NAMM trade shows and a panel of their peers will present the items to the assembled educators on Sun-day afternoon. The selected items will be profi led in SBO and serve as a guide to our readership of 20,000 band and orchestra directors in their selection of new items for their school music programs.”

Some of the event highlights of Mu-sic Education Days include: a welcome reception and orientation at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Anaheim Con-vention Center; the Sandy Feldstein Music Industry Roundtable, presented by Crane School of Music, at 4 p.m. on Saturday; Idea Center Session: Trends In Music Edu-cation on Sunday at 1 p.m.; and Idea Cen-ter Session: Top Ten Best Tools for Schools, presented by SBO magazine/Symphony Publishing Group on Sunday at 2 p.m.

“The NAMM Foundation is very ex-cited to be hosting music educators at the NAMM Show again this year as we cel-ebrate their vital role as teachers, musical mentors and community leaders, “ said Mary Luehrsen, executive director of the NAMM Foundation. “The NAMM Show opens its doors to these music educa-tors and encourages them to explore the instruments and musical products that could make a big difference in the lives and education for children and young people.”Music Educators that wish to attend may register before Jan. 1, 2010. Non-member housing opens November 4th. For more information and to secure a hotel room during your stay in Anaheim, visit the fol-lowing site before December 11th www.namm.org.

Delta Series

AVAILABLE IN A VARIETY OF FINISHES & STYLESSend $4 US for COLOR CATALOG 13027 Brittmoore Park Drive, Houston, Texas 77041

by GOTOH1:21 ratio

America’s Premier Guitar & Bass Parts Supplier

Supplier Scen December.indd 97 11/24/09 3:00:43 PM

www.allparts.com

www.rocnsoc.com


Business Opportunities

Classifi eds• Band and Orchestra Rentals• New and Like New Educator-Approved Brand Name Instruments• Personalized Rent-To-Own Program• No Franchise Fee or Inventory Investment• No Shipping Costs• High Commissions Paid the 1st of Every Month• Exceptional Service

For Classified Sales Call Maureen • 800-964-5150 ext. 34 • [email protected]


We Help People Make MusicMusic Store Wanted

If you have a successful single or multi-location music store you would

like to sell please contact us. Flexible terms offered.

Send inquires [email protected]

or by phone at 510-584-6839

At Big Bends, all our guitar accessories are:

Handmade • Hand fi lled • Hand assembled Used by some of the top players in the world

Made in the USA

If not available thru your favorite distributor, call 888.788.2363

www.bigbends.com • [email protected]/bigbends

Accessories

Business OpportunitiesClassifi ed AdvertisingTo place an ad, please call Maureen at 800-964-5150 x34 or email [email protected] by: Visa, MC, Amex or Check Classifi eds must be paid in advance.

Symphony Publishing21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 • Fax: (781) 453-9389

MMR_98 98 11/24/09 10:41:20 AM


Visit the Classifi eds on the Web: www.MMRmagazine.com

CLASSIFIEDS on the MOVE!check www.mmrmagazine.com for daily updates!


800-964-5150 ext. [email protected]

For Classifi ed Sales Call Maureen

For SaleMusic Store Owner RetiringHigh traf c area, very successful.

We are a full line music store,10,000 sq. ft. free standing building,

Band instrument rental program14 lesson rooms with over 400 students

major lines guitars, drums and accessories,Established 21 years, includes

tuning business, piano moving withtruck and band and instrument repair dept.

Can be subdivided: 4,000 sq. ft. and 6,000 sq. ft.

Call 631 495-3223New York

MUSIC SCHOOL/STORE for SALE(in operation since 1986)

Housed on its own PRIME REAL ESTATE property in a beautiful, affl uent suburb

of Houston, TX

27-plus teachers for almost 600 students; half-acre back lot ideal for store expansion or rental space.

Call Owner at 832 445-5668or BROKERS at 281 358-2222 or

281 973-0456Real Estate and Music School/Store

operation can be sold separately

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2009Recognized as HOUSTON’S BEST by the US Commerce Association

Profi table Online Strap Business.Established and growing business

making unique custom instrument straps.

Fully operational e-commerce site,inventory, raw materials and

machines included in sale. Can beran from home. Ready for a dealernetwork. No brokers please. $15K

www.guitarstrapsonline.comSteve @ 800-340-0809

MMR_99 99 11/24/09 10:41:27 AM



Help Wanted

For Classified Sales Call Maureen 800-964-5150 ext. 34 • [email protected]

HARD SHELL PLASTIC CASESFlute $9.00, Piccolo $6.00

Clarinet $10.00, Oboe $12.00

ELKHART CASES1-800-582-0319

ACCORDIONS, CONCERTINAS, & BUTTON BOXES new, used, buy, sell, trade, repair, tune,

CASTIGLIONE DISTRIBUTING CO.13300 E 11 MILE WARREN, MI 48089

PH # 1-586-755-6050 WWW.CASTIGLIONEACCORDIONS.COM ENDORSED BY HEART - LIVING COLOUR - LETHARGY

Merchandise

Wholesale orders welcomed

[email protected]

MMR_100 100 11/24/09 10:41:33 AM



Merchandise

www.mmrmagazine.com

Oboes & BassoonsWe create the fi nest hand-crafted Oboes

& Bassoons. Also replacement 5K Bassoon Bocals.

Linton Woodwinds Corporation, Jack Linton

1013 Alma St. Elkhart, IN 46514 U.S.A.PH: 1-866-220-2909 Fax: 574-266-7658

E-Mail: [email protected] www.LintonWoodwinds.com

YAMAHA–KAWAI& MORE

CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED PIANOS

Asian High Quality

No other supplier offers superior service before,

during and after the sale. You get what you pay for!

GUARANTEEDLANDED QUALITY

1-800-782-2694North American Music

11 Kay Fries DriveStony Point, NY 10980Fax: (845) 429-6920

FINANCING AVAILABLE

1,000,000+ And Counting!Over one million posts on our world famous Piano Forums, and growing. More than 11,000 unique visitors stop by Piano World every day.

Be smart, advertise your piano related business on the most popular piano web site in the world.

PianoWorld.comHome of the world famous Piano Forums.

Ready to Advertise, or Still Need Convincing?Visit www.PianoWorld.com/advertising ... Today!

800-964-5150 ext. [email protected]

For Classifi ed Sales Call Maureen

MMR_101 101 11/24/09 10:41:39 AM



MiscellaneousBAND INSTRUMENT REPAIR VIDEO

Save $$$ on repair expense. Earn extra income. Journeyman repairman offers “How To” videos on the repair of

brass and woodwind instruments. For information write to:

B.I.R.V. Co.880 Slater Rd.

Bellingham, WA. 98226(360) 384-6707

For Classifi ed Sales Call Maureen 800-964-5150 ext. 34

[email protected]

CLASSIFIEDS on the MOVE!

check www.mmrmagazine.com for daily updates!

Reps Wanted

Sales Representatives Wanted!!

Michigan-based Brass, Woodwindand accessories line. Join a

great new organization with an “artist-endorsed” product.

Competitive Commissions with incentive.

Contact: [email protected]

FAST TURN-AROUND ON STOCK REPAIRS NATIONWIDE

NAPBIRT member, 26 Years Experience

Contact: Dan Rieck, [email protected]

For 60 years we have provided musical instrument

repair tools to technicians and musicians around the world. We have a wide selection of pads and other supplies in

addition to our repair tools. Contact us today for a FREE CATALOG.

Repair ToolsBOW REHAIRING

Expert Bow ServiceOrder forms,Pricing and Shipping label at:

www.bowrehairing.com

Violin bows as low as $10.00 per bow in quantity incl. shipping (see website fordetails.) Large inventory of replacement parts both new and vintage.

IRA B. KRAEMER & Co.Wholesale Services Division

“An industry leader since 1967”467 Grant Avenue, Scotch Plains, N.J. 07076

Tel: 908-322-4469 Fax: 908 322-8613 e mail: [email protected]

INDEPENDENT SALES REPS

Sales Reps WantedMost territories open

A Great Job!Hunter Music

Instrument [email protected]

Position WantedFretted Instrument Specialist

28 yr. music industry pro w/Retail, Wholesale & Manufacturingknowledge with Asian, European &USA experience - Willing to relocate

Contact: [email protected]

Guitar Show Operators

Promote your show dates and reach every guitar dealer in the US

through the classifi ed pages of MMR.

Call Maureen 800-964-5150 ext 34

MMR_102 102 11/24/09 10:41:45 AM


MOVING?Don’t miss a single issue of MMR...

Let us know 6-8 weeks before your move so we can continue to send your magazine

without interruption.

PAST

E OL

D LA

BEL

HERE

!

NEW ADDRESS HERE! Name ___________________________

Address _________________________

_______________________________

City ____________________________

State ____________Zip ____________

21 Highland Circle, Suite 1Needham, MA 02494

(781) 453-9310

Vintage Instruments

SHIPPING YOUR PIANOwith Lone Wolf Trucking

is a “grand” idea!An independent, long-distance Mover

specializing in coast-to-coast residential Relocation.

1-800-982-9505www.lonewolftrucking.com

Alamogordo,New Mexico. 88310ICC MC-256289

Services

Wanted USED TUBASANY CONDITION-CASH PAID

THE TUBA EXCHANGE1825 CHAPEL HILL RD.

DURHAM, NC 277071-800-869-8822

WWW.TUBAEXCHANGE.COM

Wanted To Buy

WE, BUY, SELL, TRADE and ship worldwide.

Written APPRAISALS available.GRUHN GUITARS,

400 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 256-2033fax (615) 255-2021 www.gruhn.com

www.mmrmagazine.com


RestorationPIANO KEY RESTORATION,

.075 Tops w/Fronts - $175.00, German Tops w/Fronts - $215.00,

Gloss Sharps - $100.00, Keys Rebushed: Premium Cloth - $150.00, Ivory installed

$3000 set, $45 each (head or tail). Custom Made Keys, Other Services Available.

Call/e-mail for price list. Free FedEx Gnd return excluding HI/AK.

WALKER PIANO KEY SERVICE, 789 St Rt 94 E, Fulton, KY 42041,

www.walkerpiano.com 1-800-745-6819,

[email protected].

Store For SaleFOR SALE

Beautiful central FloridaWell-known music store,

Located 24 years on East Coast!All inventory/ xtures, turnkey!

Major brands, full-line.No real property. 8 + studios Owners have aging parents.

Call PM only. Partner/investor okay.

321-725-3047

ShowsORANGE COUNTY

WORLD GUITAR SHOW 2010on NAMM Weekend in Costa MesaOrange County Fair & Expo CenterJanuary 16, 10-5 * January 17, 10-4

I-55 South & Arlington Avenue

*This 153rd Amigos show is not af liated with NAMMJust minutes away down

Harbor Boulevardfrom the Anaheim Convention Ctr.

NAMM Show.This is a vintage and new product show

featuringthousands of new, used, old and rare guitars, amps.

Meet builders, manufacturers, dealers, collectors.

Fly to NAMM with your favorite vintage piece and get top dollar at

our great show.Take a break from your NAMM

schedule and hop over to the West Coast’s largest consumer guitar event!

www.TXshows.com

CLASSIFIEDSon theMOVE!

www.mmrmagazine.comcheck

for daily updates!

MMR_103 103 11/24/09 10:41:50 AM

Adindex


COMPANY NAME E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS PAGE COMPANY NAME E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS PAGE

AAc-Cetera Inc. www.ac-cetera.com 48Al Cass 96Alfred Music Publishing www.alfred.com/dealer 73Allparts www.allparts.com 97Amati’s Fine Instruments www.Amatis.us 39America Longxing Inc. www.huntermusical.com 54American DJ Supply Inc. www.americandj.com 13American Way Marketing LLC [email protected] 93Anderson Silver Plating 94Antigua Winds, Inc. www.antiguawinds.com 40

B/CJ.J. Babbitt Co. Inc. www.jjbabbitt.com 36Bedell Guitars www.bedellguitars.com 53Creative Bags and Cases Ltd www.madarozzo.com;

www.hoyerguitars.com 28-29

DD’Addario & Co. www.daddario.com 38Direct Import Assistance Corporation [email protected] 76Dream Cymbals And Gongs www.dreamcymbals.com 92Dunlop Manufacturing Inc. www.jimdunlop.com 14

EEastwood Guitars www.eastwoodguitars.com 61Eleca International www.eleca.com 63EMD Music Inc. www.staggmusic.com 47

G/HGeorge L’s www.georgels.com 48Good for the Goose Products www.chopsaver.com 76Graph Tech Guitar Labs www.graphtech.com 54Great Divide Guitars www.greatdivideguitars.com 7Hailun USA www.hailun-pianos.com 77

JJack Rabbit Technologies www.jackrabbittech.com 96Jody Jazz www.JodyJazz.com 14Jones Double Reed Products www.jonesdoublereed.com 58

K/LKawai America Corp. www.kawaius.com cov 2Kyser Musical Products Inc. www.kysermusical.com 57Levy’s Leathers Ltd. www.levysleathers.com 17

M/NMeisel Accesories LLC www.meiselaccessories.com 55Mel Bay Publications Inc. www.melbay.com 11NAMM www.namm.com 18-19

National Educational Music Co. www.nemc.com 45NS Design www.NedSteinberger.com 46

OOasis Inc www.oasishumidifi ers.com 60Ohana Music www.ohana-music.com 62OnBoard Research Corp. www.tuners.com 63Optek Music Systems www.fretlight.com 53

P/QPearl River Piano Group www.PearlRiverUSA.com 59Piano Disc www.masonhamlin.com 23QMP Sales www.qmpsales.com 50

RRetail Up www.retailup.com 16Roc-N-Soc Inc. www.rocNsoc.com 97Rolls Corporation www.rolls.com 95RS Berkley Instruments www.rsberkeley.com 52

SSaga Musical Instruments www.sagamusic.com 33Samson Technologies Corp. www.samsontech.com 3SHS International www.shsint.net 92Shubb Capos www.shubb.com 76SKB Corp. www.skbcases.com 43String Swing Mfg. Inc. www.stringswing.com 9Super-Sensitive Musical String Co. www.cavanaughcompany.com 91

T/UTKL Products Corp. www.tkl.com 1Tone Gear www.The StringCleaner.com 61Tone Rite www.tonerite.com 90

V/WVandoren www.dansr.com 56Vandoren www.dansr.com 22Vandoren www.dansr.com 34Vic Firth, Inc. www.VicFirth.com 41Vic Firth, Inc. www.VicFirth.com 44Visual Sound LLC www.visualsound.net cov 4Westheimer www.cortguitar.com 37Wittner GmbH & Co. KG www.wittner-gmbh.decom 51Wyman Piano Company www.wymanpiano.com 42

YYamaha Corp. of America www.yamaha.com 35Yamaha Corp. of America www.yamaha.com 15Yorkville Sound Inc. www.yorkville.com 49

MMR_104 104 11/24/09 12:29:15 PM

MMR_COV3 COV3 11/24/09 10:48:27 AM

www.jazzednet.org

MMR_COV4 COV4 11/24/09 10:48:13 AM

www.visualsound.net

MMR December 2009

Documents

Transcript of MMR December 2009