Music & Sound Retailer August 2017, Vol 34 No 8 by Music & Sound Retailer

DJ & LIGHTING ISSUE DJ & LIGHTING ISSUE DJ & LIGHTING ISSUE DJ & LIGHTING ISSUE DJ & LIGHTING ISSUE August 15, 2017 Volume 34, No. 8

THE NEWS MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC PRODUC TS RETAILERS

BE SURE TO WATCH

DJing IN THE DIGITAL AGE THREE RETAILERS DETAIL HOW THEY ARE ADJUSTING TO CHANGING TIMES

By Michelle Loeb As electronic music continues to dance its way to the top of the charts, so too does it remain a strong element of MI sales in stores across the country. The Music & Sound Retailer caught up with three retailers who are leaders in the DJ products industry to ﬁnd out what trends they see in the market, where they see room for improvement, and how store owners who currently don’t have a DJ department can take advantage of this growing market segment without missing a beat. (continued on page 26)

Summer NAMM Was A Success, Led By Education And Entertainment

By Brian Berk Last month’s Summer NAMM at Music City Center in Nashville can be summed up in two words: “Education and Entertainment.” NAMM made sure plenty was offered on both ends, with the Breakfast Sessions on Thursday and Friday being perhaps two of the most important ever presented to MI retailers. In all, NAMM reported 14,284 industry members attended the three-day show from July 13 to 15, a 2-percent increase compared to last year. There was one major theme of both Breakfast Sessions: MI retailers must focus on customer experience over everything else — including even (continued on page 28) (continued on page 24) (continued on page 26)

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NAMM Votes in New Slate of Executive Officers The NAMM board of directors unanimously voted in the next slate of officers on July 15 at Summer NAMM in Nashville. At the meeting, the board officially welcomed each industry leader to new roles. The 2017 executive committee includes Chair Robin Walenta, Vice-Chair Chris Martin IV, Treasurer Joel Menchy and Secretary Tom Sumner. The vote and seamless transition sees Walenta, previously NAMM’s vice chair, move into the new role as chair of NAMM’s board of directors. Walenta is president and CEO of West Music Co., a familyowned, seven-store, full-line retailer based in Coralville, Iowa. “I am truly honored to represent our membership as chair and to serve our industry. As both a commercial and retail member, I look forward to sharing my perspective to address the challenges that we face today and to prepare our industry for the opportunities of the future,” said Walenta. “Through my career-long involvement with NAMM, I have learned that networking builds beneficial and productive communities; that educational opportunities provide vital catalysts for new and ongoing musical ventures; and that, in today’s world, music advocacy is more important than ever. I am excited to be at the forefront of continuing diversification and broadening inclusivity in both our members and the products and services we represent.” As part of her first official duties, Walenta welcomed Tom Sumner to the executive committee as secretary. Sumner is past member of the board of directors and currently senior vice president of Yamaha Corporation of America, “It’s truly an honor to be elected to the NAMM executive committee, and I look forward to continuing to grow and serve the industry,” said Sumner.

Guitar Center May Restructure Debt Guitar Center Inc. is looking to restructure its $1.3 billion debt burden, as more and more music makers move their shopping online, according to Reuters. Guitar Center’s financial struggles echo those of many brick-andmortar retailers, whose stores increasingly serve as showrooms for consumers, who then turn to the internet and big-box retailers for bargains on musical instruments and related products, the news outlet reported. In addition to Amazon, musicians can now buy their instruments from online retailers like Sweetwater and Reverb.com, as well as directly from manufacturers like Fender Musical Instruments. Guitar Center, majority-owned by Ares Management LP, has been having conversations with investment banks and law firms about hiring advisers to help address its capital structure, according to sources familiar with the matter. Reuters reported that these sources asked not to be identified because the company’s plans to cut its debt have not been made public. Ares declined to comment. Guitar Center’s debt is currently trading at a significant discount to its face value. Its $325 million in unsecured bonds due in 2020 are trading at about 59 cents on the dollar, according to Thomson Reuters data. Guitar Center has $615 million in secured bonds due in 2019, which are trading at about 87 cents on the dollar. If the restructuring is successful, it would be the second time in recent years that Guitar Center has undergone a debt restructuring. In 2014, Ares, which was Guitar Center’s creditor at the time, swapped its debt in the retailer for a controlling equity stake, cutting the retailer’s debt by about $500 million. In April, credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service Inc. said it did not expect that Guitar Center will generate enough free cash flow in the next 12 to 18 months to materially reduce its debt and improve leverage. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

Outgoing Chair Mark Goff was honored during the meeting and applauded for his eight years of service on the executive committee. Reﬂecting, Goff offered, “It has been an incredible honor to represent my fellow NAMM members as chair over the past two years. During my tenure, I have been privileged to see our association at work across the globe and I’m extremely proud of the positive impact we are making as we help more people make more music every day. In addition, executive committee members Joel Menchey and Chris Martin will transition to their new roles. Menchey is the president and owner of Menchey Music Service, a seven-location school service and keyboard music dealer headquartered in Hanover, Pa., and will serve as secretary of the executive committee. Martin is the sixth-generation owner and CEO of C.F. Martin & Co. Inc., a manufacturer of acoustic guitars and strings, based in Nazareth, Pa., and now, vice chair of the NAMM executive committee. In other NAMM board-related news, the NAMM Young Professionals named Mark Despostakis of Pennsylvania-based Progressive Music as president. Despostakis succeeds Ryan West of West Music Co.

THE NEWS MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC PRODUC TS RETAILERS

VOLUME 34 NO.8

Features ON THE COVER DJing in the Digital Age As the keynote in our DJ & Lighting issue, Michelle Loeb takes an in-depth look at the industry, including what’s hot, how to ﬁnd new customers and make your store DJ ready. Helping her out are several of the most successful MI DJ retailers, including Music Trends, Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center and Canal Sound & Light.

ON THE COVER Smashville Summer NAMM in Nashville last month had to be considered a success, evidenced by a 2-percent attendance rise. Find out what worked at the show, with education and entertainment the primary drivers.

Columns 30 The Music & Sound Independent Retailer 32 Special to the Retailer Steve Zapf, president of Music & Arts provides plenty of insight regarding why the MI retailer is not dying — despite news headlines regarding a general brick-and-mortar malaise — and why MI retail can still thrive.

34 Five Minutes With

The Retailer speaks with Tarik Solangi, RCF USA’s vice president of sales, who offers plenty of information about why he enjoys his role, the latest and greatest from his company, and why MI retailers are so important to the company.

36 MI Spy Will the world’s greatest sleuth ﬁnd Brotherly Love in the Philadelphia area? The quick answer is “yes,” with one retailer standing out in his/her mind.

39 NAMM Top 100 Dealer Awards in Photos A photographic look at last month’s big winners at the NAMM Top 100 Dealer Awards at the Music City Center in Nashville.

40 From the Trenches Allen McBroom explains why the music store should be a shrine to happiness, as opposed to letting any negative inﬂuences from the outside world seep through its doors.

42 Shine A Light It took a lot for Cream City Music to become the Cream of the Crop in its Brookﬁeld, Wis., neighborhood. It began in a spare bedroom in 1999, where an eBay business was founded to sell CDs and musical instruments. The business then grew into a small retail store and, in 2006, quadrupled its size to a 6,000-sq-ft. location.

44 Retailer Rebel Social media is an important (and inexpensive) way to drive business to your store. Gabriel O’Brien provides eight tips on how to up your Instagram game.

Dan Vedda takes a detailed look at Electro-Harmonix’s decision to part ways with Amazon. Find out why he thinks this could work for the industry at large.

Buzz

3 Latest 20 People 22 Products 4

54 Under the Hood 22

Blackstar Ampliﬁcation is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. We take a look at its VENUE Series MkII amps and its many features, including its USB connectivity, which could be a major selling point for those interested in home recording.

AUGUST 2017

Cover photo by aLive Coverage

46 Veddatorial

EDITORIAL

Confessions From an Old Newbie I last attended Summer NAMM in 2010. I have not seen the annual progress from the perspective of that show, but I believe I offer a unique perspective, especially considering I have attended many tradeshows in different industries in the past several years. My ﬁrst thoughts about Summer NAMM last month in Nashville are overwhelmingly positive. We all know Winter NAMM is a tremendous event. But even the summer version rivals — if not bests — the shows I’ve seen in the other industries in which I was employed. Summer NAMM educational sessions are tremendous, and a free breakfast is something no other trade organization ever provided for me. Comparing Summer NAMM to itself in 2010, I can easily say that if it were a sports game, this year’s edition would completely blow out 2010’s version. The venue, Music City Center, compared to a dilapidated Nashville Convention Center, which is still being torn down, is the most obvious difference. But the more important changes have come inside the show halls. I attended the Breakfast Sessions on Thursday (“The Retail Store of the Future”) and Friday (“The Connected Consumer in an Online World”) and can say these were perhaps the best sessions I have been to in any industry. Sure, I acknowledge I’ve been to a couple of more entertaining keynote sessions in my career. But I have never been to any better ones when it comes to providing actual tips for retailers to improve their business without breaking the bank doing so. In addition, I also attended Thursday’s “Amp Up Your Business With eBay: Insider Tips and Tools,” which was well worth the half-hour investment. I spoke to several retailers at Summer NAMM. Not one regretted coming and giving up three days of their time. I heard on several occasions, “If I get one really good idea from the show, it was worth my time.” Evidence of this

statement will be presented in next month’s “Independent Retailer Roundtable” cover story. As for the show floor, I had a great time seeing the people I really missed since my last stint as editor of this magazine. When speaking to manufacturers, most were quite pleased because they mentioned seeing the “right” people to help them in their businesses. Yes, a few mentioned slower floor traffic at times, particularly on Friday, the second day of the show. But, for the most part, the manufacturers who didn’t have sky-high expectations told the Music & Sound Retailer they were quite pleased with what they saw. As for the other big aspect, evening entertainment, the difference between the last time I attended Summer NAMM and this year was night and day (pun intended). NAMM has made two tremendous additions. The Top 100 Dealer Awards presentation on July 14 was a fantastic event. It was professional and well crafted, with several in attendance even receiving swag bags, akin to attending The Oscars. Congratulations to all the winners that night, including Madison Heights, Mich.-based A&G Central Music, which was named Dealer of the Year (see page 39). Beyond this great event, I was struck by how the Top 100 recognition was stamped on these retailers’ badges, as well as a pin they gladly wore throughout the tradeshow. And for exhibitors, the event taking place on Friday night was significant, meaning many retailers were still perusing the show floor on the last day of the show, July 15. Also, the first night of the show, July 13, added a great new wrinkle to Summer NAMM. The National Music Council presented the American Eagle Awards after the show ended, instead of being a daytime event. The awards, presented to Crystal Gayle, Harry Shearer and Patti Smith, as well as featuring a comedic turn by Paul Shaffer, was a rip-roaring success.

August 15, 2017 Volume 34, No. 8

VINCENT P. TESTA President/Publisher

JANICE PUPELIS Art Director STEVE THORAKOS Production Manager CIRCULATION circulation@testa.com FRED GUMM Digital Art Director MATT VAN DYKE Editorial/Social Media Coordinator mvandyke@testa.com

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Editorial and Sales Ofﬁce: The Music & Sound Retailer, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York 11050-3779. Phone: (516) 767-2500 • Fax: (516) 767-9335 • MSREDITOR@TESTA.COM. Editorial contributions should be addressed to The Editor, The Music & Sound Retailer, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York 11050-3779. Unsolicited manuscripts will be treated with care and must be accompanied by return postage. Sound & Communications • DJ Times • Sound & Communications Blue Book The Music & Sound Retailer • The DJ Expo • IT/AV Report The Retailer’s Vnewsletter • Convention TV @ NAMM • InfoCommTV News VTTV Studios The Music & Sound Retailer (ISSN 0894-1238) (USPS 0941-238) is published 12 times a year for $18 (US), by Retailer Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779. Periodicals postage paid at Port Washington, N.Y. and additional mailing ofﬁces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Music & Sound Retailer, PO BOX 1767, LOWELL MA 01853-1767

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Electro-Harmonix Drops Amazon In a move that could set a major industry precedent, Electro-Harmonix has terminated its relationship with Amazon. “We sent a letter to Amazon in May, stating we will not supply them with product any longer,” Mike Matthews, founder of E-H, told the Music & Sound Retailer during a phone interview. He added that as a vendor, he has had several problems with Amazon, including its return policy. “With Amazon, customers can seemingly return a product for any reason and get immediate credit,” said Matthews. “In addition, if the customer checks off that the product wasn’t working or functioning, then the return is free freight, no questions asked. So many consumers check off that the product is not working. And then, when Amazon returns the product to us, they charge what we feel are exorbitant shipping costs.” Matthews explained this shipping cost carries a flat rate of $3.02 per item, and when multiple items are returned, shipping costs really add up. A second reason why E-H terminated its relationship with Amazon is due to MAP pricing, E-H’s founder told the Retailer. He noted that retailers, under alias names, can have “stores” on Amazon’s site that sell E-H products below MAP. Many of these shipments are fulfilled by Amazon. Amazon’s policy of “co-mingling” inventory that it holds as part of its fulfillment business makes it very difficult to directly correlate a product’s serial number to the actual retailer advertising below MAP. “It even reached the ridiculousness where Amazon was complaining to us about people selling below MAP on their site under alias names,” said Matthews. “They wouldn’t tell us who it was, yet they are complaining to us about it. It’s absurd.” According to Matthews, the final straw was when E-H told Amazon it only wanted its products sold on Amazon’s USA site. However, E-H noticed in recent months that Amazon posted E-H’s products on the United Kingdom site. “We don’t supply Amazon in Europe,” asserted Matthews. “It would be a disaster.” Matthews said E-H told Amazon several times it wanted Amazon

to pull its postings from the UK site and, finally, he implemented a deadline by which to do so. Five minutes before the deadline, Amazon called Matthews, stating it would remove E-H products from the UK site, but the products would return to the site sometime in the future. Matthews added he has told MI retailers not to advertise E-H product on Amazon after Aug. 1. A number of retailers told E-H they would stop doing so right away, he said. “Most of our stores are extremely excited about this policy,” Matthews said. Matthews said the move will affect short-term sales, but he is confident MI retailers will pick up the slack. “In the long term, I’m not worried about it,” he said. “We’re very strong financially, so we absorb whatever short-term loss there is.” Since it stopped supplying products to Amazon, Matthews said he receives about three emails a week from Amazon, but said with certainty he will not be changing his mind. “I believe enough dealers will be pleased they don’t need to compete with Amazon regarding our products and will put more emphasis on stocking and selling Electro-Harmonix,” stated Matthews. “I’m too old and I don’t need the aggravation,” he continued. E-H products are still sold on eBay, Matthews noted, but added E-H has not encountered the same problems with the auction website as it has with Amazon. Matthews concluded he has not discussed his decision to terminate Amazon with any other vendor, but he believes there’s a strong possibility other vendors could be fed up with Amazon policies, as well.

Rain Expands Product Lineup Rain announced its open-beta release of the Reverb.com integration. The integration allows musical instrument retailers to easily push products from the Rain Point of Sale system to the Reverb.com marketplace with automatic inventory changes updated across Reverb and the Rain system in real time. “The Rain integration with Reverb is an important part of our business,” said Jeremy Chapman, co-owner of The Acoustic Shoppe. “Now we’re able to push products to Reverb without having to manually list them. If an item sells in store, it’s automatically taken off Reverb. If we get new inventory in, it’s put back on Reverb … and we can sell our products to a much broader audience.” Rain also announced catalog integrations with D’Addario and Alfred Music. The integration makes it possible for music retailers to add full product details from these vendors to their point of sale system just by scanning the product barcode. Product details, including product title, description, UPC and part number are all automatically populated in the Rain point of sale system. AUGUST 2017

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Hal Leonard Kicks Off ‘Red Hot’ Distribution Deal Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith on July 10 visited the Hal Leonard corporate headquarters in Milwaukee to kick off its distribution of Vater Percussion. Chad has been an endorsee of Vater since 1992 and has his own line of “Funkblaster” sticks with the brand. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were in town for a headlining performance at Milwaukee’s Summerfest music festival. “We’ve been having a lot of fun growing the drum-related distribution side of Hal Leonard,” said David Jahnke, Hal Leonard senior vice president of national sales. “We’ve been distributing Tycoon Percussion, Gretsch Drums, Gibraltar Hardware and several other lines, so it was a nice fit to add premier sticks to our roster. We feel like we’re a one-stop shop now for retailers looking for anything drum related. With our dedicated six-person drum team we’re confident we can service all drum shops or departments.” The Vater Percussion brand is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2017, and the Vater family has been making drumsticks for decades before that. “We are very pleased to be working with the Hal Leonard sales team,” said Alan Vater. “Its dedicated sales force in the field and their knowledgeable Drum Team reps will effectively cover both our band/ orchestral and combo sides of the market. Hal Leonard’s recent entry into the world of percussion gear has been a great success and further cemented their excellent reputation as a first-stop source for dealers. Vater is so proud to be among the great product lines that Hal Leonard has chosen to represent, and we look forward to an excellent and fruitful partnership going forward.” In addition, Sound Enhancement LLC, manufacturer of Morley and Ebtech products, inked an agreement with Hal Leonard MI Distribution to serve as master distributor for the majority of its U.S. dealers. “We have partnered with them to expand our ability to service our U.S.

dealers and tap into the excellent resources from a seasoned music industry distributor,” stated Sound Enhancement. While the Morley staff will be available, Hal Leonard will be handling everything in regard to placing orders, order fulfillment, marketing, promotions, invoicing and ongoing communications, sales, and fulfillment services. “[Hal Leonard’s] sales team is full of musicians, experts and passionate individuals whose continued hard work drives their ongoing success. We are confident that this partnership will pave the way for product innovations, improved service overall, and step up our already excellent dealer and customer service,” said Morley U.S. Sales Manager Bill Wenzloff. Dealer pricing and terms should generally stay the same, according to Sound Enhancement.

D’Addario ‘Commits’ to New NYXL Campaign

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D’Addario is launching a new campaign, #Commit, highlighting how its NYXL is the “only string with the sound, engineering and strength to meet the standards of the world’s most committed players. Commitment isn’t about fame, or status, or even skill level — commitment is a mindset and a way of life, an active decision that an individual makes to keep playing every single day of their life. We want everyone, whether they are true beginners or household names, to know that D’Addario honors their musical commitment.” The D’Addario NYXL #Commit campaign will launch with new print and digital advertising featuring Tosin Abasi, Nile Rodgers and Chris Sholar. According to D’Addario, each artist chosen for the campaign exempliﬁes the range of what it means to be committed to your craft as a player; Abasi, for his technical mastery, honed over countless hours of practice and play over many years; Sholar for his reputation as one of the hardest-working session musicians playing today; and Rodgers for his status as one of the music world’s true living legends, who has sacriﬁced and survived both professional and personal setbacks only to come out on the other side even more committed to his craft. Campaign features include a print campaign: The new NYXL AUGUST 2017

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#Commit advertising campaign has begun to roll out in guitar print publications and will run throughout the year. Digital ads on guitar and gaming sites, including site takeovers and re-targeting ad banners, also just began appearing and will continue throughout the end of the year. The NYXL #Commit social campaign began on June 16 with the launch of Facebook.com/PLAYNYXL. D’Addario’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels will be updated, featuring new NYXL artwork, and will direct people to the new NYXL Facebook page. Exclusive video contact featuring Nile Rodgers, Tosin Abasi and Chris Sholar will be promoted heavily across all of D’Addario’s social channels. This content will include performance footage, interviews and various “tips and tricks” behind-the-scenes content, and will run well into fall.

‘Smashing’ New Shop Reverb.com, the online marketplace for buying, selling and learning about music gear, and Billy Corgan announced that The Official Billy Corgan Reverb Shop will launch on Aug. 16. The shop will feature more than 100 items spanning the iconic musician’s historic career, including guitars, amps, and more used on tour and in the studio with the Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan. “Of all the artist-owned gear we’ve been fortunate to sell on Reverb, this collection of gear from Billy Corgan has arguably the most historic prominence — you can feel it when you pick up any one piece,” said Reverb’s Jim Tuerk, who is assisting Corgan with the shop. “These are the tools that not only defined one of the all-time greats, but an entire generation of music.” Among the items for sale is the Stratocaster that served as one of two primary guitars used on the seminal Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness albums. Other significant Smashing Pumpkins-era pieces include a 1994 Gibson Les Paul Special that served as the main guitar for the Machina/The Machines of God album and tour, as well as the Crate GX15R combo used during that time period. The amp still has the strip of tape with Corgan’s settings for the album’s distortion sound. The shop will also feature gear from Corgan’s personal collection and several guitars used with Zwan, including a 1958 Fender Stratocaster Hardtail 3-Tone Sunburst and a collector-grade 1963 Fender Stratocaster in Candy Apple Red.

Manhasset Stands to Distribute Wind Wynder Manhasset Stands reached an exclusive distribution agreement with T.H.Y. Designs LLC, manufacturer of the Wind Wynder. The Wind Wynder is a device for holding music books, pages, or sheet music on a stand or with a hard music folder on a music stand. According to Manhasset Stands, the Wind Wynder is portable, efﬁcient and easy to use, which allows any musician to make normal page turns in windy, drafty conditions indoors or outdoors, or when music pages will not stay open. The Wind Wynder is designed to be used on music stands, with two clips attaching on each side of the stand and a monoﬁlament line that pulls out from one of the clips, which lies over the music holding it in place, as the musician turns the pages as normal. A velour pouch is included for storing the product. The owners and inventors of the Wind Wynder accessory, Mary Tolokan and RaJean Higginson, expressed their enthusiasm with the distribution agreement. “We are very excited to be partnering with Manhasset to distribute our Wind Wynder product along with their wonderful music stands and accessories! We believe that Manhasset

Stands are the best music stands in the business and we wanted to work with the best possible company to help us market our products.” “The Wind Wynder accessory has a very unique design that will be useful for all musicians whether they are playing indoors or outdoors, wherever there is a current of air that might inadvertently turn pages. The rugged construction and simplicity of design make it easy to use at a suggested retail price of only $29.99,” said Dan Roberts, president and general manager of Manhasset Stands. “Our distributors will have the WWSOLO Wind Wynder product soon, for symphonies, outdoor festivals, music camps and schools. We know this product will become an integral part of every musician’s accessories packed in their gig bags.”

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Alfred Celebrates Make Music Day; Advocates Education Alfred Music partnered with the Make Music Alliance in June to support guitar and ukulele Make Music Day events nationwide. Make Music is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21. Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, it is now held on the same day in more than 750 cities in 120 countries. Completely

NPD: Wireless Headphone Market Ready for Growth The wireless headphone market will show consistent growth, adding $2.2 billion in incremental value in 2018, according to the new “Future of Tech” report from The NPD Group. The research ﬁrm added, 16 percent of consumers it surveyed plan to purchase a pair of wireless headphones in the next year, with about two thirds (65 percent) of the buyers men and one-third women. According to NPD, $25 price points will drive the in-ear wireless market, as entry-level brands “apply pressure” to legacy brands. The in-ear wireless segment will drive $836 million in incremental revenue in 2018. As for around-the-ear headsets, “premium price points” will drive roughly $706 million in growth for this category. In total, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of those surveyed already own at least one pair of wireless headphones. “The middle of the market is becoming something of a no-man’s land, with unit demand on the rise at both the low-cost and premium ends of the segment,” remarked Ben Arnold, executive director, industry analysis, for The NPD Group. “An important factor here is that many headphone buyers are replacing a device — whether it’s a cheap set they use at the gym or the high-end one they use to get the best experience at home. We may ﬁnd the top purchase factor is: what are

Harman Rises on Fortune 500 List Harman International Industries, which was acquired earlier this year by Samsung, placed No. 386 on Fortune’s 500 list for 2016, compared to its No. 419 ranking in 2015. Last year, the Stamford, Conn.-based company achieved revenues of nearly $7 billion and earned $361.7 million in proﬁts, according to Fortune. The company also had $6 billion in assets and $2.45 billion in stockholders’ equity, the magazine reported.

Dom Joins Promark Dom Famularo joined Promark by D’Addario’s family of percussion artists. “We are all excited to have Dom join the Promark family of artists and educators,” said Jim Bailey, D’Addario educator relations manager. “Dom is an inspirational ﬁgure to drummers around the world and his 40-year career as an educator will be an invaluable resource for our education support efforts.” “Having been with Evans Drumheads for many years, I have had a front row seat to the D’Addario Promark adventure! When D’Addario puts its DNA into a product ... magic happens! The feel of every stick sits in my hands with complete comfort and their support of music education is unmatched,” said Famularo. Famularo has been an Evans artist since 2006. 12

different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. All of it is free and open to the public. As part of the 2017 Mass Appeal series, Alfred Music helped thousands of guitarists to rock out for Make Music Day. In dozens of cities, guitarists of all levels came out for free lessons, to play along in a massive strumming crowd. Free Alfred Music songbooks were distributed to all, so that everyone could play along. This year’s songs included “Margaritaville,” “Blue Moon,” “I Can See Clearly Now,” “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and “New York, New York.” In addition, Alfred Music provided free copies of “It’s Ukulele Time” at Mass Appeal Ukulele events, giving everyone a set of classic songs to play together. Also, Alfred Music’s Ron Manus and Jennifer Paisley-Schuch from May 22-24 joined nearly 100 music industry leaders, notable artists and arts education activists to advocate for all school-aged children to have access to quality, comprehensive school music education programs, as part of NAMM’s Fly-In. The delegation met with members of Congress and other policy stakeholders to reinforce the importance of music as part of a well-rounded education. “I am inspired every day by the stories that teachers, students and parents share with us about their music making journeys, and I am so grateful that Alfred Music gets to play a part,” said Manus. “It is up to us to ensure that every child who has the desire to learn and participate has access to a quality music education. Because if we don’t, who will?”

KMC Pro Audio Makes Major Moves KMC Pro Audio announced that American DJ, AtlasIED and Quest have joined its expanding roster of pro audio brands. The announcement follows the previous appointment of KMC Pro Audio by TASCAM, the professional audio division of TEAC, and Mackie, part of LOUD Technologies. “The addition of these ﬁve new brands to our portfolio underscores the fact that KMC Pro Audio is now strategically positioned to meet the needs of a broader range of our customers who are involved in a wider range of pro audio applications,” said Roger Hart, KMC vice president of merchandising. “We are honored to be named a distribution partner for these innovative brands and we are fully committed to becoming an integral part of their sales and marketing teams.” In addition to American DJ, AtlasIED, Mackie, TASCAM and Quest, KMC Pro Audio’s brand portfolio also includes AKG Acoustics, Ashly Audio, Audio Technica, Audix, Crown, dbx, Focusrite, Galaxy, JBL Professional, MBT Lighting, Monster Cable, PowerWerks, RCF, Samson Technologies, Sennheiser, Shure, Soundcraft and Ultimate Acoustics. “We are strengthening our promise to serve our dealers as a AUGUST 2017

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‘one-stop’ source for all of their pro audio needs, and these new additions to our portfolio really demonstrates just how fast we are achieving this goal,” Hart asserted. “Speakers, amplifiers, pre-amps, interfaces, DSP, controllers, consoles, stands, microphones, mixers, cables, acoustical room treatments, literally the entire food chain of pro audio products and brands is now available from KMC Pro Audio, and this availability from a single source is going to have an accelerating impact on our retailers’ pro audio business in 2017.” KMC Pro Audio also announced it has been appointed to serve as a U.S. distributor of Mackie loudspeakers, mixers, portable PA systems, recording and studio monitoring products. “Mackie is a worldwide leader in professional audio innovation with a well-deserved reputation for creating superior performing products that also deliver the highest levels of performance reliability,” said Hart. “Constantly focused on forward-looking product design that delivers maximum real-world customer benefits, Mackie has consistently defined and redefined performance and value for customers in bars and clubs, houses of worship, mobile DJ, musicians, production and rental, restaurant and retail, and studio recording. We are proud to add Mackie to

our growing roster of industryleading pro audio brands.” According to Hart, Mackie product is now in stock and available for immediate delivery to KMC dealers nationwide. “We are very excited to an-

nounce a distribution agreement with KMC. This is a great opportunity to make Mackie products more accessible to a wider range of customers. We believe it’s a win/win for all parties involved, including KMC dealers that will

beneﬁt from the new option to add the iconic Mackie brand to their PA and Recording assortment,” said Henri Cohen, LOUD Technologies vice president, worldwide sales MG Brands (Mackie-Ampeg).

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Gretsch.com Gretsch introduced a new website. Among the features of the new Gretsch.com are a visitor-friendly, responsive website built for mobile, tablet and desktop users; updated blog and social feed to engage with our worldwide community and to easily share content; timeline to visually display the nearly 135-year history and legacy of Gretsch; and a go-to destination to learn about Gretsch drum and guitar events happening worldwide. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

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The Music Begins Here MM.ORG 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ NA T S U G U A IAL â&#x20AC;˘ ADVERTOR

e Note From Jo

A Special Thank You to Our Exhibiting Members Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just a few months away from The 2018 NAMM Show, and our exhibiting members deserve a huge â&#x20AC;&#x153;thank youâ&#x20AC;? for their commitment and leadership to the growth of our industry. The stable and reliable platform that they have come to depend on to build their brands will once again be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;gathering of the tribesâ&#x20AC;? for the global music, sound and event technology products business. This January, member companies large and small, from over 130 countries, will come together to see the latest product innovations, experience a vast array of education opportunities and enjoy the exciting networking and musical events that only happen at The NAMM Show.

to the exciting future opportunities that music technology brings to our industry.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll also round out the missing piece of our musical puzzle and attract live sound, lighting, staging, touring and event technology professionals to The NAMM Show with enhanced education opportunities. By working together with AES and ESTA, our show will truly be the crossroads of all The common SURIHVVLRQDOV ZKR LQË&#x160;XHQFH KRZ PXVLF LV PDGH denominator is (and heard, and enjoyed around the globe.

While being predictable in a very unpredictable world has been a good thing at The NAMM Show, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re excited about the many changes in store for this upcoming year. Thanks to always has been) music, feedback from exhibitors and buyers alike, and that is what Music educators, music business majors and we have taken big steps to improve the The NAMM Show is all national and international educational policy show experience and increase the ROI leaders will also have special education for everyone. The addition of the new aboutâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the â&#x20AC;&#x153;crossroadsâ&#x20AC;? opportunities, bringing the entire musical 200,000 square foot North Hall at the of our global musical ecosystem together. Anaheim Convention Center will give us a ecosystem. much-needed opportunity to â&#x20AC;&#x153;remodel the Joe Lamond In a day where technology makes every individual store.â&#x20AC;? There will be more space to network a thought leader and communicator, bringing all and meet as well as improved food areas, easier the â&#x20AC;&#x153;musical tribesâ&#x20AC;? together has never been more aisle movement and a big commitment to contain important. Who knowsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the person visiting your booth could VRXQG OHYHOV RQ WKH VKRZ Ë&#x160;RRU WR PDNH LW HDVLHU WR FRQGXFW EH DQ LQË&#x160;XHQWLDO VRFLDO PHGLD VWDU ZLWK D PLOOLRQ <RX7XEH RU business. Twitter followers! And the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media will be watching too, giving our members and our music-making message In addition, with the fruition of some important strategic unprecedented coverage. alliances, NAMM will be virtually tripling our educational offerings. NAMM University, which includes the Breakfast We are grateful for your support and eager to see each and every Sessions and Idea Center, will offer up a whole new slate of one of you in January. Thank you! relevant and high value education for our retail members. Furthermore, TEC Tracks will help our members build a bridge Joe Lamond NAMM PRESIDENT AND CEO To view the recently released 2018 NAMM Show map and peruse the new campus layout, visit NAMM.org/map

10+ Billion in Buying Power

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Your best customers and partners will take part in this annual “family” reunion, creating an international platform to discuss sales, understand product and distribution challenges, explore marketing programs and take industry cues. This face-to-face interaction with your brand is critical in building business relationships that last.

The robust show ﬂoor, world-class education and unique show experience draws the best of music retail and distributors, as well as venues, schools, studios, theaters, cruise ships, amusement parks, houses of worship and other businesses, utilizing the show to ﬁnd the latest in music, sound, and event technology products.

The NAMM Show attracts 1,500 media outlets from around the world, across newspaper, TV, print, radio and digital, helping NAMM exhibitors not only generate momentum for new products, and highlight brand beneﬁts, but also increase industry demand at the start of each business year.

Millions of Social Media Impressions

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An international collective of artists, celebrities and inﬂuencers share their NAMM experiences with millions, helping exhibitors demonstrate and position their brand within the marketplace. And our new partnerships with the livestream leader, Twitch.com, creates a virtual experience that extends the show’s reach to even more potential customers.

With the music, sound and event technology industries gathered in one place at one time, there are ample opportunities to create custom content for promotions across multiple media platforms that are in line with the hottest trends. Utilize your NAMM Show experience in real time to reach a broader global audience in year-long sales and marketing efforts.

See ﬁrst-hand how your team interacts with each other and with customers as they promote your brand. First-hand observations can lead to improvements through industry education, training and role-playing, allowing you to establish the right uniﬁed approach for working with customers, handling objections and closing the sale.

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Sweetwater’s GearFest a Sweet Success Sweetwater Sound’s GearFest 2017 was its biggest event ever, featuring record-breaking attendance of more than 14,000 participants, up 20 percent versus 2016, and with sales up by 44 percent compared to the prior year. Launched in 2002, Sweetwater’s free, annual GearFest is the nation’s largest customer-focused music and pro audio festival and tradeshow, featuring exhibits from manufacturers, workshops, clinics, seminars, live demos, special performances, a musician’s ﬂea market and much more. “One of the most exciting and humbling experiences I enjoy every year is personally greeting thousands of our customers at the front door as they arrive,” said Chuck Surack, Sweetwater founder and president. “Their enthusiasm for Sweetwater and GearFest is astounding and they really appreciate our incredible employees and their personal, caring, and welcoming interactions with each and every attendee. All this, plus its continued growth in overall attendance and sales, has made GearFest a unique event in the music retail business.” The event took place June 23 and 24 at Sweetwater’s corporate headquarters in Fort Wayne, Ind. Featured guests included Grammy Award-winning producer/engineers Al Schmitt, Chris Lord-Alge and Chuck Ainlay. Famed musicians included virtuoso guitarist Eric Johnson; Dweezil Zappa discussing and performing Frank Zappa’s music; Steve Stevens, guitarist for Billy Idol and Michael Jackson; guitarist Andy Timmons, who has performed with everyone from Joe Satriani to The Beach Boys; Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Earth, Wind & Fire keyboardist Larry Dunn; bassist and vocalist Rhonda Smith, who has toured with Prince, Beyonce, Jeff Beck

and many others; renowned blues/jazz guitarist Robben Ford, who in addition to being a founding member of the Yellowjackets and successful solo artist, performed with Miles Davis, George Harrison and Joni Mitchell; Terry Bozzio, drummer for Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, Duran Duran and Deborah Harry; and Omar Hakim, drummer for countless A-list artists including Miles Davis, Sting, Weather Report, Madonna, David Bowie and Michael Jackson. In total, GearFest included more than 200 workshops and seminars, including sessions on guitar, recording, live sound, music creation with computers, acoustics, songwriting and how to use electronic instruments. Housed in more than 20 tents, more than 400 manufacturers of musical instruments, music technology and pro audio equipment were on hand to provide GearFest attendees a look at the latest gear. In addition, hourly prizes were given away, totaling more than $50,000 worth of music instruments and equipment.

Fender Debuts Fender Play Fender Musical Instruments Corp. has launched Fender Play, a new video-based digital guitar lesson platform. It features hundreds of instructor-guided video lessons utilizing a song-driven, personalized learning path that enables even brand-new players to master chords and riffs in minutes. The platform is geared toward beginners, and is designed to make the early stages of learning to play guitar more accessible and rewarding, encouraging new players to stick with their lessons. Fender Play is the latest release from the company’s Fender Digital division, which was established in 2015. “Fender Play is a platform created to enable and produce the next generation of players,” said Ethan Kaplan, general manager of Fender Digital. “Ninety percent of people who pick up the guitar will drop out after one year, and we see Fender Play as a solution to that challenge. The more people play, and the longer they play, the more likely they are to commit; that’s what Fender Play is designed to do: to keep players inspired and committed to making music.” He continued, “Creating more highly-committed players is not only good for Fender, but for our retail partners. We see it serving as a supplement or practice tool for students outside of lessons — especially for those that need to squeeze in that late-night practice session.” Upon signing up for Fender Play, users answer a variety of questions on preferred instrument and genre. Those responses guide the creation of a comprehensive, customized curriculum comprised of personal “learning paths.” Courses in these paths focus on a song16

based method, teaching foundational core techniques and riffs alongside lessons for recognizable hits from artists and bands such as U2, Shawn Mendes, The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Meghan Trainor, Carrie Underwood and more. The program boasts a catalog of hundreds of songs arranged specifically for players at various skill levels. The curriculum was created with a panel of educational advisors from prestigious music programs, such as the Thornton School of Music at University of Southern California in Los Angeles and Musicians Institute in Hollywood. On an ongoing basis, Ph.D.s and instructors from these institutions will oversee the creation of lessons, implement research-based pedagogy and apply solid instructional design to effectively promote muscle memory and retention. “We believe Fender Play will be a huge industry game changer and a significant, sustainable business — not just for Fender, but for our retail partners,” said Andy Mooney, CEO, Fender. “A free trial for Fender Play will be bundled with a variety of guitars, amplifiers and accessories designed for first-time players, adding incremental value for dealers. We’ll also give our retail partners the opportunity to upsell a subscription to Fender Play for every guitar and amp sold.” Fender also plans to continue to support Fender Play through the retail channel going forward. According to Mooney, “In 2018, Fender Digital will launch an instructor edition of Fender Play offering instructors’ tools to work with students in person and online, to help instructors track student progress and decrease dropout. This will AUGUST 2017

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NAMM Hands Out $675K in Grants The NAMM Foundation will beneďŹ t 24 different music-education programs with $675,000 in grants, an increase made possible by NAMM Foundation donors. The beneďŹ ciaries, located both domestically and abroad, provide access and instruction to a variety of different communities and demographics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From France to Brazil, to Canada and Great Britain and beyond, the recipients of our grants are working to create access and opportunities for all people to experience the joy of making music,â&#x20AC;? stated Mary Luehrsen, executive director of The NAMM Foundation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is through the transformative work of nonproďŹ t music service organizations that thousands of people will discover their own musical talents.â&#x20AC;? Since its inception in 1994, the NAMM Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual grant program has donated more than $16 million in support to domestic and international music-education programs, scientiďŹ c research, advocacy and public service programs related to music making. The grants are funded in part by donations from NAMM and its 10,300 member companies worldwide. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are grateful to the many new and existing donors who have so generously beneďŹ tted the NAMM Foundation this past year,â&#x20AC;? said Luehrsen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Their generosity has helped the Foundation expand its grant making efforts to beneďŹ t numerous opportunities for people of all ages to experience the joys and beneďŹ ts of making music.â&#x20AC;? come with ďŹ nancial participation for dealers who opt in. Fender can then direct students who want to augment online learning with in-person lessons to instructors teaching at the dealerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s store. If both Fender and our dealers can together reduce abandonment by 10 percent, we can double the size of the guitar, amp and accessory market segments, which would be a major win for the industry.â&#x20AC;? Fender Play can be accessed via web browser, and is also available on the go with the Fender Play app for iPhone, which can be downloaded from the App Store. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

The Guitars and Accessories Marketing Association, Guitars in the Classroom, John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, Little Kids Rock and The Mr. Hollandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Opus Foundation are among the grant recipients. NAMM also announced its NAMM Resource Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Music Histor y Project, a bi-weekly podcast where hosts Dan Del Fiorentino, Michael Mullens and Elizabeth Dale examine innovative creations, the evolution of musical instruments, the changing world of music retail, music industr y icons and other topics covered in NAMMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Oral Histor y Program.

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Fishman Hosts Japanese Distributor Fishman hosted its Japanese distributor, T. Kurosawa Inc., including company President Tomohiro Kurosawa, key staff members and representatives from 10 of the top dealers in Japan. The guests were given a factory tour of Fishman followed by indepth presentations of Fishman products and technologies including Aura preamps and onboard imaging systems, the TriplePlay Wireless MIDI Guitar Controller, Loudbox acoustic amplifiers, the SA Performance Audio System and Fluence Multi-Voice pickups. Clinician Greg Koch was on hand to demonstrate Fluence and Fishman’s acoustic amplification products. The day concluded with a Fishman employee jam on stage in the company’s show room, which showcased all the products that were presented throughout the day. “Having T. Kurosowa Inc. and some of Japan’s best dealers visit Fishman presented us with a terrific opportunity to showcase our products, facility and the entire company in a way that will strengthen the Fishman brand in this important market,” said Jason Cambra, Fishman’s chief operating officer.

Dream Theater’s Rudess First to Endorse Radial Engineering Product Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater became the first artist to officially endorse the Radial Key-Largo, a combination keyboard mixer, digitalto-analog interface and performance pedal. “The Radial Key-Largo is my new best friend!” said Rudess. “It’s hard to believe all the audio connectivity goodness inside this compact unit. After I plugged in two stereo keyboards, my stereo iPad and my Seaboard as well as a standard MIDI keyboard through the DIN port, all I could do was smile!” The Radial Key-Largo is a compact mixer designed specifically for keyboard players. It features three stereo input channels for analog keyboards, a 24-bit/96k USB interface for a laptop to either play softsynths or record, plus MIDI connectivity. There are two performance footswitches and a stereo insert jack for a volume pedal. The first footswitch activates the effects loop enabling the keyboard player to turn on or off effects on the fly. “Immediately after we announced the Key-Largo at the January NAMM show, Jordan contacted us to get a Key-Largo for his personal use,” said Jim Rhodes, Radial Engineering artist relations. “He said that it looked like the perfect keyboard mixer for his setup. As soon as the first unit came out of production, I grabbed it and sent it to Jordan to play with. His response was no less than jubilant. Not only did he send us a letter describing his experience, he also sent us a video to share with Radial fans. I think this level of support only serves to show how cool the Key-Largo really is!” 18

Yamaha Celebrates Make Music Day More than 200 employees of Yamaha, the world’s largest musical instrument manufacturer, performed on June 21 in honor of International Make Music Day, a festival of music celebrated each year in more than 120 countries and across the United States. The performance took place on the great lawn in front of Yamaha Corporation of America headquarters in Buena Park, Calif. Employees played the song “Twist and Shout” while in formation of the company’s famous tuning-fork logo, as a drone captured the excitement overhead. “Music and sound is what we do here at Yamaha, so what is more ﬁtting than celebrating with all of you, and making our own music,” said Tracy Bargielski, Yamaha vice president of human resources, addressing the company’s employees. “Creating music takes dedication, perseverance and passion. Today, we get a chance to share our passion for what we do, because at Yamaha every day is Make Music Day.” “Yamaha is highly involved in music education and the legislation to support such efforts,” added Elizabeth Swift, mayor of Buena Park, who attended the event and presented the company with a Certiﬁcate of Recognition for its efforts to celebrate International Make Music Day. “As a former educator and school board member, I believe that all students deserve a well-rounded education that includes music and the arts. I want to thank each one of you employees for displaying your talents today and celebrating the power that music possesses to bring joy to the world.” The genesis of International Make Music Day dates back 35 years to France, when Jack Lang and his staff at the Ministry of Culture dreamed up an idea for a new kind of musical holiday — a day where free, live music would be everywhere.

RCF Takes ‘Pride’ in Being Sound Reinforcement Provider at Summer NAMM RCF was commissioned to provide the sound reinforcement at the 2017 Summer NAMM live performance stage form July 13–15 in Nashville, Tenn. The Reverb Stage on the Terrace is an outdoor performance area located adjacent to the Nashville Convention Center where NAMM showcased emerging musical acts. Headlining on the stage was country music pioneer Charley Pride, who debuted his new album Music In My Heart. “It’s an honor to provide the system for this NAMM event,” said RCF Vice President of Sales and Marketing Tarik Solangi. “We have had so AUGUST 2017

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much success with our HDL20-A line array system that being asked to showcase the system at this NAMM event is exciting.” RCF provides solutions for the retail, integration, studio and live sound markets. The RCF HDL20-A is an active line array cabinet comprised of two 10-inch woofers with a 3-inch neodymium compression driver powered by a 1400-watt Class-D ampliﬁer. The mutli-functional mechanics allow the cabinet to be ﬂown, ground stacked or pole mounted making it a solution for the various needs of live sound applications as well as installation. For the Reverb Stage, RCF utilized eight HDL20-A ground stacked on four SUB8006-AS active dual 18-inch subwoofers. For stage monitors, there was a combination of NX12-SMA active 12-inch coaxial cabinets and TT45CXA dual 10-inch high-powered cabinets. RCF worked with partner Thunder Audio on the production.

A New Heritage Heritage Guitar Inc., of Kalamazoo, announced a partnership with MONO to deliver the high-quality gear combo for guitar players. All Heritage guitars now ship with a MONO Betty Strap, but customers will also be entitled to a discount off a MONO case to match their new guitar. They can claim this instantly in-store from selected Heritage and MONO dealers, or direct from monocreators.com. Meng Ru Kuok, head of MONO said, “Heritage is an incredible brand, with a long history of craftsmanship and an ongoing dedication to handcrafting guitars from the legendary factory at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo. This partnership draws on a shared commitment to ensuring our customers have the best products possible. “We are proud to be the case of choice for Heritage, a brand that puts real love into building their instruments.” Archie Leach, president & CEO from Heritage said, “We’re excited to be working with MONO, with their balance of quality, protection and style in their company DNA. “We take such care while handcrafting our instruments, and knowing that musicians can keep their guitars in perfect condition in a MONO case helps us deliver on our promise of long-living quality. As for the Betty Strap, it’s well known by guitar lovers for its excellent construction and extreme comfort, which allows for the best playing experience, even if you’re jamming for hours every day.”

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

Girl Power Twenty classic models of Daisy Rock Girl Guitars are now available for immediate delivery to dealers nationwide from KMC Music. “We’re proud to be able to offer dealers this innovative guitar line designed and engineered to meet the needs of female players of every age and ability,” said Roger Hart, KMC Music’s vice president of merchandising. “Our dealers are now able to make specific model recommendations for each type of player. We believe the availability of this unique line of guitars will significantly increase business for our dealers.” KMC Music re-introduced 20 of the line’s most popular models at NAMM 2017, including the Wild Wood Electric-Acoustic, Wildwood Short Scale Acoustic, Pixie Acoustic-Electric, Jr. Miss Short Scale Acoustic, Pixie Acoustic, Rock Candy Classic Electric, Stardust Retro-H, Bangles Signature Mode, Elite Venues Electric and Rock Candy Bass series models. All Daisy Rock Guitars include a limited lifetime warranty, arrive set up and are ready to play. Daisy Rock Guitars founder Tish Ciravolo noted, “JAM Industries and KMC Music are providing the Daisy Rock Girl Guitars brand with the focused product development, sales and marketing support we need to reach the broadest possible market of female musicians. Together, we are empowering women to reach their full player potential!” All Daisy Rock guitars are designed specifically for the female form and feature lightweight bodies, and “Slim & Narrow” neck profiles to better-fit smaller hands. Daisy Rock Girl Guitars’ ongoing mission is to do whatever it takes to help girls play guitar and enjoy music. Daisy Rock Girl Guitars is a division of JAM Industries USA.

PEOPLE

Watanabe is Wanted Yamaha Corporation of America announced Yoh Watanabe has been promoted to director of marketing for the company’s Pro Music division. In this newly formed position, Watanabe will lead the company’s guitar, drum and music production teams in the development of new initiatives to support the division’s marketing and ﬁnancial objectives. He will report to John Shalhoup, general manager of the Pro Music division. “Yoh’s successful tenure with the Yamaha AV division, combined with his extensive background in marketing and gaming technology, make him well-positioned to create a substantial impact on the Pro Music division,” said Shalhoup. “He is the perfect addition to our team.” Watanabe previously served for ﬁve years as the marketing communications manager for the Yamaha AV division. There, he oversaw the marketing staff responsible for all tactical marketing initiatives, including advertising, website maintenance, content marketing, event marketing and dealer support. Prior to joining Yamaha, Watanabe enjoyed a long career in the gaming industry.

Edgar the Dynamic Beyerdynamic Inc. named Edgar van Velzen as the company’s new managing director. Together with Wolfgang Luckhardt, long-standing managing director, the Dutchman is now at the helm of the Heilbronn, Germany-based audio specialist. Most recently, van Velzen was CEO of Teufel GmbH in Berlin, Germany. “We value the extensive experience that Edgar van Velzen brings to the company and are delighted to have acquired such an accomplished audio industry executive and someone who knows exactly how to handle the challenges of the digital age,” said Wolf Michael Nietzer, chairman of the Administrative Board of beyerdynamic GmbH & Co. KG. “He is an expert in developing global distribution strategies and understands the importance of a strong brand. He is able to harness his knowledge in order to drive the company forward on the international stage with innovative product ideas and advance the business as a whole by means of strategically smart optimizations across the board. We look forward to a successful working relationship with Edgar van Velzen at beyerdynamic.”

Bob the Director Armadillo Enterprises, which consists of Dean Guitars, Luna Guitars and ddrum, announced that Bob Berheide has joined the company as director of global sales. Berheide brings more than 19 years of experience working in a variety of high-level sales and management positions. He has worked with guitar and drum brands such as Mapex, Ludwig, Hohner and Walden, as well as having 13 years’ experience as an educator and performer. “Bob possesses a broadly diversiﬁed array of knowledge and talents, concrete fundamentals, steadfast philosophies, consistent business practices, innovative ideas and robust experience within the sales industry, as well as within the music industry,” said Evan Rubinson, president and CEO at Armadillo Enterprises. “We are happy to have him on board.” As director of global sales at Armadillo Enterprises, Berheide will assume all responsibilities and ventures pertaining to sales management on both domestic and international levels for Dean Guitars, Luna Guitars and ddrum. He brings a variety of administrative sales skills, having worked with major companies such as Gemeinhardt Company, LLC, KHS America and Conn-Selmer Inc. “I am happy to join Armadillo Enterprises at this pivotal point in the company’s history, which is at the cusp of a cutting-edge new era,” said Berheide. “The future is even brighter for Dean Guitars, Luna Guitars and ddrum, as well as the entire Armadillo Enterprises organization.” Berheide graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education and received his Certiﬁcate in Executive Management at Notre Dame. After spending 13 years on one side of music, educating and performing, Berheide spent the next 19-plus years on the other side of music, executing sales strategies in several high-level administrative sales roles. 20

Diamonds and Pearlman After 42 years at Korg USA, Allan Pearlman, district sales manager for the Northeast region, has retired. Pearlman’s long-lasting legacy started with his father, Ben Pearlman, who worked as a sales rep for Unicord, the predecessor of Korg USA. “It’s with great pleasure I congratulate and thank Allan for being a long and cherished member of the Korg family,” said Joe Castronovo, CEO of Korg USA. “Allan has dedicated 42 years selling and representing Korg to our Northeast dealers. He has continually achieved his sales goals, established meaningful dealer relationships and assisted in bringing on the current brands we carry. We are so grateful and honored to be colleagues and friends of Allan’s — a truly great professional and an even better person.” Pearlman was responsible for some of the closest retail relationships at Korg USA, including that of Sam Ash, Main Drag Music and many other notable dealers in the region. “I will truly miss working for this company,” said Pearlman. “I will never, ever forget how wonderful this company has been to me, and I will never, ever forget the great people that I’ve worked with. Retiring is rather bittersweet, but I know that the time is right for me to make this move, and I am certain that Kyle Taylor will do a terriﬁc job when he takes over where I have left off.” Kyle Taylor, former DSM for the Northwest territory, took over as the new sales rep for the Northeast on July 10. AUGUST 2017

PEOPLE

business leader, as well as an exceptional husband and father to his three daughters. Speaking on behalf of Yamaha, I want to express our most sincere sympathies to his family during this difﬁcult time,” said Hitoshi Fukutome, president, YCA. “There are no words for how Brian inﬂu-

lence Project and risk-management strategies, as well as driving One Yamaha organization changes over the last decade. He also served as secretary for the company, as well as on the board of directors for Line 6 Inc., and the Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute. “Brian was an extraordinary

enced Yamaha and so many of our employees in such a special and unique way. His vast contributions to Yamaha over the past 20 years have been key to our growth, and his legacy will have a positive impact for many years to come on everyone whose lives he touched.”

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Brian Jemelian, who provided two decades of distinguished service to Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) and leadership as the company’s senior vice president, ﬁnance and administration, passed away on July 7 in Irvine, Calif., after a brief illness. He was 53. Jemelian led the ﬁnance, information technology, operations, human resources, logistics, legal, tax and credit teams at YCA since joining the company in March 1996. Among his many accomplishments at Yamaha were leading the company’s Business Continuity Project, Process Excel-

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Correction The July issue of the Music & Sound Retailer presented the wrong picture of Frank Rindone, who was named national sales manager at The Deering Banjo Co. The correct photo is shown here. the Retailer deeply regrets this error. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

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Cream of the Crop Over view: Celestion’s Neo Creamback Impulse Responses Speciﬁcs: Celestion’s Neo Creamback IR guitar speaker tones are digital representations of the company’s classic guitar speakers. While still providing the punch of a ceramic magnet Creamback, together with a warm and vocal midrange, the Neo Creamback adds an Alnico guitar speaker as well as some additional note separation. The newly designed magnet assembly adds a little extra to the Creamback-style tone. Five individual IR varieties of the Neo Creamback are available for download, which correspond to each of the ﬁve separate types of cabinets: 1x12 (open back or closed back), 2x12 (open or closed back) and a 4x12 (closed back). For each cabinet, three different studioquality microphones were used, each placed in six discrete locations, resulting in 18 impulse responses per cab. In addition, Celestion has incorporated eight more impulse responses for each cabinet, created by mixing together various single IRs, offering further tonal choice. MSRP: Complete Collection: $29.99; Individual IR: $11.99 Ship Date: Now Contact: Celestion, +44 1473 835300, celestionplus.com

Firm Touch Over view: QSC’s Updated Firmware Specifics: QSC’s updated firmware, Version 3.0 of its TouchMix-8 and TouchMix-16 Series and Version 1.2 for the TouchMix-30 Pro, is available as a free download on its website for current users and will be factory-installed in new production units going forward. Version 3.0 includes 20 significant enhancements. Many features previously available exclusively on the Series’ flagship TouchMix-30 Pro are now implemented. A number of additional enhancements to the mixer are also provided. Version 1.2 provides the all-new features found in the smaller-channel-count models along with a number of additional system and operation enhancements. An update to the TouchMix Control app for iOS and Android devices is also available at those applications’ respective app stores. MSRP: Free Ship Date: Now Contact: QSC, 800.772.2834, qsc.com

Hit the Trifecta Thinking nking Positive Over view: Positive Grid’s BIAS Twin Pedals Speciﬁcs: Positive Grid has released a new line of professional effects stompboxes comprised of BIAS Twin Delay, Modulation and Distortion pedals. All three pedals feature the same quality tone of the BIAS Pro pedals in a compact two-button pedal format. BIAS Twin pedals are designed for musicians who want the best possible tone in a pedalboard-friendly format. Each Twin pedal comes with nine presets that can be easily modiﬁed with six tweak knobs. The pedals feature USB and Bluetooth connections that make them compatible with Positive Grid’s iPad, PC or Mac BIAS Pedal software. Weighing 0.85kg each, the pedals can be powered with a 9V adapter. The Twin features ¼" TRS input and ¼" stereo outputs. MSRP: Call Company Ship Date: Call Company Contact: Musical Distributors Group, 973.335.7888, musicaldistributors.com 22

Over view: Traynor’s TVM15 15W Three-Channel Amp Speciﬁcs: Traynor’s TVM15 is a 15W three-channel amp designed for quick connection to any microphone, instrument and media player. Individual volume controls on each input make the battery powered amp a complete, ultra-compact PA system solution. Channel one is ideal for vocals with an XLR/TRS combi-jack input and independent tone control. A ¼" input on channel two handles instrument sources, such as acoustic guitars, electric guitars or keyboards. An additional RCA aux input allows quick connection to additional audio devices. The amp’s wedge monitor shape projects from ground level, and an integrated stand adaptor allows the amp to be mounted on any speaker stand when used as a small announcement PA or background music source. Additional features include a 6" woofer and 2" tweeter; threeband master EQ; ¼" line out for connecting multiple wider coverage; and charge-level Indicator. MSRP: $299 Ship Date: Now Contact: Yorkville Sound, 716.297.2920, yorkville.com AUGUST 2017

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Rise of the Synths Over view: D’Addario’s Ascenté Synthetic Violin Set Speciﬁcs: D’Addario’s Ascenté synthetic violin string sets are intended for string players of all levels and ages. The sets are designed with a wide tonal range, excellent pitch stability, longevity and durability. The sets are available in three sizes: 4/4, 3/4 and 1/2 in medium tension only. The Ascenté Violin set has solid orange silking at the ball end. MSRP: $39.99 Ship Date: Now Contact: D’Addario & Co, Inc., 631.439.3300, daddario.com

Eagle has Landed Over view: PRS Guitars’ John Mayer Limited Edition Private Stock Super Eagle II Specifics: PRS has made John Mayer a second version of his Super Eagle guitar. Some of the specifications for this special run of instruments include a longer (for PRS) scale length of 25.375", specially-wound 58/15 JM treble and bass pickups with a speciallywound Narrowfield JM pickup in the middle position (with three individual coil-tap mini-switches), a JCF Audio preamp with treble boost, as well as a hand-signed sticker in the f-hole of the guitar that was designed by Mayer’s friend David. The pickups deliver a bright, clear tone. Some new woods and aesthetic choices were also selected for the Super Eagle II, including a one-piece Private Stock curly maple back, African blackwood fingerboard and headstock veneer, paua birds and a green ripple abalone 12thfret violin bird and Private Stock eagle, as well as a new color: Hemp Green. The Private Stock Super Eagle II will be limited to 120 instruments. MSRP: Call Company Ship Date: Call Company Contact: PRS Guitars, 410.643.9970, prsguitars.com MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

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Amped for Battle Over view: Electro-Harmonix’s Battalion Bass Preamp and DI Speciﬁcs: Electro-Harmonix’s Battalion Bass Preamp and DI for bass features a four-band equalizer and fully-featured MOSFET distortion section with three signal-path options: a compressor, a noise gate and comprehensive I/O. The EQ section includes Bass (below 200Hz), Lo Mid (boost/cut at 280Hz), Hi Mid (boost/cut at 750Hz) and Treble (boost/cut above 2kHz) controls. Its Distortion section is equipped with Level, Blend, Drive and Tone controls, plus a dedicated footswitch. Three signal-ﬂow modes determine where the distortion is applied within the signal chain and each delivers unique tonal variations, including Pre, Post and Dry EQ. The Battalion features all-analog circuitry and comes with an EHX9.6DC-200mA AC adapter. MSRP: $197.10 Ship Date: Now Contact: Electro-Harmonix, 718.937.8300, ehx.com

Racking it Up Over view: On-Stage’s Side-Loading Guitar Racks Specifics: On-Stage has released its newest guitar racks, the GS7563B and GS7563W. The racks are designed not only for convenience and security but also for visual appeal, a practical, elegant addition to any stage, studio, retail store or home. The GS7563B and GS7563W side-loading racks accommodate up to six electric, or three acoustic, guitars and feature solid-ash construction with instrumentprotecting EVA at all contact points, and are available in black or natural wood finish, respectively. And at 25" (L) x 14" (W) x 30.5" (H) deployed, and an all-but-flat 25" (L) x 14" (W) x 4" (H) folded, these racks make efficient use of precious studio or stage space and transport easily for load-ins, load-outs and retail floor plan changes. MSRP: Call Company Ship Date: Now Contact: On-Stage, 800.289.8889, on-stage.com

All About That Bass

Silver Special Over view: DPA’s 25th Anniversary Microphone Kit Specifics: DPA’s first-of-three, limited-edition, 25th Anniversary microphone kit features a d:facto 4018V vocal microphone in a nickel finish with a handle that features the 25-year logo. It also includes an SL1 adapter for Sony, Lectrosonics and Shure, also in nickel finish. Only 250 of these kits were made and 50 of them come in an exclusive suitcase with the 25-year logo engraved. The additional 200 will be delivered in a traditional black zip case. MSRP: Call Company Ship Date: Now Contact: DPA Microphones, 303.485.1025, dpamicrophones.com 24

Over view: Supro’s Huntington Family of Bass Guitars Specifics: Supro’s Huntington family of bass guitars feature a newly designed, short-scale bass that combines the classic body shape of the early ’60s Ozark model with vintage-correct passive electronics and sonic inspiration from the Supro Pocket Bass of the same era. The gold-foil pickups found in the Huntington bass are authentic replicas of the original “Clear-Tone” pickups found in the vintage Supro Violin, Taurus and Pocket Bass models. These highoutput single-coils deliver deep low end, with very low noise and a massive sound that stays warm and balanced across the entire range of the instrument. The Huntington bass is available in single, double and triple pickup configurations with an optional piezo bridge and a variety of metallic and transparent colors over a choice of Mahogany, Swamp Ash or Alder tonewood for the body. The Huntington’s maple neck has a smooth, black satin finish and 30" short-scale length, with a glued-in, set-neck joint that provides ergonomic access to the entire rosewood fretboard. MSRP: Huntington I: $999; Huntington II: $1,099; Huntington III: $1,299 Ship Date: Now Contact: Supro, 631.331.7447, suprousa.com AUGUST 2017

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Drumming Up Interest Over view: Berklee Press’ Three New Drum Titles Speciﬁcs: Berklee Press has released three new drum titles. Berklee Jazz Drums, a book with over 200 online audio examples by Berklee professor Casey Scheuerell, teaches students how to play jazz drums and to develop their own personal style. Scheuerell explains how to develop your own sound, perform a wide variety of essential jazz time feels, and improvise dynamic ﬁlls and solos. A Manual for the Modern Drummer by Alan Dawson and Don DeMicheal helps players to learn jazz drums from one of the classic texts of jazz drumming. This book, originally published in 1962, presents some of DeMicheal’s seminal thoughts about drumming technique. Mastering the Art of Brushes — 2nd Edition, by Berklee professor Jon Hazilla, includes 10 concepts for good brush playing; 32 patterns for ballad, medium and up-tempo playing, and more.

Hawaiian Islander Over view: Islander by Kanileà’s Mini Guitar Specifics: Islander by Kanileà’s Islander Mini Guitar is available with mahogany, rosewood or acacia back and sides and a solid-spruce top. It is perfect for guitar players at any level. A 23.5" scale and 1.5" width at the nut makes for easier handling and playability on an ED-G-B-E tuning. Feature accents like the bevel cutaway and bevel armrest make this instrument even more pleasing to play. Available in acoustic or with active pick up, and comes with a free carrying case. MAP: $429-452 Ship Date: Now Contact: Islander by Kanileà, 808.234.2868, islanderukulele.com MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

MSRP: Berklee Jazz Drums: $19.99; A Manual for the Modern Drummer: $14.99; Mastering the Art of Brushes – 2nd Edition: $19.99 Ship Date: Now Contact: Hal Leonard, 800.554.0626, halleonard.com

DJING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: THREE RETAILERS DETAIL HOW THEY ARE ADJUSTING TO CHANGING TIMES

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What’s Hot and What’s Not As the DJ industry becomes more and more computer-based, DJ customers are moving away from cumbersome physical media and moving more toward controllers and software that make mobile DJing easier. “Today’s DJ products are light-years away from where they were when you needed a lot more gear to achieve the same level of performance,” said Bob Savarese, owner of Music Trends in Levittown, N.Y., which he proudly calls The DJ’s Toystore. “Before you would need two turntables, two amps and all this other gear, and now you can do so much more with a sophisticated digital media controller and a high-powered laptop computer.” The laptop of choice among Savarese’s customers is the Apple MacBook Pro, which, of course, MI stores don’t sell. However, Savarese isn’t afraid of losing business to the electronics stores where 26

you can pick up your laptop, as well as your speakers, and maybe even some software, because stores like his are where you go to pick up your digital controller, and “without the digital controller, the laptop is useless.” Mid- to high-end controllers also make up some of the best sellers at Canal Sound & Light in New York City, where owner Jeffrey Kwan is “seeing a continued decline in sales of tabletop CD players and traditional DJ mixers. DJs are constantly evaluating and looking for products that either make their lives easier or takes their game to the next level.” Randy White, senior buyer at Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center, who built one of the ﬁrst DJ departments within an MI store back in 1990, has also noticed a decline in the sales of DJ mixers and CD players. “Many DJs are using a computer with Serato and they don’t really feel the need to upgrade their CD players. They’ll keep them AUGUST 2017

until they die,” said White, who specifically has seen interest drop in those products that cater to the club market, as less of those types of venues open across the country. Where White has seen growth is in customers who utilize controllers and other setups using external sub mixers. “That means you take a mixer like a PreSonus StudioLive AR8 and you bring your DJ output and all your wireless mics into a single source,” he explained. “The main reason for this is good microphone inputs and clean, balanced outputs.” Powered speakers remain big sellers, particularly those that are battery-powered and Bluetoothenabled, Kwan said, “to handle gigs and situations where power is an issue. It also makes setup very convenient.” Another category that continues to grow is lighting, especially as products, such as moving heads, continue to trend toward compactness, noted Savarese. Lighting sales are also brisk for White, who sees a lot of activity with standard and battery-powered uplights, LED moving heads and LED blacklights. “For Mobile DJs, lighting and video are highly important categories that make or break a gig,” said Kwan, “and DJ lighting is now easier than ever to get into. There are many all-inone lighting fixtures that can handle smaller parties and even cooler motorized fixtures that can take DJs to the next level. With wireless app control products by ADJ and lighting software by CHAUVET DJ that analyzes the DJ music library, lighting is more accessible than ever.” That CHAUVET DJ software, called SoundSwitch, was noted by both Kwan and Savarese as one of the most innovative products currently on the market. But according to White, innovation isn’t particularly easy to come by in the DJ industry these days. “Right now, the industry is very status quo,” White said. “Controllers always have their limitations, where things can be made to sound better but you are still using the same core software. Speakers can come with more processing and in different sizes. Innovation has been happening MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

more in the lighting area, as you see more battery-powered lights, an increase in colors and higher output levels. But even they have a wall that they run into. I’m not seeing a revolution, and there is nothing on the horizon that I know of.” While Savarese agrees that innovation in the DJ industry has slowed, he does see the potential for exciting new products on the

horizon. “We are in the middle to third quarter of a product cycle right now, which is typically three to ﬁve years,” he said. “It’s like a car. The ﬁrst rearview camera was a big innovation and now it’s something common that every car has. Manufacturers know that they have to keep refreshing and rejuvenating their products. Today there is a lot of good product on the market, but in the future, we’ll have even more.”

Finding Your Customers Given that so much of the DJ business has gone digital, it is easy for customers to remain on their laptops, downloading software and ordering gear from the Internet, rather than making their way to the local MI store. This creates unique challenges for store owners to both reach (continued on page 50)

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SMASHVILLE: SUMMER NAMM WAS A SUCCESS, LED BY EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT

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product knowledge — to thrive in the future. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond referred to a changing retail landscape in his opening remarks on July 13, noting the constant headlines of retailers closing shop and the disruption caused by Amazon’s announced purchase of Whole Foods Market as “One of the biggest stories of our time.” However, this does not mean retail is dying, author Doug Stephens, known as the Retail Prophet, said following Lamond’s remarks to kick off Summer NAMM. “Retail isn’t dead. It’s just shedding its skin,” Stephens said during the Breakfast Session entitled “The Retail Store of the Future.” “The stakes have risen and you can’t be a mediocre retailer. It’s not that retail is dying. It’s that bad retail is dying.” Stephens described many trends he is seeing now. They are: • Ecommerce is growing 15 percent per year. Compound that every year and it’s signiﬁcant. At least 10 percent of total retail is ecommerce and a lot of it is now mobile. About half of all transactions are somehow impacted by mobile. • Virtual reality can be a tremendous change in MI, allowing such things as consumers virtually jamming with a band. • About 8,300 physical retail stores could close this year. • Consumers are either buying low-end commodity items or premium items as investments. There are far less purchasers of products carrying price points in between. So, with all of this information, how can MI retailers rise above the fray and differentiate themselves in the future? “The consumer really wants an experience. Access to goods is not a problem,” said Stephens. “It’s not what you sell but how you sell what you sell.” The challenge is building this experience, he added. “Products can actually be secondary to experience,” he stressed. “There are two value propositions working well. One is the high utility proposition, whereby 28

the retailer provides the most accessible, cheapest product at any time. The other is high fidelity, where you drill so deep into an experience that nobody can challenge and [you] will own the space and [you] will charge more for that. If I had to choose one, high fidelity is my preference. The other option has you taking on Amazon.” The Retail Prophet continued that creating an experience is so important that it’s possible even to charge membership fees in the future. “Costco charges for its membership and makes little [profit] on the products and most of its money on memberships,” he said. There are five common things good retailers do well today, Stephens noted: 1. They are highly engaging and make a great experience that’s memorable in terms of what you see, hear or taste. 2. They are unique. Customers get the feeling they are doing something they never did before. 3. There’s an element of personalization. Knowing the tastes of the consumer. 4. There is always a surprise. Something the consumer didn’t expect when they walked into the store. 5. They embrace repeatability: Every customer gets the same level of experience every time. He noted retailers who have done a great job of meeting customers’ needs include Uber, Airbnb and Warby Parker. “We don’t just open the store. We lift the curtain on a performance,” Stephens relayed. “The consumer is not just a shopper. They are the audience.” Stephens acknowledged MI retailers are busy. So, if they can only do one thing, he recommended journey mapping. “Look at every element of a consumer experience,” he said. “Identify moments of truth where, if you let the consumer down, you lost them. What’s the combination we can apply to be different? Journey mapping makes a difference. AUGUST 2017

It forces you to confront your blemishes.” Speciﬁcally for MI retailers, Stephens recommended going after a customer’s obsession to be a better-than-average musician. “You’re selling someone’s deepest aspiration to be John Lennon for just 20 minutes. You’re selling the dream.”

Friday at NAMM Some out there believe Amazon will someday rule the world. But don’t count Doug Fleener of Sixth Star Consulting as one of them. The Friday Summer NAMM Breakfast Session speaker acknowledged retail has become a commoditized business, but he offered 10 ways MI retailers can rise above the fray and differentiate themselves in the future. But even before presenting these tips, Fleener, during a session entitled “The Connected Consumer: Customer Experience in an Online World,” said retailers should follow three principles: 1. Be a human company. Remember everything we sell is because it affects someone by bringing joy and letting them express themselves. “Make sure the customer knows who is behind your business,” he said. “Show who the owner and employees are. If you want employees to give a smile, treat them great. Also, give back to your world, the community and this industry.” 2. Leverage, but don’t be driven by, technology. “How does technology make things easier for the customer and how does it make a company more efﬁcient and proﬁtable?” Fleener asked. 3. Create a culture of being “even better.” “Every day, focus your team on getting better. Imagine if, every day, your employees try to get better than yesterday and deliver a better experience than yesterday,” he said. Customer experience drives sales, added Fleener. A survey showed (continued on page 51) MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

The Music Zoo Sponsors Inaugural Guitar Show The Gold Coast Guitar Show hosted its inaugural event on June 10 and 11 in Roslyn, N.Y., sponsored by independent retailer The Music Zoo. The show was stocked with choice gear from major manufacturers like Fender, Martin, Taylor, PRS, ESP and Godin. Additionally, a number of boutique vendors, such as Strandberg, Wild Customs, McPherson and Dunable, exhibited their designs. The show also boasted an impressive list of artist performances from Richie Faulkner, Alex Skolnick, Andy Aledort, Bernie Williams, Gil Parris, Mark Holcomb, Misha Mansoor, Nili Brosh and others. Taking place in the same facility that is home to The Music Zoo, the main exhibition room was the Haute Durvo event space. The Gold Coast Show seeks to bring established and budding guitar builders together to showcase new products and new ideas in an area easily accessed from New York City. According to The Music Zoo, unlike most guitar shows across the country, the focus was on

new gear; attendees could get their hands on these special instruments and enjoy facetime with the brand representative and even the builders themselves. For example, Fender provided a large display of Mustang Amplifiers complete with headphones so show goers could play anything from the show floor without interrupting the numerous gear conversations happening around them. The free event also featured gear giveaways, complimentary water, on-the-spot financing, show-only pricing deals, cool swag and free performances. “We certainly hope this event returns in 2018 for a second go,” stated The Music Zoo.

Rick’s Makes Music Cumberland, R.I.-based Rick’s Musical Instruments Inc. took part in Make Music Day on June 21. According to Rick’s, the 2017 celebration was especially important in Rhode Island, which became the 39th state to ofﬁcially join in the event. Rick’s sponsored four groups who performed from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. They were the G19 Jazz Ensemble, the Intrepid Brass Quintet, Greenwich Bay Brass and The Brian James Quartet. A stage tent was set up in the parking lot at the back of Rick’s, and a section of parking spaces was sectioned off for audience seating. A neighboring restaurant, Adeline’s Speakeasy Kitchen, got involved too by serving complimentary appetizers, and opening their outdoor seating area for patrons. Both Rick’s and Adeline’s heavily promoted Make Music Day in the prior weeks and months, which resulted in a strong turnout. “It was truly amazing,” said Scott Abrahamson who organized the event. “We had customers attend, restaurant patrons who opted to stay outdoors with us, people who drove in off the street, and even people who walked down the sidewalk from surrounding neighborhoods with portable chairs slung on their shoulders.” Abrahamson added that both attendees and musicians are already speaking about taking part again next year. “There is an incredible opportunity in the future to grow our participation in the event,” he said.

Bill Meets Gill Bill Higgins (right), owner of Bill’s Music in Catonsville, Md., recently met country legend Vince Gill while the Country Music Hall of Famer was playing at the American Music Theater in Lancaster, Pa. Much to the delight of his fans, the country crooner played some of his best hits, including “Whenever You Come Around” and “When I Call Your Name.” Bill’s longtime friend, Al Cunniff (left) invited him to the show and was able to get backstage passes to meet Gill. “He couldn’t have been nicer,” Higgins said of Gill. “He is truly a gifted artist and at the same time very approachable to his fans.”

AUGUST 2017

S PEC I AL T O THE R ETAIL ER

COMMUNITY-MINDED MI RETAILERS CAN STILL

THRIVE TODAY By Steve Zapf, President, Music & Arts Having spent much of my life in the music business, I have been fortunate to help shape several waves of growth and innovation in our industry. From my vantage point, there is one consistent format that continues to survive and even thrive today — the small-format, full-service music store with strong ties to the community. To understand the enduring success of these stores, we can look at history to see how they (we) have reacted and adapted to the changing landscape.

1970s and Before: Independent Community Music Stores Dominate In the 1970s, successful music businesses, like the one operated by my father and grandfather in Philadelphia, functioned as a hub for music and musicians in the local community. Zapf’s Music wasn’t especially well merchandised, and it certainly didn’t employ any technology to help with stocking requirements or customer relationship management, but we understood the importance of assortment, expertise, services and community engagement. ASSORTMENT • Assortment doesn’t mean you need to have every permutation of every guitar hanging on the wall. In fact, unless those SKUs turn quickly, the inventory carrying costs can be overwhelming for a small business. • But assortment does require that the basics are always in stock — sticks, strings, reeds, heads, etc. — and that some element of variety (to keep people coming back) exists. This could be new brands, used gear, limited editions, new colors and shapes, or new technology. • A strong assortment can also be achieved by going deep and investing heavily in one category, e.g., acoustic guitars, violins, etc. EXPERTISE • I have nothing against ofﬁce supplies, but we aren’t selling paper clips and staplers. We are in the business of selling complex precision instruments and accessories designed to achieve a particular, pleasing sound. • To be distinctive and authentic, it’s important to have a well-trained team with genuine 32

musical experience on hand for advice and guidance both before and after the sale. SERVICES • Lessons help create new musicians in the community, drive foot trafﬁc to your store and build a market for accessory and step-up sales. • Rentals can make learning more affordable for your customer base, while simultaneously developing a recurring revenue stream. • Repairs can make or break your reputation in the local market with band directors and pros. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT • Events such as recitals and open-mike nights drive retention in your lesson program. • Clinicians drive reputation and engagement in the community. • Outreach such as school services builds relationships, which can be enduring, even in a digital world.

1980s and 1990s: Rise of the Big-Box Stores Music retailing changed dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s as Guitar Center expanded from west to east, Sam Ash expanded from east to west, and Mars Music brieﬂy entered and then exited the market. These new big-box stores successfully capitalized on assortment and buying power to bring both breadth and depth of musical products into the market at very competitive prices. The consumer beneﬁted, and the industry as a whole expanded, but it is also true that some independent community music stores that were not well grounded in the fundamentals faltered. However, there are also many success stories, as we all know. From my perspective today — competing with many, and purchasing some, of these community music businesses — there exists among the successful a common set of behaviors; computerized and professionalized AUGUST 2017

operations, streamlined and focused assortment and a doubling down on expertise, services and engagement in their local community. At least that’s what we tried to do at Zapf’s Music during this time, and what we at Music & Arts look for in the companies we acquire today. Why expertise, service and engagement? Simply put, with limited capital and in a more congested retail economy, it is still possible to be truly distinctive in these areas. And by being distinctive here, it is possible to preserve relationships and relevance in the local community that continue to drive both product and service income. Please note, however, that professionalizing and computerizing operations and streamlining assortment are still table stakes. Running a loose operation subject to shrink, having aging, slow-moving inventory, being out of stock on the essentials, etc., creates an unstable ﬁnancial foundation — one that could ultimately undo even the best relationship and expertise-based business.

2000s: Marketplaces, Dot-Coms & Omni-Channel Retail Change has accelerated rapidly since 2000, the year in which my father sold Zapf’s Music to Music & Arts and my brother Rich and I went digital and started Music123.com. These days we go online to find reviews, comparison shop and order products for next day — even same day — delivery to our door. Retail giants like J.C. Penney, Sears and Macy’s have closed hundreds of stores in wide swaths of the country since the beginning of this year. Once dependable chains like Payless ShoeSource, Radio Shack, The Limited and HHGregg have all recently filed for bankruptcy — and many more companies seem to be poised to follow suit. New formats in music retail are proving successful, but they still leverage one or more of the core elements — typically assortment and expertise, as services and community engagement are more difficult

to duplicate online. Assortment can be nearly limitless online, and the big players all share this attribute. Some, like American Music Supply, Sweetwater and Musician’s Friend, seek to combine a vast assortment with expert advisors available on the phones. Other assortment-based competitors like Amazon, Reverb and eBay leverage the power of the marketplace to drive both selection and competitive pricing. But there still is an important place for traditional music retailers in the new economy. Those who are successful marry the power of the web with the importance of location and real-life relationships to create an omni-channel experience that extends their reach and improves inventory utilization. Certainly, those of us at Music & Arts — where we are celebrating the opening of our 150th store and 65th year in business — still believe passionately in the future of the full-service, community-based music store. By focusing on our points of distinction — expertise, services and strong ties with schools and the community — we have learned to compete successfully in this new economy. As we continue to grow, we know there is still much to learn from other resilient and successful music retailers. We look forward to the next wave of innovation in our industry and welcome partnership, in all forms, with other like-minded purveyors. Steve’s Zapf ’s history in the music industry began at an early age. He grew up working in the family business, Zapf’s Music, which was established by his great grandfather and grandfather in 1928. When his father retired in 2000, he partnered with CEO, Kenny O’Brien, to sell Zapf ’s Music to Music & Arts. From there, he and his brother founded Music123.com, which eventually grew to more than $60 million in direct sales before being sold to Guitar Center. In Nov. 2012, Steve became president of Music & Arts and Woodwind & Brasswind.

Award Winning Brands World-Class Service We are dedicated to Music Retailers We are St. Louis Music T: 800-727-4512 F: 314-727-4710 E: sales@stlouismusic.com W: www.stlouismusic.com

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TARIK SOLANGI VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND MARKETING, RCF USA By Brian Berk RCF, whose history dates back to 1949, is specifically known for its transducer technology, supplying woofers, midrange units and compression drivers to some of the best-known and most prestigious loudspeaker brands in the world. To complement this transducer technology, Italian-based RCF also manufactures a range of PA electronics, amplifiers and speakers. In 1996, the company released the ART series of active composite-molded pro audio cabinets. What’s been happening at the company more recently? What’s about to come down the pike? We reached out to Tarik Solangi, vice president of sales and marketing for RCF’s Edison, N.J.-based USA division to find out all the answers.

The Music & Sound Retailer: Discuss how you ﬁrst became interested in music, audio and technology products. Were you passionate about music during childhood and your teenage years, or did an interest come to you later in life? Tarik Solangi: I was always involved in music. My mother is a musician, and there was music everywhere in my home. As a child, I was in a school band playing sax and later piano and guitar. Tell us about your work experience and career trajector y prior to arriving at RCF. Have you been involved in audio-related work from the beginning? Share some of your pre-RCF career highlights. In my teens, I was convinced that rock superstardom was my future. When I reached my early 20s, it was obvious that this was not going to happen. I always enjoyed the production side of the business and the transition from musician to technician/engineer was easy. I opened my ﬁrst rehearsal and recording studio at 24; live sound and PA rentals soon followed. I was lucky 34

AUGUST 2017

to have many up-and-coming acts pass through my doors as well as a number of legendary performers. As the recording industry changed, I transitioned to the live sound side and found that I enjoyed it more. How did you find your way to RCF? What was your first position, and how did the on-boarding process play out? What made the opportunity to join the company so appealing? I got the opportunity to work with RCF as a product specialist, and I was very happy in that position. I always loved RCF’s products, and it was a very good fit for me. I was doing that on a contract service basis while still operating my production company when RCF President Roni Nevo sat me down one day and said, “It’s time to get serious about your career.” He offered me a full-time position with the company and my career with RCF has moved forward very quickly from there. What is the very best part of being RCF’s vice president of sales and marketing? What keeps you motivated, inspired and engaged? What makes you most eager to come to work each morning? Although my position has me involved in the day-to-day management of RCF, I will always be an engineer and product guy first. We are a hands-on company. You need to make noise to sell speakers. I still go out and do gigs from time to time to keep fresh and up to date, not only on RCF products, but on industry trends as a whole. I encourage all of my team to be hands on with the product. Let’s see what this stuff can really do — crank it up! We believe in proof of performance, and we’re always inviting customers to our facility for demonstrations, or someone at RCF is trying out a new system. I enjoy my work and the people I work with. It’s a very exciting time for RCF. How has RCF changed since you first walked through the door? Has the company’s dynamics, sales strategy, channel MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

focus or anything else been reimagined since you joined? When I first arrived, I recognized some minor changes that we needed to make internally to be more efficient and improve our customer service. We have an open office concept, which I like. That way, there are no boundaries between personnel and departments. I also don’t believe in micromanagement. If you find like-minded, motivated people to work closely with you, the need for over-management is reduced. I don’t like to bombard the team with constant emails and reports. I try to give them the necessary tools to be successful and keep everyone moving forward. I am lucky to have a strong team in the office to keep the machine running behind the scene. The production market was the main focus of RCF in the U.S. market when I came on. I saw some other vertical markets, such as the potential of retail, that were always there but underdeveloped. We made some adjustments in our product mix, pricing and programs, and brought to market a few new products that accelerated our retail program. What’s the “secret sauce” at RCF that ser ves to distinguish the company not only from its direct competitors, but also from its peers across the music, audio and live sound industries? What makes RCF different … special … unique? It is the fact that we are an Italian company that manufactures the product. Through the ’80s and ’90s, we were renowned for providing transducers on an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] basis to many of the other well-known speaker manufacturers. As the company progressed to building our own finished product, we did so with an engineering sense of quality. It’s all about sound. As an executive with a prominent audio products manufacturer, what’s your assessment of the role that live sound and (continued in page 53) 35

M I SPY

BROTHERLY LOVE IN PHILADELPHIA? I’m a spy. No, not just MI Spy. I actually am a real spy. I just haven’t worked in a while. For months now, I’ve been sitting at home waiting for the burner phone to ring. I ﬁnally received a coded message from my handler at the Music & Sound Retailer to spy on some of Philadelphia area’s top music retail stores. The mission: Find the best place to shop for a killer, upscale electric guitar in the $1,800 and up price range. It was a good assignment and I jumped on it. I reached out to a fellow musical operative in the Philly area and got some good intel on stores that were likely to have the kind of guitar that could spark an international incident. As part of our cover, we packed up with musical gear, made sure we weren’t being tailed and headed out to see what the City of Brotherly Love could offer.

Guitar Center Cherry Hill 2100 NJ-38, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 856.755.9511

One of the first things we learned was that when Philadelphia guitarists are looking to buy, they frequently head to the suburbs or over the Ben Franklin bridge to music stores in Cherry Hill, N.J. Just over the bridge, five miles out on Route 38, I found a Guitar Center store in the Cherry Hill Mall. As I expected, the store was well marked and easy to find in this large mall with plenty of parking. I moved in on the store and found quite a few good-looking guitars on the walls as we entered — several were right in our price range. All of the departments of the store were well organized and the layout seemed typical with one exception: really high ceilings. Why did we care? The guitars were hung three-high on the wall putting our “top shelf” guitars of interest too far away to see well — forget reading the description on the tag. It was even hard to tell new from used stock at that distance. The price, being the largest thing on the tag, was readable. That, along with the shape of the headstocks, told us that they had some guitars that could be key to the success of our mission. With the guitars so far away, we felt a bit helpless and hung around, hopeful that one of the two Guitar Center guitar experts at the

desk would step up and assist us. After about 10 minutes, we thought maybe our cover was blown because no one was approaching. Was there a code word I should have used? We did a little subtle clearing of the throat and touched a few things. After handling a phone call, a salesman looked our way and said, “You OK?” which at least got me talking. After explaining what I was looking for, he pointed to a Trampas Green Paul Reed Smith guitar on the wall that was in our price range at $1,999, but there was no offer by the salesperson to pull it down. I asked him about it and learned that it was a model CE 24, but not much else. I eyed up the guitar and waited. Still no offer to get it down. I gave up and wandered over to a technician we found in a cramped service area. He seemed knowledgeable and told us something about four different Tom Anderson guitars we saw coming into the store. With PRS, Anderson, and a good number of high-end Les Pauls and Stratocasters on the wall at Guitar Center, we were certain a few would have really played nicely, but it was not to be. Despite the fact that there was only one other customer in the guitar section, we weren’t having a great buying experience at this store. AUGUST 2017

Sam Ash Music Cherry Hill 2100 NJ-38, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 856.667.6696

As we were exiting our first store, my spy senses started to tingle and I turned quickly expecting trouble, but instead saw a Sam Ash Music store just a few hundred feet away. Bonus! I didn’t even have to move my car. I just sauntered over like some regular customer and couldn’t help thinking that the co-location of these stores would really facilitate comparison guitar shopping. Unlike the Guitar Center store’s more open format, the Sam Ash store had more walls dividing up the store’s sections, so the guitar area felt like a smaller shop — just with a whole lot of guitars. The store was well organized and, happily, all the stock was easily accessible to me. I was immediately greeted by a young salesperson who wanted to know how he might help me. Sharing my ideas with the Sam Ash salesperson was easy. Though young, he was quite knowledgeable about his stock, listened carefully to our needs and pointed us to some Fender American Professional Stratocaster models that were just slightly below my price range. Was he trying to save me money? Perhaps. As we checked them out, he detailed how the sound of these guitars could be radically changed for a small investment in a 920d custom loaded pickguard. Interesting. When I mentioned Gibson, he pulled out a Green Ocean Burst Gibson Les Paul Classic for me to try. The striking green finish was sure to get a spy noticed, but I liked the feel and the price of $1,999 was right in my range. The salesman noted my interest and showed off a Berry Burst Blue Les Paul Standard model for $2,799, as he explained Gibson’s weightrelief concept. The spy in me liked the idea of a space that could be used for a hidden compartment in our guitar, but I didn’t share that with him. I peeked into a guitar service area at the Cherry Hill Sam Ash that was spacious, well organized and nicely out of the way of the sales floor. The salesman explained set-up plans and passed us his card in case I had further questions. He offered that the sales staff works together so I could talk to anyone if he wasn’t on when I came back. As we were wrapping up, the manager of the guitar area introduced himself and told us that he and his staff would go out of their way to match any documented price. More importantly, the staff seemed to be working together and happy to be there. On my way out, I eavesdropped a bit and overheard the staff talking about — you guessed it — guitars!

Roxy Guitar 7026 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19128 215.483.1889

Next, I headed up the Schuylkill Expressway to Northwest Philadelphia just past the funky student enclave of Manayunk to a section of town called Roxborough where I was hoping to find Roxy Guitar. It was good that I called ahead because the store is open only a few days a week or by appointment. The phone message said to leave a phone number, and I’d get a call. This clandestine routine appealed to the inner spy in me, but I understood that it’s not for everybody. I got the sense that this was not going to be a typical retail experience and was right. I returned to Roxy Guitar on a Tuesday when I had agreed to meet the owner. I had no trouble finding the building, but parking was scarce, just one or two spots not clearly marked and limited street parking. I would have pulled the plug on this store knowing it had limited hours and limited parking, but once I opened the door I knew we had hit the motherlode. While this one-room guitar boutique would have little room for any more than one or two customers, everywhere I looked I saw an interesting new guitar. This was not, however, the same stock I saw at the other stores. Roxy is about alternatives and very good ones. A blond Hamer Newport caught my eye, played great and looked classy at $3,100, as well as a John Suhr Stratocaster-style body with roasted maple neck at $3,800. There were plenty of G&L Stratocaster and Telecaster body styles in classic and custom styles between our low end of $1,800 and $4,000. The owner at Roxy does all the setup work, is experienced and interested in what the player is looking for in terms of the playability and sound of their guitar. He was friendly, not overbearing and willing to share many details about his stock. I couldn’t see the repair shop, but our guess was that it was probably cramped like the rest of the store. While I asked about their service, I was told they would set it up for me specifically and make sure I was happy. As I left Roxie Guitar, I noted a delivery of Marshall amps and several guitar boxes waiting outside the door and wondered where the owner was going to put them. Seriously, something was going to have to come out of the store before these were getting in. Despite the cramped quarters and limited hours, I liked this place for its devotion to fine electric guitars. And making the clandestine arrangements to meet with the owner, while unusual in retail, gave me a sense that selling fine guitars is a very personal thing at Roxy. I liked that.

Sam Ash Music Franklin Mills 1887 Franklin Mills Cir., Philadelphia, PA 19154 215.612.1339

There was one last stop for my spying on this assignment, hidden in the Northeast section of Philadelphia. OK, maybe it’s not so much hidden since it is on the corner of the huge 150-store Franklin Mills Mall. Our sources told me that this Sam Ash store was different and they were right. Like the mall, the store is pretty huge, with glass-enclosed departments for drums, keys, band instruments, acoustic guitars and electric guitars. There are even sizable departments devoted to orchestral instruments and sheet music. I was impressed. This gave the huge store a more welcoming feel as you passed through the main hallway into the department. I figured that it would also help with controlling the sound levels when the store got busy. It made me think that it would be nice to have some further enclosed areas where electric guitarists could put an amp, pedal and guitar through their paces and not be “out on the floor.” Enough wishing. I went right to the guitar wall and found a few things that surprised me. I noted many of the same items that I encountered at the previous Sam Ash store, but the unique pieces that I liked, like the Rickenbacker 360 electric 12-string selling for $2,199 and the Canadian-made Godin 5th Avenue sunburst guitar at $1,895, seemed to stand out better. The items in my price range were mixed with the store’s more common stock of electric guitars. The salesperson got the “Rick” down for us (without prompting) and explained that this model was a favorite of Beatles legend George Harrison. He was knowledgeable and asked us about what style of music we played. The salesman pointed out some nice features on the guitars we checked out, like the comfort of the flat string saddles on the bridge assembly of Fender American Professional models, but didn’t seem less comfortable talking about features of the more expensive choices the store had to offer. I saw a salesperson stringing a guitar on the sales counter. It provided a good segue to ask about set-ups. I was assured that the store had techs, but was told that sometimes the salespeople set up guitars. It wasn’t clear where in the store setups were done and we were concerned that it was at the sales counter. With so much space in this store it was hard to eavesdrop without being noticed, but being good spies, we hung around and listened in on a couple of other customers who seemed to be getting the help that they needed. Having spied on four stores for this assignment, I reflected on how much I had to travel in the Philadelphia area to find an upscale ($1,800 or higher) electric guitar. The popular and long-standing music stores in Philadelphia’s artsy South Street area were selling mostly used and starter guitars, so they didn’t fit the profile for this assignment. Plus, some promising stores had closed recently, which makes even hardened spies tear up a bit. However, I did discover a few gems like DePinto guitars located in the Fishtown area of Philadelphia close to Center City. They were not suitable for a retail spying since they sell mostly their own custom-built guitars and vintage items, but they’re certainly worth a look.

The Sale Guitar Center’s location in the Cherry Hill Mall was well organized and had a lot of guitars that would have been interesting to try. However, due to the way guitars were displayed and the lack of communication from our salesperson, I didn’t have a great experience. At Sam Ash Music’s Cherry Hill location, I was shown guitars in my price range and had no problem trying them out. The staff appeared anxious to ﬁnd the right guitar for me, but heavily favoring the typical Fender and Gibson guitar models, limiting my choices. It also seemed a little out of its depth talking about the higher-priced guitars, but the staff hadn’t made excuses and made our shopping experience enjoyable. Sam Ash Music in Franklin Mills store is big, well organized and the upscale guitars were more accessible. The knowledgeable sales staff showed interest in our needs, but I wasn’t convinced that it was ready to provide any personal attention to be sure I got the right guitar and a proper setup. Roxy Music, off the beaten path on the outskirts of Philadelphia, is the only store in the area where this spy would buy his guitar and, therefore, is this month’s winner. A physically small shop, it had the best stock of guitars in the right price range and seemed more prepared to give the personal attention that an upscale guitar buyer would expect. Sadly, there were no new Fender or Gibson guitars in the mix, but plenty of well-built instruments (Suhr, G&L, Hamer) to try. While overcrowded, the store was clean and guitars were dust-free and ready to play. The owner’s personal interest in our shopping made us feel that the guitar I bought would be set up as I wanted.

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AUGUST 2017

It was a star-studded night on July 14 at Nashville’s Music City Center, when NAMM announced the winners of eight 2017 Top 100 Dealer awards.

The Candyman Strings & Things, Santa Fe, N.M., Best Customer Service

Third Rock Music Center, Cincinnati, Best Emerging Dealer

Zeswitz Music, Reading, Pa., Best Store Turnaround

A&G Central Music, Madison Heights, Mich., Music Makes a Difference

A&G Central Music, Dealer of the Year

Andertons Music, England, Best Online Engagement

Spicer’s Music, Auburn, Ala., Best Store Design

Spicer’s Music, Best Marketing and Sales Promotion

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

F ROM T H E TR E NCHE S

TAKING THE HIGH ROAD By Allen McBroom

I like to think of myself as a pretty durable guy. Nothing frightens me, outside of extreme heights and unexpected snake discoveries. I’m in good health, I don’t smoke and I don’t drink to excess. I’ve survived the usual gamut of illnesses, dodged some of the same darts we’ve all dodged and come through it all mostly unscathed. But there’s one thing that wears me down and makes me tired, and it’s a difficult thing to avoid these days. This one thing is the vast sea of controversy that seems to engorge every news outlet, engulf every social media site and thwart even my efforts to keep up with friends on Facebook. Frankly, I’m sick of it, and you probably are, too. I grew up watching the TV news with my dad, and I learned to read in the first grade by struggling through the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper. I remember Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley and Howard K. Smith delivering the news in a matter-of-fact manner. Editorial comments were clearly labeled as editorials. The newspaper had opinion on the opinion page, and the rest of the content was untainted by editorial preferences. Today, this utopian memory of news media past sounds like a fairy tale to those who have grown up in the age of social media. In the age of social media, any Democrat interviewed seems to believe all Republicans are rich, fat, useless sacks of biological material. Any Republican interviewed seems certain all Democrats have similarly defined useless 40

attributes. Conservatives have no use for liberals. Liberals have no use for conservatives. Libertarians suspect socialists cause hurricanes. Eco-warriors are sure that oil companies cause herpes. Everything is virulently black and white. Conversational gray areas don’t exist. There’s no longer any room for civil discourse. Our social settings seem to be filled with an endless stream of media-fueled dislike, distrust and controversy. Freely speaking one’s mind can lead to the dissolution of casual friendships. All of this seething vitriol makes me tired, and I find myself going out of my way to avoid the negativity that so freely spews into my little corner of the world. If this sounds familiar to you, read on. Should we, as music retailers, care about the tiresome squabble-talk that permeates our society? Yes. We should recognize that politics, religion and any other emotional hot-button topic that swirls through the cosmos beyond our doors needs to stop at our doors. Customers who come to our stores are looking for joy and relief, not controversy. They are looking for happiness, not strife. As music retailers, part of our job is to bring in every customer possible, while alienating no one. Music is a great healer and unifier, and our stores need to exude a sense of welcome, not potential strife. Even in the most politically and socially homogenous areas, disparate opinions exist. As easily as people get offended today — your plaid shirt offends me, I’m going straight to Facebook so the world will know! — we need to take great pains to make sure everyone feels welcome in our stores. In-store discussions on emotional topics can turn off potential buyers. Letting candidates (even wildly popular ones) leave campaign cards on the counter can be seen as tacit support, and cause potential paying customers to not return. Music stores need to be a welcoming place where everyone feels like they belong. Offcolor jokes, gender jokes, political jokes and anything similar should be off-limits, for the well-being of the store and the comfort of its customers. Engaging customers in political discussions of any sort have the potential to cause some customers to leave and not return. Political signage of any sort will invite some customer to go elsewhere to shop. Customers look forward to going places where there’s no controversy. Don’t believe that? There are plenty of people who don’t patronize Starbucks because they don’t want a social-justice lecture with their coffee. Droves of folks no longer watch the nightly TV news, because even the most “fair and balanced” broadcasts have an agenda. After all, don’t we as music retailers consider our stores to be different from the rest of the retail herd? The public thinks we’re the cool kids, with the jobs everyone would like to have. We go out of our way to nurture that vibe, and we absolutely promote that our stores are the happy places to be … the oases of the mundane retail desert. The world needs turmoil-free places like our stores, so take care that the music retail world (or at least the part we are responsible for) remains turmoil-free. TV, Facebook, newsfeeds and anywhere else people gather electronically are so divided and tension filled that folks who want that sort of emotional disarray have no problem filling their desires. They don’t have to get it from us. Personally, I have strong political opinions. Just ask my children. When I start to get wound up on a topic, their self-defense mechanism is to immediately ask, “So, how were things at the store today?” I’m not suggesting we not take part in any social causes, but if we do get involved, let’s make sure it’s a cause only a complete whackjob would object to. Supporting the local animal shelter, collecting food donations for the food pantries, collecting blankets for the homeless shelter … these are great causes every right-thinking person will support. The Independent Music Store Owners group hosts a series of Strings For Food events each fall, just before Thanksgiving. NAMM hosts a fly-in to DC every year, to keep music education on the minds of our legislators. These social-cause events generate a lot of good will, and positive free media coverage. These sorts of events are important for keeping ourselves immersed in the cause of doing good for our communities, without alienating the paying public. We’re music stores. Our planet is in a different orbit from the rest of the business universe. Let’s stay above the fray, and keep our stores a bright spot for all of our customers and friends. AUGUST 2017

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SHINE A LIGHT

CREAM OF THE CROP By Michelle Loeb

Both Cream City Music and its CEO/co-owner Brian Douglas share a similar arc, with once humble beginnings slowly growing into accomplishment and greatness. For Cream City Music — named after a 19th century nickname Milwaukee earned thanks to its many cream-colored brick buildings — that arc began in a spare bedroom in 1999, where founders Joe and Jessica Gallenberger launched an eBay business called Warpdrive Music. From selling used CDs and used musical instruments out of their house, the business soon grew into a small retail store. Eventually, in 2006, the store grew again into a 6,000-square-foot showroom housed within a building purchased by the store’s owners — quadrupling the size of the business. For Douglas, his story began 21 years ago as a lifelong musician who was working in the keyboard and pro audio departments at Music Center in Kenosha, Wis. “When I started at Music Center, I was completely green with no MI experience at all,” he recalled. “When I left Music Center for Cream City Music, it was to expand my knowledge base into the world of fretted instruments.” Douglas came onboard as Cream City Music’s key retail salesperson and as a content creator for its eBay business, which still exists today. He later became its retail manager before taking on further responsibilities aimed at brand management and setting communications standards across the physical and online channels of the business. In 2013, Douglas’ and Cream City Music’s arcs ofﬁcially crossed when he purchased the store, along with fellow Cream City Music employees Ben Derickson and John Majdalani. 42

Cream City Music 12505 W. Bluemound Rd Brookﬁeld, WI 53005 800.800.0087 www.creamcitymusic.com Tues.-Fri. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Brian Douglas, CEO/Co-Owner

AUGUST 2017

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The three of us had no practical experience in what was required to run a multi-milliondollar company beyond what we had learned as employees of the shop during the decade prior,â&#x20AC;? Douglas recalled, adding that the time spent working at the store was a â&#x20AC;&#x153;luxuryâ&#x20AC;Śbecause it helped us as new owners to clearly see and understand what worked and what didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. It gave us an immediate road map to improving the business.â&#x20AC;? As Douglas and his co-owners set out to make the store their own, one of the ďŹ rst things they did was to rebuild its infrastructure, including everything from inventory management and ďŹ nances to their retail showroom and online presence. They also set about reďŹ ning the focus of their product offerings in order to â&#x20AC;&#x153;elevate our stature in the community as a go-to for great gear and a team with deep knowledge on the products we were selling.â&#x20AC;? The team curated a mix of new and used products from some of the biggest manufacturers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including Fender, Taylor, Martin, Gibson and Gretsch â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and put more focus on vintage guitars. The store also houses a â&#x20AC;&#x153;world-class guitar repair facility helmed by our master luthier Ron Jones and his apprentice,â&#x20AC;? Douglas said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is integral to our commitment to providing our customers with great-playing instruments purchased from us and to provide ongoing care and support for the musical community in Milwaukee.â&#x20AC;? Cream City Musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to the Milwaukee music community is important to Douglas. The store offers a broad variety of communitybased in-store events, including manufacturer clinics and promotions. It also fosters partnerships with local music venues and individual artists â&#x20AC;&#x153;to generate great video and social content, while providing a service of generating exposure for live music and artists as a way of giving back to our community,â&#x20AC;? Douglas said. As a musician himself, Douglas is keenly aware of the MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our core philosophy is that we are here to help provide the tools our customers need to unlock their maximum creative potential through clear understanding of their needs in that moment and recognizing where they are in their journey.â&#x20AC;? importance of fostering a love of music in his community. He also channels his own experience as a musician shopping for gear to make sure that Cream City Music offers the highest level of knowledgeable customer service for anyone who enters the store. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our core philosophy is that we are here to help provide the tools our customers need to unlock their maximum creative potential through clear understanding of their needs in that moment and recognizing where they are in their journey,â&#x20AC;? said Douglas, who currently maintains a staff of 15 people that he considers to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;one big family as a part of our

company culture.â&#x20AC;? The size of the team has ďŹ&#x201A;uctuated over the years, but Douglas sees a beneďŹ t in keeping his employee roster relatively small. â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the beneďŹ ts of having a small team is that every one of our staff, from ownership to our retail team to our online salespeople, has the opportunity to truly get to know our customers on a personal level,â&#x20AC;? he said. Creating a personal experience online is something that Douglas takes seriously, as the online business had been part of Cream City Musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA from day one. Having an online presence that â&#x20AC;&#x153;communicates the same

message of quality, service and commitment that your retail shop does,â&#x20AC;? is something that Douglas says helps Cream City Music stand apart in the face of increasing Internet competition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Buyers want to know who they are buying from, in most cases, and telling that story in your photos and content makes a tangible positive impact in our online sales presence,â&#x20AC;? said Douglas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In a world of ďŹ&#x201A;y-by-night online sellers, showing consistency and telling your story can have a major impact on whether a customer buys from you or your competition.â&#x20AC;? Whether customers come to Cream City Music via the web or its doors, Douglas works hard to make sure they have the best possible experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can remember almost every single instance when a particular instrument or piece of gear had a transformational effect on my life,â&#x20AC;? said Douglas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every day that we come to work, we have the same opportunity to provide that experience to our customers. Music changes lives, and it is our honor and privilege to be stewards in that journey for others.â&#x20AC;?

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R E TA I L E R R E B E L

EIGHT TIPS TO UP YOUR INSTAGRAM GAME By Gabriel O’Brien I’ve been talking about original content a lot during the past year, mostly about how important it is and what the general uses of things are. Along with the usual topics I like to cover, I thought it would be a great idea to start talking about various social media channels and delivery options, and how you can maximize your impact on those platforms. Instagram is a platform I started using only about two years ago for our store, and I’ve been experimenting with a variety of types of photos and themes to see what sticks. So far, the account is a bit of a mish mosh. Lately, I’ve been doing research on ways to make it more cohesive, and thinking about the tools I can use and how I can take my use of this platform to the next level, and deliver truly memorable content to our followers.

01 02 03 44

1.Establish Your Aesthetic Theme One of the important things when considering Instagram as a platform is that you should establish an aesthetic theme in your images and videos. You want to be consistent with the type of content you deliver, and how you deliver it. As I said, thus far, I’ve been experimenting with different themes to see what gains interest with consumers. There are a variety of different approaches to Instagram for MI retail, but the two that I’ve found to be most effective are artistic well-shot product photos and “behind the scenes” photos that give viewers a glimpse of the inner workings of your store. Now that I know my viewers primarily respond to those things, they’re where I’ll be focused on and committed to going forward.

2. Consider The Grid I believe I mentioned my friend Paul Tobias (@tobiasmusicguitars) account in my “Content Is King” series last year. Like me, Paul is a photographer, and he puts those skills to great use on his store’s Instagram page. When you scroll through the Tobias Music Instagram page, as you make your way down the photo history, or grid, you’ll notice a high level of consistency among his posts. He has a highly developed aesthetic theme, and sticks to it. By doing so, his grid appears very pleasing to the eye. There’s rarely anything that doesn’t ﬁt within the theme he’s created over time, and when there is, it’s of signiﬁcance. I don’t know if Paul considers the grid when he’s planning out his posts, but his is among the best I’ve seen in this industry.

3. Tag Manufacturers Always tag manufacturers both in the posts, as well as the description, and use relevant hashtags for those brands and brand categories. Manufacturers often repost those tagged images and videos, and their fans will often then choose to follow your account based on that content. It’s a great way to build up your following and expand your reach. Fans of certain brands and topics will also search for content tagged with particular brand names, so also be sure to use those brand names as hashtags in the content description. I’ve gained plenty of followers for my Upperhand Studios Music & Video (@upperhandstudios) account, which is my home recording studio and video production business, this way. I even tag things for the gear I’m using to make content. In my July 4 video, I used a DJI Mavic Pro drone (#dji, #mavicpro, @ djiglobal), an Ikan camera slider (#ikan, @ikancorp) and Canon cameras (#canon, #canon70D, @Canonusa). None of those things have anything to do with the music retail business, but they raised my number of views and gained me followers. Anytime you can leverage your content to expand your reach, and potential customer base, you should.

AUGUST 2017

04 05 06 07 08

4. Be Creative With Angles When you’re considering a shot, think about the most common way that guitar or that ukulele would be photographed, and then do something else. Find a new context to place it in, take it out of the store, frame it through another object or just shoot it at an atypical angle. These are all old-hat tricks among professional photographers to liven up images, especially ones that are commonplace. While photos of, say, trumpets aren’t nearly as common as landscapes, they’re common enough in our industry that a photo of a trumpet on a wall is a pretty stale approach. 5. Curate Your Account If you want to seriously leverage the power of social media, and of Instagram as a platform, it’s important to understand that it’s a digital representation of who you are, and sends a strong and instant message to your viewers. The folks over at Chicago Music Exchange (@chicagomusicexchange) are absolute masters at leveraging the immediacy of the Instagram platform with eye-candy content that’s immediately visually appealing and engages their viewers. Their posts are thought out, composed, and elevate both their brand and the products they have to offer. You can almost hear the jaws dropping as you read through the comments on their posts. This is a prime example of knowing your audience and delivering content to them for maximum engagement. Remember: Instagram is your free catalog to the world, and should be just as thought out as the glossy manufacturer catalogs we all used to leaf through when they were handed out at the beginning of the year. 6. Use Instagram Stories Instagram Stories is one of my favorite updates to arrive on the platform. I love photography, and love to share great photos of products. Uploading composed videos that I’ve filmed and edited to Instagram, such as my recent July 4 video, is also something I greatly enjoy. Those are prime examples of composed content that’s a curated catalog, and both do especially well at showing products. Back in Tip No. 1, I also talked about how sharing behind-the-scenes posts has been a popular thing among my viewers. Instagram Stories is one of my favorite delivery options for that type of content. I see and use it as an incredibly powerful and simple editing tool for video. Each post on my Instagram story is like a cut in a video. This type of fast-paced shooting is particularly effective in vlogging, or video blogging, which translates really well to an Instagram story. I’ll use individual snippets just like shots in a movie to walk my viewers through parts of my day, such as a neck angle adjustment on a Taylor guitar, or receiving new inventory, and give viewers that interesting behind-the-scenes look at the life of an MI retailer. 7. Go The Extra Mile One of my favorite music store accounts on all of Instagram is Spicer’s Music (@spicersmusicllc). I don’t know if Tim Spicer or one of his staff members makes all this content themselves, but they really put a lot of thought and time into generating content for Instagram. Every post is well shot on a DSLR (digital single lens reflex camera), well lit, thought out and really delivers for their viewers. They post regularly, and clearly work really hard at generating great content on this platform. These guys are using DSLRs and photo and video editing software for every single post. I admire their hard work and spirit, and seeing how much they’re crushing their Instagram makes me want to work even harder and do more. 8. Use Other Apps To Edit Your Photos I’m a big fan of taking photos with my DSLR, editing them in Lightroom, then exporting them and sharing them via Airdrop to my phone to upload to Instagram. If that sounds like a lot of work, see the above tip about going the extra mile. If you’re not super tech savvy, try apps like Snapseed and VSCO for photo editing or Lens Distortions to add light hits, and take those outdoor photos to the next level. And don’t be afraid to use both the filters and editing tools inside the Instagram app, too. It’s so easy to just snap a boring photo and slap a filter on it and call it done. Those who take extra time to up their game and deliver the best possible photos and videos will gain more followers, and more potential customers, which will result in increased visibility and sales. It also lets your customers and vendors know you’re serious about social media and thinking about how to make the most out of your store and what it has to offer. How are you using Instagram to reach out and raise your brand awareness? Write to me at gabriel@larrysmusiccenter.com.

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

V E D D AT O R I A L

INDUSTRY IDENTITY By Dan Vedda A couple of weeks after I wrote my last their needs will be well served. We need to fix these issues to be successful — and unchalcolumn (exhorting MI to take its products lenged — on our home turf. back, partner with its dealers and create Let’s tackle the branding issue first. As shown by numerous polls, our industry history a brand identity for our industry that will and anecdotal evidence, people new to music making — the immense pool of consumers resonate with the legions of consumers from whom our future success can spring — really don’t look to our stores to begin their who want to play), Mike Matthews of journey. A few years ago, our supposedly “unique” products popped up everywhere: WalElectro-Harmonix stepped up (see Latest Mart, Target, Costco and many other retailers all lined up for a piece of the MI pie. ConsumBuzz in this issue). It wasn’t in response ers snapped them up initially (again showing the vast potential market), but reports piled to my battle cry: the article wouldn’t hit up of problems with product quality and lack of customer service for things as simple as a print until Summer NAMM, weeks away. broken guitar string. Despite those who found us as a second choice, we’ll never know how No, this was all Matthews, and that makes many we lost. it more encouraging. The level of frustraAn immense number of guitars are sold on QVC and HSN, for example, purchased by tion on the supply side is no secret; I’ve people who have either rejected traditional MI storefronts or (more likely) think buying been hearing rumbles for over a year, and from a Keith Urban infomercial is all it takes to start playing. While convenience is a factor, it had to be pretty strong to reach my ears look at what the new-to-guitar folks are really doing: buying something they don’t know how even then. to use, convinced that they can become skillful and accomplished quickly and easily. By now, you’ve heard The good news is that it shows you how much the details, but essenpeople want to play. But it positions us, in many cases, tially Matthews removed as “instant success” charlatans or, alternatively, rigid “Do I think this could work Electro-Harmonix taskmasters facing off the charlatans. Our brand idenproducts from Amazon tity needs to take the middle ground, offering help, for the industry at large? (something already done support and a clear path: not to a step-up purchase, by a number of non-MI but to achievement. I’ve always said if people are I answer with a qualified ‘yes.’” companies like Harley excited and fulfilling their playing goals, they will buy Davidson) and has told stuff automatically. And they will thank us for it. But his authorized dealers currently, there isn’t a strong, consistent belief that a that he expects them to music store is even a viable option, let alone the best stop selling EH products option available. on Bezos-mart as well by The second aspect of this — the treatment newbies the time you read this. receive when they do discover us — is harder to fix He feels that his strong and far more dangerous. Mount the best brand cambrand identity backed by committed dealpaign through suppliers, NAMM or any channel combination, and it all falls apart every time ers supporting and demoing his products a consumer walks away from a store disappointed. Even the most gear-oriented guitar shop will work just fine. I think he’s right, paror glitziest piano store should know where to send the customers who don’t yet fall on their ticularly since he’ll also avoid the hassle market target, because they — or their family or friends — could become an ideal customer and profit drain of punitive fines, returns in the future. An industry-wide welcome mat, with every store taking the time to point the and other charges levied by Amazon that customer toward success, would help everyone at no cost beyond a smile and a couple of take up the time of several staff members. minutes of conversation. But it isn’t happening as often as it should, proved by calls I answer Do I think this could work for the every day. industry at large? I answer with a A side note, though: despite what many may think of Guitar Center, it sends us customers qualified “yes.” Despite the iconic brand looking for violin strings, woodwind repairs and other products they don’t address. (This identities of some of our most prominent also reinforces my point that consumers don’t have a clear idea about the dramatic differcompanies, the industry as a whole has ences from one store to another in our industry.) Why are they sending me business? They fragmented and ambivalent branding. We understand that someone connected to that cu.stomer may someday want something GC present a mixed bag of corporate, momoffers, and they’ve just built goodwill toward that future sale. I’d like to think that they also and-pop, regional and specialty stores. know I’ll take care of that customer, increasing their cachet even more. Many hew to rigid, perhaps antiquated, It seems pretty simple, and perhaps we’ve grown enough to take on that task. If other supindustry categories (combo, band & orpliers take up the torch Mike Matthews has lit and return industry products to the industry; chestra, piano) that exclude larger swaths if companies truly vet their dealers not just for dollar volume but for brand representation; of music makers than they include. It’s and if we can welcome the music-curious and mentor them into long-term music consumers, also difficult to point beginners to a music I think we have the growth potential we’ve been hoping for. Mount a consistent marketing store in some markets and know that campaign industry-wide, and it might even become a staple for your business. 46

AUGUST 2017

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DJING DJINGIN INTHE THEDIGITAL DIGITALAGE: AGE:THREE THREERETAILERS RETAILERSDETAIL DETAILHOW HOWTHEY THEYARE AREADJUSTING ADJUSTINGTO TOCHANGING CHANGINGTIMES TIMES

(continued (continuedfrom frompage page27) 27)

Ad Index Company

BITTREE .....................................53 BOURNS PRO AUDIO ...............53 CHAUVET LIGHTING...............31 CHEM-PAK .................................51 D'ANGELICO GUITARS......... C-III ETYMOTIC RESEARCH ...........10 GALAXY AUDIO .......................3 GRAPH TECH.............................17 HOSHINO....................................25 KYSER MUSICAL PRODUCTS ..............................38

those customers in the digital realm and pull them back out to translate their interest into brick-andmortar sales. White uses DJs’ digital presence to help ﬁgure out what products he should stock in his store, scouring social media and message boards for particular trends and gear that are generating a lot of buzz. He also recently utilized Washington Music’s mailing list, as well as Roland’s, to live stream a demo of one of Roland’s controllers. “Our demo room holds 50 people, but then we live streamed the event and reached 1,300 more people,” White said. Despite these advancements, White continued, “The web isn’t a store’s friend. Everything is digital and there is instant gratiﬁcation. So, you have DJs buying speakers they’ve never heard from a company with no showroom or staff, selling things at cost.” Savarese expressed a similar sentiment. “I’d like to see the manufacturers selling more products through the MI stores that care about their prod-

MANHASSET SPECIALTY COMPANY ...............................6 NAMM .....................................14-15 ODYSSEY INNOVATIVE DESIGNS..................................23 PEAK MUSIC STANDS .............52 PRO X ..........................................21 RAIN RETAIL SOFTWARE .......19 RCF ..............................................7 REVERB.COM............................5 ROLAND .................................. C-IV THE CAVANAUGH COMPANY ...............................11 TKL PRODUCTS ........................43 TRUSST .......................................29 U.S. BAND & ORCHESTRA SUPPLIES ...........................................33 VOCOPRO ...................................13 WD MUSIC PRODUCTS ...........8 YAMAHA ....................................C-II YORKVILLE ...............................9

While every care is taken to ensure that these listings are accurate and complete, The Music & Sound Retailer does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors.

ucts and less through stores like Amazon, which sell DJ controllers and Scuba gear on the same site. He continued, “I want to see manufacturers get away from that and not let the brand become so watered down. A product has more value to someone coming into my store than someone who just buys online for price. It’s a niche business that caters to such a small segment of the population that manufacturers could do a better job of keeping it away from these large companies.” One way White suggests to combat this trend is by building “enticing packages on your website so even if the customer doesn’t come into the store, you can make it easy for them to make a purchase. Google keywords are also important because every day, there is a new DJ and they are going to go where they know and gravitate toward what they can search for.” AUGUST 2017

According to Kwan, the changes in consumer behavior that led them away from traditional brick-and-mortar stores have actually led customers to more tradeshows, seminars and store events as a way to “bridge the gap between what they read and see online versus the actual feel and use of the products. As a business, we have had to reach out further into the market by exhibiting at various tradeshows and hosting seminars and manufacturer-sponsored events at our store. It serves multiple purposes for us. Through promotion, it puts our name in front of new customers. In hosting free seminars, our sales team gets ﬁrsthand training and we also get to give back to our community.”

Making Your Store DJ-Ready When you are able to reach your potential DJ customers far and wide, it’s important to make sure your store is a resource for them in terms of product variety and knowledge.

“The beneﬁt of coming to a store like ours is to see how the speakers sound, how the light effects look, how the controller features work and how they are all connected to the rig,” said Savarese. “Every time we get a new piece of equipment, it’s put on display. We set them up as good, better, best and maybe unbelievable. We like to show the features and beneﬁts at each price point and see where our customers feel comfortable. We can walk them through the products and show them why they would want to spend more money.” Not only is it important to stock all of the major DJ brands, but stores also need to “carry enough accessories that different types of DJs are looking for,” Kwan said. “If you don’t have product in stock, you won’t get the sale.” White agreed, estimating that 40 percent of MI stores don’t take full advantage of the DJ market, causing them to lose business elsewhere. “When you don’t sell controllers or lighting, you probably won’t see that customer for accessories, wireless mics, speakers or other DJ types of products,” he noted. All three of the retailers interviewed have staffed their DJ departments with people who are either current or former DJs themselves, something they all agree is key to having a fully functioning, worthwhile department. Otherwise, Savarese said, “They don’t know where the products are used or how they’re used or what they do when they’re used. We want to be very knowledgeable salespeople. We treat our customers with great respect because they go out there and provide the entertainment for what might be the biggest day in someone’s life.” Savarese concluded, “Whether it’s a wedding or a sweet 16, these are big celebrations so we want them to be well equipped. You have to have people actually doing the work to know how the equipment integrates with a computer … how to play songs through this equipment. It’s important to know how these things work together. It’s not something you can just buy online and be an instant DJ.”

SMASHVILLE: SUMMER NAMM WAS A SUCCESS, LED BY EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT

(continued from page 29) that when a customer gives a grade of nine or 10 on a scale of one to 10 for service, they spend 2.4 times more than when they give a grade of one to three. If MI retailers can only take one bit of advice, making it easy, tip No. 1 of 10, is the one, noted Fleener. “It’s not just about convenience. It’s about how easy it is to make a customer buy, return and contact you. You need to constantly remove barriers,” he said. Under this header, Fleener provided the following advice. • Make it easy to purchase/rent. Make sure customers can do business with you anywhere any time. Businesses open only 10-6 will be in a little bit of trouble. • Reduce steps. Everything we do, a customer keeps score. How difﬁcult it is to do business really adds up. “I want to challenge you to ﬁnd barriers of doing business with you and try to eliminate them,” he said. • Reserve appointments. CusMUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

tomers can reserve appointments to see the product and make sure it’s ready to see with an associate at a given, scheduled time. • Terms and payments. How to make it easy to purchase the product. • Free or “exchange” shipping. The future will be about sameday delivery. Nobody wants to wait a long time. The connected consumer believes they shouldn’t pay for shipping. • Make it easy to return with a policy that’s as generous as possible. • Make it easy to contact you via online chat and video chat. Fleener said he highly recommends video chat, which is cheap for retailers to implement. He also encourages phone calls to make a better connection with the customer. • Make it easy to learn/discover. Introduce a new product every day. Video will be a major source for customers in future. Do video product introductions of every

product, if possible. • Virtual classes are yet another tool. Returning to the 10 tips, Fleener said No. 2 is: Stop asking permission to deliver a great experience. Proactively deliver the great experience. Make it “Let me get you this,” instead of “May I get you this?” Change it from a question to statement. His other tips are: • Make a great ﬁrst impression with consistency in all “doors” via phone, email and chat. “‘How may I help you?’ is no good when answering the phone. Just answer the phone with your employee name. You will move to an emotional connection. Get on a ﬁrstname basis,” he said. • Learn each customer’s unique story. Personalize the experience for them. It’s about the person and the right product for them. • Curate and personalize. “Businesses don’t communicate well why it’s better to buy product from you. Think about how your 51

“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” singer Crystal Gayle, “Spinal Tap” actor and the voice of Mr. Burns on “The Simpsons” Harry Shearer, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith receiving the accolades, while Paul Shaffer providing the oftentimes “R”-rated comedy relief while introducing Shearer. Even closer to the MI industry, the evening festivities on July 14 featured the Top 100 Dealer Awards at the Music City Center’s Grand Ballroom. TV personality Cody Alan hosted, with former “American Idol” ﬁnalist Melinda Doolittle performing two sets. The big winner of the night was A&G Central Music, which took home Dealer of the Year honors. The Madison Heights, Mich.based retailer also won the Music Makes a Difference award.

staff helps people choose the right product.” Strive to exceed every customer’s expectations. Companies don’t try to exceed expectations. Employees need to think what else they can do to make it a better experience. Personal shopper/rep clienteling. A small percentage of customers who spend more money are vital to your business. Treat all of your customers well and your best customers even better. Give them something that’s really important to them. Fleener gave the example of top customers receiving concert tickets and even relayed a story whereby a retailer took top customers out to dinner. “Are you showing enough attention to top customers? [Also], every top customer should be assigned to an employee. Know when they are in the store. We have to drive more visits,” said Fleener. ACE everyday: Activities, Commotions and Events. Make sure something’s happening every day in your store. To come up with ideas regarding determining which events to celebrate, Fleener recommends MI retailers pick up “Chase’s Calendar of Events.” Extend your physical experience into customers’ hands. This can increase trafﬁc if a customer sees something new presented by someone they know. Make improving the customer experience everyone’s job. You can’t spend all the time thinking about products. “Not enough time is spent thinking about elevating the customer experience,” said Fleener. The gap between retail “have and have nots” will get wider,” concluded Fleener. “You have to know what you offer is different. Believe you can win.”

The other winners were: Best Store Design and Best Marketing and Sales Promotion: Spicer’s Music, Auburn, Ala. Best Store Turnaround: Zeswitz Music, Reading, Pa. Best Online Engagement: Andertons Music Co., England Best Customer Service: The Candyman Strings & Things, Santa Fe, N.M.

ENTERTAINMENT

Best Emerging Dealer: Third Rock Music Center, Cincinnati

Summer NAMM wasn’t only about learning. Entertainment also played a large part. For the ﬁrst time, the opening evening festivities featured the National Music Council presenting its American Eagle Awards, with

Summer NAMM will return in June 2018, taking place from June 28 to June 30. AUGUST 2017

FIVE MINUTES WITH: TARIK SOLANGI: VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND MARKETING, RCF USA

(continued from page 35) pro-audio gear plays in a fullline, brick-and-mortar musical instrument store? Do you feel music stores are doing enough to stock and sell pro-audio products? Many brick-and-mortar stores just don’t have the space or the resources to focus on pro gear. And those that do need a quicker sell through. We’ve come to understand we need to be creative and develop programs to help our retailers. Seeing a product sitting on a shelf for a long time can be discouraging to the retailer. We try to direct the right product mix to the individual retailer to maximize their success with RCF. It’s also a product segment that can be a struggle for retailers due to the bulk and weight of pro audio speaker products, which impacts their landed cost due to freight charges, thus affecting their margins. I think the stores are doing the best they can given the current market trend.

Characterize RCF’s philosophy when it comes to working with the brick-and-mortar music store channel. Is selling through music stores — rather than direct — a core, unchanging part of RCF’s approach to doing business? We do not sell direct. We want’s the partnership with the store. They are the one who knows their local market … their customers’ needs. We try as much as possible to help steer them to the right solution. Do you have any constructive criticism for brick-and-mortar dealers related to what they could be doing differently or better — things that would help them sell more pro-audio gear, and do so more proﬁtably? If they have a PA department, have the gear set up properly to demonstrate and listen to the customer, what are their speciﬁc needs? The biggest misnomer we hear is that it’s all about power.

It’s not. It’s about sound. Understanding some of the basics of the science of sound goes a long way. Discuss the signiﬁcance of manufacturing in Italy, rather than outsourcing manufacturing to a countr y with depressed wages. Why is RCF committed to Italian manufacturing? In January, I made a trip to the factory in Italy. I always feel a great sense of pride while visiting. To see the time and care the team in the factory takes in building these products is energizing. RCF has just invested in a new state-of-the-art production line. It’s amazing. It actually remembers biometric information of the assembly line personnel and adjusts the work station for each worker. The new line is of the highest standards in manufacturing. It is very encouraging to see our company making this type of investment in the Italian factory.

It shows the company’s commitment to the quality of the product and the people involved around the world. What can company watchers expect from RCF in the next year, three years and ﬁve years? Are there major changes on the horizon, or do you expect largely to continue the company’s existing successful ways? RCF has developed a number of lines in the past few years that have brought growth and success to the company, and we will continue to push the development of these lines while bringing some very exciting new equipment to market. RCF is always growing, the R&D department is constantly working on new ideas, and in the future you will see a number of new consumer-based products launched. RCF will continue to push boundaries and surprise everyone with innovation.

UNDER THE HOOD: BLACKSTAR’S TUBE AMPS

(continued from page 54) two versions of the Overdrive channels,” said Stevens. “The five-way footswitch will switch between all of the above, as well as all voice options for the Overdrive channels, reverb on and off, and a post-preamp six-decibel boost, which is available on all channels and voicings.” The HT VENUE MkII also retains the original VENUE Series’ acclaimed Infinite Shape Feature (ISF) control, which allows users to adjust the tone stack between traditional American voicings and traditional British voicings using a single knob. “The patented ISF control works in conjunction with the Bass, Middle and Treble controls,” explained Stevens. “It allows the user to choose the exact tonal signature they prefer by sweeping between the sound of a traditional American tone stack voicing to a more traditional British tone stack voicing, and also being able to blend to anywhere in between. “Although both the traditional American and British tone stacks are very similar at first glance due to the slight differences, component values, and the fact that they are passive and highly interactive, the resultant tones are quite different in the way they sculpt the tone MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

of an overdriven sound,” added Stevens. “This is particularly apparent in the mid-range. Guitarists, as well as sound engineers, have commented that they like the continuously variable control — rather than a switch — as they can fine-tune this important mid-range area to their specific taste, or to better fit in a mix.” Blackstar will be rolling out some marketing initiatives in order to spread the word about the new amp line. According to Joel Richardson, Blackstar’s head of marketing, “MkII will be supported with highly produced video demonstrations. We will also be bringing back the Everywhere’s a Venue campaign, but giving it an up-to-date twist.” The HT VENUE MkII currently includes the following models: the Stage 100, a 100-watt head with three channels, each with two voices; the Stage 60 212, a 60-watt 2x12-inch combo version of the Stage 100; the Stage 60 112, a 60-watt 1x12-inch combo version of the Stage 100; the Club 50, a 50-watt head with two channels, each with two voices; and the Club 40, a 40-watt 1x12-inch combo version of the Club 50. All of these models will be available in September. 53

UNDER THE HOOD

BLACKSTAR AMPLIFICATION’S HT VENUE MkII Amps By Anthony Vargas Blackstar Amplification is currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary. As part of that celebration, the UK-based company has released a revamped line of its VENUE Series amplifiers. The new line of tube amplifiers, HT VENUE MkII, incorporates a host of new guitarist-friendly features while retaining the functionality that made the original VENUE Series a major hit. “Basically, the VENUE MkII range is what the name suggests: a natural evolution of the highly successful first VENUE range — the next generation, the second coming,” said Paul Stevens, design engineer at Blackstar. “The new range will be recognizable to people already familiar with the previous range; however, the MkII versions have been completely redesigned with many upgrades, improvements and additional features, as well as a cosmetic redesign. The idea was to build on the success of the first range by further refining what we already had, satisfying some customer requests and adding features useful to the modern player.” The original VENUE Series owed much of its success to its all-valve design, which the VENUE MkII Series retains. This throwback, analog design will resonate with traditional tube-amp aficionados, and it offers an alternative to the digital amps that dominate the market today. “Having a valve preamp and valve power amp means that the fundamental 54

tone-generating parts of the signal chain are using the same type of technology as the classic valve amps of the past,” explained Stevens. “This is apparent not just in the sound but, due to the interaction of the valve power amp with the speaker, in the ‘feel,’ as well. Playing a valve amp for the first time often results in the user thinking, ‘Ah, that’s what all the fuss is about.’ And experienced players will also find the recognizable tone and feel pleasing and inspiring.” However, the VENUE MkII models offer more than just a traditional tube-amp sound — they represent a new direction for Blackstar’s valve-based amps. “These are fundamentally valve amps that retain a pure analog signal path from input to speaker, like a traditional valve amp, but they also incorporate other features more normally associated with modeling amps, such as digital reverbs, speaker emulation, USB connectivity and sophisticated channel switching,” said Stevens. In fact, the HT VENUE MkII’s USB connectivity could be a major selling point for those interested in home recording. “The reamping and USB connectivity is quite sophisticated,” explained Stevens. “Used simply, it allows the user to connect via USB to their computer/DAW and record the amp with speaker cabinet emulation applied, and, therefore, to get a great recorded guitar tone without the need to connect to a speaker cabinet, add a microphone or play too loud.” Stevens continued, “In addition, another channel on the USB can be used to record a completely dry and buffered version of the guitar part into the computer. Then, by merely switching the rear switch to Reamp mode, this pre-recorded clean signal can be reinserted into the amp via USB, and then the controls of the amp can be used to process the guitar sound as normal. This is becoming more and more popular at the mixing stage of a recording. Incidentally, the speaker-emulated sound can also be taken from both the balanced XLR and stereo headphone/line outputs, as well.” The series also offers power-reduction capabilities. “The power reduction switches the output stage from full-rated power down to 10-percent power,” said Stevens. “The 100-watt model switches down to 10 watts, the 60-watt switches to 6 watts, and so on. This allows the user to push the valve power stage even harder into power amp overdrive, without having to resort to high volume levels. This produces the unique tone and feel that is associated with a valve amp that’s been pushed hard.” Two-way and five-way footswitch controls round out the HT VENUE MkII’s list of features. “The two-way footswitch will switch between the two voices on the clean channel, as well as (continued on page 53) AUGUST 2017

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