Music & Sound Retailer November 2018, Vol 35 No 11 by Music & Sound Retailer

ACCESSORIES, BAGS & CASES ISSUE

ACCESSORIES, BAGS & CASES ISSUE November 2018 Volume 35, No. 11

THE NEWS MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC PRODUC TS RETAILERS

BAKER’S DOZEN We once again honor 13 of MI’s lesser-publicized products By Brian Berk Guitars, drums, pro-audio products and DJ equipment. All are fantastic products that provide an excellent backbone for this magazine. But other products should not be forgotten, and the Music & Sound Retailer makes sure they are not. Hence, we bring back our popular “Salute to Lesser Publicized Products” feature. Some of these products are housed in sectors that are already enjoying excellent MI growth and will continue to do so. But if you are looking to think outside the box and stock different products on your shelves as we quickly approach the holiday season, here are some options. (continued on page 24)

State Your Case

The Music & Sound Retailer’s accessories, bags and cases update returns By Brian Berk

Make the experience better for customers. Offer lessons, rentals and repairs. You’ve probably heard both pieces of advice quite often regarding how to boost sales at your store. In most instances, this advice is definitely solid. But there is still a traditional yet effective way to increase sales: add-on items. So, we take a look at these addon sales via an update on the bags and cases market, as well as a look at accessories. Joining us are Susan Cavanaugh, executive vice president, Super-Sensitive Musical String Co.; Gator Cases CEO Crystal Morris; Jeremy Payne, national account manager (continued on page 50)

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Gibson Names New CEO

Gibson Brands Inc. named James “JC” Curleigh as president and CEO. Curleigh joins Gibson from Levi Strauss & Co., where he served as president of the Levi’s brand, and was a member of its worldwide leadership team. Gibson also announced the appointments of Cesar Gueikian as CMO (chief merchant officer); Kim Mattoon as CFO (chief financial officer); and Christian Schmitz as CPO (chief production officer). The appointments of Curleigh and the new Gibson senior team became effective Nov. 1. “As a musician, I have always treasured my Gibson guitars, and I have the utmost respect for the iconic Gibson brand and those who choose to play Gibson guitars,” said Curleigh. “Gibson has been a pioneer of craftsmanship and innovation in musical instruments and has been synonymous with shaping the sounds of generations and genres for more than 100 years. I am very honored to play a leading role with this iconic brand.” Added Curleigh: “As a business leader and a brand builder, this is the beginning of a new era for Gibson that will build on its proven heritage and iconic status. We are focusing on the future and off to a fresh start, with a strong financial foundation, a committed and experienced new leadership team, and new ownership that is equally passionate about the brand. As the industry leader, we have an opportunity and an obligation to set the best conditions for success for our brands, our

SSAEG Program to Receive $70M More in Funding

The Title IV, Part A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant (SSAEG) program will receive $1.17 billion in fiscal year 2019, an increase of $70 million over fiscal year 2018 funding. In September, Congress passed, and the president signed into law, the figure as part of the appropriations bill. “I want to extend my congratulations to each of you, for your sustained and dedicated work as champions for music education, first with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, which included the well-rounded SSAEG program for the first time,” Mary Luehrsen, director of NAMM public affairs, wrote in an email to music advocates who appeared on Capitol Hill. “And now your powerful and relentless advocacy efforts have been rewarded with funding for the SSAEG program.”

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fans, our partners and our own extended team. I look forward to leading Gibson confidently into the future.” “JC’s track record speaks for itself — he’s a rock star when it comes to understanding consumers and shaping a marketplace, working with retail partners and building world-class brands. JC, Cesar, Kim and Christian bring new energy and vision to Gibson, fueled by authentic passion for the company and music. On behalf of Gibson’s Board of Directors, I look forward to partnering with them to help Gibson achieve its strategic vision and forge a successful, bright future for the company and all of its stakeholders,” said Nat Zilkha, incoming chairman of Gibson’s Board of Directors, representing the new majority ownership group (KKR). Gibson also affirmed it emerged from bankruptcy protection on Nov. 1. Upon emergence, KKR will be the majority owner with the controlling interest of the company. KKR is a global investment firm that has an extensive track record of successful investments in the retail and consumer industries, helping its portfolio companies achieve sustainable long-term growth.

Jam Industries Partners with DCC plc

Jam Industries, known for its Coast Music, Erikson Music, Korg Canada, US Music Corp., KMC Music, Davitt & Hanser and B&J Music brands, partnered with the technology division of DCC plc, a London Stock Exchange-listed international sales, marketing and support services group. Jam CEO Martin Szpiro believes the partnership represents the start of the next phase of development for Jam Industries: “By partnering with DCC, Jam has gained global reach and huge resource depth, which will certainly accelerate growth plans in all of our three core sectors and into new territories. The partnership will allow us to grow scale and capability across all of our services and vertical markets, and enable us to continue to invest in our supply chain expertise, which is so critical in today’s marketplace. We see benefits for our manufacturer partners through greater reach, efficiency and choices, and for our dealers and resellers through more products and services. We expect to share best practice between DCC and Jam, but for our customers and suppliers, the way we do business will remain the same,” said Szpiro.

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

THE NEWS MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC PRODUC TS RETAILERS

VOLUME 35 NO.11

19 21

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Features On The Cover State Your Case

All of the latest news happening in the bags, cases and accessories segments of MI, crucial for add-on sales at your stores.

Baker’s Dozen

The Music & Sound Retailer brings back its popular “Salute to Lesser-Publicized Products,” with a look at 13 items from 13 companies.

Buzz 3 Latest 16 People 18 Products 4

Columns 28 Special to the Retailer

Shure’s Abby Kaplan returns again this month to discuss how to keep the Black Friday momentum going year-round.

30 Five Minutes With

There are few hotter sellers at MI stores than ukuleles. We get info regarding why ukuleles are growing, as well as the unique story behind Cincinnati’s Amahi Ukuleles, a division of Amati’s Fine Instruments, from President Michael Schear.

32 MI Spy

There’s so much for a spy to do in Chicago, specifically look for drums and percussion products.

34 Not Your Average Column

The holidays are often the strongest time of year for MI retailers. But that doesn’t mean success is guaranteed. Tim Spicer explains how to end the year right.

36 Retailing Better

Robert Christie reveals the 10 biggest lessons he has learned from his 25 years in MI.

38 In the Trenches

There are three facets of a new product that will sell successfully. Allen McBroom explains.

40 Retailer Rebel

Video marketing is unique in its ability to reach your audience on a deeper, more thought-out level than almost anything else. Gabriel O’Brien details how to be successful in this arena.

42 Shine a Light

When it comes to a robust MI retail operation led by a husband-and-wife team, look no further than Ossining, N.Y.’s, Mike Risko Music. In fact, Mike Risko and wife Miriam were wed in its music school.

44 Veddatorial

Like Allen McBroom, Dan Vedda has new products on his mind this month. There are always a few products that stand out every year, and Vedda thinks it’s in our best interests to detect these and “wave the flag” about them.

46 Under the Hood

Yamaha’s MODX Series synthesizers are lightweight, offering excellent mobility. Take them out on the road with their rugged, aluminum chassis.

54 The Final Note

Meredith Hamlin, CEO of Kyser Musical Products, was a tire technician on a stock car racing team in the late ‘90s. And that’s only one of the cool facts about her.

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EDITORIAL

Nice Guy Finishes First? Being a manager in MI (or any retail industry) is hard. At times, you need to deal with employees who come into work late, don’t get their job done, are perhaps insubordinate or are just not a good fit for your company. This is nothing new. What is new to me is the idea that you can always be nice as a manager when addressing these problems — not just some of the time, but all of the time. I couldn’t believe it until I glanced at the book authored by retired Amro Music chairman Chip Averwater titled “Great Managers Are Always Nice.” “Ironically, when people describe the best managers they’ve worked for, they say things like, ‘took time to explain things,’ ‘respected my abilities,’ ‘taught me a lot,’ ‘gave me opportunities to grow,’ ‘was willing to listen to my ideas’ and ‘supported me when …’” wrote Averwater. But who has the patience to always be nice? Isn’t it impossible to always be nice? “Indeed, a manager does face tough situations,” he wrote. “And he can’t shirk the responsibility to handle them. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be nice.” “In fact, every situation can be handled nicely,” Averwater continued. “And being nice yields better long-term results than not being nice.” Your employees will not only work harder if you are nice as a manager. They will “enjoy their work more, stay at their jobs longer, appreciate your style and respect your leadership,” according to Averwater. I admit, I was still skeptical. I always thought of managers as tough people who demand a lot of employees. And does being nice really improve employee performance? In his book, the Lakeland, Tenn., resident further backs up his point, explaining that being nice as a manager encourages motivation, improves com-

munication, creates confidence, attracts better employees, increases retention, is healthier and is the right thing to do. For a full explanation, pick up the book. The 130-page publication also takes managers through many duties and situations they must handle on a daily basis, including team meetings, tackling underperformance, dealing with mistakes, performance appraisals and perhaps the most difficult thing a manager must deal with, firing an employee. “The [firing] message is simple and straightforward,” wrote Averwater. “Yet most of us dread delivering it — so much so that we put up with poor performance for weeks, months — occasionally perpetually.” This is when being nice is even more important, Averwater stresses. “Being kind, understanding and respectful is basic human compassion, and in this situation, can make a huge difference, not just in a day, but in a life.” Communication during an employee’s tenure is of utmost importance, he added, noting that terminations aren’t difficult if the manager communicates regularly with the employee, providing honest feedback. “If they’re aware they’re doing poorly, they have an opportunity to either improve their performance, or if they prefer, find other work,” Averwater wrote. “Employees who know how they are doing rarely have to be fired.” I only selected a small snippet of what appears in the book. It’s chock-full of excellent advice for managers. Simply stated, the publication is an excellent read. I recommend it highly. I also thank Chip Averwater for my autographed copy of the book. The book retails for $8.95 and is published by ABB Press (abbpress.com).

November 2018 Volume 35, No. 11

BRIAN BERK Editor bberk@testa.com ANTHONY VARGAS Associate Editor avargas@testa.com AMANDA MULLEN Assistant Editor amullen@testa.com

GEORGE HINES SKIP MAGGIORA Editorial Advisors

ROBERT L. IRAGGI Advertising Director riraggi@testa.com

JANICE PUPELIS Art Director STEVE THORAKOS Production Manager CIRCULATION circulation@testa.com FRED GUMM Digital Art Director

RICKY PIMENTEL Art/Production Assistant rpimentel@testa.com

DONOVAN BANKHEAD ROBERT CHRISTIE SUZIE HAMMOND JEFF KYLE JR.

MICHELLE LOEB WILL MASON ALLEN MCBROOM GABRIEL O'BRIEN

ROBIN HAZAN Operations Manager rhazan@testa.com VINCENT P. TESTA President/Publisher TIM SPICER DAN VEDDA LAURA B. WHITMORE Contributors

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 Report • 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

NOVEMBER 2018

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z z u B Sweetwater Unveils $76M Expansion Plans

A Guitar Center employee demos one of the many new products at the retailer’s Times Square store.

Guitar Center Gets Into the Holiday Spirit

On Oct. 11, Guitar Center (GC) hosted a special event at its Times Square location in New York City to showcase many exclusive and first-to-market products it is selling during the holiday period this year. The tour, led by Michael Amkreutz, GC’s executive vice president, merchandising, marketing and ecommerce, included a look at the Taylor 224ce-K DLX Special Edition Grand Auditorium, Fender American Elite Stratocaster HSS Limited-Edition Aqua Marine Metallic electric guitar, Roland TD-1DMK and much more. Amkreutz also discussed GC’s focus on lessons, rentals and repairs. The two-hour cocktail event concluded with a ukulele lesson for all on hand.

Sweetwater Sound unveiled plans to expand its operations with two new facilities on its 163-acre Fort Wayne, Ind., campus. Sweetwater will invest $76.4 million into the project, which will add 1,009 new jobs during the next five years and will be operational by the summer of 2020. Specifically, Sweetwater will construct a new, 350,000-square-foot warehousing facility that will provide product storage as well as gear testing, gear photography, offices, staff amenities, customer pickup and more. An additional structure will house a new 35,000-square-foot conference center with room for up to 1,000 people that will accommodate continuing education sessions for employees. The facility will also be available for members of the community to use for other events. “This new warehouse facility will accommodate the tremendous growth we’ve experienced recently,” said Chuck Surack, founder and president of Sweetwater. “Our sales continue to increase each and every year, which means we need more room to be able to serve our customers in the way to which they’re accustomed. We are delighted to be able to continue to expand in Fort Wayne, where it all started.” “Sweetwater continues to have a significant and positive presence in our community,” added Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry. “I applaud and thank Chuck Surack for his commitment to Fort Wayne. The innovative and unique work taking place at Sweetwater is a tremendous boost to our local economy and job growth opportunities. The success and new investments being experienced at Sweetwater help position Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana as a point of destination to live, work and play.” This is the company’s third major expansion in recent years, having announced plans in 2012 to invest $23.5 million to add 110,000 square feet at its headquarters and plans in 2015 to invest $8.8 million to add an in-house marketing department and state-of-the-art video studio.

Black Diamond Changes Hands

The ownership of Black Diamond Strings has been transferred to Guitar String Manufacturing located in Santa Rosa, Calif., announced Susan Cavanaugh, executive vice president of Super Sensitive Musical String Co. “After conducting an extensive search to find the right company to take over Black Diamond Strings and its customers, we certainly feel we have found that with Greg Sfarzo and Guitar String Manufacturing,” Cavanaugh wrote. “Greg and his team are up and running and ready to take orders. Join us in wishing Greg the utmost success with this historic guitar string company. And as always, feel free to continue contacting SuperSensitive Musical String Co. for orchestral accessories and, of course, National brand guitar picks.”

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z z u B Comedian Martin to Return as TEC Awards Host

Every Bulldog Has Its Day

Yamaha Corp. of America announced that the 92-year-old Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band, an NCAA Division-I college marching band in the Mountain West Conference, will perform exclusively with Yamaha marching percussion instruments. The Bulldog Marching Band is now fully equipped with 9300 Series Snare Drums, 8300 Series Multi-Toms and Bass Drums, widely known for their distinctive sound and wide dynamic range, as well as a full complement of Multi-Frame II mallet percussion instruments. “The aesthetic, musical and ergonomic design of our Yamaha equipment is unmatched,” said Steve McKeithen, associate director of bands, California State University, Fresno. “Our students are able to reach their full potential by performing on instruments that produce a consistently high level of quality and exceptional sound, both indoors and on the field.” “The Bulldog Marching Band inspires all of us as we craft and innovate the world’s finest marching percussion products,” said Troy Wollwage, marketing manager, Yamaha Percussion. “Yamaha is honored to be a part of this extraordinary group of young professionals, and we look forward to their continued success.”

Demetri Martin will return as host of the Technical Excellence and Creativity (TEC) Awards on Saturday, Jan. 26, during The NAMM Show in Anaheim, Calif. Martin, who recently released his latest Netflix special, “The Overthinker,” is known for his deadpan delivery style, humorous quips and impeccable timing. After his successful hosting of the 2018 TEC Awards, the organization was pleased to invite Martin back for another year. “I’m excited to return to host the NAMM TEC Awards. I had fun last year, and I plan to be even more prepared this time. I’m going to write several new jokes and hopefully, learn to play at least one new chord on my guitar for the event,” said Martin. The NAMM TEC Awards are bestowed annually in honor of the many individuals, companies and technical innovations used in sound recordings, films, broadcast television and video games, with the 2019 nominees announced earlier this year. On the evening of the awards, the winners in 31 categories of products and projects in the areas of Technical or Creative Achievement will be announced.

Reverb Raises $20K for Charity

Reverb raised more than $20,000 for the Girls Rock Camp Alliance (GRCA) via its Girls Rock Reverb Charity Auction. Proceeds from the auction will support more than 100 programs across the globe, offering summer rock camps and related music education programming for female, transgender and gendernon-conforming youth. “The Girls Rock Camp Alliance helps Girls Rock camps and related organizations across the globe stay connected, learn from each other, and ultimately work together toward the shared goal of fighting the

NOVEMBER 2018

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D’Addario Establishes Scholarship Fund The D’Addario Foundation launched its College Scholarship Fund, thanks to a $200,000 donation from the Rita and Herbert Z. Gold Charitable Trust. To receive college assistance scholarships, students must be actively participating in their community music program for at least three years, maintain a certain number of class hours and a minimum GPA, and mentor in their local community program. Students will be actively involved in choosing a higher education option that works for them and their families; many will represent the first generation in their family to attend college. “We have spent the last 30 years making it possible for kids to join and participate in music instruction programs in their communities multiple days per week for as long as possible in their education,” said D’Addario Foundation executive director, Suzanne D’Addario Brouder. “ … This scholarship fund allows us to say to our students, ‘Not only will we provide you with music education, if you work hard and dedicate yourself to your academics and your music, we will help you pay for college.’ The scholarship fund will cover the soft expenses of college, such as books, food and transportation, and does not require a student to declare music as their major.

barriers that systemic oppression puts on girls, transgender and gender-non-conforming youth,” said Savhanna Wilson, GRCA board member and organizer with Girls Rock Saskatoon (Canada). “The money raised in this auction, thanks to Reverb and the incredible artists who donated items, will help us continue to support GRCA organizations and their communities across the globe.” Reverb plans on giving $500,000 to charity by the end of the year through its Reverb Gives initiative. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

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“Rita and Herbert Gold felt very strongly about arts education, equity and giving back,” D’Addario Brouder added. “We’re honored to continue their legacy and nurture the continued success of a whole new generation of young people.”

dUg Pinnick DP-3X Signature Pedal dUg Pinnick. Unmistakable in every way --that voice, the songwriting, his style, and, of course, the dUg tone. A super-compact adaptation of hisTech 21 Ultra Bass 1000 Signature head, the DP-3X also recreates the sound dUg originally developed way back in the ‘80s, merging high-end distortion with low-end bass. Prior to his signature head, this involved running a guitar amp and a bass amp together, along with rack full of effects. Wanting to further streamline his gear for occasions

my yond e b y is nt wa most al we e d v e o l p I hat “This any ons. W i t a about t t c s e u p j x e one n get just a ou ca t y o t n a s h t lay it. It’ n to p ut of u o f e s ’ n t i to nd yer ony. A ss pla p a b k c y i r tr eve think I . u r th OL!!” ick one..L g pinn s U d d e e n

when his full Tech 21 rig simply isn’t practical, dUg collaborated on the all-analog DP-3X pedal. Personally beta-testing the DP-3X on a European tour, dUg encountered a different backline in each and every venue. But no matter which amp was on stage, dUg was able to nail his immense tone each and every night. In addition to achieving dUg’s unique tone, the DP-3X has the flexibility to provide traditional bass amp sounds as well. Mix mode engages Drive to bring in distortion and Chunk for upper harmonics. A Gain button provides additional distortion and compression. In clean/full-range mode, Drive and Chunk disengage, while Comp and Gain remain active. Other controls include 3-band active EQ with switchable Mid and a master Volume. Features include chromatic tuner, headphone capability, and an XLR Output to go direct to the PA desk or studio board without compromising detail, warmth or responsiveness.

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Jupiter Partners With Coltrane

Jupiter Band Instruments, member of the KHS America family of brands, partnered with the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival’s Student Essay Contest. This is the fifth consecutive year Jupiter Band Instruments has partnered with the festival. The Student Essay Contest is an important part of the John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival as part of a goal to promote the benefits of music education and the positive influence music has on the study habits of youth of today. Students are asked to submit an essay explaining their music aspirations, affinities and needs. Winners receive a free Jupiter band instrument of their choosing. To date, the festival has awarded more than 65 instruments to aspiring students at a retail value of more than $100,000. The new Jupiter instruments are presented, onstage, to middle- and high-school students who write the winning essays explaining what jazz music means in their lives, which instrument they would like to win and how a new instrument would help them achieve their goals.

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WiMN to Honor Macy Gray, Lisa Loeb and Nita Strauss

The Women’s International Music Network (the WiMN) announced Macy Gray, Lisa Loeb and Nita Strauss as the first-announced honorees at the upcoming 2019 She Rocks Awards. Recognizing women who stand out as role models in the music industry, the seventh-annual live awards event will take place on Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. at the House of Blues in Anaheim, Calif., during The NAMM Show. GRAMMY award winner Macy Gray Gray is a singer, songwriter, producer and actress who started her career in 1999 with the hit song “I Try,” and has since gone on to sell more than 25 million albums globally. She also appeared in “Training Day” alongside Denzel Washington. Platinum-selling, GRAMMY-winning artist Loeb is a singer-songwriter, producer, touring artist, author and philanthropist who started her career with the No. 1 hit song “Stay (I Missed You)” from the film “Reality Bites,” and was the first pop musician to have a No. 1 single while not signed to a recording contract. She also designs Lisa Loeb Eyewear, writes children’s books and supports non-profit causes. Currently on tour with Alice Cooper, acclaimed guitarist Strauss has shared the stage with diverse artists including Jermaine Jackson and celebrated tribute band The Iron Maidens. Her skill and exuberant stage presence have earned her a stellar reputation and endorsements from Ibanez Guitars (she’s the first female Ibanez signature artist with her own model), Marshall Amplification, DiMarzio Pickups and more. More 2019 She Rocks Awards honorees will be announced soon. “We are excited to honor these unique and super-talented women who are also true champions for cloud-based system women in music. We look forward to welcoming Macy, Lisa and Nita • POS & Website as our newest honorees,” said (Integrated Inventory) Laura B. Whitmore, founder of • Rent to Own the WiMN and co-producer of the She Rocks Awards. • Reverb Integration The She Rocks Awards pays • Product Data Integration tribute to women who display (Alfred & D’Addario) leadership and stand out within • Class Management the music and audio industry, and is a premier event during The • Service/Repairs Tracking NAMM Show, bringing together • Automated Marketing industry professionals, music • And more! icons, artists, fans and the media. Past honorees of the She Rocks Awards include Melissa EtherSee how it works! idge, Pat Benatar, The B-52s, rainpos.com/music Colbie Caillat, Sheila E, Chaka Khan, Ronnie Spector, Orianthi, As seen at The Bangles and many more, plus a collection of role models from all walks of the music and audio industries.

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Percussion Marketing Council Award Winner Meets Def Leppard Legend The Percussion Marketing Council’s (PMC) 2018 International Drum Month promotion concluded with the “Roadie for a Day” grand prize winner meeting drummer Rick Allen of Def Leppard at a San Diego concert. Contest winner Bradley Biggs from Anaheim, Calif., spent the day at Petco Park, meeting with Allen backstage, and experiencing what it’s like to be a professional touring drummer, including band sound check and an all-access Def Leppard concert. The PMC’s International Drum Month promotion reaches beyond the music industry through targeted social media marketing to create excitement for drums and drumming, while helping drive new drummer customers to local music stores or drum shops during the monthlong May campaign. “This year, the International Drum Month campaign and ‘Drum Roadie for a Day’ contest received tremendous interest and support from the entire percussion industry,” said PMC executive director Karl Dustman. “We had 125 participating retailers use the life-size Rick Allen standup in their stores to attract additional entries for the ‘Drum Roadie for

A Decade on the Island

La Plata, Md.-based Island Music celebrated its 10th anniversary on Oct. 6. The store hosted a one-day sale, live music and raffles, and gave away a Paul Reed Smith guitar, as well as a free lesson on the guitar. Husband-and-wife team Keith and Nicki Grasso were featured in an issue of the Maryland Independent just prior to the event. “Nicki was my fiancé at the time, [Island Music opened on Oct. 6, 2008],” Keith Grasso told the news outlet. “We opened in a little 10-by-12 room on Charles Street … it probably had 15 guitars and my personal collection, some trinkets and things of that nature.”

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

a Day’ contest. This year, we more than doubled the number of entries that were received during the 2017 International Drum Month (IDM) campaign. With more than 1,200 entries, this is the largest consumer participation in IDM history.” “While it’s music that makes a

band, it is an enduring spirit of perseverance that makes Def Leppard,” said Biggs. “Rick Allen particularly embodies this spirit and serves as a fountain of musical and emotional inspiration in my life.”

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Def Leppard’s Rick Allen (left) with Bradley Biggs

.ORG 18 • NAMM 0 2 R E B M L • NOVE DVERTORIA

ach Note From Z

Photos from left to right:

The Innovation Summit

Retailers will deep dive into the latest strategies in the new Retail Innovation Summit.

The NAMM Idea Center is a hotspot of retail ideas with sessions every half hour.

The 2019 NAMM Show delivers 400-plus educational sessions to help you innovate and fine-tune your competitive edge In a world of Spotify and streaming, I recently came across a record-store chain in full-on expansion mode. Based in the northeast, Bull Moose Music successfully competes with its 12 large-format stores, finely tuned inventory and boatloads of data about customer buying patterns. Shop its website for a record, and you’ll see which locations carry the album in real time. And like Amazon’s physical stores, Bull Moose stocks each location differently based on local consumer behavior. Bottom line, it’s a record store competing on its own terms in a disrupted industry. Yet it got there by taking a hard look at the direction of retail, and finding ways to innovate in that ever-changing world. If you’re inspired by its story—I know I am— then you’ll want to be at The 2019 NAMM Show. There, NAMM U will hand-deliver the big ideas, best practices and tools to help you innovate in your business, and forge your own competitive edge. In fact, we’re launching a new program to jump-start your process: the Retail Innovation Summit. Held the day before the show, on Wednesday, January 23, this daylong education experience is designed to immerse you in trends, strategies and ideas to transform your business. Expect a future-forward workshop that explores new ways to amplify your success and dramatically reshape your future. Fast-forward to Friday morning, and we’re bringing you a NAMM U Breakfast Session with world-famous innovation expert Daniel Burrus. He’ll dive into disruptions in the marketplace and how you can seize game-changing opportunities to succeed in the new normal. Add to that the NAMM Idea Center, which will deliver convenient sessions every half-hour throughout the show on such critical topics as online marketing, employee motivation, music lessons, finance and much more. Think of the Idea Center

as a source for practical building blocks to create your next breakthrough. Of course, retail innovation sometimes comes in the form of capitalizing on new markets and services. Bull Moose, for instance, diversifies its core product category, recorded music, with toys, games and books. Likewise, I’ve heard from NAMM members who’ve added festival production, installations, and stage and theatrical lighting to their retail business. For that reason, The 2019 NAMM Show rounds out its program with a suite of education opportunities in audio and event technology. For pro audio professionals, free sessions at TEC Tracks offer big-picture topics with industry thought leaders. Or, you can dive deep into skills-based training at AES@NAMM, an exclusive education opportunity for audio veterans and aspiring professionals alike. As a bonus, A3E (Advanced Audio + Applications Exchange) has expanded its program on the future of audio, readymade for anyone interested in music technology and forward-thinking concepts. For the event tech community, The NAMM Show features education in lighting, lighting networking, safety and rigging, curated by a range of partners: ESTA (Entertainment Services and Technology Association), Timeless Communications, Lighting&Sound America and PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound Association). All told, it adds up to more than 400 education opportunities for every major community in the music, sound and event technology industries. You’d be hard-pressed to find that anywhere else. We hope to see you there—and be part of your next innovation. Zach Phillips NAMM Director, Professional Development

The Music Begins Here Develop Skills to Advance Your Business and Career

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Hundreds of sessions led by industry thought leaders across music, sound and event technology will showcase the latest business strategies.

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PEOPLE

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From A to Zunker

New Berlin, Wis.based Cascio Music, named Brandon Zunker its director of procurement. Zunker comes to Cascio Music after directing sales and procurement at Kraft Music in all product categories, where he built and coached the sales staff, achieving consistent revenues increases throughout his tenure. Additionally, Zunker has expertise on the vendor side of business operations as a previous district manager for Yamaha Corp. of America and other distributors, as well as retail and online experience. With full responsibility for the procurement and education teams, Zunker will play a key role in meeting the company’s growth goals, as well as continuing to build on Cascio Music’s outstanding reputation for quality merchandise and service. “We are pleased to add Brandon to our staff, helping support our growth initiatives and forward-moving strategic plan within the company,” said Michael Houser, CEO, Cascio Music. “As we move the company to best support our customers’ needs, both now and in the future, Brandon will help mold the vision. Brandon will be working directly with our chief operating officer, Christopher Houser, as we continue to evolve and change our business model.”

Padgitt Takes on Cinema

The Nashville Film Festival appointed Jason Padgitt, executive vice president of global marketing and communications at Gibson Brands, as its executive director. “I am extremely excited to lead the Nashville Film Festival into the next stage of development and growth,” said Padgitt. “This organization has an incredible heritage of discovering and elevating creative talent from all around the world. I look forward to accelerating that success by significantly increasing the organization’s visibility, cultural importance and global reach.” Padgitt leads the Nashville Film Festival in growing its brand equity, strengthening its global cultural impact, and building engaging year-round programing and world-class experiences for the creative community, membership, audiences and supporting sponsors. “The board views Jason’s hiring as a defining moment for the organization,” said Jim Scherer, Nashville Film Festival board president.

The Chairman of the Board The Guitar Center Music Foundation named David A. Helfant as chairman of the board. As both legal counsel and an executive, Helfant has been a part of some of the most powerful entities in music, film, television and beyond. His experience representing record producers, recording artists, and record and publishing companies, together with his specialized expertise in counseling major motion picture studios and television, film and video produc-

tion companies, has enabled him to lead, direct and counsel a wide variety of corporations, artists and above-the-line talent in its transactional and new media needs. “I am pleased to join the team of the Guitar Center Music Foundation. Guitar Center is one of the most recognizable brands in both retail and the music industry, and drawing on that prominence, we have the opportunity to make a difference on a large scale with the foundation and its amazing initiatives. I look forward to working toward these goals together with the rest of the professionals and board members on behalf of the Guitar Center Music Foundation,” said Helfant. 16

NOVEMBER 2018

PEOPLE

Tama Marches On

TAMA Marching named Jeff Huffman and Patrick Curry sales strategists for its Band & Orchestral Products division. Huffman previously held the position as manager for Chops Percussion, the percussion division of Paige’s Music. He played an integral part in helping start and develop Chops Percussion into one of the nation’s leading educational percussion resources and suppliers. Huffman’s J. Huffman experience in percussion education and performance spans more than 25 years. Most recently, he was percussion director for Avon High School, a consistent top-five finalist at BOA Grand Nationals and WGI World Championships. Previously, he held the position of director of percussion for Center Grove High School, earning two consecutive WGI Scholastic World Class gold medals. Huffman’s work with the Avon, Center Grove, and Franklin Central indoor percussion ensembles has resulted P. Curry in thirteen IPA State Championship titles and four WGI World Championship titles. Curry grew up in Dartmouth, Mass., where he participated in the Dartmouth High School Indoor Drumline at WGI. He completed his bachelors in nusic education at Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky., and went on to complete his master’s degree in music performance at Texas A&M University-Commerce. After graduating, Curry settled in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where he has been actively working with teachers and performing in percussion groups.

Financial Prowess

The Institute of Management Accounts (IMA), an association for accountants and financial professionals, recently hosted an educational panel at Long Island University (LIU) featuring Diana Cecchini, chief financial officer and vice president of finance at Korg USA Inc. She was invited to speak about her role and discuss how financial departments can better work together with other areas within a company. “What a great panel discussion at the D. Cecchini most recent Long Island IMA event,” said chapter president Carmela Borzelleri. “In addition to a variety of local professionals getting the opportunity to network, we had LIU students join the panel, listening as top financial executives offered insight and wisdom on effective communication strategies. We’re looking forward to future events.” Cecchini, a 28-year veteran in the music industry, is also an active community service leader, serving on the board of directors for Long Island Cares, the Harry Chapin Food Bank.

ONE

In Memoriam: Bob Fisher

Bob Fisher passed away earlier this year after more than 50 years in music retail. Fisher owned and operated Bob Fisher’s Musictown in Memphis, and as such, was a key player in the golden years of the Memphis music scene. He retired to the Gulf Coast in 2007. His retirement lasted about one month. Fisher sought out a music store on the Gulf Coast and found Blues Angel Music. He asked the owners, Jim and Nan DeStafney, if he could hang out from time to time. Fisher graced the floors of Blues Angel Music for 11 years, eight to 10 hours a day, six days a week. “His vast comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of the music business had an enormous positive impact on the growth and improvement of our business. I have never met anyone in our industry who knew as much as Bob. He was loved by all our customers and our staff and we miss our music man very much,” said Blues Angel Music’s Jim DeStafney. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

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PRODUCT

T-Rex

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Electro-Harmonix released the Mod Rex Polyrhythmic Modulator, a pedal equipped with four independent modulation sections synced in time. MOD delivers vibrato, flanger, chorus or phaser. TREM features tremolo. PAN modulates between left and right in stereo operation, and FILTER offers a choice of a modulated LPF, HPF or BPF. Each section provides four LFO-shape options, plus dedicated functions to maximize the Mod Rex’s expressivity and control. The pedal’s TEMPO component gives the user nine note-length choices selectable in increments starting at whole note and ranging through subdivisions that go up to a 16th note. They are independently selectable for each modulation section yielding nearly limitless polyrhythmic possibilities, and any of the sections can be bypassed. Street Price: $249 Ship Date: Now Contact: Electro-Harmonix, ehx.com

Pocket Protector

The ProX XB-DJ2GO2 is specifically designed for the DJ2GO Numark Pocket Controller. The DJ2GO2 is a portable, pocket-sized DJ controller that goes with you everywhere. The lightweight case features a reinforced molded EVA exterior lined with a high-density foam-padded interior and a tough zipper for easy opening/closing, the company stated. The DJ2GO2 also fits many nano- and compactsized devices. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: ProX, proxdirect.com

Oke is A-OK

VocoPro introduced its Pop-up Oke microphone, featuring an all-in-one wireless karaoke mic with a built-in mixer/speaker and its own light show. Pop-up Oke can connect to a smartphone, phone or tablet via Bluetooth and use YouTube or any number of karaoke apps to enjoy hours of karaoke entertainment. Singers can also use the onboard MP3 SD/TF player to perform with recorded MP3 tracks. The multi-color LED lights can be turned on or off and will automatically “dance” to the beat of the music to add a visual excitement to any karaoke session. VocoPro’s innovative music link technology allows singers to link two Pop-up Oke mics together and perform duets with twice the power and sound. MAP: $34 Ship Date: Now Contact: VocoPro, vocopro.com

NOVEMBER 2018

PRODUCT

Premium Product

Music Nomad Equipment Care introduced its Premium Multi Spanner Wrench. It features a soft, microfiber pad that lines the underside, eliminating the potential to scratch, stated the company. The stainless-steel wrench has precision-cut teeth to tighten or loosen toggle switches, bridge thumbwheels, tuning posts, output jacks, odd-sized nuts and more. The 1.2-millimeter design easily gets under raised volume control knobs and strings to access hard-to-

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reach nuts. This tool eliminates the need to carry socket and wrench sets in a gig bag and is compact in size. MSRP: Between $9.99 and $11.99 Ship Date: This month Contact: Music Nomad, musicnomadcare.com

NEW 3000 Series

Fourth-generation wireless system expands the possibilities of performance

Going Small

Alfred Music released three new choral arrangements for the movie “Smallfoot”: “Perfection,” “Moment of Truth” and “Wonderful Life.” In “Perfection,” arranged by Alan Billingsley, Channing Tatum’s Migo shares his positive outlook on life, singing a syncopated shuffle. With Andy Beck’s arrangement of “Moment of Truth,” featuring pop rhythms and a sure-fire “Yeti oh-oh” hook, singers of all ages will quickly grasp the groove and embrace the optimistic message, “it’s up to us to make this world a better place.” In “Wonderful Life,” Meechee (voiced by Disney star turned Hollywood performer, Zendaya) delivers the message that “a life that’s full of wonder is a wonderful life.” This ballad, arranged by Lisa DeSpain, encourages us all to be curious about the unknown. MSRP: SATB, SAB and 2-part voicings: $2.10 each; SoundTrax CD accompaniments: $29.99 each Ship Date: Now Contact: Alfred, alfred.com

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

The Audio-Technica fourth-generation 3000 Series wireless systems offer the power and flexibility to operate within the congested UHF spectrum. They have an operating range of 300' and are available in two frequency bands providing class-leading 60MHz tuning range. Visit TMPPro.com to learn more.

TMP-Pro® is a national distributor for industry-leading pro audio, video, lighting and accessory brands. info@musicpeopleinc.com | 1-800-289-8889 | TMPPro.com © 2018 The Music People | ©2018 Audio-Technica. All Rights Reserved.

PRODUCT

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Get an Edge

Roland unveiled the AX-Edge Keytar, a performance synthesizer designed to be played in a standing position with a shoulder strap. The AX-Edge features 49 full-sized keys and a professional sound set crafted specifically for keytarists. It also offers a sleek, modern design with the ability to interchange Edge Blades and customize the instrument’s look. Compact and battery operated, the AX-Edge is a powerful mobile instrument that enables performing keyboardists to take center stage and put their music in the spotlight. It is available in black or white finishes, and the black model features an all-black keyboard for a dark, sophisticated appearance, stated the company. Each AX-Edge model comes with an extra Edge Blade in the box (a silver Edge Blade for the black model and a gold Edge Blade for the white), allowing the player to create a fresh look that complements their personal performance style. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Now Contact: Roland, roland.com

Stomp to the Beat

Let’s Get Loud

QSC introduced the CP Series of compact, powered loudspeakers. The CP Series comprises two two-way models, the CP8 and CP12. Both models feature a 1,000-watt Class-D power module, one-touch preset DSP contours for the most common sound reinforcement applications, and line, mic/line and 3.5-millimeter stereo inputs. Each can also be pole mounted, utilized as a floor monitor, or deployed in a fixed or temporary installation. Available accessories include carrying tote, outdoor cover and quickconnect yoke mount. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Now Contact: QSC, qsc.com

Line 6’s HX Stomp is a professional-grade guitar processor that delivers the sound of Helix amps, cabs and effects in an ultra-compact pedal. Whereas the Line 6 HX Effects pedal is designed to be the centerpiece of a pedalboard, providing full control over individual effects, amp switching and external MIDI-equipped pedals, HX Stomp is a programmable amp/cab/effects/IR pedal that seamlessly integrates into a variety of environments and applications. It can be used as a “super stompbox,” a backup or fly rig, an add-on tone expander when combined with other modelers, an audio interface, or even a complete guitar or bass rig, stated the company. MSRP: $839.99 Ship Date: Now Contact: Line 6, line6.com

WE PUT THE “LEI” IN UKULELE. Say aloha to our new Hawaiian-themed ukulele Quick-Change® capos. www.kysermusical.com

PRODUCT

Flying High

Rammstein’s Paul Landers, a longtime user of Tech 21 gear, collaborated on the company’s Signature Fly Rig. The Paul Landers PL1 Signature Fly Rig offers two SansAmp channels, Feuer (dirty) and Wasser (clean). Features include delay and customdesigned vibrato effect with tap tempo control, ambiance with choice of size and two modes of boost. Other features include a chromatic tuner, headphone capability and an XLR output for direct recording and going direct to a P.A. There are illuminated controls to show active status, studio-grade metal footswitches and jacks, and an included universal power supply. Enclosed in a rugged, all-metal housing, the Fly Rig measures 12.5 inches length by 2.5 inches width

We All Live in a Yellow Submarine

D’Addario Accessories is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the “Yellow Submarine” animated movie with a guitar strap and pick collection featuring art from the movie. This anniversary collection comes in a collectible tin with four straps and one pick pack with three different gauges. The straps come in four designs printed on polyester. The designs are inspired by the appearance of each Beatle in the movie. The straps come in a commemorative tin that features art, characters and imagery from the movie. The picks come in five designs inspired by art from the film printed in four-color on celluloid picks. They are available in three gauges: light, medium and heavy. MSRP: Straps $60; Picks $11 Ship Date: Now Contact: D’Addario, daddario.com

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

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by 1.25 inches height and weighs 20.7 ounces. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Tech 21, tech21nyc.com

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All That Fingerstyle Jazz

Piano Man

Dexibell released the VIVO S9 digital stage piano in North America, featuring a newly developed, precisely calibrated 88-key hammer-action keyboard with hybrid wood and ebony/

ivory-feel keys with aftertouch, hands-free assignable motorized draw-faders, and an interface with real wood accents and elegant backlit controls. The VIVO S9 offers high-quality acoustic and electric pianos available in the entire Dexibell VIVO S series, as well as the complete organ sound engines, including the complete transistor, tonewheel, and traditional organ and instrumental sounds from the Dexibell COMBO J7 and Dexibell CLASSICO L3 digital organs, stated the company. The VIVO S9 includes Dexibell’s patented T2L (True to Life) technologies, including high-definition tone (24-bit and 48KHz), modeling, unlimited polyphony, unlimited sounds and seamless sound changes. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Dexibell, dexibell.com

I See the Light

Blizzard introduced the Super-G 150 and N-Trance. The Super-G 150 features an ultrabright and efficient 150W LED light source and is equipped with a seven-color and white color wheel, as well as a three-facet prism with variable direction and variable-speed rainbow effects. It comes with one static gobo wheel with seven gobos, and one rotating gobo wheel with six interchangeable gobos +open. It has high-precision glass optics with a 12-degree projection angle. N-Trance is fitted with an ultra-bright, two-degree white LED for sharp beam effects, plus a ring with 86x RGB 3-in-1 SMD5050 LEDs. The beam has a 14-color wheel and comes with a static gobo wheel with 21 gobos. It features 1-25-hertz strobe plus effects, auto mode, and sound active mode. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Blizzard, blizzardpro.com

An exciting and innovative Brass range that is taking the world by storm. Trusted in the classroom, on the marching ﬁeld and under the spotlight.

John Packer Musical Instruments

Acclaimed fingerstyle jazz guitarist Sean McGowan is bringing this experience to the masses with fresh new arrangements of jazz classics in Hal Leonard’s “Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Solos.” The book includes standard notation and tab for solo guitar for a dozen songs, including “All Blues,” “Confirmation,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “I’m Old Fashioned,” “My Romance,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Ruby, My Dear,” “Stolen Moments,” “There Will Never Be Another You” and “Where or When.” In addition to the songs, the book includes access to audio examples online, which are available for download and streaming using a code found in the book. Unique to this book, the demonstration tracks included are full versions of each solo performed by McGowan himself. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. MSRP: $19.99 Ship Date: Now Contact: Hal Leonard, halleonard.com

www.jpmusicalinstruments.com | info@jpmusicalinstruments.com

NOVEMBER 2018

PRODUCT

Something to Relish Relish Guitars’ Mary One model features a pickup-swapping system that allows the end user to change a pickup sound from rock, blues, pop, jazz or even metal within seconds. In addition, its sleek touchpad allows users to find a perfect neck/bridge pickup-mix position, including unique coil split functions, by just using the tips of their fingers. Swiss-made Relish Guitars feature a “floating sandwich construction,” which contributes to their unique sound

and extensive sustain, stated the company. Additional features include a sustainable bamboo fretboard, Ghost acoustic piezo, one-piece bent maple neck and custom top.

Earn the Gig

HeadRush introduced the Gigboard guitar FX processor. It features a seven-inch touch display and its ultra-intuitive user interface. It also has a durable road-ready steel chassis and colorassignable LED strips for each of the four footswitches. The HeadRush Gigboard features an integrated USB audio interface that records and re-amps audio on Mac and PC with stunning quality (up to 24-bit, 96 kilohertz). To further help users customize their tone, the HeadRush Gigboard also supports loading

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MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Lyon & Healy Corp., lyonhealycorporation.com

third-party speaker impulse response files (.wav or .aiff formats, up to 32-bit 192 kilohertz) via the USB connection. HeadRush has also teamed up with Celestion to include an exclusive set of IR files only available to HeadRush users. MSRP: $649 Ship Date: Now Contact: inMusic Brands, inmusicbrands.com

Don’t Change That Channel

CAD Audio introduced the GXLD2 Digital Dual Channel wireless system, which includes digital high-definition audio for clear, articulate sound and operates in the 900MHz band free from TV and FCC regulatory issues, stated the company. Other features include a high-contrast LCD display for easier readability in low-light environments and advanced dipole antenna technology to increase usable operating distance. The receiver also includes professional balanced XLRM-type discrete outputs along with 1/4-inch unbalanced outputs for easy connection to 1/4-inch inputs. The system is available in three configurations: GXLD2-HH Dual Handheld, GXLD2-HB Handheld and Bodypack and GXLD2-BB Dual Body Pack. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: CAD Audio, cadaudio.com

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

BAKER'S DOZEN

(continued from cover)

LET IT SNOW It’s starting to get cold outside, so let it snow. CHAUVET DJ’s DJ Snow Machine, a perhaps lesser-known product in any mobile performer’s effects bag of gear, should not be overlooked. Snow Machine is high output with user-friendly volume adjustment via a wired timer remote, digital display and built-in DMX. Producing a snowing effect with real output material for near and far distances, Snow Machine uses CHAUVET DJ non-toxic, water-based snow fluid that is non-flammable and unscented for safe use within all gig environments. Contact: Chauvet DJ, chauvetdj.com

THE RIGHT CONNECTION The Ultimate Ears IPX Connection System, co-created with estron a/s, provides a lightweight, IP67-certified, sweat-proof, durable connection between cable and connector, allowing for easy swapping between different cable types. The Ultimate Ears SuperBax is a road-worthy cable, strong enough to hold a 12-pound barbell, yet so lightweight and transparent that it becomes virtually invisible, stated the company. With significant reliability improvement, this new system can handle thousands of cycles of connect-disconnects. The new UE IPX Connection System can be plugged into any audio interface with a 1/8-inch headphone jack. Contact: Ultimate Ears, ultimateears.com

LOOK MA, NO NOISE Although pro-audio products receive plenty of coverage, microphone cables are featured less often. Kirlin’s MPC-270 is noise free, designed to prevent external interference, and ensures signals travel rapidly and smoothly with minimum distortion, delay or loss. These cables feature two 20-gauge CCAM conductors (twisted with a pair of cotton yarn fillers), conductive PVC shield with 100-percent coverage and CCAM spiral shielding with 90-percent coverage. The MPC-270 features a wide range of lengths, from three feet to 50 feet, all topped off with a sleek, black finish. Contact: Kirlin, kirlincable.us

NOVEMBER 2018

WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST

BLADES OF GLORY

Of course, guitars are well publicized. Acoustic/electrics are less so. But even less publicized, making them excellent for this article, are acoustic/electrics that stand out from the rest of Yamaha’s inventory because their size and shape make them more popular among women and younger musicians. Yamaha's APX600 and CPX600 are a great fit for country, rock and blues. The guitars are successors to the top-selling APX500III and its companion CPX500II. The APX600 continues the company’s thin-body line of guitars, while the CPX600 offers a medium-jumbo profile. Key new features include fresh finishes for both models, and an upgrade to a genuine abalone rosette in the APX600 for a superior acoustic tone. In addition, the scale length of the APX model has been shortened from 25 9/16 inches to 25 inches for greater playability. The thin-body APX600 features a spruce top, eastern mahogany back and sides, die-cast tuners and the Yamaha-exclusive System55T preamp, a one-way piezo pickup with three-band EQ with an adjustable midrange, and an onboard tuner. Contact: Yamaha, usa.yamaha.com

Gruv Gear’s GigBlade offers a unique side-carry approach to offer the quickest, most practical and userfriendly way to carry guitars, basses, ukuleles, mandolas/mandolins and most headless guitars, stated the company. Its single shoulder strap allows users to sling the bag across their bodies or carry it snugly by their sides. It offers both quick load and full clamshell access for ultimate versatility, and removable foam bars that can be arranged to customize the fit. Other features include water-repellent 1680D ballistic nylon, StrapFlat long pocket, movable neck brace (included on large model) and bottom foam bars for a customized fit. Contact: Gruv Gear, gruvgear.com

INTRODUCING OUR NEWEST D I G I TA L D U A L C H A N N E L W I R E L E S S

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900 MHz band free from TV and FCC regulatory issues

RAT PACK The Hal Leonard Mandolin Method Pack boxed set includes everything customers need to learn to play the mandolin, including a high-quality mandolin itself, stated the company. It is finely constructed with quality tuners and a level playing bridge, making it an ideal instrument to learn on. The pack also contains a padded carrying case; a comprehensive, easy-to-use beginner’s method book/CD with songs to play while they learn; scale and chord books; and a DVD featuring onscreen musical examples and demonstrations to really hammer home everything they’re learning in the books. Contact: Hal Leonard, halleonard.com

Two Channels of Digital High Definition Audio in one receiver chassis

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Two discreet channels of wireless packaged in one receiver chassis UHF Frequency operation in FCC approved bands Three outputs: XLR, XLR & Mix 1/4” for maximum flexibility

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THIS UKULELE’S GOT TALENT

SECRET AGENT CASE

Fender Musical Instruments Corp. released two ukuleles inspired by singersongwriter Grace VanderWaal. The 2017 “Billboard Rising Star” award recipient popularized ukulele when she won Season 11 of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” in 2016 at age 12. The Grace VanderWaal Signature Ukulele and Moonlight Ukulele were created with the classic clean Fender tone to inspire and capture the hearts of the next generation of musicians. The Signature Ukulele includes a Fishman Kula preamp system, a dark walnut gloss finish, gold sparkle rosette, gold hardware, custom floral soundhole label and Grace’s distinctive heart signature adorning the back of the headstock. The Moonlight Ukulele features a navy blue satin finish, gold sparkle rosette, gold hardware and a custom floral soundhole label inspired by the album art from VanderWaal’s debut release. Contact: Fender, fender.com

Bags and cases are getting some love in this month’s issue, but it is still fair to call them lesser publicized. MONO’s M80 Stealth Electric Guitar Case is intended to make sure traveling with a guitar doesn’t weigh you down. That’s because it’s lightweight and sleeve-like attributes give users added mobility as soon as they wear the case, without compromising on the protection and storage of the guitar. Ergonomic enhancements and aesthetic beauty make the Stealth Electric Guitar Case every minimalist’s dream, stated the company. Contact: MONO, monocreators.com

GIRL POWER

KA-15SLNG Long Neck Soprano

THE KA-15 FAMILY HAS GROWN. KALABRAND.COM / KA-15

KA-15S-BLK

Let’s hear it for the girl! KMC Music expanded its Daisy Rock line for girls with the introduction of three new concert-sized ukuleles and a complete line of USA-made accessories that include 12 guitar straps and eight premium celluloid guitar pick packs. The concert-sized ukuleles are available in Mother Earth, Pink Blossom and Punk Pink finishes that feature designs that live up to each model’s name. All three ukuleles sport geared tuning machines and rosewood fingerboards and bridges. Also debuted were 12 new guitar straps, made from select cotton with suede and leather ends. The eight celluloid guitar picks feature the premier pick material that give a traditional feel with a smooth striking surface and warm, round musical tone. Contact: Daisy Rock/KMC Music, kmcmusic.com

KA-15S

Satin Black

The Original

KA-15S-S

Spruce Top

In 2005, Kala changed the standard for entry-level ukulele with the Kala KA-15S and now it is part of a growing family. The KA-15 Series has expanded to include Satin Black, Spruce Top and a Soprano Long Neck. Also in Concert & Tenor (not pictured). This traditional looking Mahogany ukulele comes with industry standard Aquila® Super Nylgut Strings, high-quality tuning machines, GraphTech Nubone® Nut & Saddle, plus a great price making them an excellent choice for players of all ages and skill levels.

THE PENDULUM SWINGS Metronomes are certainly a product that receive little press. Korg’s MA-1, a compact card-type electronic metronome, has been further improved with the MA-2, an indispensable unit for rhythm training that solidly covers the functions of a metronome, the company stated. In addition to basic functionality, a wide tempo range, and a generous number of beats and rhythm patterns, it also provides user-friendly features including an improved display; a loud, crisp sound and additional functions such as a newly provided “timer mode.” Choose from two different color schemes for the body: blue and black, or black and red. Contact: Korg, korgusa.com

NOVEMBER 2018

NIMBLE AND QUICK Kyser Musical Products is saying “aloha” to three new Hawaiian-themed Quick-Change capos for ukuleles: Red Hibiscus, Pastel Hibiscus and Hawaiian Lei. These Kyser Quick-Change capos are specifically made for the small neck and flat fretboard of ukuleles. With a much smaller body, no curved radius and lighter spring tension than the original Kyser Quick-Change capo, it’s the perfect fit for ukes, stated the company. Ukulele players can now use a beautiful, island-themed capo to quickly and easily change the pitch of their instrument without changing their chord fingerings. Contact: Kyser, kysermusical.com

TOTALLY TUBA-LAR Tubas rarely get covered by the trade press. That changes now. The John Packer JP078 is a tuba at a price point that allows it to be a rental, stated the company. The John Packer JP078 Bb mini threevalve tuba is also ideal for smaller hands or those that struggle with the weight and size of full-size tubas. The JP078 Bb Tuba provides a well-constructed entry-level student instrument for beginners and more accomplished players at an attractive price/performance balance. This instrument clearly has a place in the education system and with training bands, and it works well not only as a student model, but also for the more “mature” player looking for a lightweight tuba, the company noted. At only 33 inches high, the JP078 is surprisingly small for a tuba, being easily comparable to a euphonium in size. However, despite its smaller form factor, it still performs well in line with other much more expensive (and larger) models. With a compact 14-inch bell, four water keys and reinforced bell ring, the instrument boasts all the components that one would expect from larger models. Contact: John Packer, jpmusicalinstruments.com

SILENT TREATMENT Shhhh. VocoPro’s SilentPA Fully Customizable Wireless Audio Broadcast Systems are for anyone who needs sound reinforcement in loud environments without disturbing others. The SilentPA line of products can be used to create fully customizable wireless, silent PA systems with either stationary or bodypack individual transmitters and bodypack receivers. The SilentPA is the first of its kind, with 16 easily adjustable channels allowing up to 16 transmitters to broadcast (each on a unique frequency) to an unlimited number of receivers, stated the company. Listeners can then tune in to the program they wish to hear, which could be different bands performing simultaneously in the same hall, a house of worship broadcasting its sermon in different languages or a backyard concert in a quiet neighborhood. Contact: VocoPro, vocopro.com

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

S PEC I AL T O THE R ETAIL ER

SUSTAINING

BLACK FRIDAY MOMENTUM ALL YEAR LONG

By Abby Kaplan, Vice President of Global Sales, Retail, Shure Inc. Depending on when you’re reading this, the holiday season will soon start or already has begun. With a string of celebrations from Thanksgiving through the end of December, this is often the most important time for MI retailers. According to the National Retail Federation, many small and mid-sized retailers report that as much as 20 percent of their annual sales occur during the holiday season. Shoppers are in the mood to buy, and it’s up to retailers to match this surge in the purchase cycle. But why should the momentum stop after the holidays? It’s important for smaller retailers to find a way to keep some of the holiday energy maintained following the festivities, even reinvesting in infrastructure with a portion of fourth-quarter profits as appropriate. Despite it being the busiest time of year, it is also imperative for MI retailers to deliver top-notch customer service, stock inventory strategically and get a stronger understanding of their purchase funnel — top to bottom — in order to prevent missed opportunities to build loyalty and incremental sales in the new year.

Building a Brick-and-Mortar Advantage

In the Amazon era, many are quick to crown ecommerce as king. However, brick-and-mortar stores have a distinct advantage. The ability to engage the customer face-to-face and talk candidly with an expert sales contact on the store floor helps shoppers know they are making the right decisions. This holds especially true for a purchase as emotional as a first instrument or microphone for content creation. Many musicians and content creators seek to see, touch, feel and try out items, which is a main reason they choose to shop in physical stores versus online. With guidance from an experienced salesperson, consumers can leave feeling confident with their purchases, which isn’t always achievable when buying online. During the holiday period, when the level of consumer spending peaks, a welcoming environment also becomes a crucial element

of retail success. A family member may seek an instrument for their child or want to talk about signing a family member up for surprise lessons. New customers may be intimidated by a store they have never been in, surrounded by products they may or may not understand. A patient and helpful staff will go a long way, and these new customers may come back the following year or refer your store to their friends. Simultaneously, retailers need to provide white-glove service to their most loyal repeat customers during the fourth-quarter shopping rush. An intimate and well-planned holiday event for loyal customers demonstrates how much you value their business. The investment does not need to cost a lot or take up too much staff time, either. For example, an MI retailer can host a coffee and bagel hour before the store opens that’s invite only to give these customers a jump on holiday deals. Or, an exclusive question-and-answer session can be organized after hours with a favorite local artist and some light bites. The exclusivity among loyal customers is sure to pique additional interest. During the holidays and beyond, it’s extremely important to find a way to connect with customers personally and cut through the endless noise of transactional messages. Offer certain perks for competitive differentiation around the holidays, such as deals on favorite items, free or discounted shipping, gift-wrap services or extended holiday hours. Another tactic that will help your store stand out is personalized follow up with customers via email or phone. After the rush of the holidays is over, reach out to see how the purchase is working, if they need any assistance or what else they may be looking for in the future. Increasing customer lifetime value involves building and maintaining customer trust after the deal is done and they have purchased the product. This is a tried-and-true sales tactic that customers always value, and it has even greater impact during the holidays. With more than 65 percent of customers conducting online product research before stepping foot in a store, it is important to also cater to your customers with in-store technologies to help simplify their purchasing decisions. Omnichannel customers evaluate products online and then come into stores to collect their online purchases. Consequently, they often end up shopping for more than just the original item bought online. Social media can direct customers to in-store-only deals, or you can consider an in-store computer or iPad station, so a customer can order something that is customized or not currently in stock — crediting them in real time on shipping fees to reduce frustrations. In addition, features such as in-store pickup and the ability to accept mobile payments are helpful to driving customer engagement in today’s digital age. Instead of thinking of the digital retail space as the competition, embrace it.

Have an Inventory Strategy

Most businesses have a pretty good idea which items are their best sellers. Having the right amount of stock at the start, middle and end of the holiday season requires stores to carefully assess last year’s holiday sales, as well as trends for the current year. The goal should always be to have enough of your best items in stock for your customers, while avoiding excess inventory at the end of the season. Businesses also need to consider inventory needs for customer returns, exchanges and gift card shoppers after the holidays end. NOVEMBER 2018

So as the holidays approach, you want the bulk of your inventory to be your best-selling items. And just as you should identify your winning items before the season starts, you should also identify items that arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t flying off the shelves. You may want to consider discounting these items or creating a bundle of slower-selling SKUs along with a complementary popular product. Merchandising your top-selling products front and center will help to grab your customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attention, and in many cases, generate sales with higher profit margins. Inventory organization is also paramount for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoppers. They are used to having the exact item nearly at their fingertips when searching on Google or Amazon. A disorganized warehouse can also lead to confusion about what inventory is truly available. To avoid misunderstandings on stock quantities and whereabouts, stock rooms and warehouses should be as organized as a storefront. Make it simple to track down inventory. Create clear labels and leverage sales data to see which items are often purchased together. You can then group these items together in the warehouse for faster picking. Most retailers think that their heightened profit opportunities occur from October through December. However, a lot of that order activity extends beyond the new year. Accord-

ing to a recent study, only 5 percent of holiday shopping occurred after Dec. 25 in 2012. In 2017 however, among those who shop after Christmas, 38 percent planned to continue taking advantage of post-holiday deals. Make sure you have the organization to support shopping activity into January by consolidating any extra stock that you might have from the holiday season.

The Importance of Data Tracking

By tracking analytics throughout the holiday peak season, you will be able to make tweaks to your holiday selling strategy along the way, or more simply, identify some new opportunities for the year ahead. Following the holidays, if possible, businesses should invest a portion of Q4 profits into new or improved customer relationship management tools to up-level all facets of their business. Customer relationship management (CRM) tools help businesses to gain insights into customer behaviors and modify their business operations to ensure that customers are properly served. There are many potential benefits, including the ability to anticipate needs based on past trends, understand customer requests, and identify which of your customers are profitable and which are not. CRM service providers such as Epos Now or SalesForce can provide webbased CRM solutions for your business and have accessible packages for smaller businesses. Squarespace is also great for CRM tracking if your current website is already operating on the platform. This software is ideal for quick holiday tracking, especially if your company does not have the in-house ability to tackle the task. An ideal CRM solution should be able to collect information about your customers and process that information to show you what successes you had, what can be improved next year and what steps to take in the months following the holiday rush. You can then use all of this information from a CRM to make changes to the ways in which you operate along with your customer service model. While the holidays can be stressful, remember that they present an opportune time for your business to understand its customers. Yes, the holidays are a great time to boost sales, but this is also a great period to evaluate staff performance, product perception and merchandizing needs. Upon evaluation, set new performance goals and start the new year on a strong note so you can continue provide customers with quality service for the remainder of the year.

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FI V E M INUTE S W ITH

MICHAEL SCHEAR President, Amahi Ukuleles

By Brian Berk In honor of our lesser-publicized-product cover story feature, we take a longer look at an instrument that perhaps receives less press, but is nonetheless showing impressive growth and demanding coverage: ukuleles. We spoke to Michael Schear, president of Amahi Ukuleles, to learn what’s going on, both at his company and in the ukulele market. Here are his responses.

The Music & Sound Retailer: Please take us through your career and your time at Amahi and parent company Amati’s Fine Instruments. Michael Schear: Do you have time for a novel? I started the company 30 years ago when I noticed that computers were going to alter the photography business that I was running at that time. I sold photographic supplies, including paper, chemistry and film, at the time. The movie “Blade Runner” had come out, and in the movie, computers and digital photography where shown in the future. I changed directions and started studying violin making and restoration under a master violinmaker. After opening three retail stores and having a wholesale business in the orchestral strings market, my wife asked me if I could find some ukuleles for her students when her school was starting an after-school ukulele program; the rest is history.

The Retailer: Please tell us about your responsibilities and what your average day looks like. Schear: First thing every morning, I respond to approximately 20 emails received from my suppliers overnight, then I send wire payments to my vendors overseas. Next, if my staff is at a convention or traveling on sales trips, I will enter orders placed through our website from late yesterday or overnight; some of my customers on the West Coast place orders near midnight pacific time. On an average day, I call approximately 20 to 30 customers to make sure that their needs are being met. I also check inventory levels daily and place new orders to keep our supply chain afloat. My suppliers allow me some flexibility to adjust quantities, as long as it is at least 30 days before production begins. Near the end of the day, I check over the invoices, and sometimes, I check orders in the warehouse before they are picked up. Then I go home, have dinner with my wife, one of my daughters and one of my granddaughters, and watch the news.

NOVEMBER 2018

The Retailer: You have an interesting story about why you founded Amahi. Please take us through that entire process. Schear: As mentioned before, my wife was in need of ukuleles for an after-school program. Since orchestral orders tend to be slow at the end of the year, ukuleles were an ideal fit to keep business flowing, especially during the holidays. I was looking for a new product line that would extend my selling season. Orchestral string instrument sales are seasonal, with sales peaking in July, August and September. Ukulele sales peak in November and December and are ver y stable the rest of the year. The Retailer: Prior to Amahi, consumers perhaps thought of ukuleles as something manufactured in Hawaii. How did you overcome that stigma when tr ying to grow your business in Cincinnati? Schear: We’ve yet to encounter that issue. By the time we entered the market in early 2012, it was widely available and known that there were distributors other than Hawaiian manufacturers. The ones that consumers buy affordably — student, intermediate and some step-up models that sell for less than $500 — were mostly being made in China. The Retailer: Ukuleles have seen strong growth in the past few years. Please tell us about where the growth is coming from. Is it coming from older adults and weekend warriors looking to play an “easier” instrument than guitars? Is something else at play? Schear: My perception is that what is happening in the public schools is that children aren’t learning to play the recorder anymore. They are learning to play ukulele. So now many of our larger orders are actually for class sets. The biggest growth we are seeing is in student ukuleles. The Retailer: In our “Independent Retailer Roundtable” cover stor y appearing in our September issue, both retailers Allen McBroom and Gordy Wilcher specifically mentioned Amahi as a tremendous brand for MI retailers to sell, both in terms of profit margins and customer ser vice. Please tell us about your philosophy when comes to working with MI retailers. Schear: If you buy our monthly specials, you will typically double your cost, at a minimum, when selling at MAP. Profitability and ease of sales, as well as no-hassle returns for defective merchandise, are extremely important for MI retailers. In short, I treat my customers the way I like to be treated! Our customers’ needs are priority No. 1.

MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

The Retailer: Any other tips you can provide MI retailers when selling your products? Schear: Make them available and easily accessible to consumers. We find that the closer the consumer is to the display and can easily grab the ukulele and start playing, the easier it is to make the sale. If a customer has to ask you to bring the ukulele down from a shelf or reach behind the counter, it’s less likely you will make a sale. It’s an impulse purchase for many people. They see it, they pick it up, they play it. It’s fun, it’s cute, it’s easy to play, it’s affordable — and they buy it! The Retailer: Which of your ukulele models has shown the best growth? Schear: Our printed designs, what we call our DDUK series 1-10 and our Penguin solid colors. Also, our entry-level mahogany models, which are the UK120, 210, Penguin Mahogany soprano and now our new DDUK11, which is a mahogany soprano at an affordable MAP of $49. The Retailer: Are accessories for these products also selling well? Schear: We do offer straps, tuners, hard cases and bags. Most of our dealers are buying strictly the instrument from us. However, every ukulele we sell includes a gig bag, and every intermediate-level ukulele we sell also includes a handmade leather pick. The Retailer: What can you do to make sure ukuleles continue to sell well and become a staple in MI stores in the future, as opposed to being a craze? Schear: What I do is develop new models that improve the sound, intonation and playability. Every year, we introduce several new models. I find that a lot of people collect ukuleles and that they’ll buy several models. So, the more models we can create that are attractive to the consumer, the greater the chances that they are going to buy them. Ukulele is an easy instrument to learn to play, and we are working on developing tools to make learning easier. As long as it’s easy to learn, affordable and fun, I think it will continue to grow!

M I SPY

ON THE BEAT IN THE WINDY CITY Spies love the big cities. How can you not? There are plenty of things to “spy” on, lots of bars that serve martinis and, of course, many women. So, when Q recommended I head to Chicago, I rushed to the airport. In fact, I was so excited to visit “The Windy City,” I think I was at the airport in about five minutes. Picking up on last month’s theme of drums and percussion, I decided to check out a drum kit. I am on a hunt for a drum set that would serve a 20-something-year-old. I’m not looking for anything too fancy; just something for a young pro to grow into.

Kagan & Gaines Music 7655 W. Roosevelt Rd. Forest Park, IL 60130 708.771.2152

Sam Ash Music 1139 S. Main St. Lombard, IL 60148 630.424.0767

Kagan & Gaines Music is a decent-sized music store meant to serve the educational needs of its area. The store has a more basic range of instruments, but it is fairly comprehensive and has agreements with most of the major manufacturers. The repair department, which I discussed with a very nice young man who helped me at the store, was primarily geared to be helpful for all sorts of fretted instrument players and band and orchestra musicians. When I walked in the door, help was instantaneous and courteous. On the floor was a Yamaha Tour Custom Maple 4-Piece Shell Pack with 20-inch bass drum at $1,300. The salesperson suggested I try it out. The Yamaha was of good quality. It was responsive and looked good. While the offerings on the floor at Kagan and Gaines couldn’t match the mega-store model, the store’s willingness to acquire any product I wanted was expressed several times. If there was anything I’d seen elsewhere that I liked, the store would order it in at a comparable price. Also, it has a loudly expressed policy of “take it home and play it.” If I didn’t like it, I could bring it back. For your normal local musician, this deal can make life easier, of course. A store with a willingness to help you get what you need is worth a lot. The store also offers private and group lessons, so it thoroughly covered many aspects of things, plus they will service your professional needs if you know what you want.

My next stop was at Sam Ash Music in the outer suburb of Lombard. In an effort to keep the feeling of community alive, the Lombard city council is surprisingly active in a variety of events geared toward involving the citizenry in the community during the summer. “Lombard’s Cruise Nights and Summer Concert Series” was going strong this year. This is a longstanding summer project in its 20th year. The summer lineup featured 10 live music concerts on Saturday nights in downtown Lombard. Residents and visitors experienced live music, viewed the large collection of classic and custom cars, and enjoyed evenings in downtown Lombard’s stores, restaurants and parks. These are well attended, and the musical offerings from local artists helped to foster a great ambience. The Sam Ash salesperson was very knowledge-

NOVEMBER 2018

able and friendly at the drum department. After thoroughly questioning me to determine what I needed, he steered me toward a DW maple set that was on the floor. He said this would give a young pro the professional warmth they were hunting for. It was a nice kit that had just come in secondhand and would set me back about $1,400. It was a Performance Series 5 piece and usually cost about $2,400, according to the store. Sam Ash will price match on any gear, and they can order anything your heart desires. When I asked the salesperson for details on how quality is determined for kits, he explained that there was a variety of yardsticks to measure desirability of particular drum sets. “A specific kit can become popular if it becomes the signature kit for a particular drummer, and that can then bump up the price,” he said. He also explained that a mix between a machine-made kit and a handmade kit is the sort of price range a young drummer would be stepping up to.

Vic’s Drum Shop 345 N. Loomis St. Chicago, IL 60607 312.770.1200 Sitting in a rapidly growing area of town is Vic’s Drums. The West Loop is a community that is experiencing great development because of its proximity to downtown Chicago and a number of major entertainment venues, like the United Center. The area is saturated with redeveloped industrial spaces, both commercial and residential. As I approached the front door, I was met by helpful assistants almost instantly. Asking about Vic’s resulted in me getting a thorough primer on the various gear that they have available and the services they offer. Everyone working there is a professional drummer, so they know the intricacies of the instru-

ments thoroughly. Reasonable prices for rehearsal spaces and lessons make this a pretty popular venue with a lot of local groups, and the attached recording spaces make Vic’s a great place to get a huge variety of musical things done. There are also teaching spaces available. I informed the salesperson that I was looking for a drum set that fit my criteria of a new rig. After discussing my situation thoroughly, he felt my needs were going to be in the $1,500-$2,000 range. For my purposes, Vic’s had a wide selection of drums to play with. For those who salivate over the delights of vintage gear, Vic’s maintains an enormous selection of choice goods that has quite a reputation. Its other claim to fame is the giant number of choices it offers in all sorts of instruments, including congas, bongos, triangles, and even add-ons like mallets and other goodies a drummer craves. When I popped in, there were a number of toys to play with on the floor. The first item I was drawn to was a Pearl Session Studio Select Series 5-Piece Shell Pack. You could instantly hear a nice set of harmonics that would be excellent in a studio or a larger venue. The fact that there was a free added floor tom was some nice icing on the cake, and while I tried several sets on the floor and liked them all, I felt that the birch and African mahogany seemed to guarantee good stage resonance. At $1,500 for this set, it seemed a good choice for the upgrade I was hunting for. Vic’s also offers service for drums and cymbals. Not only that, but the prices for cleaning, hourly bench fees and specialties like cymbal edge crack repair were all readily available on its website and in discussion with the assistants. The possible future needs of a young drummer were brought to my attention, and all sorts of maintenance costs were easily figured into the overall long-term costs for her possible career path.

Guitar Center 2633 N. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 773.248.2808 Wandering into Guitar Center on Halsted Street, I wound up playing with the electronic drum sets first because they were taking up the space near the front of the drum room. Do I sense a possible marketing ploy here? There certainly seems to be quite a public relations push for more acceptance of digital drum kits. I found that the new Alesis Strike Pro Kit Red Sparkle at $2,300 is a mid-range digital set that has wood shells and mesh in a mix with the intention of giving you the best of both worlds. Since they are standard sizes, the drums are instantly comfortable for the musician. Playing with these drums was fun. Also near the front of the drum room was the new Roland TD17KVX V Drums Electronic Drum Set for $1,600. The reviews from other drummers generally revealed that both of the above kits are a good buy and a solid alternative for drummers playing smaller rooms. As for the sales staff, an assistant manager greeted me and was very helpful and knowledgeable. He suggested I have a look at one of his favorites: the Pearl Master’s Shell Pack line, namely the Pearl Masters BCX924XP Birch 4-Piece Shell Pack with 22-inch Bass Drum. It costs $1,599, and he told me he prefers the birch line rather than the maple, as his contention is that the overtones ring deeper with birch and that its natural EQ is excellent. But, generally speaking, he explained that the infrastructure of Pearl kits allows for more resonance because of their Optimount System. I was told that the system is a way of attaching the tom’s tension rods and floats onto rubber cushions. The mounting hardware is completely removed from the drum shell, so you get full resonance when you play.

The Sale As expected, I discovered that Chicago has an excellent group of retailers when it comes to drum kits. I was twice steered toward the Pearl line of instruments by completely different salespeople. Three of my music store options had dedicated drum professionals on staff who were savvy about drums, so they were all well situated for this comparison. The only negative for Kagan & Gaines Music is that it didn’t have the specific advice a young pro needed, MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

as it’s more student-based, but I will add this is not the store’s fault — just an observation for this particular story. Sam Ash and Guitar Center both had excellent choices available on the floor and definitely had people who had a wealth of useful information about my specific needs on this trip. Either store would be a good choice depending on your other criteria. The sale this time goes to Vic’s,

though. The precise data and guidance a professional could get there was naturally the best for my needs. The availability and transparency of the repair and maintenance issues, the breadth of merchandise and the store’s other efforts to support drummers in getting better at their craft all give the sale to Vic’s. I will admit, however, that Vic’s was the only specialty percussion store, so perhaps it had an advantage. 33

N OT YOUR AV E R AGE COL UMN

END THE YEAR RIGHT By Tim Spicer

As we are in the middle of the fourth quarter, one thing is on the minds of many independent retailers: building strong sales to finish the year successfully. As online giants and big-box stores continue to push their holiday marketing earlier each year, it’s becoming more difficult for independent retailers to maintain or grow their share of the market. As I write this article in late September, there are already holiday sale ads on TV and social media. Department stores have signs mentioning “free layaway” and “stocking stuffers.” In fact, I’ve been seeing these ads for nearly a month as of this writing. At 30 years old, I haven’t been around that long, but I can remember when fourth-quarter marketing started toward the beginning of November. Those days are long gone. If you want to be competitive in sales, you have to get the word out early and effectively. Shoppers today are looking to buy as quickly and as conveniently as possible. This year’s success could come down to convenience and time. Waiting until Black Friday may be too late. I’ve spoken with retailers that don’t get involved in Black Friday sales. Some retailers don’t even open on Black Friday. This is one of the largest-grossing days of sales each year in our country. Why on earth would you not get involved? If you’ve tried Black Friday sales in the past and they weren’t successful, try changing your approach. Piggyback off the millions of marketing dollars that big businesses spend each year and find your niche. Involve your team to plan and get creative. Try something unique and innovative that excites your customer base. Once you develop your plan,

market your products heavily and early in the season. The key is to get in front of your customers’ faces as early as possible. Observe what the “big guys” are doing and take action for your business. One idea is to try running a “Black Friday Sales Every Friday in November” sale. There are a few reasons for trying an approach like this. If you wait until Black Friday comes around to offer sales and specials, chances are good that you will miss opportunities. Again, consumers are purchasing retail earlier in the season these days. Another reason to offer sales earlier in the year is to secure one inventory turn, and open opportunities for more turns before the end of the year. If you can turn a new drum set at the beginning of November, you now have nearly two months to market add-ons to your customer. You can now market directly to that customer with drum stick packs, cymbal polish and drum lessons. Experiment with offering a follow-up discount on retail that expires at the end of the year and a lesson package discount that expires at the end of January. The options for future sales multiply as a result of one sale early in the season. After nailing down your sales window, it’s time to think about convenience. Your customers are busier than ever between work and home life. In these times of social media, Amazon Prime and Apple Pay, we have become a society that demands convenience. Look for opportunities to give your customers more convenience than they can receive elsewhere. Offer free gift wrapping. Make gift wrapping a spiff for your sales staff by creating incentives for the staff member that wraps the most presents before Christmas. Offer call-in or order online and pickup options on purchases. Starbucks, grocery stores and home improvement stores are investing heavily in this. Try coupling pickup orders with free gift wrapping. If a customer lives or works within a manageable area, offer free deliveries. Load up your company truck or van and go on a gift delivery trip once a week. If you want to make it fun for your customers and get extra free marketing, have the driver dress like Santa or an elf and give rewards to your customers if they post pictures and videos of the deliveries on their social media. Create a hashtag specifically for the season for your customers to use. Above all, do your best to be unique this fourth quarter. Look for creative ways to reward your customers for giving you their business. Remember, early sale options and convenience are increasingly important in today’s culture. Music retail business is certainly not “dying” for independent retailers. We just have to begin thinking creatively about how we approach competition. We can either adapt and take the challenges head on or wait passively to see how the future unfolds. I hope the first option is your choice. Let’s make this the best fourth quarter in MI history! If you have any ideas or questions regarding your fourth-quarter sales, I would love to hear them. You can reach me at Tim@spicersmusic.com

NOVEMBER 2018

rethink your tone

Photo : Holli Brown

Doyle Dykes Signature Edition

Handcrafted in Canada and the USA

“My new Godin Multiac guitar is the most versatile guitar I’ve ever played or seen! The genius and collaboration of Robert Godin and L.R. Baggs is like Heaven and Earth kissed and this guitar got caught right in the middle of the smack!”

Multiac Steel Doyle Dykes Signature Edition Black HG - SKU : 46188

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RE TAI LING BETTE R

25 YEARS OF LESSONS By Robert Christie

BACK IN 1993, I BEGAN WORKING IN OUR INDUSTRY. I WAS BOTH VERY YOUNG AND VERY DETERMINED. OVER THE LAST QUARTER CENTURY, I’VE MADE PLENTY OF MISTAKES AND HAVE RECEIVED ASSISTANCE IN MORE THAN A FEW SUCCESSES. TWO THINGS HAVE BEEN CONSTANT OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER THUS FAR: I’VE LOVED WHAT I DO EACH AND EVERY DAY, AND I’VE NEVER

DON’T COMPETE AND COMPARE

It turns out that when you spend your time and energy comparing yourself to your competition, concentrating too much on what they’re doing, you lose sight of your own calling. Instead, focus on why you do what you do in the first place. Embrace what makes you and your business unique and build on it. By supporting your uniqueness and your own musical vision, you will separate yourself, and your store, from the competitors you used to be so worried about.

YOU SET THE TONE

Speaking poorly about a client or co-worker can trickle down into your company’s entire culture. Keeping it positive is not always easy, but it is necessary. The first step toward breaking a negative cycle is to learn to be purposeful in choosing your words, especially when speaking about others. Understanding your role in setting the tone is not just important for managers and supervisors, but for everyone. So, arrive early, stay late, pick up your teammates, and always be mindful of the things you say and how you say them.

STOPPED LEARNING. IN THIS MONTH’S COLUMN, I’D LIKE TO SHARE A FEW OF THE THINGS I’VE LEARNED OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS.

NEVER STOP ASKING WHY

Have you ever noticed that a toddler’s favorite question to ask is “Why?” As we grow older and more confident in the way things are, asking why often becomes an afterthought. We are often not sufficiently mindful of why we do what we do. We simply repeat a standard procedure and accept the orthodox, and we do this because it usually works. But in doing so, we can stifle growth and innovation. By asking why, many times we find a better way, or a new direction entirely.

FOCUS ON LEARNING, NOT RESULTS DISAGREEMENTS IN THE WORKPLACE ARE INEVITABLE

Any healthy workplace has a diversity of thought that will, at times, lead to conflict. Occasionally, we find ourselves at an impasse where a disagreement doesn’t have a clear resolution. It is my view that clarity is the most important factor when a consensus can’t be achieved. Endeavor to be transparent and explain where you are coming from as clearly as possible. In these situations, ensuring that there is no confusion about what everyone is thinking can bring its own kind of resolution. Even if someone doesn’t agree with you, be sure they understand you.

If you want to improve your productivity, concentrate on growing your knowledge. I’ve found freeing yourself and your co-workers to be curious is a far more effective way to boost workplace performance than by setting targets and deadlines. Encourage those working with you to learn with you, too. Cooperative learning can set off an avalanche of positive results, not the least of which is better performance on the job. When learning is a prime goal, we are free to explore and get creative. This pays huge dividends in our overall performance.

LIBERATE YOUR CO-WORKERS

Give your staff the freedom and responsibility to make decisions on their own. Empowering your co-workers has the effect of making them more engaged and drives improvement in your business. Focus on coaching, not bossing. Offer guidance, clear obstacles and foster learning so your co-workers have a clear path to do what they do best.

NEVER BE AFRAID OF BEING VULNERABLE

It’s wise to encourage a culture where an honest exchange of fears or concerns is possible. Being honest about your weaknesses empowers you to better work on them and, in the end, emerge better at your job. Admitting your weaknesses to your co-workers gives them the opportunity to provide input, and also empowers them to step in and lift you up when they can. Ultimately, showing, sharing and reckoning with your areas of weakness are what will make you strong.

NOVEMBER 2018

HAPPINESS IS NOT A DESTINATION

We tend to think of happiness as a fixed state, a destination that we can reach by following the right directions. I believe happiness is about how we travel the route. It can be found in the daily steps we take. With each daily task, try to make a joyful connection to the passion for the music business that has taken you to where you are today. Instead of chasing happiness, take a break and allow yourself to just be happy.

BELIEVE IN YOUR INTUITION, VISION AND YOURSELF

In many ways, a child is a great model for anyone wanting to be successful in business. Children can be tenacious, adventurous and fearless of failure. These are characteristics that have been crucial in my career. Embrace your passion for music and pay attention to the role it plays in your vision. Trust your intuition; you spent a lifetime building the experience that powers it. Above all, believe in yourself. I have a friend who is an extreme sports athlete. Once, after seeing him do a seemingly impossible stunt, I asked him, “How do you do that? How is it even possible?” He replied, “Well, I’m sure someone could explain the math and physics of it, but for me, I just believe I can. I believe it can be done, and I do it.”

VALUE YOUR TIME

I think we all know that time is an asset that once spent can’t be replaced. To perform your best, you must recognize the full gravity of spending your time. Hustle is important, but allowing yourself to live in the moment has equal value. Perhaps the idea of work-life balance is not as important as work-life harmony. To better understand the value of time, try monetizing it, then ask yourself how you can bring the most value to the present moment.

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OFFERING

UNIQUE PRODUCTS

By Allen McBroom In our industry, the term “new product” gets tossed around a lot. I hear it mostly in emails from vendors, and it typically sounds something like this: “Check out the new products we’ve just added…” And it’s followed by a guitar strap, a clip-on tuner, etc. These certainly aren’t new products for the industry, so I think what they mean is they’ve got products in their lineup that are new to them. Sometimes the pitch shows a low price for the new items, and as a retailer, low prices can be tempting. We’ve bought a few of those lowerpriced offerings over the years, but usually we buy them only once. A lower-price offering on common accessories often (not always, but often) translates into lower quality or decreased attractiveness to the consumer. Over the years, I’ve developed an axiom for what it takes to launch a successful new product. I’ve pitched this idea to other retailers and to some of my reps and vendors, and since I’ve received general across-the-board 38

agreement on this axiom, I’m going to throw it out here, and go over two ways it applies to our stores. For good or ill, here it is: There are only three ways to offer a new product that will sell successfully. (For the sake of this axiom, all products will be presumed to be desirable by consumers.) 1. The product is unique. Truly nothing else like it is on the market, so when the product hits, it has no direct competition. 2. The product is the same as existing products, but with a significant improvement in quality or functionality. 3. The product is exactly the same as an existing product in all regards (including quality), but it is significantly less expensive. So, to successfully introduce a new product, it needs to be desirable and either unique, better or less expensive in comparison to existing products. We get products pitched to us in these three ways pretty much every day of our retail lives. Think about your accesso-

ries. Every supplier you have is offering guitar cables, just one example from a long list of staple accessories. When a new cable offering comes your way, the manufacturers make pitches along these three lines. The cable they want you to buy this week is different from all others, or better than all others, or it’s a screaming bargain (buy 10, get 10 free). The shielding is better, they’ve added a kill switch, it’s not made in China, it has a lifetime warranty, it has a prettier outer sleeve, the tips are plated with Kryptonite, it’s handmade by garden gnomes, etc. For this new cable to succeed in the industry, it needs to be unique, better or less expensive. For it to be successful in your store, it may have to only be one of those three things in comparison to the products that you already stock. Thinking about these three ways a product can be successful can help you when picking new inventory for the store. You can modify those three qualifications and use them when adding new

products. Let’s say you already stock five SKUs of guitar polish. You’ve selected them carefully. One is a general cleaner, one is pure polish with no abrasives, etc. Each one fills a different need. If you’re thinking of adding a new line of polish, ask yourself — will it be unique in your lineup, or better than the other products, or more cost-effective? If all three of those answers are ‘no,’ then you’re duplicating what you already have, and the product may not increase sales. It may just spread the same sales across a wider number of SKUs. If the items you’re thinking of adding are attractive because they fall into the “less-expensive” category, let me add one caveat to that success method: The item has to be less expensive without sacrificing quality of function or construction. Remember, the third successful product qualification included the new product being “exactly the same as the existing product in all regards,” so don’t lose sight of that when cost becomes a factor. If you can NOVEMBER 2018

get an identical cable for 30-percent less, that’s great for you. If you get a cable that’s 30-percent less because the manufacturer cut corners on materials and construction, you’ve just bought a future roster of disappointed customers. So, we can use these three descriptions of a successful product when stocking our stores, but I mentioned we’d find another use for this axiom, so here it is: Apply this axiom to our actual retail stores. To draw in customers, and especially to draw in repeat customers, I think our stores themselves have to fit one of those three methods. Our stores have to offer retail shoppers something unique, something better or something less expensive — or a combination of all three. Trying to base a retail store on selling the lowest-

priced stuff would be a waste of time and money. The race to the bottom has already been won by the internet. Trying to bring in customers based on having the lowest prices is an arena I think would be best left to Amazon and other price-based internet sellers. The first method should suit our stores well, though. Let’s focus on selling items that are different from other stores in our area, and different from what our customers saw in our stores the last time they were in. When a customer says, “What’s new?,” we should be able to pick up a recent product addition and say, “This!” There are certain stores in my area I don’t go into any more, because the last three or four times I went in, I saw exactly the same items as on all the other visits. There’s nothing interesting to see any longer, nothing new, nothing novel. I

different, and stock something like MJC Ironworks strings. They’re corrosion resistant and come packed in a cool can. Your store may be the only one in the area that is stocking these newer varieties of strings, and that may be all it takes to make your store a destination. There are a lot of other examples, but do something to add some uniqueness to your store. Make your store a place with new things, novel things, different guitars than what your customer saw the last time they were in, better products, and be ready to tell the story of those products when your regular customers come in. Make your store the kind of place your customers look forward to coming back to, to see what’s new and cool and different from the other stores. Happy trails.

already know what they stock, and it doesn’t change. An item doesn’t have to be unique in the industry to be unique in our area. The second method is to have products that are improved; better than similar products. Going back to our guitar cable example, maybe a $15 guitar cable is your bread and butter, but remember not everyone likes bread and butter. Maybe you should stock a few $50 cables. If they sell, restock them. Change up your string selection. Keep the breadand-butter strings, but try a few boxes of something that strikes you as improved or unique. If you stock EJ16s, also stock EXP16s, and tell your customers why they should try them. If you stock Regular Slinkys, also stock the Pardigms. Be ready to tell your Slinky customer why he should try a set. Try something totally

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VIDEO DIDN’T KILL THE MI STAR By Gabriel O’Brien

In the August 2018 issue of the Music & Sound Retailer, I wrote a column called “Make Video Content a Priority Now,” which talked about the value of developing original video content as a marketing tool. That column was one of the most-respondedto columns I’ve ever written, and it’s a topic I have a lot to say about, so I decided some follow-up columns would be a good idea. Consider this a kind of Part Two to that. Video marketing is the fastestgrowing segment of content and the one most likely to engage viewers. If you’re paying attention, and I hope you are, you’ve noticed all of the biggest MI retail companies have been investing deeply in video for years. I know, you may be thinking, “Well if I’m already years behind, what’s the point?” After all, many retailers didn’t start investing time and effort into ecommerce until long after the market was being dominated by the Big Three. And then, let’s face it, many only gave it half an effort. But there’s a really good reason why this is a viable marketing option for small and mediumsized retailers who want to compete with bigger stores: It works. Video marketing is unique in its ability to reach your audience on a deeper, more thought-out level than almost anything else. It differs from traditional print, or even other forms of online marketing, in that video not only allows you to tell people something, it allows you to show them, and has a far better chance at evoking a reaction with an emotional response at40

tached. A video allows you to control the story in its entirety. The setting, the words being said, the lighting, the music and the way it’s put together are up to you. This is why companies like Reverb are investing so heavily in video content. Reverb was founded in 2013 and has more than 327,000 subscribers on YouTube. It produced a channel full of curated content on every category of gear. I reached out to Heather Farr Edwards, public relations and communications manager at Reverb.com, to find out why video is so important. “When consumers are searching for musical instruments online and can’t touch or hear the gear firsthand, videos help bridge that gap,” she said. “At Reverb, we use video marketing to not only help buyers make more informed decisions about what they’re purchasing, but also to inspire them to pick up their instruments and try something new. Whether you’re a brand, a manufacturer or a retailer, videos also help you give buyers a behind-the-scenes look at your company. Showing off your unique personality through video is a great way to build relationships and brand loyalty online.”

Video marketing is the fastest-growing segment of content and the one most likely to engage viewers. You may have noticed all of the biggest MI retail companies have invested deeply in video for years.

Showing your personality and building loyalty among consumers is an opportunity not to be missed. Video content is also a great way to drive sales, and essentially evens the playing field for small retailers, as the YouTube and Instagram audiences follow you for your quality, not the size of your business. Alamo Music Center in San Antonio is a great example of an independent music store that’s smartly leveraged video content into sales. The chief architect and most frequent onscreen presence in its videos is Christopher McKee, Alamo’s product marketing specialist. “Producing review videos on YouTube has allowed us to connect with an audience far beyond our city, furthering our influence, increasing sales and making new friends,” said McKee. “Most of our direct online sales are a result of the videos, so it does make a significant difference.” Review videos aren’t the only way to engage or attract your customers. Creating video content to highlight the services you offer can give customers and potential customers an inside look at your expertise in other areas, such as repairs. Ramsay Phillips owns and operNOVEMBER 2018

ates Ramsay Phillips Custom Guitars, a guitar repair service in Dublin, Ireland. Phillips specializes in high-end luthier work. He uses YouTube to showcase his repair and customization services. “Video marketing has given me a level of street cred and helped me engage with a much wider clientele. It’s enabled me to gain a subconscious level of trust with clients, as they’ve gained insight into the way I work and how I treat their instruments. It’s become an invaluable part of my business model,” said Phillips. Another way to harness the power of video content is 101-style videos pertaining to your business. Short, to-thepoint videos like this can help consumers get the information they need to know in an easy-to-digest way that’s always available, instead of waiting to hand them a paper brochure at a rental meeting or sending one in the mail. I asked Brad Shreve, owner of Larry’s Music Center, about the appeal of using video as a tool to reach consumers. I used to work for Brad and just helped him make a video about his school band instrument rental program. “Video is ubiquitous, and if all the big brands are using it and you aren’t, you’re missing out. We’re trained to respond to moving objects, and it’s a way to guarantee you’re engaging your customers. You have an opportunity to create a piece of content and deliver it on camera, and to hone your message in a way that’s different from traditional print or other media,” said Shreve. Video content is a must-have for businesses, whether they be niche repair shops, small independent retailers, rapidly growing sales platforms like Reverb or even manufacturers. Taylor Guitars is at the forefront of the wave of manufactures investing deeply in video content. I’ve been creating video content for Taylor since June, when I visMUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

ited Summer NAMM to chronicle the show in a series of video blogs (or vlogs) I did for them. “The name of the game for Taylor is to provide value to each and every guitar player [buyer], regardless of skill level. Be it longer-form storytelling or shorter

educational pieces, original video is the fastest vehicle to deliver compelling information to our market. Video is not the future of marketing, it’s the present,” said Jay Parkin, inbound content marketing manager for Taylor Guitars, and one of the stars of

the Summer NAMM vlogs I made with Taylor. How are you using video in your business? What questions can I answer about creating video content and how it can further benefit you? Write to me at gabriel@upperhandstudios.com.

SHINE A LIGHT

MARRIED TO MI

By Michelle Loeb Mike Risko Music has been a one-stop shop for musicians who want to listen, learn and play in the Ossining, N.Y., area since 2010, when the store grew out of a music school run by Mike and Miriam Risko. Miriam came on board in 1997, two years after Mike first opened his music school, and in the intervening years, the bond between its owners has continued to strengthen. In fact, they even got married in their shop. “We are probably the only owners in the industry who ever got married in their music school,” said Miriam. “In 2000, we walked down the aisle we created between lesson studios one and two. Mike was teaching lessons in his tux just a few hours before we said ‘I do.’” The marriage and partnership between Mike and Miriam Risko form the backbone of their business as they complement and collaborate with each other to keep their store creative and going strong. “Our business was built from a strong foundation and a love for our own music and wanting share it with others,” Miriam stated. “Mike and I are strong business partners, as well as husband and wife. We complement each other well.” In addition to music, Miriam comes from a public relations and marketing background, and she handles much of the store’s community outreach, including work with school districts, community organizations and business partnerships. “I believe in giving back, and it’s a small community, so we try to do a lot of engaging things,” she explained. At the same time, Mike handles much of the ordering and day-to-day store operations. A self-professed “guitar nerd,” he has been playing 42

Mike Risko Music 144 Croton Ave. Ossining, NY 10562 914.762.8757 www.mikeriskomusicschool.com Mon.-Thurs. 1 p.m. – 9 p.m. Fri. 1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Sat. 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mike and Miriam Risko, Owners

guitar for more than 30 years. “I started playing when I was 13, and now, at 51, I’m exactly the same way — geeking out about music, listening to music and getting into the new gear,” said Mike. “It’s a dream come true to be in a room with 150 guitars every day. It’s in my blood, and the enthusiasm is contagious. Customers can feel it.” When selecting the gear to sell in his store, Mike tries to balance stocking boutique brands he believes in with larger companies whose products offer good margins. But the most important thing for him and Miriam is that they can stand behind each and every item they sell. “Everything in this shop is something I believe in, whether it’s a $1 item or a $1,000 item,” said Mike. “If you don’t believe in it, no one else will. The most important thing is to be real. People are smart, and they see through that stuff.” The Riskos have a band, where he plays guitar and she sings, and they make sure that the items they use on stage are reflected in their product offerings at the store. “The fact that we are active in the music industry strengthens what we do,” said Miriam. “For example, I just ordered an iPad mini to use for lyrics, and I found a great holder for it, so now we carry that in the store and I can tell the customers with passion why I love it.” NOVEMBER 2018

The instruments serve as the main focal point of the store, which sports photos of student performers on the walls, in addition to some music-themed paintings. “The main art in our store is our instruments, though,” said Mike, who described the store’s aesthetic as industrial zen. “We took some cool design features like the shelves we built out of black gas pipe and sugar pine. That’s where we put our effects pedals. I didn’t want to have slatboard everywhere. It’s boring. We wanted to be cool and hip and the type of store where I would want to shop.” Customers have to walk through the sales floor in order to reach the performance and education space in the rear of the store. Back there, you will find eight classrooms where 30 instructors teach private lessons and group classes, all designed and managed by the Riskos, as well as “a stage area so it feels like you can pick up an instrument and you’re ready to perform,” said Mike. “We want our customers to play these instruments, not just treat them as collectibles.” “Everything we do culminates in a performance opportunity,” added Miriam, who founded and launched a musical theater program at the store in 2015. That program has grown from nine children in a show to close to 50. “Although it is theater, we want to keep it musically driven, so the emphasis is on music, and it has expanded our lesson program due to kids wanting to study voice to get better at their roles in the play. “We want to offer a lot of opportunities to be engaged in music,” she continued. “We are on a quiet street, so we want to be a destination and offer our customers everything they will need in one place.” Mike Risko Music is also working to expand its reach beyond the local community with the launch of a new ecommerce site and a “Zoom Room,” where it can offer live video lessons. “It started with FaceTime lessons MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

for students who couldn’t make their lessons. It went so well that we put the room together,” said Miriam. Using this technology opened up some unexpected avenues for the store, such as allowing a beloved teacher to continue giving

lessons even after moving to the West Coast, and they eventually plan to launch a video subscription series. “These are forward-thinking ideas. We have to stay on top of things,” concluded Mike. “I think, just like every industry, MI is

exciting and it’s moving forward. The companies that stay focused on changing with the times and going with the flow of technology and business trends will thrive. Those who sit in their brick-andmortar store and don’t engage will fail.”

V E D D AT O R I A L

PRODUCT PROWESS By Dan Vedda

How do you introduce new products to your clientele? Do you stock new items regularly and prominently pitch them to your customers, or do you hedge your bets and wait for someone to ask? Do you bring on a new item because the manufacturer offered you a deal, or do you wait until the competition carries it and follow suit? Most stores would likely answer, “all of the above,” and that makes sense in the market we inhabit today. You can’t just front-load your inventory with unproven products. None of us can afford dead inventory. But we also can’t be left behind and have it seem as though everyone but us is hip to a new product. It’s also harder than it used to be to predict a winner because there are fewer breakthrough, must-have items today. Gone are the halcyon days of the Yamaha DX-7, or artist-endorsed guitars snapped up by

New products are conversation starters. It’s a perfect way to engage the people walking into your store. If you are excited, there’s a good chance they will be as well. Each conversation strengthens your profile with your customers and shows them your store is active and moving forward. It’s also a great goodwill opportunity, because an average (as in, non-pro) customer is really grateful for a free set of strings, a couple of reeds or a new book to try out. The cost of that inventory is some of the most effective and efficient advertising you can do.

New products, carefully selected, move faster. Impulse buying — assisted by attractive display and the aforementioned conversation — is a hallmark of brick-andmortar shopping. The algorithms that provide the “people also bought” blurbs on Amazon are nowhere near as engaging, in part because they’re so formulaic that we learn to ignore them. But the element of surprise, the serendipity of discovery and the power of suggestion from a human in the real world are far more powerful. Properly done, they offer more than a sale: They create a convert who will buy again, and gratefully.

rabid fans. I don’t envision a return to mega-products in our industry. Our version of the “new iPhone” frenzy went away somewhere around the turn of the century. Yet there are a lot of products introduced every year. Some, arguably, are the previous year’s product with a facelift, and some are silly enough that the product development team was either navel-gazing or working with a half keg and a dart board. But there are always a few that stand out, either as clever solutions, price breakthroughs, or both. I think it’s in our best interest to detect the ones that integrate well with our product offerings and “wave the flag” about them. Sure, it’s more work, but I don’t say this just for the profit of selling these products, although that’s never to be ignored. I believe the ancillary benefits add so much to the mix that I think we’d be crazy to ignore them.

Manufacturers crave dealers who will champion their products. Online sellers inhale an inventory database and usually spew all products in an undifferentiated feed. A product may only be “featured” if the manufacturer offers substantial profit incentive to do so. A brick-and-mortar dealer is in the trenches talking to consumers, and given the difficulty of new item awareness, that support is golden for the reasons cited above. Many companies are willing to offer better deals or sample products to aid the cause. However, many stores of all sizes don’t do the work needed to select and present these products. Call it inertia, or call it lack of motivation, but I see many businesses in our industry sitting back, shrugging and relying on the same products even when better solutions exist. In many cases, these seemingly tried-and-true products represent lower margins because they’re subject to highly competitive pricing, and customers have learned to be price sensitive. I get it, though. Teachers and established musicians are notoriously set in their ways, and it’s much harder to introduce anything new. Yet if you have a good relationship with these customers, they may be open to at least trying a different product, particularly if you give them a safety net — a free sample, or the assurance they can revert to their original setup if they don’t see a benefit. It’s a tribute to some of the innovators in our industry that the new product suggestions I make improve things much more often than not. If we convert the “tastemakers,” they will pass the news on to their students. However, we also see plenty of hobbyists and newbies who are far more open to a suggestion. Just one example: We’ve managed to convert the majority of our violin customers to the newest D’Addario orchestral strings across all price brackets. It’s a win-win, because the customer gets a better-sounding string at a lower price than imports, and we actually make more on each set. We also streamline our inventory investment and increase the turns across all models, because we also take the time to educate our customers on the benefits of changing strings regularly. It’s a lot harder to engage and convert customers online, making it one of our few advantages — and illustrating the fallacy of the “retail is dead” rant from some quarters. No, we won’t convert everyone, and yes, you can introduce a new product that customers will then buy online. But I still believe that the rewards for researching and stocking new products — and of course, doing the work of engaging and educating your customers — are well worth the effort. Ultimately, you’re also building and grooming a customer base that will be far more loyal and receptive. I don’t think anyone would say no to that. If you have a new product success story, feel free to share it on facebook.com/veddatorial, and as always, post an inquiry (please post to the page rather than PM, so others can see the dialogue) if there’s another topic you’d like to see covered here.

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U N DER T H E HOOD

Yamaha’s MODX Series By Brian Berk

When it comes to creating a great synthesizer, several factors come into play. Of course, sound is a major component, but there is also price point, state-of-the-art technology and a decision whether to make the synthesizer sturdy enough to take on gigs around the country, something that is mobile and lightweight, or both. The Yamaha MODX (pronounced moe-dee-ex) is a line of compact, lightweight, hybrid synthesizers inspired by flagship Yamaha synth technology, whose main goal is to offer dynamic, expressive music making at an affordable price. This successor to the popular Yamaha MOXF line is available in three models, MODX6 (61 semi-weighted keys), MODX7 (76 semi-weighted keys) and MODX8 (88 weighted Graded Hammer Action keys), to fit the needs of synth players, keyboardists and pianists alike. It can be used in many settings, including at home and as a main component in a band. MODX offers musicians unlimited potential to create their own unique sound, stated Yamaha. The MODX sound engine draws on the same technology powering the flagship MONTAGE synth: AWM2 (Advanced Wave Memory 2) sample and synthesis engine, plus a pure FM-X (Frequency Modulation) synthesizer modernized for dynamic synthesis and complex sound design. The MODX also incorporates Motion Control, a highly programmable control matrix for dynamic sound interaction. This gives musicians “unparalleled ability to direct and manipulate their sound by interacting with their performances in fine detail,” the company stated. The MODX expands on the MOXF by offering a wide array of control and workflow elements. Seamless Sound Switching has been introduced in the tradition of MONTAGE to allow switching 46

Performer and Yamaha representative Gabriel Aldort demonstrated the MODX during a Guitar Center event.

MODX is lightweight, mobile and has a smaller form factor that you can carry under your arm. It’s great for someone playing gigs around town.

Nate Tschetter

NOVEMBER 2018

between performances without any sound cutoff. MODX has DSP power with up to 13 simultaneous dual-insertion effects and three system/master effects. MODX polyphony has been increased to 128 notes of stereo AWM2 (sample based) plus 64 FM-X (Frequency Modulation synthesis.) The control panel now includes four faders, a multi-function Super Knob and a touchscreen display. During a special event in New York City on Sept. 14, French musician and Berklee College of Music student Domi Degalle showed off her synth-playing skills, which fully incorporated the Super Knob. “The Super Knob is something I never saw on a keyboard before, so it’s something I really wanted to try,” she said. Degalle, who appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in August, noted she is also impressed by the Graded Hammer Action offered by the MODX8, noting it is “really responsive.” The MODX comes bundled with Steinberg Cubase AI DAW software for creating and producing music on the computer. “We launched the MONTAGE a couple of years ago, which was a change from a very successful line of synthesizers, the Motif,” Nate Tschetter, marketing manager, Yamaha Synthesizers, told the Music & Sound Retailer. “Yamaha is always about innovation and creating better tools for musicians. As technology advances, we can have a better price point, making our technology available to more people. Our thought process was to modernize our entire synthesizer line.” Launched on Sept. 27, the Yamaha MODX6 offers an MSRP $1,649, the MODX7 carries an MSRP of $1,899 and the MODX has a suggested retail price of $2,399. Tschetter stressed that price point is not the only thing that makes the MODX unique. “What makes it different than the MONTAGE is mobility,” he said. “The MONTAGE is made to be taken on the road with its rugged, aluminum chassis. It’s meant to be put in the back of a semi

[truck]. MODX is lightweight, mobile and has a smaller form factor that you can carry under your arm. It’s great for someone playing gigs around town. You can have it home, pick it up easily and bring it to a gig. And if you already have a MONTAGE, you can put a MODX6 or MODX 7 on top of it.” Mobility is a big reason well-

known, Atlanta-based musician and sound designer Richard Devine, who also performed during the New York City event, likes the MODX. Not only is the MODX lightweight, it is “the perfect size for me,” he said. “It’s really awesome.” Regarding the origin of the MODX name, Tschetter recalled a

meeting where different ideas were floated. “One of the things Yamaha is famous for is FM synthesis,” he said. “We previously had the MOXF and we thought, Why don't we add DX, so that people know it is a FM synthesizer as well as a great sample playback synthesizer? So, we just put the two together. And it’s fun to say. Moe-dee-ex.”

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Ad Index

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STATE YOUR CASE

ADAM HALL...............................21 AMAHI UKULELES...................43 AUDIX CORPORATION.............45 BANDLAB TECHNOLOGIES....41 BOURNS PRO AUDIO................53 CABLE PORTER.........................51 CAD AUDIO.................................25 CELESTION.................................9 CHAUVET LIGHTING...........C-III CONNOLLY MUSIC COMPANY................................27 GODIN GUITARS........................35 FARIDA GUITAR & UKULELE.................................52 FENDER.......................................7 GALAXY AUDIO........................3 JOHN PACKER............................22 KALA BRAND MUSIC CO........26 KIRLIN INDUSTRIES.................10 KYSER MUSICAL PRODUCTS.....20 MANHASSET SPECIALTY COMPANY................................6 MUSIC NOMAD..........................24 NAMM..................................... 14-15 ODYSSEY INNOVATIVE DESIGNS...................................47 PRO X...........................................37 QRS MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES....39 RAIN RETAIL SOFTWARE........12 RAPCO/HORIZON COMPANY................................53 RAT...............................................24 ROADHOG/LAVA CABLES.......18 ROLAND......................................5 SA RICHARDS............................17 STRING SWING..........................16 TECH 21.......................................11 TMP / THE MUSIC PEOPLE!.....19 TRUSST........................................23 U.S. BAND & ORCHESTRA SUPPLIES.................................29 VOCOPRO....................................13 WD MUSIC PRODUCTS............8 YAMAHA................................. C-II YORKVILLE............................ C-IV 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.

(continued from cover) The Music People; Dave Lopez, national sales manager, Odyssey Innovative Designs; Ken Kucharic, purchasing agent, Yorkville Sound; and a collaborative effort by MONO’s design team. Let’s start with the bags and cases market. We asked our panelists about their process when designing these products. What’s the most important goal they are trying to accomplish? “The No. 1 mission for us is always ensuring we are protecting someone’s gear and making it easy for them to transport it. It is almost like the less they have to think about us, the better the job we are doing. They are confident with buying a Gator product, their gear is safe and they can get to playing,” said Morris. “Sturdiness and dependability were definitely top considerations when putting together [Yorkville’s] Rouge Valley line,” added Kucharic. “High-quality global features, regardless of price point, such as 400D nylon, heavy-duty zippers and secure stitching, were primary concerns. Once those features were established, we began building the corresponding feature sets for each price point.” “The design of the product must fill a need/application,” stated Lopez. “The purpose is to build bags/cases that improve the enduser’s job requirement; a product that makes the customer’s life/ gig easier. And it’s got to look cool and be stylish, too.” Said the MONO team: “For [us], the most important design element is solving the real-life problems of creators. Our designs are the result of working closely with experienced creators and artists who travel and tour with our cases all over the world. We design with their experiences in mind and are constantly looking for ways to introduce more enhancements, greater utilitarian functionality and extra thoughtful details — which make their lives easier. “Last year, we developed the Stealth Electric Guitar Case, a timeless design that responds to the modern urban lifestyle,” MONO added. “Improving the shoulder and back-padding supports makes the electric guitar inside feel almost weightless; quick access to hidden pockets allows you to access everyday items quickly. Even with all these new features, we make sure we never compromise on our core product values when designing the cases: to protect your musical instrument on the go.” The health of MI can be judged in many ways. One way is to see what types of bags and cases — in terms of MI segment — are selling well. “Initial research indicated that about 85 percent of our overall bag sales are guitar and ukulele bags,” responded Kucharic. “So, our first step in development was clear. Top sellers in these two categories are acoustic dreadnaught and soprano uke, respectively. They are accessible instruments from an economic and a playability perspective and, of course, the school uke programs put a lot of soprano ukes into kids’ hands.” “Our series of cases for Rane’s new model 12 Controller and model 72 Mixer are selling extremely well,” noted Lopez. “Both of these Rane products are hot, and we’re thrilled and proud that customers are choosing our cases to protect their valuable equipment.” “We continue to expand in solutions for carrying the audio gear that supports the backline,” said Morris. “A bit of the unsung hero, but moving microphones, speakers etc., around is just as important as the traditional instruments. For example, we just launched a new wireless microphone bag designed to carry two units.” We followed that up by asking each participant what their hottest-selling bag or case is. “The Vertigo Series is our most popular range. It is our flagship hybrid case range with maximum protection from top to bottom,” answered the MONO team. “From military-grade materials, to our trademarked Boot and headstock lock, it completely protects your musical instrument.”

‘Our series of cases for Rane’s new model 12 Controller and model 72 Mixer are selling extremely well. Both of these Rane products are hot, and we’re thrilled and proud that customers are choosing our cases to protect their valuable equipment.’ — Dave Lopez “The Transit series we launched last year has been an amazing success. The combination of style and functionality has been extremely well received, and we are continuing to build out the line beyond guitar. We just released a new series of general accessory bags that are great for cables, pedals etc., following this same design cue,” said Morris. “Our introductory 100 series has easily established itself as the top seller of the three available series,” noted Kucharic. “It seems to strike just the right balance between quality features, price point and, of course, aesthetics. It’s done very well for us.” “For both cases and bags, it is just about anything DJ-controller related,” concluded Lopez.

Trend Setters

What are some bags/cases trends that may affect sales and hence product selection at MI retail stores? “Bags with more functionality; cases built with lighter materials, but that are still strong and durable enough to protect the gear, and are functional during a performance,” said Lopez. “We continue to see the consumer moving away from hard cases and more into well-padded NOVEMBER 2018

bags,” responded Morris. “Today’s bags can offer very similar protection while being lighter and easier to move around.” “I can definitely see more integration of technology, such as tracking software that allows you to find your gig bag with your phone in the event of theft or misplacement,” answered Kucharic. “As we are in a fast-paced urban area, we design for simplicity and ease,” said the MONO team. “It doesn’t mean removing everything. It’s all about how each product is considered thoroughly during our design processes — how we implement all the essential features for each case, designing them to look effortless and clean, without compromising on function.” Now that you know what trends are shaping the bags/ cases industry, let’s find out what advice our panelists have for MI retailers when selling bags and cases. “I believe the No. 1 thing a retailer can do is merchandise the bags and cases,” stated Morris. “Get them on the floor, near the products they are designed to carry. Train the sales staff to talk about them. Online retailers should merchandise on the primary product pages, helping to show the customer what case matches up.” “Educate customers on the importance of protecting their investment,” said Lopez. “Whether it’s one of our top-of-the-line Flight Zone Series cases or an entry-level gig bag from our entry-level Streemline Series, the customer’s equipment needs to be protected. There is no worse feeling than showing up to a gig with busted gear, the result of inferior product cases that are on the market. Dealers often forget to point out to their customers that a case is a necessity, not an accessory.” “The quality of a MONO case speaks for itself,” said the MONO team. “We give a great guarantee because we know we build products to last. We have different unique selling propositions for each design style, in order to cater to different user preferences. Our M80 Classic Series focuses on comfortable MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

‘The No. 1 mission for us is always ensuring we are protecting someone’s gear and making it easy for them to transport it. It is almost like the less they have to think about us, the better the job we are doing.’ — Crystal Morris

‘I can definitely see more integration of technology, such as tracking software that allows you to find your gig bag with your phone in the event of theft or misplacement.’ — Ken Kucharic

storage, the M80 Vertigo Series offers maximum protection, while our new M80 Stealth Series caters to urban commuters. They respond to real musicians’ lives, so you can chat with your customers to find the best MONO M80 fit for them.” We conclude the bags and cases section of this story with a sneak preview of what the manufacturers expect to debut at the upcoming NAMM Show in January. “We constantly get product requests and feedback from musicians,” responded the MONO team. “These valuable insights help us to identity current needs in the market. We’ll have a few great new pieces coming out at NAMM. Hint: Acoustic players are going to be happy… and so will other creative types. Watch this space!” “Now that the guitar and uke bags are finalized and shipping, we are able to diversify our product line,” said Kucharic. “We just

‘I would say that the one thing that is having the most impact on the accessories market would have to be the acceptance and adoption by retailers of online marketplaces.’ — Susan Cavanaugh

received our first shipment of drum hardware bags, and we couldn’t be happier with the result. In recent cross-country and local product seminars, the response was overwhelmingly positive.” “We do have a number of cool products to introduce at NAMM, but we’re going to hold off on making any announcements about them at this time,” noted Lopez. “But we feel very confident that the dealers are going to be excited about them and thrilled at the sales potential.” “We have a lot of exciting new products slated for Winter NAMM. These range from expanded band and orchestra offerings to new stands,” concluded Morris. “We also are highly focused on Levy’s Leathers now being part of the Gator family with new straps, strap locks and expanded accessory offerings.”

Accessory to a Sale

Now, on to accessories. We start off by looking at some of the trends affecting this market. “I would say that the one thing that is having the most impact on the accessories market would have to be the acceptance and adoption by retailers of online marketplaces,” said Cavanaugh. “This can be used to brick-and-mortar stores’ advantage if they have a solid ecommerce plan in place. The ever-growing uncertainty of the United States’ foreign trade policies will definitely impact where accessories are made and sold. “Another less significant yet important consideration would be the inclusion of arts within elementary through high schools,” she added. “As funding within schools increases as a result of the economic uptick, so will the desire and ability to purchase accessories.” “I think the biggest-picture trend is that consumer confidence is up across the board, and both brick-and-mortar as well as ecommerce MI companies seem to be enjoying that upward movement,” answered Payne. “If any given larger category is up, like acoustic guitar, then related accessories always seem to follow suit, so it really comes as no surprise that our accessory business is rocking right now. That said, even in a down market, accessories seem to flourish; players might not be able to buy a new guitar when times are tough, but they need certain accessories to use their existing gear. I think I also have to address the big elephant in the room: the U.S. import tariff situation. No matter how any given company handles the situation, this is a significant disruption. We feel positive about our approach as we started planning early on. Hopefully, others have done the same to try and mitigate any significant changes during the fourth quarter.” As for hottest-selling accessories, “Our stands are the backbone of our business and are selling well in all varieties,” answered Payne. “For stands, most categories are up Vintage style over last year: guitar stands, meets modern mic stands, keyboard stands, speaker stands, music stands, construction etc. Outside of that, pro audio and technology-related accessories are particularly selling well (tablet- and laptop-mounting See us at NAMM: solutions especially). With pro Booth 1306 Hall E audio gear in mind, we often live by the mantra: ‘If it clamps on a mic stand, it will sell.’ We live in a world where people are trying to be super efficient with most things in their lives, and for musicians, their gear is no different. People want to keep their gear close at hand and bring as little as possible, so Available now in the anything that shrinks someUSA and Canada one’s setup while keeping it Learn more at faridausa.com or efficient is hot right now. For call (517) 372-7888

‘I think the biggest-picture trend is that consumer confidence is up across the board, and both brick-and-mortar as well as ecommerce MI companies seem to be enjoying that upward movement.’ — Jeremy Payne example, we have a modular mic stand, the GPA1003, that neatly tucks under a pedalboard and provides three mounting points to hold any combination of mics, guitars, speakers or other performance staples. Its footprint is a mere 18 inches by 10 inches. So, a solo acoustic street performer can have their guitar stand, mic stand and speaker stand all in one compact little unit. These kinds of little problem solvers are a big part of our brand identity and are selling well. Band and orchestra seems as strong as ever, and the related accessories are also doing well.” “Our Spector Violin mute, Super-Sensitive Dark rosin and Bowmaster,” added Cavanaugh, regarding hottest-selling accessories. Next, we asked what trends are shaping the accessory industry. “Anyone denying that the

electronic music category is not getting substantially bigger is kidding themselves,” said Payne. “Performers and recording artists for this category need their devices supported with accessories that make their lives easier and more enjoyable, so I think that’s important for suppliers and retailers to keep in mind. We all have an instrument in our pocket that can work into any type of music: our phone. Phones are becoming a bigger and bigger part of making music, and we need to pay close attention to this. We’re a stand company, so the first thing that comes to mind for a phone accessory is a mount. “To MI retailers: Do you stock a mount that will fit everyone’s phone on the market? Will it fit on a mic stand, a music stand, a cymbal stand and so on? Don’t leave your customer high and dry,” Payne added. “Make sure you have all the options they could be looking for. Think about phone cases. You go by a kiosk in a mall, and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of options. Style aside, there are cases with built-in kick stands, wallets, holders, chargers and so on. If you were a phone case retailer and only stocked a couple of options, you’d likely be out of business pretty fast. In our industry, I think we need to make sure we’re addressing the needs of all the varieties of musicians and how they could possibly use a phone in making music. By physically having our phones accessible in a performance, writing or recording situation, we’ll discover new ways of utilizing phone technology in music making. Right now, we see phone technology opening doors for us as musicians, and we are happily walking through them, but it would be really nice to see our industry’s app and technology developers set the bar for the phone industry to accommodate the future of music making with phones. The camera industry did it, why shouldn’t we? Is it so far out to think that we’ll be creating instruments that require a phone to be the brains of the operation?” “People love gadgets,” added Cavanuagh. “They have to keep their hands busy. For example, fidget spinners were extremely popular at one time.” In addition to bags and cases, NOVEMBER 2018

accessories are a tremendous source of additional income for MI retailers. We asked our two accessories panelists to provide any possible tips to help you get that accessory sale. “Accessories should be strategically placed for impulse purchasing,” noted Cavanaugh. “Ideally located near the cash register/checkout. Also, accessories should be an added benefit/value to a larger purchase. The accessory should complement the larger purchase. For example: If a person purchases a violin bow, the clerk should add on a rosin and maybe even at a discounted rate.” “Stock them!” said Payne. “I know that sounds stereotypical of a manufacturer salesperson, but we are living in a market where end users want it today, and if not, tomorrow. If you don’t have it in stock, the consumer’s next stop will be a search engine, and they’ll find a source that can deliver tomorrow. I worked in a retail shop before I came onboard at On-Stage, and we had walls and walls of beautiful guitars. However, by investing so heavily in higher-ticket items, we often were left with a bare-bones budget for accessories. I cannot tell you the number of times someone came in looking for a specific type of strings, picks, stands, cases, etc., and we had to resort to the old ‘No, but we can order it for you’ approach. I get it, you can’t stock everything. But in my experience, and hindsight being 20/20, accessories should come first on your priority list. If you don’t have the accessories that allow a musician to practice their craft, you are proving to not be a reliable

resource for them. If you let a customer down a couple times, they might not come back as often or ever again, which means you’ll never make the big sale. Be a hero to your customer and have the best variety of accessories in your area. Try to make a point of bringing in a few new accessories every purchasing cycle; you’ll always have something new and exciting to show your regulars. Most accessories in our industry come in under $20; even if you invest in 200 unique SKUs and only have one or two of each, you’re investing less dollars than you would in a single mid-to-highend instrument.” Although it’s early to get manufacturers to reveal their new of-

ferings at January’s The NAMM Show, we asked anyway. “Clarity Spectrum’s new colorful packaging,” answered Cavanaugh. “Without spilling too many beans, we’re just expanding our existing line,” concluded Payne. “Adding a few more things to case/bag world, new and improved versions of existing stand products, some guitar-related accessories, some audio-related accessories, keyboard-related accessories, band-and-orchestrarelated accessories. A little bit of everything is being added to the lineup. 2019 is our 40th anniversary, and we certainly won’t be disappointing with our new product offerings.”

THE FINAL NOTE: MEREDITH HAMLIN

(continued from page 54) The Retailer: What songs are on your smartphone/ iPod, etc. right now? Hamlin: St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Fantastic Negrito, Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges and David Crowder.

The Retailer: If you had to select three people, past or present, to have dinner with, who would they be and what would you ask them? Hamlin: My great grandmother, Lillian Kyser: “How did you live through two World Wars and the Great Depression and still manage to raise five children and pick cotton and have three meals on the table?!?” Carol Burnett: “How did you keep from laughing every time you were onstage with Tim Conway?” George W. Bush: I feel that we are kindred spirits, and I would want him to co-host the dinner with me. The Retailer: What is the best thing about the MI industr y? Hamlin: The family reunion that happens every year at NAMM! The Retailer: Who do you admire most outside of the music industr y and why? Hamlin: My parents. I come from blue-collar stock: a firefighter and a house cleaner. They taught me the importance MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

of servant leadership and a good work ethic.

The Retailer: If you weren’t in the music industr y, what would you be doing and why? Hamlin: Teaching, or I would be living abroad and ser ving the AIDS/HIV population in eastern Europe. Those people have my heart. The Retailer: Tell us about your hometown and why you enjoy living there. Hamlin: I live in East Texas. The pace is slower and the people are friendlier.

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The Retailer: What are your most prized possession(s) and why? Hamlin: My two children. I am constantly amazed at how full of grace and compassion they are. I tell them constantly that the way they treat others is more important to me than the grades that they bring home or the ribbons that they win. The Retailer: What’s your favorite book and why? Hamlin: “Schindler’s List.” It’s the typical theme of the triumph of good over evil and the fact that one person was able to accomplish change even amid such atrocities that were happening during WWII. I can relate to the lament of, “Have I done enough? Could I be doing more?” 53

THE FINAL NOTE

MEREDITH HAMLIN

CEO, Kyser Musical Instruments

By Brian Berk The Music & Sound Retailer: Who was your greatest influence or mentor and why? Meredith Hamlin: A woman named Suanne Rouse. She has invested a lot of time and energy and meals and prayers into me, and she saved my life many years ago. The Retailer: What was the best advice you ever received? Hamlin: Measure twice and cut once. The Retailer: What was your first experience with a musical instrument? Hamlin: I played drums all through school and in college. The Retailer: What instrument do you most enjoying playing? Hamlin: Air guitar. The Retailer: Tell us something about yourself that others do not know or would be surprised to learn. Hamlin: I was a tire technician on a stock car racing team in the late ‘90s. The Retailer: What’s your favorite activity to do when you’re not at work? Hamlin: Anything with my kids. Play tennis, do-it-yourself projects and traveling. The Retailer: What is the best concert you’ve ever been to? Hamlin: Lyle Lovett and his large band. The Retailer: If you could see any musician, alive or deceased, play a concert for one night, who would it be and why? Hamlin: Freddie Mercury; because it’s freaking Freddie Mercury! The Retailer: What musician are you hoping to see play in the near future? Hamlin: St. Paul and the Broken Bones. The Retailer: What song was most memorable for you throughout your childhood, and what do you remember about it the most? Hamlin: “Seven Spanish Angels” performed by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles. I remember this song vividly because it told a story, not just with the lyrics but with the actual music. And it was the first time I heard two diverse and impressive artists joining forces. (continued on page 53) 54

Hamlin recently took part in a leadership course, which included military training.

NOVEMBER 2018