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-Guitar Hero is all the rage for consumers.
-Need to take a break from searching for the latest gear during The NAMM Show? Here are some celebrity appearances and parties to check out.
-Attendance increased at Music China and Prolight + Sound, and Kenny G made a big splash.
-Improving next month's NAMM Show is like making the 1972 Miami Dolphins better. But NAMM is certainly not resting on its laurels.
-We reveal all of the manufacturer nominees for Music & Sound Awards to be handed out next month at The NAMM Show.
-Counterfeiting on MI products, particularly guitars, may have received minimal national press, but the problem is real and not going away.
-Find out how to sell products your customers are probably not looking to buy.
-M&SR features its second annual independent retailer roundtable. What's on dealer's mind's this year. Are things better than last year?
-Females playing musical instruments now outnumber males, according to a NAMM/Gallup survey.
-Industry leaders paved the way for the next 10 years.
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-Robert Gault, president of Eminence Speaker, knows a massive amount about China and the pro audio industry. Enough said.
-To say Kurt Ballou, Converge's guitarist, doesn't treat guitars well is like saying the New England Patriots are a decent football team. Ballou had to find a guitar to take a pounding. Here's why he chose First Act's Sheena.
-The amazing story of how Gear Source Music reopened days after a flood took it apart. Spy ventured to the Pacific Northwest to the great city of Seattle. Five minutes with a great wealth of knowledge in the percussion industry, Remo Belli.
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-John Flansburgh, They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh is a big fan of several independent dealers as well as a host of manufacturers.
-Matt Rubano, the bass player for the red-hot band Taking Back Sunday. Even better, he likes to shop for MI gear.
-Paul English, Willie Nelson has had four wives in 40 years, but only one drummer in that same time frame.
-John 5, When your name is a number, you must be cool. John 5, who played with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, says idolizing Eddie Van Halen was a big mistake. How is that possible?
-Luke Pritchard may be “all together Kook-y,” but he has cool memories from the days he visited retail stores.
-Eddie Ojeda; Lead guitarist for Twisted Sister.
-Will Lee; Getting that gig isn’t easy and took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
-Imogen Heap writes songs, plays piano and the nail violin,Does she plan to design her own instrument?
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| One of Our Ex’s Lives in Texas |
| By Brian Berk and Ravi |
[September 2007 - Page 2] |
Teach the Dealers Well
Of course, despite the fact some exhibitors had great shows, several prominent companies did not exhibit at all or reduced their booth size and staffs at the show. One thing that could be counted upon was NAMM University sessions. But even before that, the Independent Music Retailers Association met on Thursday, July 26. Oren Teicher, COO of the American Booksellers Association, was the guest speaker. “We must figure out how to work together to survive,” he said. “To have success for the long-term future, many independent groups must share info including independent booksellers, music dealers, florists, bicycle stores, drug stores, etc.”
One thing both groups can do is “create a national brand to remind consumers of the passion, knowledge, and the part of the community the independent retailer is,” he said. “Have ‘shop local’ campaigns. Indie dealers are what make communities unique.”
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation was the thing to focus on during the Friday NAMM breakfast session. NAMM CEO Joe Lamond interviewed Veronica Kayne, of Haynes & Boone, LLP. She is NAMM’s antitrust attorney and formerly worked for the FTC. “The way this often starts is a regular consumer complains or something comes out in the trade press,” she said. “Often, the FTC looks into an industry for a year before [subpoenas are issued].”
As for the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Leegin Leather Products vs. PSKS, Kayne said it won’t affect the FTC investigation of MI because the FTC is not interested in specific manufacturer and dealer pricing issues. “The FTC is interested in seeing if there was collusive activity among manufacturers,” she said. “If the FTC brought a case, it would look for promises of no collusive activity in the future.”
So what happens next? Kayne said the FTC is now collecting material and is going through a “quiet time” to collect data and interview people perhaps involved. “It will then decide whether to bring forth a case, which could take a year.”
“It Worked For Me,” the title of Saturday’s NAMM breakfast session, was intended to bring forth many successful ideas dealers have implemented in their stores. Alysha Sides Greevy of Robert M. Sides Family Music Centers, Bryan McCann of Instrumental Music Corp., and Myrna Sislen of Middle C Music Corp. served as panelists. McCann makes sure all customers are greeted by name to feel a sense of belonging. “You must be different, like a restaurant,” he said. “Your favorite restaurant is probably not a chain.”
Sides said she focuses on increased value-added selling. She also compensates employees based on gross profit dollars as opposed to traditional methods.
Sislen pointed to past NAMM University sessions as the source for many of the ideas she implemented at her Washington D.C. store. The first thing she did after taking over the business five years ago was to build teaching studios for lessons. Her teachers now instruct 300 students a week at a rate of $40 per half hour.
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