FEATURES
America the Beautiful 2010 has been a good year for American patriotism. And we don’t just mean annual rituals such as the Fourth of July.
Not Doubting Thomas
Mendello Retires, Thomas Named Fender CEO Former Guitar Center CEO Larry Thomas has a new gig: CEO at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
The ‘Spin’ on the DJ Market Whether your store carries a full line of DJ products, just a few or none at all, it’s hard to dispute that these products have carved a major indentation in the MI marketplace.
Music City Mystery Summer NAMM had many highlights, but attendance dropped 4 percent compared to last year. The future of the show is a topic on many minds.
The Canadians’ Club Changes galore took place at this year’s installment of the MIAC show in Toronto. The date changed to May. The location changed. Why were the adjustments made? Did the alterations work?
Floyd Rose Sued Geoffrey McCabe, an inventor and guitarist, has sued Floyd Rose Guitars and distributor Davitt & Hanser Music for patent infringement.
Pay It Forward! You’ve heard enough bad news. We take a look at the fantastic things happening in MI today.
-‘MIM is the Word The Musical Instrument Museum opened in Phoenix to a lot of fanfare. Rebecca Apodaca, an expert on antique instruments, gives you a rundown of the latest thing to hit MI.
-‘Loud and Clear Pro audio products continue to sell. We get the scoop from four top manufacturers.
-‘Open Door’ Policy NAMM makes a big change by allowing member-invited guests on the last day of Summer NAMM.
-Musikmesse A-107K! Attendance at Musikmesse and Pro Light + Sound dipped slightly, but optimism was up.
-It’s in the Cards ! You need to have PCI DSS-compliant terminals to handle credit card transactions by July 1. What are we talking about? Don’t worry, we’ll explain.
-Unplugged Acoustic guitar sales grew dramatically in 2009 and the beginning of 2010. Is this the beginning of a new trend?
-Head of the Class! We shine the spotlight on many of the new companies that launched at NAMM.
-Musicorp Mourns Mike Murphy We honor the sale rep’s life that ended way too soon.
-Is a New Healthcare Plan Just Snake Oil? We take a thorough look at how a new public healthcare plan can affect you and your employees. ?
-Bonanza! Behringer Buys Bosch Brands Behringer’s parent company added the Midas and Klark Teknik brands to its stable.
-The Stars Will Come Out…This Weekend We highlight a few of the celebrity appearances at NAMM.
-What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been!!! We reminisce as we close out the first decade of the new millennium. It was a tough 10 years for many. How about for the music industry though? What’s ahead?
-It’s Voting Time! Here are your nominees for the 24th annual Music & Sound Awards.
-Here We Come to Save the Day!!We provide a plethora of accessories that manufacturers assure you will provide excellent margins.
-For Those Who Make Lesser Publicized Instruments, We Salute You!!For the first time, we pay tribute to instruments and products that get little press coverage. We provide a well-deserved spotlight for these products!

-Kathy How:Now here’s a story you don’t hear connected to MI every day. A woman who grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, studied medicine and later moved to England.
-Sarah Heil:We’ve all heard the stories about people beginning in the mailroom and later becoming the CEO of a major corporation. Those people are rare, but it does happen.
-Sue Avant is a trailblazer. She’s also someone who
has varied interests. And she is, indeed, formidable.
-Mary Ann Giorgio It sure sounds like a great job to cover soap operas like Days of our Lives and speak to celebrities on a daily basis. But MXL’s Mary Ann Giorgio was never comfortable in that industry. She sure is comfortable at MXL Microphones though.
-Fusion Bags For the first time, we feature multiple people in this column. We look at the genesis and growth of the all-women founded business, Fusion Bags.
-Linda Arink is one of the very few female executives at a DJ company. Learn how she became involved and why she hopes we won’t even need to have a column about top industry females in the future.
-Debbe Stephenson stumbled upon MI shortly after college, but is sure glad she did. She’s now president and COO of Pro Co Sound.
-• Mary Peavey
-• Jennifer Tabor
-• Tarina Dunwoodie
-• Stacey Montgomery-Clark.
-• Cathy Duncan
-• Bee Bantug
-• Dale Krevens
-• Melanie Ripley
-• Susan Grund
-• Toby Nady
-• Shawna von Behren.
-• Berenice Chauvet
-• Sue Kincade
-• Tish Ciravolo
-• Vikki Hayward
-• Roxana Ramirez
-• Susan Lipp

The Next Decade

We’d be crazy to predict what the next decade has in store. What we can say is we’re entering a new decade with many people without jobs. And that’s not to mention how many millions have jobs but are underemployed. Receiving a job offer today is akin to winning the lottery. That’s the bad news.

What’s good? There is hope. Hope that we’ve weeded out the Madoff types. Hope that banks won’t repeat their ridiculous lending mistakes.

We also have a little more than hope. Most MI manufacturers are at least cautiously optimistic 2010 will be better. Some theorize it’s difficult to be worse than 2008 and 2009 for starters. We have seen the stock market rise marginally, a signal the economy will begin recovering. Another good, tangible sign: Corporate earnings are improving. Regarding companies with music ties, Apple had a fantastic earnings report recently. Avid Technology’s numbers were much better and it sees improvement ahead.

Retailers have also seen improvement. Several of you have seen things looking better at your stores. But that should be said with one major caveat. Many of you have told us selling high-priced items can be excruciating at times. (See this month’s Music & Sound Independent Retailer for an example). Lower-priced items have continued to sell. The good news there is many lower-priced products offer higher margins than some high-priced counterparts do. Young looked into his crystal ball and made the following predictions: “The Internet will be more of a factor every day for consumers to find anything they need. Are we in the mix and keeping up with customer demand? We have to talk with consumers to find out how they think, how they want their information, and how they buy. The recession will be ending, production will stabilize, and those retailers and manufacturers left standing will be stronger than when we went into this.”

The independent dealer movement could be the most important story of the 2010 decade. Uniting of independent dealers could be the key to their success during the next 10 years. Competition against chain box stores and Internet retailers was a huge story in this decade and is sure to continue. What can independent dealers do differently? How can you compete with Internet resellers constantly trying to undercut you on price?

Technology is the biggest wildcard MI has. We have no idea what the new craze will be. What will be the next iPod? What will be the next Guitar Hero or Rock Band? Whatever the answer is, it will have a humungous effect on our industry going forward.

Perhaps the biggest story in the next decade, or at least for the foreseeable future, will be the several lawsuits the industry is currently fighting. Will we see the end of Minimum Advertised Prices?

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