Music Trades articles from February 2003

Music Trades archives from February 2003

Music Makers launched: world-first market development program funded directly by participating wholesalers. (Australian Market News).
February 1, 2003... The Australian Music Association has introduced a unique approach to market development based on co-operative understanding between otherwise fiercely competitive wholesalers. The initiative is a long term campaign to grow the market for...

Weekend Warriors and Sesame Street Music Works first Music Makers Programs for Australia. (Australian Market News).
February 1, 2003... With welcome support from NAMM, the first two activities being launched in Australia as part of the Music Makers Program are Weekend Warriors and Sesame Street Music Works. Weekend Warriors was piloted in Australia's third largest city,...

MARS ... the final chapter. (Letters).
February 1, 2003... It should hardly comes as a surprise that a bankruptcy on the scale of MARS Music (approximately $295 million up in smoke) would generate a good deal of commentary. In last month's issue, we ran out of space, so here is the final installment of...

Correction & amplification.
February 1, 2003... A serious error was published in your December issue, which listed the "Global 225" top music and sound suppliers worldwide. Matth. Hohner, AG (Hohner Group) was incorrectly listed with less than half of its 2001 revenues. Our actual revenue...

Who will be at NAMM? (Official NAMM Exhibitor List).
February 1, 2003... Who Will Be At NAMM? Exhibitor List For NAMM's International Music Market As Of 12/19/02 3L INTERNATIONAL 5924 A-440 PIANOS 473...

Sennheiser parties with the Goo Goo Dolls. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... SENNHEISER IS HOSTING ITS Fifth Annual Evolution Dealer Appreciation Party at Winter NAMM, featuring performances by the Goo Goo Dolls, country and western singer Tom Shane Stiner (recently nominated for favorite new artist--American Music...

JMS marketing hits the road. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... REP FIRM JMS MARKETING has a "Mobile Showroom" that is now on the road making stops throughout the JMS territory. The Mobile Showroom is a 40-foot trailer filled with professional audio, lighting, and musical instrument products. The...

Roland's New Product Theater Showcase at NAMM. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... ROLAND WILL STAGE ITS second annual New Product Theater Showcase at Winter NAMM 2003. The theater, located at Booth 2600, features a multimedia product showcase where convention attendees will be treated to m.i. new product demos and guest...

MIDI's 20th anniversary to be celebrated at NAMM. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... THE MIDI MANUFACTURERS Association (MMA) is planning a MIDI 20th Anniversary Celebration at the Winter NAMM show, January 16-19 2003. The activities will be based in Booth 1385 in Hall E of the Anaheim Convention Center. The celebration...

Alfred to display historic guitar at NAMM. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... ALFRED PUBLISHING CO. and The National Guitar Workshop (NGW) will display the historic trademark guitar that appears in the NGW logo at this year's Winter NAMM show in Booth 4810. The famous relic was conceived by David Smolover and his wife,...

PRS Guitars jams at NAMM. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... PRS GUITARS, BOOTH #5420, will host performances every day at 11 a.m., 1 P.M., 3 P.M., and 5 P.M. by guitarist Gerry Leonard, bassist Gary Grainger, and vocalist Tracy Hamlin. Leonard's current credits include recording and touring with...

Sabian announces drums along NAMM lineup. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... SABIAN's Drums Along NAMM party is one of the most anticipated events of the NAMM Show. For 2003 the cymbal company has signed up another lineup that is sure to entertain and enthrall musicians and music fans alike. The all-night bash will be...

National Piano Travelers to meet in Anaheim. (Late breaking: NAMM news).
February 1, 2003... THE NATIONAL PIANO Travelers Association (NPTA) will hold its annual reception and business meeting on Wednesday, January 15 (the day before the NAMM show opens) at the Quality Hotel Maingate on Convention Way in Anaheim. All keyboard travelers...

Opera singer sues over fake fog. (Industry Briefings).
February 1, 2003... Responding to complaints from San Francisco Opera singers and the American Guild of Musical Artists, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is set to decide whether to ban the use of fake fog in performances. The singers have complained that...

Elvis's first guitar up for auction. (Industry Briefings).
February 1, 2003... It wasn't the kind of transportation 11-year-old Elvis Presley had in mind. He wanted a bicycle, but the $12.95 guitar he got instead put him on the road to immortality. That guitar, purchased at Tupelo Hardware, is set to be auctioned in New...

Indoor dog house muffles fido's bark. (Industry Briefings).
February 1, 2003... Kawai Musical Instruments, best known for its world-class pianos, has adapted its proprietary sound-insulation technology for an indoor dog house that muffles the barking of man's best friend. When shut tight, the kennel reduced the sound of...

Philadelphia Orchestra gets soaked. (Industry Briefings).
February 1, 2003... The Philadelphia Orchestra is used to being showered with applause. But last month it was showered with water from the fire-sprinkler system. The sprinklers in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center suddenly turned on during a morning rehearsal,...

CAT Scans to reveal violin's secrets. (Industry Briefings).
February 1, 2003... Researchers at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. are using a CAT Scan machine to examine violins--Antonio Stradivari's violins to be exact--to find out what makes the Italian's famed instruments so good. Bruno Frolich, who is...

Instruments for Iraq. (Industry Briefings).
February 1, 2003... Members of Voices in the Wilderness, the Chicago-based group that has worked for the lifting of U.N. sanctions on Iraq, delivered musical equipment for the Iraqi National Orchestra on December 12. "Music can't be besieged; it is a universal...

The ultimate mom & pop operation. (Editorial).
February 1, 2003... Our industry is largely comprised of small, family-run companies that are motivated as much by love of music as by profit. Chuck Levin, who died on December 22 after a protracted battle with cancer, epitomized the music industry entrepreneur,...

Samick acquires stake in Berlin's famous Bechstein piano: Samick will help German firm expand product line; Bechstein to boost Samick presence in Europe market. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... SAMICK MUSIC HAS PURCHASED a controlling interest in C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik, acquiring the shares of the company's largest shareholder, Karl Schulze. As part of the transaction, Schulze also took shares in Samick Music Corp. J.S. Kim,...

Antigua Winds expands distribution, redesigns logo. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... IN RESPONSE TO GROWING demand for its line of school music instruments, Antigua Winds has acquired an additional 20,000 square feet of space in San Antonio, Texas. The new building, located adjacent to the existing facility, will allow the...

New look for Zildjian Educator. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... MEMBERS OF THE ZILDJIAN family, who have a long-standing commitment to education through scholarship and outreach programs, clinics, and educational support materials, have revamped the company's Zildjian Educator newsletter. This year's...

Washburn is now U.S. Music: name change reflects company's expanded product line. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... WASHBURN INTERNATIONAL has changed its name, effective January 1, 2003, to U.S. Music Corporation as a result of the acquisition of the assets of U.S Music Corporation, inclusive of all of its intellectual properties and good will. Rudy...

Ernie Ball's "Street Team" marketing effort. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... ACKNOWLEDGING THE importance of the youth culture to its market, the Ernie Ball Company has kicked off its "Street Team" program, taking its innovative grass-roots marketing philosophy even further. The Street Team program actively recruits the...

Europe's fast-growing EMD opens U.S. distribution office. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... EMD MUSIC GROUP, the leading European music distributor based in Brussels, Belgium, has opened a U.S. operation, EMD Music Inc., Richard Markus, who was most recently president of Mapex USA, Inc. will head the sales and operations at a new...

Kaman celebrates Gretsch 120th. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... ONE 120 YEARS AGO, German immigrant Frederich Gretsch set up shop in Brooklyn, distributing a broad range of products. Shortly after the turn of the century he began manufacturing percussion products. Kaman Music Corporation, the exclusive...

Holtz launches new instrument line. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... GLENN HOLTZ, FORMER head of Gemeinhardt Flute, has founded the Glenn Holtz Corporation and introduced the Glenn Edward line of band instruments, a competitively priced line of musical instruments built to ISO 9000 specifications. The line...

HHI's OLP signs agreement with Spector. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... HHI (Hanser Holdings International) has announced an agreement with Stuart Spector Designs Ltd., renowned builder of professional bass guitars, to produce Spector-approved instruments under its OLP (Officially Licensed Product) name. The new...

Schimmel acquires piano factory in Poland. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... WILHELM SCHIMMEL Pianofortefabrik GmbH has expanded its manufacturing operations with the acquisition of PianoEurope of Kalisz, Poland. The modern factory, which started production in 1996, will initially produce a 179cm grand for export to the...

Easy Karaoke Co. develops "pro burn" system for retailers. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... TEN YEARS AGO YOU COULD pay up to $10,000 for a karaoke machine, excluding the box full of expensive CD+G disks to make such a purchase worthwhile. You would have needed a fair size room to put the machine in. As is always the case with new...

Roseland Piano moves to larger facilities. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... ROSELAND PIANO CO., the nation's leading maker of piano keys, has moved to larger production facilities. The company's owner. Richard (Rick) Wheeler, said that the added efficiency of the larger space will result in a faster turn-around time...

JBL stars in Radio City Christmas. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... MORE THAN ONE MILLION people experienced JBL sound quality at The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the world-famous Radio City Rockettes. The 2002 edition of The Christmas Spectacular featured a cast of more than 140 people, including...

Yamaha supplies NFL marching bands. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... BALTIMORE'S MARCHING Ravens and the Houston Texans Bull Pen Pep Band, the former boasting a long, rich history, the latter currently enjoying its first season, play percussion instruments supplied by Yamaha and are at the forefront of a...

Bluegrass winners endorse GHS Strings. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... THE CHAPMANS, GHS Strings endorsers, have been named Emerging Artist of the Year at the International Bluegrass Musicians Association Awards for 2002. The band, consisting of Bill, John, Jeremy, and Jason Chapman, uses GHS Strings exclusively....

Vic Firth cuts new play-along CD. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... Vic Firth Inc., a leading manufacturer of drumsticks and mallets, has released its second play-along CD. A compilation of today's most popular rock drummers and bands, the limited-edition Hard + Heavy disk includes current hits off the latest...

Fibes Drum announces wood shell manufacturing. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... FIBES DRUM CO. is tooling up for the production of wood drum shells. The new molds will allow Fibes to produce shells to the same specifications as the current shells while improving the overall quality. The shell manufacturing division of...

Transamerica integrates Bank of America finance acqusition. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... TRANSAMERICA DISTRIBUTION Finance has successfully completed the integration of its June 2002 purchase of the inventory finance assets from the Bank of America Small Ticket Inventory Finance Group. With the purchase of these assets,...

Parker Guitar opens custom shop. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... IN A MOVE DESIGNED to meet the ongoing demand from players for a customized Parker guitar, Parker Guitars has announced the opening of the Parker Custom Shop on January 1, 2003. Consumers are now able to place orders with authorized Parker...

Grotrian Pianos to exhibit at NAMM. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... GROTRIAN PIANOS OF Braunschweig, Germany, is getting ready for its NAMM exhibit in Booth 339. "Boys. build good pianos, and everything else will take care of itself." That is the advice that Wilhelm Grotrian gave to this sons, Kurt and...

Warner Bros. UK division takes two awards. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... INTERNATIONAL MUSIC Publications (IMP), the UK division of Warner Bros. Publications, took two awards at this year's Music Industry Awards, held at the Cafe Royal in London. IMP was awarded Music Publisher's Best New Product Award for...

Safety Council honors PRS Guitars. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... PAUL REED SMITH Guitars received an award from the Safety Council of Maryland for its outstanding Occupational Safety and Health Program. The award was presented on December 13 at the PRS factory in Stevensville, Maryland, with all of the...

BGE to introduce myBandClub at NAMM. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... BGE FINANCIAL Corporation, a leader in musical instrument financing, has announced plans for a new comprehensive entry-level instrument rental program called myBandClub. myBandClub is focused on supporting students, parents, and educators...

Patent protection for Pedaltrain boards. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... THE U.S. PATENT AND Trademark Office recently granted patent rights to the J. Chandler Company for its Pedaltrain brand of pedalboard products. "We have been looking forward to this day for quite some time," said CEO John Chandler. "Our unique...

Feiten tempered tuning system puts guitars in tune: former Alesis Exec. Allen Wald To Head International Licensing Effort. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... COMMITTED TO REDEFINING the tuning standard of the world's most popular musical instrument, Buzz Feiten Design, Inc, was launched to deliver ifs patented technology, the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, to the guitar industry through an aggressive...

QRS sponsors TV's Mitch Peters Show. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... QRS MUSIC Technologies is sponsoring The Mitch Peters Show on TV station WEVU (UPN) in Naples, Florida. The show airs Saturday nights at 9 P.M. The hour-long variety show has a musical theme and is community-oriented. Host Mitch Peters, a...

NAMM University hits 50,000 student milestone. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... NAMM UNIVERSITY, the association's center of higher learning for m.i. professionals, recently announced that more than 50,000 people have attended its live business courses and seminars. Launched in August 1995, NAMM University provides...

Messe's St. Petersburg show a gateway to Russian market. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... "SOUNDS LIKE BUSINESS" is the operating slogan of the second Musikmesse/ProLight+Sound St. Petersburg, to be held June 18-20 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The fair is staged in the Russian Federation every two years; the first show had 202...

Jay Graydon joins Planet Waves Advisory Board. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... J. D'ADDARIO AND Planet Waves have announced that Jay Graydon has joined Planet Waves Musicians Advisory Board. Graydon is a renowned producer, songwriter, recording artist, recording engineer, and guitarist. During his tenure on the board he...

Washburn acquires Eden Electronics. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... U.S. MUSIC CORPORATION, the recently renamed parent company of Washburn International, has announced the acquisition of Eden Electronics. The new company will give U.S. Music and its SoundTech and Randall amplification divisions a strong hold...

Two new displays from Mel Bay. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... MEL BAY PUBLICATIONS has introduced two new display racks, one for Celtic titles, the other for acoustic titles. A spokesman commented. "With the growing popularity of Celtic and acoustic music, and with St. Patrick's Day right around the...

Sonic Foundry full-year loss at $56.7 million. (Corporate Earnings Digest).
February 1, 2003... SONIC FOUNDRY, INC., the digital media software solutions company, reported a smaller loss for fiscal 2002. In the fourth quarterrevenue advanced 20 percent to $6.4 million from $5.4 million for the same period a year ago. Annual revenues for...

Denon parent shows profit gain. (Corporate Earnings Digest).
February 1, 2003... FOR THE SIX-MONTH PERIOD ended September 30, D&M Holdings, parent company to Denon Ltd. and Marantz Japan Inc., reported consolidated revenue of [yen] 37.6 billion, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of...

Forbes touts Harman stock. (Corporate Earnings Digest).
February 1, 2003... FORBES MAGAZINE selected Harman stock to outperform the larger stock market in its December 12 issue. Its "Streetwalker" column declared, "Harman International makes fancy audio gear for everywhere from stadiums and churches to cars and homes....

Walker Labs--the audio manufacturer that began as a gift. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... WALKER LABS IS AN innovative manufacturer of quality products for the audio professional, specializing in portable battery powered mixers, amplifiers, and loudspeakers. The company was founded by Jim Walker, who had built a battery-powered...

Ross presents jazz masterclass. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN jazz vibraphonist and Ross Mallet Instrument endorsing artist Joe Locke recently conducted jazz masterclasses at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. Held in the Fine Arts Building of the Rudi E. Scheidt School...

Reunion Blues launches new Website. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... REUNION BLUES LAUNCHED a new website, www.reunionblues.com, on November 15. The company's beautifully handcrafted bags with updated designs and styles are now available for viewing at the site, which features the entire Reunion Blues product...

Sazant to head new M.I. Division at SF marketing. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... SF MARKETING, INC., has appointed Jeff Sazant as vice-president of the company's newly established Musical Instrument Division. The 25 year-old company is the Canadian distributor of leading audio products, including Shure, QSC, Mackie Designs,...

Using the Web to add a new twist to guitar instruction: Rock House DVD Method includes online teaching aids. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... JOHN MCCARTHY READILY admits that there is no shortage of decent guitar methods on the market, but that hasn't stopped him from introducing his new Rock House method on DVD. McCarthy began teaching guitar at the age of 15, and over the past 20...

Musicorp's business builders--new customer rewards program. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... MUSICORP IS LAUNCHING a new customer rewards program, Business Builders, at Winter NAMM 2003. The Musicorp Business Builders program is another value-added service the company provides as a wholesaler to help music retailers promote and build...

Alfred & NGW celebrate ten-year partnership. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... ALFRED PUBLISHING CO. and the National Guitar Workshop (NGW) will celebrate the tenth anniversary of their music education publishing partnership at this year's Winter NAMM Show. Alfred, a world leader in music education products, and the...

L.R. Baggs & Bourgeois offer guitar fantasy weekend. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... L.R. BAGGS, Bourgeois Guitars. and Darkhorse Recording Studio in Nashville are teaming up to give away a fantasy recording session to one lucky guitar player. The package includes a custom Bourgeois guitar with the new L.R. Baggs iBeam Active...

Geneva helps Pianos for Primates. (Industry forefront).
February 1, 2003... THE ENDANGERED lemurs of Madagascar received a hand in their survival in November at the Pianos for Primates benefit. The yearly benefit, presented by Caribbean Gardens (the Naples, Florida, zoo) and the Madagascar Fauna Group, raises money for...

Instrument exchange opens online market with ironclad guarantee. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... WITH THE DECEMBER 2 launch of InstrumentExchange.com, musicians now have a specialty online marketplace where they can buy and sell almost any type of musical instrument and gear with an ironclad guarantee. There are thousands of musical...

Proel to launch five new lines in 2002. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... Proel USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Proel S.p.A. of Italy, has been operating in the North American market since July 1999. The company distributes Proel products to music, sound, and lighting dealers across the United States. Proel's unique yet...

Yamaha at Grand National Championships. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... YAMAHA'S BAND & Orchestral Division played a major role in the 27th Annual Bands of America Grand National Championships, held in November at the RCA Dome and Indiana-Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Yamaha was the national...

New headquarters for Pignose & Gorilla. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... LESS THAN TWO YEARS ago Pignose and Gorilla moved from southern California, where they had been located for as long as most people can remember, to Las Vegas. In a very short time the Howard Chatt-owned companies have need even more space and...

DayJams rock camp featured in Entertainment Weekly: two new sites added for 2003. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... DAYJAMS, THE NATIONAL Guitar Workshop's summer day camp for budding 9-to-15-year-old rock stars, achieved celebrity status when the widely read pop-culture magazine Entertainment Weekly selected a DayJams session as one of the Top 100 gifts for...

Guitar.com partners with Gbase.com. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... IN AN EFFORT TO expand and build an online community of guitar players, enthusiasts, collectors, and dealers, Guitar.com, the Internet's leading guitar community, has joined marketing forces with Gbase.com, the Web's premier online retail site...

Seymour Duncan launches D-TAR. (Industry Forefront).
February 1, 2003... IN THE LARGEST CORPORATE structuring move of its nearly 30-year history, Seymour Duncan Pickups has formed D-TAR, LLC, an independent, privately owned concern dedicated to providing acoustic amplification products to consumers and...

Donna Fisher named president of Hi-Hat. (Retailer Update).
February 1, 2003... NATIONALLY KNOWN AUTHOR and lecturer Donna Fisher has been named president of Hi-Hat, Inc., parent company of HP Custom Drums and The Percussion Center. The Houston-based company designs and builds custom maple and carbon-fiber drums and...

An unusual piano sale. (Retailer Update).
February 1, 2003... NOT YOUR TYPICAL PIANO SALE--Desert Piano in Rancho Mirage, CA, sold this $70,000 Samick grand piano to a customer who loved it because it matched his Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Ken Saliba new Jordan Kitt's VP. (Retailer Update).
February 1, 2003... Jordan Kitt's Music, Inc., the largest piano retailer in the United States, has named Ken Saliba vice-president of the Institutional Department. Saliba is now responsible for the sales and delivery of pianos and Allen organs to churches and...

Gand hosts workshop with Mike Snyder. (Retailer Update).
February 1, 2003... GAND MUSIC AND SOUND of Northfield, Illinois, recently featured electronic percussionist Mike Snyder performing on Roland's V-Drum kit and Handsonic drum. The workshop covered the "How To's" of electronic drumming and provided a chance for the...

Schimmel sales event at Forte Piano. (Retailer Update).
February 1, 2003... FORTE PIANO of Paramus, New Jersey, recently hosted Nikolaus Schimmel, president of Germany's Wilhelm Schimmel Pianofortefabrik for a two-day Schimmel Promotional event. A noted expert on piano history and design, Schimmel provided entertaining...

Every joins Sweetwater staff. (Retailer Update).
February 1, 2003... SWEETWATER, A leading retailer of professional music technology equipment, has hired Brad Every as Sales Engineer. He comes to Sweetwater with a broad range of experience and education in electronics and audio. He holds a degree in Electrical...

Are your employees leaving money on the table? Be careful about dropping prices before you have to ... your bottom line will look a lot better if you do. (Bob Popyk On Selling).
February 1, 2003... It's nice when salespeople bend over backwards to please the customer. Genuine customer service can go a long way to closing sales and bringing the customer back into your store for repeat business. But you have to be careful about when you cut...

With an expanded stable of guitar brands, including Gretsch, Jackson, Guild, and Rodriguez Fender undergoes the most significant restructuring in fifty years of operation. (Company Profile).
February 1, 2003... You're the world's largest guitar manufacturer with an enormous market share that's the envy of your competitors. Thanks to a universally recognized trademark, you have an overwhelming retail presence in every major market around the globe....

PianoDisc composes a grand masterpiece with the revolutionary new Opus 7 reproducing system. (New Technology).
February 1, 2003... At a time when the bulk of the piano industry is paddling furiously against strong economic currents, Sacramento, California-based PianoDisc Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of electronic reproducing systems for acoustic pianos,...

With factories in China, R&D in England, and sales and marketing offices everywhere, IAG is aiming to redefine value in pro audio with its Wharfedale line of speaker enclosures, mixers, and power amps. (Company Profile).
February 1, 2003... Seventy years ago, Gilbert Briggs caused a sensation in the fledgling audio industry with his Wharfedale Bronze speaker. In a competition sponsored by the Bradford Radio Society, golden-eared audio experts said the device produced "unparalleled...

Avoiding the me-too approach to making saxophones, Stephanhouser opts for patented features and a "Simply Smarter" design. (Company Profile).
February 1, 2003... It's Tuesday, which means there must be at least a couple more new brands of Asian-made musical instruments hitting the U.S. market. How to keep up? Many retailers don't even try. Getting their attention takes products that are really good...

Investing for long-term growth, instead of trying to please Wall Street, Peavey views current economic problems as a rare opportunity to expand. (Company Profile).
February 1, 2003... The news has been filled with disheartening economic statistics--layoffs, disappointing profits, and a business failures of epic proportions. The music products industry has not escaped unscathed. Last year, all of the industry's publicly...

From building simple rhythm machines to top-selling keyboard synthesizers, Korg is a case study in how to suceed and prosper in the brutally challenging electronic music market. (Company Profile).
February 1, 2003... "What's a Korg?" asked Mike Kovins as he interviewed for a marketing post at Unicord, then Korg's U.S. distributor. It was 1980 and Kovins's question neatly summed up an industry-wide perception; retailers and musicians were only dimly aware of...

The long & winding road, or how Genz Benz navigated a long, slow rise, a sudden plunge, and a courageous rebound. (Company Profile).
February 1, 2003... Some new manufacturers seem destined for greatness, unstoppable from the start. Others begin so humbly, almost inadvertently, as to signal nothing of the rise to come. Clearly in the latter category, Scottsdale, Arizona-based Genz Benz...