COVER STORIES
A Blue Christmas?
Aligning with our annual Guitar Issue in April, The Retailer enlisted the help of two retailers with extensive knowledge of the guitar segment. They offer insightful comments about the guitar market’s robustness as compared to other categories, while also discussing a holiday sales season that, arguably, was weak for music stores.
Guitar Makers Jam Session
The Retailer presents a roundtable discussion that features four of the most prominent, well-respected members of the guitar-making community: Alvarez Guitars, D’Angelico Guitars, Ibanez and PRS Guitars. Instead of asking the companies about their latest and greatest wares, we sought their objective analysis of the music products industry’s guitar segment.
Interview
Five Minutes With
In an extensive interview with The Retailer, Jay Wanamaker, President and CEO of Roland Corp. U.S., reflects on Roland’s highly successful NAMM Show in January, discusses his leadership style, reinforces the company’s commitment to brick-and-mortar dealers and offers insights into what the next several years might bring for the company.
Mission Report
MI Spy
In line with the Organization’s latest mission, our resident super sleuth explores music stores in the Hartford metro area, seeking an electric keyboard suitable for a 14-year-old boy just starting to learn piano. MI Spy has his (or her?) sights set on stores with a robust range of choices.
Features
The Music & Sound Independent Retailer
An update on your fellow brick-and-mortar independent retailers.
Columns
Shine A Light
Twenty years ago, Mark Maxwell opened up a satellite Mom’s Music location in Jeffersonville IN and, five years ago, he decided to revamp and rename his music shop, infusing it with a personality all its own.
Retailer Rebel
Columnist Gabriel O’Brien is the kind of guy who loves to work on projects. This month, he encourages you to find ways to flex your creative muscles within your brick-and-mortar store.
Veddatorial
How does a small store manage the many SKUs needed to satisfy all its customers? Well, it can involve a lot of grunt labor. However, columnist Dan Vedda lets some key principles guide him.
Under The Hood
At the NAMM Show this past January, Yamaha Corp. of America launched more than 100 products, thus ensuring that the company was the talk of the show. But perhaps no product attracted more attention than the Montage synthesizer.