The 1960s marked a seismic shift in popular music, with bands like the Beatles bringing guitar music to the forefront like never before. That era also marked the start of Mansfield OH’s Metronome Music as we know it today: a full-line music store selling, servicing and renting everything from guitars and amps to drums, pianos, banjos, band instruments and more.
Larry Miller bought the store and its inventory in October 1962 from two brothers, who had founded Metronome Music in 1957. “I read an article in the Reader’s Digest about deciding what you wanted to do,” Miller recalled. “It said to list all the things you liked doing and what you didn’t. So, the decision was easy. I wanted a music store. A road rep told me about one for sale and, with a little down and a big note, I soon owned a music store.”
Miller set out to revamp the store in order to better align its offerings with modern tastes. At the point when he bought it, Metronome Music’s 1,200-square-foot store offered band instruments, records, sheet music and one piano. “In those days, most music stores also sold console stereos, phonograph needles and records,” Miller explained. “I, however, chose to become a music store rather than a record shop. I was really lucky to get started in 1962, with the advent of the Beatles. If you had a name brand franchise like Gibson or Fender, you had a big advantage.”
Although Miller wasn’t lucky enough to carry those big-name brands in the early days, Metronome Music was one of the first stores in Ohio to acquire the English-built VOX line of guitars and amplifiers, which the Beatles had made popular. He was Metronome Music’s only employee at that time, teaching up to 40 students while simultaneously running the store. “Couldn’t happen today!” he exclaimed.
Luckily, Miller wasn’t alone for long. The following year, the store added its first full-time employee and, by 1968, the store had moved to a new location that tripled the size of its old one. Years later, in 1989, the store would move again, coming to occupy the 8,000-square-foot building in which the store is currently housed.
“Becoming a larger store doesn’t mean that we are changing how we treat our customers,” Miller stressed. “The goals we have now are similar to those when I first started. Make the store a positive addition to the community. Also, be fair to our customers, suppliers and competitors in all our dealings. Don’t lie. When you tell your customer an item is ordered, and it isn’t, you are breaking a trust with them. You can always remember the truth, but not so with a lie.”
Miller works hard to keep the younger generation in Mansfield involved in music making. His store runs a 17-and-under guitar and drum contest that has proven to be very popular. “Plus, the prizes are pretty impressive because our suppliers have always been generous,” Miller noted. The store also offers a successful rent-to-own program for band, orchestra and combo instruments. According to Miller, “The combo rentals in particular have been very well received. Instruments are rented by the week for no more than five months. Our customers love it! Many of them have rented more than a dozen different items.” Miller and his staff have discovered that a large selection of fairly priced used instruments is helpful to a successful Web site. “We’ve found Facebook works best when you use videos of customers playing, humor and used merchandise,” he added.
Keeping Metronome Music in the hearts and minds of the next generation of players is especially important now that there are fewer stores in the area. “Sadly, we started with seven stores in our town, and now we’re down to two,” said Miller. “One of my basic philosophies is never to complain to our customers about our competitors. We love our competitors because I wake up every morning wondering what they’re doing.”
Miller makes sure that he is part of the larger music community by taking part in both NAMM and the Independent Music Store Owners (iMSO) group, a decision he calls one of the most important in his business career.
“Attending the seminars, asking questions of successful dealers and finding new products…all of them have been a great stimulus to the business,” Miller remarked. “You can throw out ideas and have it squashed before you do damage in your store—or hit a homerun and take credit for how smart you are!”
Those smart ideas range from simple things, such as installing LED lights to give his store a softer feel, to offering free soda and popcorn at sales events. “We have a closed-door event that you need a ticket to get into,” Miller explained. “Anything over a year old is reduced to no profit.”
Although he started out pretty green all those years ago, Miller has grown into a consummate MI retailer who is respected by his peers and his community…and he has no plans to slow down any time soon.
“Having people recognize my store shirt when we go places is nice, since they tell me they bought their first instrument from us and, now, their grandchildren are playing,” Miller said. “Some say they’re glad to see us still here, and that our store is like a tradition in the community.”
“We’ve been here 52 years, and I’ll only quit when it isn’t fun anymore,” he said with a chuckle. “What more can I ask for?”