Kaplan Viola String Set for Smaller Instruments

Meisel Accessories New Stringed Instrument Stands

Evans Reso 7 Drumheads; 16” Bass Drumheads

CAD MH210 Headphones

Chauvet DJ Motion Orb

A versatile décor effect, the Motion Orb transforms parties, dances, and other events with its dazzling string of 55 individual RGB pixel-mappable, color-changing and strobing LED orbs.

Available in standard 2-meter length strings, but expandable to 3 meters and 4 meters  with optional extensions, the Motion Orb can be hung like a curtain, draped across walls and over entrances like an LED banner or strung on ceilings to add an extra dimension to any room and create a more exciting and memorable look.

Beatcan.com Retains VittekPR as AOR

Music library newcomer, Beatcan.com has retained VittekPR to oversee their public relations and social media efforts in 2015. 

Beatcan.com is a first stop, royalty free audio solution for every digital production founded by Swedes Andy Andersson (musician, songwriter, producer, and lead guitarist for the American rock band Fuel) and Peter Jidesten (creative director, entrepreneur, and investor). Each composition is more than a final mix, Beatcan also offers the stems (multi-tracks) and Pro-Tools session files to give the user every possible option to get the best quality for their production. They have created a service that removes the headaches with traditional licensing services and expedites the time of finding the right composition.

Fishman Fluence Sponsors Sweepstakes

Fishman Fluence is sponsoring the “Win Greg Koch Sweepstakes” contest to promote brand awareness and desire to buy for its pickups, while driving traffic to MI retailers. Running from January 12th until March 31st, 2015, the contest also features the participation of Hal Leonard publishing and Premier Guitar magazine.

The grand prize is a visit to the winner’s home by Greg Koch for an afternoon of musical mayhem the popular guitarist, performer, and clinician is known for. In addition to the visit, the grand prize winner also wins selections from Greg’s Hal Leonard catalog such as the Greg Koch Guitar Play-Along Book/CD, Greg Koch's Guitar Gumbo Book/CD, Greg Koch's Guitar Clues Book/CD, and the Greg Koch Guitar Gristle DVD.

SFM to Distribute On-Stage Stands in Canada

On-Stage Worldwide is pleased to announce a three-year agreement with SF Marketing (SFM), for which SFM will be the exclusive distributor for the full line of On-Stage products in Canada.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, On-Stage® Worldwide is the international arm of the On-Stage product family, which includes its flagship On-Stage Stands brand.  All together the complete On-Stage product family offers distributors a complete line of stands, cases, bags, drum sticks, cables, guitar straps, tuners and more. The company is committed to mutual success with its international distributors. It values relationships with reputable businesses around the world. With favorable exchange rates and a comprehensive line of products and marketing services, On-Stage® offers international distributors a complete package at a very low cost every day.

31st Annual Fifty Dealer/Fifty State Review & Forecast

ALABAMA

Guitars and More

Gardendale

Dustin Honeycutt, president

2014 vs. 2013? We’ve had an increase of 50 percent.

Hot new product line? PRS, Takamine, Peavey and Blackstar.

Technological advances? Facebook and Instagram have been great marketing tools.

Suppliers selling direct to consumers? People purchase what we, the seller, tell them is the best buy. If the product is not in my store, I'm going to sell them something comparable by another manufacturer, guaranteed.

Product of the year? Alvarez

22nd Annual Dealers’ Choice Awards

The 2014 Dealers’ Choice Awards again brought together hundreds of enthusiastic music products retailers to select the lines that made this year a success. This winning slate of instrument, sound, lighting and other categories, was provided by over 800 votes from dealers eager to promote their best-performing favorites.

Yamaha again returns as the “Product of the Year” category winner with its much-loved Disklavier Piano, a clear favorite among voting dealers in 2014. Many familiar companies are again represented this year, as dealers made their voice clear about the lines that rocked the year, and rang the register.

It's no surprise that we see companies like Hal Leonard, Peavey, Yamaha, Shure, Kawai and others returning to claim their honors. MMR congratulates the class of 2014 Dealers’ Choice Awards and would like to thank everyone who participated in the voting process!

Our Industry’s Trailblazers, and How They’ve Influenced Me

Ever since I was 11 years old, I’ve known what I wanted to do.  My dad used to call me his “shadow,” because I’d follow him everywhere and eavesdrop on his phone calls (unbeknownst to him).

Music was everywhere in my life – from idolizing Steve Morse to playing catch with Van Halen in the greenbelt behind our house, I was given an unique introduction to how amazing music is, and how our industry has been shaped by some incredible people.

However, this column isn’t a self-promotional piece about my life, however. I really wanted to take this opportunity to elaborate on how truly lucky we all are to work and breathe in the industry we live in. 

33rd Annual America’s Top Music Chains

As the majority of the dealers represented in this report are privately held, in most cases the data being presented in “America’s Top Chains” was supplied by the companies, themselves. In other instances, MMR made estimates based on data available to our research team.