1971 Then and Now: Hal Leonard

Larry Morton, CEO

It’s fascinating how our core strategy has stayed the same: to help people learn to play music by giving them useful tools to do so. In 1971, Hal Leonard was creating a whole new market with the concept of offering physical audio and video tracks bundled with physical music books. These were the industry’s first commercial play-along book-audio titles for music instruction. Fast forward to today and Hal Leonard continues to pioneer new ways to bundle physical music books with digital content on our Hal Leonard website, MyLibrary. The goal is the same as in 1971, but the technology and the tools have greatly expanded. Of course, the other really big change from 1971 is that we are now able to offer thousands of titles covering every possible way to learn and play music, using today’s online content technologies and social media to reach the target audience for each product.

MMR is far more than an industry trade magazine. It’s truly an invaluable resource of insights, data, and analysis that help all music products companies understand what’s happening in the market. As a supplier and advertiser, we view MMR has a trusted and respected partner in helping us communicate Hal Leonard’s vision for the music products industry. The MMR staff is made up of professional journalists who ask the right questions, but they always give you a fair opportunity to present your story. We are grateful for MMR’s service to our industry and for their support of Hal Leonard!