Seeing Green

We revisit the environmental/sustainability movement this issue, but I’ve got a different kind of green on my mind, and I can’t help wonder if some are seeing it when it really isn’t there.

Gordy Wilcher, owner of Owensboro Music Center, recently wrote on his Facebook page that he will stop carrying Fender in his store after a four-decade partnership because of its recent decision to sell direct. “Fender’s new strategy seems [to be aimed at] making it difficult for small stores like mine to continue to support and sell Fender products,” he wrote. “I only remind the powers that be that it’s all these locally owned stores that worked hard to build the Fender brand.”

Servco, whose primary business is car dealerships, and TPG, a large private equity investment firm, own the majority of Fender stock. Their decision is no doubt based on growing the wonderful brand and increasing profits. I wish them well, as at the end of the day we all want more players and more successful companies. But I can’t help notice a pattern. The corporate types who have been successful in other areas seem to look at our business and think, “Ah! I can monetize that!”

When CBS bought Fender in the 1970s it almost destroyed the company. When former Office Depot president Mark Begelman launched MARS, he failed to get the kind of big ROI he had hoped, and the failure hurt a lot of MI suppliers. More recently, Best Buy looked at the MI industry and saw that it could jump in and replace its dying DVD/CD segment with a musical instrument department featuring $5,000 guitars. That didn’t work so well either, and now they are back to selling just a few guitar packs and keyboards.

Will the Servco/TPG narrative be more successful? It won’t be easy, especially if more independent dealers follow Wilcher’s lead.

Here’s what I think: It really helps to live this business to understand it. And if you live it, if you understand it, you know it’s unlikely you’ll ever get Donald Trump–rich in it. And that’s okay, because if you’re smart, hard working, and a little lucky, you can still make a decent or even a good living in the MI world. For sure you’ll work with amazing people, and at the end of the day, if you’ve done your job, somebody out there is making music. That last part is priceless.

For nearly 10 years I’ve written the “At a Glance” feature, where I interview a music store owner and have some fun doing it. One of the questions I always pose is, “True or False: You can be happy and rich in the music instrument business.” You know what the most common reply has been?  “It depends on your definition of ‘rich.’”   

I’ve written a lot about change and the need to embrace it, and some of that was inspired by the many changes MMR has embraced in the last year. Here’s one more: This is my last issue with MMR. I’ll be returning to focus on the other side of Timeless Communications magazines, PLSN, FOH, and Stage Directions, and the Parnelli Awards, in addition to exploring some other possibilities and projects. You will see me around!