This month’s survey – sent out to over 300 MI dealers – shines the spotlight on Artist Series, Signature Drumsticks. While apparently a pretty static market sub-segment (60.6 percent of participants reported sales as being “level” when compared to last year), there was little consensus beyond that one metric.
For every retailer who described typical Signature stick consumers as “young, wannabe players,” there were others who observed that older, more serious pro or semi-pro musicians were drawn to these sticks. Of course, there are those who feel that both they and their customers are “above” being influenced by someone’s John Hancock being printed on the product. “We feel that people, in general, buy the sticks for the design of the stick, not the name on them,” asserts Cadence Drums, LLC’s (Rochester, New York) Justin Hoppe.
Interestingly, a fair chunk of those who responded to this poll pointed to marching Signature sticks as being where the action really is when it comes to Artist Series drumsticks. For anyone (such as myself) figuring that the likes of ?uestlove, Dave Grohl, and Neil Peart drove the Signature Series stick market – apparently there’s more to it than that!
One of the rare concepts that most seemed to agree upon? There may be too damn many of these types of sticks. “They are flooding the market, and everyone has to have their own (or multiple) models all based on the decades-old, stand-by sizes,” says Gus Guastamachio of East Hartford, Connecticut’s Dynamic Percussion. “It seems to be nothing more than a marketing flash in the pan.”
Have you noticed any significant trends when it comes to Signature Series Sticks – either on the supplier or end-user sides?
“Over the years, the importance of the ‘name’ on the stick, as opposed to the design of the stick, seems to have lessened. Example: a customer will buy a PM 747Oak because of how it feels rather than because of Neil Peart’s endorsement.”
Justin Hoppe
Cadence Drums, LLC
Rochester, New York
“There are quite a few models and many of them are very similar in size and weight. But the new, up-and-coming young drumming generation likes the different colored signature sticks.”
Mark Bolos
Big Apple Music
New Hartford, New York
“[Customers] are getting them cheaper off eBay and other sites. I have seen them as cheap as our cost – you can’t match it.”
Travis McKinney
All Good Music & More Emporium
Spruce Pine, North Carolina
“Perhaps too many models. Everyone is trying profit on the latest rising star but, so many fade fast. It creates an inventory nightmare.”
Ray Fransen
Ray Fransen’s Drum Center
Kenner, Louisiana
How significant a driver for drumstick sales is the association with a specific artist or band? Generally speaking, what types of players are most drawn to Signature Series Drumsticks?
“Drummers of all ages are drawn to signature series sticks. Younger players by the visibility of the artist (does the artist’s band have a current hit record or are they a huge concert draw) and secondly by recommendations from friends who like a particular signature stick. Older players can be sold a signature stick by a smart sales person who can assess the players needs and put the right pair of signature stocks in the customer’s hands to try. There is another group of drummers that will choose a signature model just because the artist whose signature is on the stick is their drumming hero. A really good and knowledgeable drum department salesperson can turn a lot of pairs of signature sticks.”
John Nasshan
Vesely Music
Parowan, Utah
“For Marshall Music, most of the signature sticks sold are marching sticks, so the influencer is usually the drumline instructor.”
Jeff Young
Marshall Music Company
Lansing, Michigan
“Usually young adults to middle-aged are drawn to signature sticks, not kids. Also, usually someone who is a little more serious of a player versus a hobbyist.”
Greg Allen
Long Island Drum Center of Nyack
Nyack, New York
“Marching drum signature sticks seem to be recommended often by drum teachers to younger students. Some jazz players (mostly older and experienced) seem to find signature series sticks desirable.”
Doug Cotton
Whip City Music
Westfield, Massachusetts
“I think that attachment to an artist definitely brings attention to the specific model and thereafter the geometry and individual characteristics of the stick play an equally, if not more important, role.”
Charles M. Waddill
Access Percussion
Columbia, Missouri
“Younger, wannabe players.”
Gus Guastamachio
Dynamic Percussion
East Hartford, Connecticut
