There are big changes afoot in the print music industry. Like any market selling content – think record sales, books, web publishing, newspapers, and magazines – the last ten years have brought to the world of sheet music an endless amount of twists and turns. At this year’s annual Retail Print Music Dealers Association (RPMDA) convention in Columbus, Ohio, many streams of thought about the current and future state of sheet music converged with one common goal – to blaze a trail ahead.
It was the 37th annual RPMDA convention, designed as a four-day getaway for retailers and publishers to discuss difficult issues. The show brought in 211 attendees, up slightly from last year’s show in Los Angeles thanks in part to 43 brand new members. First and foremost on the minds of attendees was the issue of what the digital age means to the brick and mortar stores, but also important were nuts-and-bolts tips about inventory, cost-cutting, tax compliance, and marketing strategies. There were also plenty of chances to celebrate everything to do with print music.
“I come here pessimistic and I leave here optimistic,” declared Gail Warnaar of Double Reed Shop in Barnet, Vt. at one of many sessions featured at this year’s convention. The concept became something of a rallying cry for the group by the convention’s closing night.
Catching Up With The Future
But this year, participants made it clear that the time for speculation is over.
Headed off by a dead serious “Future View” panel discussion and a visionary presentation from Richard and Steven Gore (Pender’s Music in Denton, Texas) about in-store on-demand music printing, the mood of this year’s show was positively sobering. No more dancing around the issue – things need to change now.
Steven Gore took a playful tone with the subject, admitting that the trajectory of media in any form is infamously tough to predict. But he insisted that old concepts of printed music have grown stale. “Music is not just notes on paper anymore,” he said. “It can do more.” He pointed to revolutionary digital systems like Music XML and the interactive music app Tonara, which is designed to turn pages as it listens to the performer and support annotations and pdf uploads. Innovations like these loom large over the industry as potential game-changers.
Print retailers must get in on the digital game, decided Gore. “Being able to print digitally in your store and sell it to the customer takes care of the problem right now,” he said. Digital is flexible and helps the bottom line, and Gore reports having good success at Pender’s for those who wander in looking for something that they might not have in traditional form. “You will not be around in five years if you don’t innovate,” cautioned Richard Gore in his half of the presentation.
The convention’s Future View panel was just as blunt, pulling in perspectives from all corners of the print industry and including voices from throughout the packed ballroom. Toronto’s Remenyi House of Music retail manager Mike Watson said that he was originally fearful of the possibility of customers finding individual songs – what if it cut down on mixed folio sales? Wouldn’t sales drop? It turned out not to be the case.
“There are a ton of folks who really like the piecemeal purchasing,” he said. “This may have to do with our iTunes-enabled culture – the idea of being forced to buy an entire package of things you don’t really want is not cool to a lot of folks.” He found customers approaching with shopping lists whose total price tickets equaled or exceeded the folio sales he’d be able to turn previously.
Carl Fischer senior vice president of sales Chris Scialfa said that, in his experience, young people still have a need for music. They just need more options. He recalled a niece who had felt forced to find music online when her local print music shop didn’t have a piece she needed immediately.
“I wonder what would happen if that store would have had the option to buy digitally,” he said. “These are good, hearty people who want to buy the product and not get it illegally if they have the opportunity. If they don’t, these young people are very resourceful.”
J.W. Pepper’s Ian McLoughlin says his business has already made the move to digital delivery/“print on demand” and has made sure to allow customers the option of completing the service straight through J.W. Pepper’s website, rather than requiring a store visit and store materials.
Meanwhile, a growing concern over the future of RPMDA itself was addressed. Like the print industry itself, the beloved institution is at a crossroads that’s going to require fresh thinking and an infusion of new membership. The good news is that the association has already made some strides to address these concerns. New attendees this year accounted for nearly a quarter of the conference in general. And while the challenges facing print dealership seem mighty, this show seemed to spawn a number of intrepid print dealers heading back into the world with sharpened agendas.
“Keep your eyes open, look ahead, and don’t be afraid to move from hard copy goods and toward value added services,” said Watson.
Best Ideas
Now in its 11th year, perhaps the most popular event is the “Best Ideas” one on Friday morning. It was SRO despite the previous night’s boisterous tailgate party held at Stanton’s Sheet Music, who supplied their own swingin’ big band and an open bar with generous bartenders. The Best Ideas session is a winner, in and of itself, as everyone kicks in $10 – proceeds are split between the session’s winner and the association’s Ed Adams Scholarship Fund.
For a third time, Long & McQuade’s Bob Kohl took the top prize for his idea on how to boost RPMDA’s membership: create an RPMDA rewards and loyalty program that would reward those who recruit new members. When asked his secret, he laughed and said, “Just a lot of years of being in the industry!”
Breakout Sessions
Educational outreach continues to prove an incredibly strong force in this sector. As Hartland Music’s Ellen McDonald put it: “Everyone is a musician, they just don’t know it yet.” McDonald’s team at the Hartland, Wisconsin store has 2,000 students come through each week. Between the coffee bar and many events throughout the year, a community has been built that keeps buying from their full line store and judicious print department. There were some surprises, too, like their unorthodox embrace of Craigslist, where they scour used pianos for sale and then bring them into the store on consignment because … well, because why not do everything you can to get someone to walk through your door?
“Publishers exhibit to support the show, but it’s really about the sessions,” said Hal Leonard national sales VP David Jahnke. “This is a great show and not just for the biggest and best print music stores. Anybody with a print department of any size who wants to do business better should be here.
”One new exhibitor was Bob Turner, who just launched his Magnolia Music Publications Company a few years ago. “My goal of being here was to get in the loop, and I accomplished that,” he said, adding that getting on distributor’s websites was the ultimate goal for his original jazz publications created for flexible ensembles.
