Upfront

Ruling in Dispute Between Hailun and Magic Lid

On January 6th, a dispute between Magic Lid, LLC and Hailun USA and its affiliated entities regarding the use of a technology commonly known as HLPS, a grand piano lid support system, ended with a final ruling in regards to the technology. The dispute arose after Danny Geoghegan, CEO of Magic Lid, LLC, repeatedly contacted Hailun dealers and other industry participants claiming that Hailun USA no longer had rights to the system.

FMIC Sells KMC Music’s Percussion Brands & Ovation Guitars to Drum Workshop

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) has announced that its subsidiary KMC Music, Inc. has sold its owned and licensed percussion brands, including Gretsch® Drums, Latin Percussion®, Toca® Percussion, KAT® Percussion and Gibraltar® Hardware – as well as the Ovation® guitar brand and the exclusive U.S. distribution rights for Sabian® Cymbals – to Drum Workshop, Inc., the manufacturer of DW drums, hardware and accessories. 

Furrow Celebrates 40 Years with SABIAN

One of the few who have been with SABIAN even before there was a SABIAN, foundry supervisor Lewis Furrow has just reached the 40-year milestone with the cymbal-maker.

Throughout his 40-years at the SABIAN factory, Lewis has done a bit of everything – from shipping to production – giving him an intimate knowledge of the entire cymbal manufacturing process. A true practitioner of SABIAN core values, Lewis is a highly valued member of the SABIAN team.

ChordBuddy to be Featured on ‘The Today Show’ December 30th

Travis Perry, founder of ChordBuddy, originally had the idea at age 18 when he taught guitar lessons and saw many of his students drop out within two months because of the difficulty learning the complexity of the instrument. After many years and 17 prototypes, the ChordBuddy guitar learning system was released in October 2010 to critical acclaim. Now, check out ChordBuddy on The Today Show on December 30th during a special New Year’s Resolution segment. 
 


Grundorf Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Grundorf Corporation, parent company of Grund Audio Design, is pleased to announce it is celebrating its 30th anniversary. From humble beginnings in the family garage, Grundorf Corporation has evolved into an internationally recognized organization whose products have become an integral part of the livelihoods of musicians, audio professionals, and technology managers everywhere.

Korg USA to Distribute Dean Markley

Korg USA announced that they will be the exclusive U.S. distributor of Dean Markley’s exceptional line of guitar strings, pickups, picks and polishing accessories. Dean Markey joins Korg’s family of brands and this partnership is in line with Korg’s strategic plan to provide dealers with a full spectrum of quality products at various price points. The full line of Dean Markley products slated for distribution will be on display at the 2015 NAMM trade show (Booth #6440 Hall A).

Slash to Receive Les Paul Award at NAMM TEC Awards

Iconic guitarist Slash will receive the prestigious Les Paul Award during the 30th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Saturday, January 24 in Anaheim, California. Comedian Sinbad will provide the laughs as the evening’s host. The NAMM TEC Awards honors individuals and companies across 30 categories, for outstanding achievement in professional audio technology and production.

The Les Paul Award named for the revolutionary inventor and esteemed musician, honors individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio and music technology. Instituted in 1991, the honor has been granted to luminaries including Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, and Peter Gabriel.

Oriolo Guitars Makes $40,000 Instrument Donation to GITC

San Diego-based non-profit Guitars in the Classroom (GITC) announced that the Oriolo Guitar Co. recently made a $40,000 donation of guitars and ukuleles to its work of bringing music into the heart of academic learning across the country. Oriolo Guitars are best known for their colorful artwork, many featuring the popular character Felix the Cat who was produced by Joe Oriolo.

Oriolo’s son, Don, took the helm of Felix The Cat Productions Inc. in 1984 and has produced numerous episodes of Felix and brought the licensing brand to new heights. Oriolo entered the musical instruments/products world in 2008 when he first designed and manufactured his Oriolo Guitars. The company was founded by Don and believes in making music-based learning enjoyable for all kids.

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.

Davitt & Hanser to Distribute Cort Guitars in the U.S.

Davitt & Hanser has announced that as of December 1, 2014 they will be responsible for distribution of Cort Guitars for the United States market.

In commenting on becoming the exclusive distributor for Cort Guitars in the U.S., Jay Ensminger, general manager of Davitt & Hanser said, “We are very excited to have the opportunity to sell Cort Guitars. It is an excellent brand that sells all over the world and we look forward to helping the Cort brand grow in the U.S. Cort has been producing high quality acoustic guitars, electric guitars and basses for more than 40 years. Their full line of guitars fills a void in our overall product offerings”.

Westheimer Announces New Strategic Direction, Discontinues Distribution of Cort

Westheimer Corp. has announced a new strategic direction that better fits their business model in an every changing musical instrument market.

Laura Gabel, CEO of Westheimer Corp, stated, “As it relates to Cort guitars, we spent this past year re-examining the musical instrument industry and how to position our brands. As many know, Jack Westheimer was a pioneer in the musical instrument industry. Over time, however, the industry evolved in such a way we decided it is best at this time to focus on our proprietary brands. As a result, we made a difficult decision and ended our long term distribution relationship with Cort Musical Instrument Company (“CMIC”), as their U.S. distributor of the Cort brand.”

San Diego’s Greene Music CEO to Retire After 60 years

Mike Greene, the longtime owner of San Diego’s Greene Music, is effectively retiring in January, having sold the music store that bears his family name—to Music Exchange, a highly-successful, multi-location retailer based in northern California. Although Greene and his longtime general manager, Richard Sibley, will continue to operate the Greene Music Education Center, his retirement from retail marks the end of an unparalleled career that not only saw major changes in the music industry, but helped change the music industry itself.