I observe and report on the MI industry and can make guesses (hopefully educated guesses) as to how vendors and retailers are faring, but I’m not really “in the trenches.” As with most December issues of MMR, I happily cede this editorial space to folks who truly are on the front lines to explain this past year – and in the exceedingly bizarre case of 2020 I’m even more grateful than usual for their insight.
Surprisingly 2020 turned out so far to be about like 2019. While rentals have been down this fall the piano and combo business has been up since last spring. Until the COVID situation is cleared up and the schools are back to full time in school teaching there will be a cloud over the school music section of our company. It will take a lot of interesting innovations otherwise to bring us back to previous years’ totals. – Bob Saied, Saied Music
COVID has created challenges for all retail, however we emerged this summer stronger and more focused on our competitive differences, invested into our eCommerce/digital environments and focused our stores on operational efficiencies and maintaining visibility in their markets. Inflation will hit based on our government printing money en masse. We have not faced the truth of our unemployment yet and the impact that the mass closings of the hospitality industry will have on disposable income. Mass closings of live music venues and the impact it will have on need/want of MI products. – Tim Kletti, Music Go Round
[2020] was better than I thought it would be based on the shutdowns and economy. I think my biggest concern is all of the kids that might not be able to try music in school because of the shutdown in some states. One side of the coin wants everyone to stay home forever and the other side of the coin wants to pretend that nothing is going on and they are both wrong. If we have to go very long without kids learning music, we could lose a few years of those benefits that music is proven to enhance in young minds. – Tim Jones, N Tune Music & Sound
It’s hard to compare 2020 to any other in our 83-year history. However, we feel like it’s made us a stronger and more agile company as we quickly adapt to changing conditions. When schools are open for in-person learning on a consistent basis school music programs will thrive again. No way to know exactly when that will happen, but if that extends beyond 2021 things could get interesting for those of us who focus on serving that market. – Peter Sides, Robert M. Sides Family Music Centers
Despite the turbulence of the year, 2020 has shaped up to be a solid year. We’ve seen definite declines in the band/orchestra sales and rentals as well as declines in our lesson program, but we’ve made significant increases in merchandise sales, particularly online. – Amanda Rueter, Springfield Music
We acquired a venerable store, Muncie Music Center in Muncie, Indiana in August 2020. MMC has established a strong presence in Central Indiana and has continued to serve educators and students for almost 80 years. Together, we will continue to grow and serve band & orchestra directors and students in the Midwest. Our single greatest concern is the health and safety of students and teachers in our schools. Until that can be guaranteed, the school music sector of the music industry will continue to suffer as a result of the pandemic restrictions. – George Quinlan, Jr., Quinlan & Fabish Music
2020 began with a continued trend of increasing sales. Then varying timelines of store closures (us included), distribution disruption, and manufacturing shutdowns presented great opportunities. No one ever sees the really big things coming, or could plan for them. That has a lot to do with why they have such a huge impact. The way you manage your way through them is what matters… This isn’t the first big thing we have been through as a company and that has become clearly evident with the companies and customers we do business with. – Chris Nail, C&M Music Center
2020 has been interesting to say the least, but we are still here. I think the near future will be a bit funky, but I think 2021 might just be a whole lot better. It could suck worse, but I don’t know how? If we don’t get this virus under control, brick-and-mortar has to change its time honored philosophy that “bigger is better.” Now bigger just means more overhead. – Sammy Ash, Sam Ash Music Corp.
