FI V E M INUTE S W ITH
TAYLOR BUCK Marketing Director,
Cordoba Music Group By Brian Berk Cordoba Music Group (CMG) is a manufacturer and distributor of acoustic and electric guitars, ukuleles and musical instrument accessories. Its brands include Cordoba Guitars, Guild Guitars, HumiCase and DeArmond, which are globally distributed. Other CMG brands include Savarez and Aquila strings, of which CMG acts as primary importer and U.S. distributor to retail stores. The company’s corporate headquarters are located in Santa Monica, Calif., and distribution and manufacturing facilities are located in Oxnard, Calif. Joining us is CMG marketing director Taylor Buck to talk to us about the company and the MI industry, plus more.
The Music & Sound Retailer: Please tell us about ever ything CMG does and the brands it is responsible for. Taylor Buck: Cordoba Music Group is the parent company, and it oversees Cordoba Guitars, Guild Guitars and DeArmond, the pickup brand. We distribute brands as well: Savarez and Aquila. Cordoba is the largest nylon string manufacturer in the world. We have a big global presence. Guild has been around for decades, [since] 1953. We took on that brand in 2014 from Fender. A mission of ours has been to get that brand on track as a brand that everyone knows and loves. It has been fun getting that brand going again. We are at the Oxnard headquarters, where we build the USA guitars. So, we see the guitars every day. My role here is as marketing director. I oversee all the brands on a global level. I work with the European teams and distributors throughout the world. I joined here in 2019. The Retailer: Can you tell us more about your background and why you joined CMG in 2019? Buck: I have been in the music industry for a while. After completing school, I started working for Musician’s Friend as a designer. I became the art director there and took over the creative direction for the company. In 2011, Guitar Center merged with Musician’s Friend and moved the facilities to Westlake Village, Calif., where its headquarters are now. I was offered the opportunity to go to Westlake Village. I was overseeing the Musician’s Friend brand there as the creative director for years. I became creative director at Guitar Center up until 2018. I moved to Live Nation Entertainment, overseeing creative branding. That was a nice jump into a similar industry, but more on an entertainment level. After a year, I had this opportunity to come to Cordoba, which I had been in a contact with a bit. I had worked to promote its instruments at Guitar Center for years. I really got into [CMG’s] branding. My background is visual creative branding. I remember 28
AUGUST 2021
