Music & Sound Retailer August 2021, Vol 38 No 8

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Menchey Named NAMM Chairman

At the recent NAMM Board of Directors meeting, the NAMM Board elected a new Executive Committee to continue the organization’s legacy of service to the industry at large. The board of directors elected Joel Menchey, CEO of Menchey Music Service and previously NAMM’s vice chair, to the position of Chair of the NAMM Board of Directors. The Board also elected Tom Sumner, president of Yamaha Corporation of America, to vice chair, where he will serve in an ex officio role as chair of The NAMM Foundation Board. Chris White, president of White House of Music, was elected treasurer, and Barbara Wight, CFO of Taylor Guitars, was elected secretary of the Executive Committee. “It has been an honor to serve as NAMM’s vice chair for the past two years, and while many things have changed, I look forward to continuing to work with the Board of Directors to serve the organization’s mission, vision and objectives, and to bolster the industry and continue to share the joy of music-making with the world,” said Menchey. Menchey welcomed Wight to the Executive Committee stating, “Barbara was the obvious candidate to serve in this leadership capacity at NAMM. Her deep industry knowledge, financial acumen and expertise will help lead the Executive Committee and the industry at large.” Upon the announcement, Wight said, “It is a great privilege to serve the industry in this official capacity. At this pivotal time, I look forward

(L-R) Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO; Joel Menchey; Barbara Wight; Chris White; and Tom Sumner

to working alongside the Board of Directors and contributing on behalf of all NAMM members worldwide.” During the board meeting, outgoing NAMM Board Chair and Executive Chairman of C.F. Martin & Co., Chris Martin IV, was honored and thanked for his many years of service on the Executive Committee and to the industry.

Music & Arts Acquires Mississippi Music product, lessons and school music services.” In transitioning to Music & Arts, all of the Mississippi Music retail staff, education reps and repair techs have the option to remain in their current positions. Five dedicated education reps will continue to work based out of these locations: one apiece at Hattiesburg, Biloxi and Meridian, and separate primary and secondary education reps at Flowood. These reps maintain an intensive strategy of meeting one on one with every music educator possible in their communities. Music & Arts acquired the four Mississippi Music stores located in Flowood, Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Meridian. These acquisitions represent the first Music & Arts locations in the state of Mississippi. Mississippi Music has had a rich history in these communities serving families and schools, and the locations have now been welcomed into the Music & Arts family of stores. The agreement was finalized and went into effect on July 21. Terms were not disclosed. “After 75 years, it was time to come up with a plan to transition Mississippi Music’s business in a way where it could continue to scale and grow to keep up with the demand of our beloved and loyal customers,” said Rosi Johnson, owner of Mississippi Music and former NASMD president and NAMM board member. “This acquisition is the best of all possible outcomes as Music & Arts will bring more diversity, more options and continue to be located across our areas to serve our musicians, school music programs and customers. This is not the end but a new beginning.” Mississippi Music is a NAMM top 100 MI retailer with an extensive presence covering most of the state of Mississippi. As Music & Arts, the stores will continue to proudly serve the needs of students and the strong music programs in these areas by providing musical instrument lessons, rentals, sales, repair and accessories. “What a pleasure to join forces with Rosi and her teams to carry on their rich 75-year legacy of serving the Mississippi music community. We look forward to serving local musicians for generations to come,” said Jeff Gottlieb, president of Music & Arts. “We have been so impressed with the local teams and are honored that so many have chosen to continue their careers with Music & Arts. Customers can expect the same exceptional service with an emphasis on great MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER

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Articles from Music & Sound Retailer August 2021, Vol 38 No 8

8 min read

NASMD Marks MI’s Return to In-Person Events

Whitney Grisaffi, president of NASMD and Ted Brown Music, kicked off last month’s event by stressing that it is especially important for people to gather in person after such a difficult year.

5 min read

Five Minutes With

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. Joining us is CMG marketing director Taylor Buck to talk to us about the company and the MI industry, plus more.

8 min read

Five Minutes With

Lyman Guitar Co. made a big splash at the Summer NAMM show last month. Five members of the team join us from South Carolina to talk about the company.

10 min read

MI Spy

MI Spy’s mission this month takes us to picturesque Hawaii. OK, not really. Instead of visiting the Aloha State in person, the Spy filed an online report about Hawaiian MI stores’ websites and Instagram profiles.

6 min read

In the Trenches

For a lot of MI retailers, the biggest challenge at the moment is getting inventory to sell. Allen McBroom addresses this challenge in his latest column.

6 min read

Veddatorial

One lesson learned within the music products industry during the pandemic is that people not only want to play music, but that it’s the first thing people turn to when faced by stress, an unexpected increase in leisure time or the impetus for self-improvement, states Dan Vedda.

33 min read

Shine a Light

For more than two decades, Brian Hansen has been serving the music community in and around Mt. Pleasant, Mich., first as a salesperson at Cook’s Music Shop and then, since 2002, as the owner of B’s Music Shop. It was the original owner of Cook’s Music Shop, Rob Cook, who convinced Hansen to open his own store when he was only 20 years old.

3 min read

Under the Hood

PRS Guitars has “let Jimi take over” with the announcement of a new tone family to its lineup with PRS HX amps, which were inspired by one of Jimi Hendrix’s personal amps.

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