Music Manufacturing

Are you a music store owner with a lot of inventory and a lot of cash flow problems?  Do you often wonder where your money is going each month, and why you still can’t take a decent owner’s salary?  If the answer to these questions is “yes,” you probably don’t know what your GMROI is.  This great analytical tool is for you!  Regardless of if you have to calculate it by hand (even though your Point-of-Sale software will probably do this for you), tracking GMROI can revolutionize the cash flow of your business.

How to Calculate GMROI

How should I be reporting all of my store's revenues?  “I laid off my repair technician three months ago because money was tight.  We’ve been scrambling to catch up with the repairs and now my road rep told me we’ve lost four accounts because our repairs have gotten so bad.  What should I do?”

How much should I be spending on sales salaries?  Sales salaries are one of the most debated areas of the retail landscape because different types of music dealers (full-line, combo/MI, school music, keyboard and print only) in different parts of the country find it difficult to determine appropriate compensation for sales staff.  It’s not unusual to find salespeople feeling underpaid while the business owner (and many times the accountant) suggests that sales staff are either fairly, or typically, over-compensated.
 

The journeys to get Oral History interviews include valuable talks about long since-closed companies.
When NAMM Historian Dan Del Fiorentino ventured out to Brattleboro, Vermont, and the Estey Organ Company, he wasn't sure what to expect, considering the company closed in 1960. The company, which also produced pianos in its factory in Brooklyn, New York, dates back to 1846, and also was an exhibitor at the very first NAMM Show in 1902. Over the years, Dan had read how the factory workers from Estey were passing away and he worried the stories from the company may be lost.

 Yoshiharu Abe is known as the father of personal multi-track recording in the audio engineering field.  He was one of the five founders of TEAC in 1957 and went on to become one of the company’s most important product designers.  Abe-son designed several landmark products over his long career including the 80-8 and the Portastudio series.  He later worked for Fostex and was a key player in the teams that created the B-13 and X-15.  Beginning in 1948 he also began writing extensively

 Ken Achard played such an important part of the industry that he was asked to write a book.  The book entitled “The Peavey Revolution” was released in 2005 and covers Ken’s long association with the innovative company and its founder.  Ken met Hartley Peavey in 1972, who entrusted Ken to open up the UK operations of the Peavey Company.  The task did not come without challenges, but as Ken put it, “It was a great opportunity to be a part of something big. 

 Tony Acosta had a dream to make the world’s finest classical guitar strings.  He began working nights to perfect his product and build relationships within the industry and slowly gathered the needed equipment. Several years later, when he quit his day job working for an airline, his friends thought he was crazy to leave before his retirement just five years away.  Tony wanted nothing more than to see his dream come true, so he took the risk and established the renowned Luthier Strings Company.  “You must follow your dreams” he said with a smile. 

Mike Adams has a background in mechanical engineering as well as manufacturing, which seemed to fit perfectly when he began working with Bob Moog back in 2002. Bob was looking to expand his small company and to finally complete work on the Mini Moog Voyager, which he has been working on for several years. Mike began working at Moog Music as a consultant and soon became a partner in the business and later the president. He was able to work with Bob for only three and a half years before Bob became ill. Bob passed away in 2005. Since that time Mike has continued to run the company in the direction Bob made possible through his innovative and creative instrument designs.
 

Philipp Alexander is proud of his musical past. His family formed Musik-Alexander in Mainz, Germany in 1782. They began as brass instrument makers and later opened a music store while continuing the making of horns. One of the company’s milestones took place in 1909 when they introduced the now famous horn, model 103. The horn has been credited with the creation of the ultimate horn sound. Philipp has guided the company into the computer age and has had great success with e-commerce on their Internet site.