Meyer Music

Betty Meyer and her husband, Ted, decided that their teaching salaries were not enough to raise their family in the early 1960s so they decided to open a music store. It turned out to be a great idea! Their children were raised in the store and both Ted and Betty could serve their customer base in their own ways while working together to grow the business. Ted took care of calling on all of their school accounts, while Betty handled the books and in-store lessons.

Ted Meyer teamed with his wife, Betty, to open a music store in the mid 1960s. It turned out to be a great idea! Their children were raised in the store and both Ted and Betty could serve their customer base in their own ways while working together to grow the business. Ted took care of calling on all of their school accounts, while Betty handled the books and in-store lessons. Their first location was in the small town of Blue Springs, Missouri, which is not so small anymore.

Mike Meyer manages one of the three stores in the Meyer Music chain, which his parents first established in the mid-1960s. At the core of the store is the passion for music making which seems to be in Mike's blood. In addition to the lesson, rental, and retail element of the business, Mike also oversees a community program called Band of Angels. This special program teams the store up with the local Fox News channel, who asks viewers to dig out old and unused instruments in their closets and garage to bring to the Meyer's store. The store then repairs the instruments, gets them in

Tom Meyer and his brother and sister represent the second generation of Meyer Music owners. Their parents, Betty and Ted, opened the first store in 1966. Since then they have expanded to three stores, each being run by one of their children. Tom runs the main store and works alongside his parents and hints at the possibility of a third generation taking over the business one day to continue the family tradition. Customer service seems to have been successfully transferred down to Tom, who also focuses on their in-store music lesson program, which is offered in all three store loca

John Meyer grew up in the music business and can remember as a child playing under one of the pianos in the family-owned store his grandparents opened in 1966. His father, Mike, never pushed John into the business but rather encouraged him to discover what he was passionate about and pursue that path. Nonetheless, John’s passion has always been the music business and he has enjoyed taking part in some of the advances and changes within the store, for example utilizing computers and technology to advance processes such as keeping track of lesson schedules.

Johnna Meyer loves the look on the faces of young students when they make a sound for the first time with a musical instrument! Taking part in band night at the schools Meyer Music serves has been an inspiring experience. Johnna and her husband, Mike, are proud of the work they do within their community to support school programs as well as a program they started called Band of Angels. Their community, thanks to a television news program, searches for instruments in attics and closets not being used and has Meyer Music repair them, at no cost, and then offers them to children who

Mitzi Meyer-Phelan grew up in the music store her parents formed. She realized as a teen that the music industry was in her blood and she recalls, with a smile, working with customers to bring music into their lives. Her parents opened three stores, which are now each run by one of their three children. Mitzi manages the Kansas City North store and feels a strong element of their success is getting to know their customer’s needs and being prepared to handle any issues they may have with their lessons or repairs. For her, the store is very much a musical community.

Sophie Rojas grew up in a family that ran a funeral business, where music was part of everyday life. She learned piano, then sang and played drums in her school band and choir, and she performed at church and at the family funeral home. On a whim, Sophie called Meyer Music and asked co-founder Betty Meyer about a job. Betty told her to call her son, Mike, who hired Sophie as his assistant manager. Their 15 years working together gave her an amazing opportunity to learn the business. Sophie then spent more than nine years with Conn-Selmer covering a 12-state territory. At the time,