GOLIATH - Music Inc. Magazine

of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based
Nick Rail Music. “The small
amount of activity we have
seen has attracted the attention
of more national bidders than
usual, illustrating that
California isn’t the only state
appreciating a down economy.”
Still, some markets haven’t
been hit as hard. Rick Verfaille,
owner of Rick’s Musical
Instruments in Cumberland,
R.I., estimated that 90 percent of
the schools he services are preserving
their programs this year.
“We did 1,200 rentals over
the last two Septembers and
Octobers, and I think we’re
going to do it again,” Verfaille
said. “That’s what I’m [stocking
up] for. That’s what I’m
aiming for.”
For Bill Harvey, co-owner of
Cincinnati’s Buddy Rogers
Music and a former NASMD
president, budget cuts, while
troubling, are business as usual.
“As long as I’ve been in the
business, there have been
schools in trouble — every
year,” he said. “It’s always been
there. If the economy turns
around and the cash starts
flowing back into the schools
— and it may be a few years —
I think it’ll come back again.”
Rail added that he expects to
have a good 2010 fall rental season,
provided programs stay
intact. “The old adages of
underpromise and overdeliver,
the early bird gets the worm,
you never get a second chance
to make a first impression — all
these as they relate to how we
conduct business come under
[the] microscope as we plan for
back to school,” he said.
SCHOOL MUSIC & SOCIAL MEDIA
Amid this atmosphere,
school music retailers were
especially marketing-sensitive.
“Marketing strategies are
constantly changing with new,
innovative ways to bring cus-
1. From left: Traf Group’s Cathy Farrell, Vic
Firth’s Neil Larrivee, Sides Music’s Peter
Sides and Traf Group’s Mike Farrell; 2. Meyer
Music’s Tom Meyer; 3. Ray’s Midbell Music’s
Ray Guntren and Art’s Music Shop’s Jessica
Freehling-Kazzie; 4. Jupiter’s Andy Strayer
(left) and Harris-Teller’s Jon Harris; 5. NASMD
President Grayson Zeagler (far right) of
Zeagler Music performs with his vocal group;
6. Paige’s Music’s Steve Purcell celebrates
winning an award from the “First Annual
Road Rep Olympics”; 7. West Music’s Ryan
West; 8. Nick Rail Music’s Lisa and Nick Rail;
9. Yamaha’s Gary Winder and West Music’s
Robin Walenta; 10. Sides Music’s Pete Sides
(left) and Quinlan & Fabish’s George Quinlan
tomers in the store, and we
want to know the best avenues
to accomplish this,” said
Grayson Zeagler, NASMD president
and owner of Monroe,
La.-based Zeagler Music.
During the convention’s
second annual lunchtime
roundtable discussion, retailers
weighed in with more ideas
for harnessing social media.
Donovan Bankhead, vice
president of Springfield Music
in Springfield, Mo., said he’ll
occasionally offer a $5 gift
card on his store’s Facebook
page to get people to check it
more regularly. David Jones of
Mynett Music in Fort Wayne,
Ind., mentioned getting signups
for a clinic right after he
announced it on Facebook.
Mark Goff, owner of Paige’s
Music in Indianapolis, started
the Celebrate Music Makers
video blog on his company’s
Web site. His son shoots videos
of students in local band and
orchestra programs, who share
stories about their music making
experiences.
At his session, “Guerrilla
Marketing on a Chimp’s
Budget,” Cris Behrens, store
manager of Summerhays Music
Center in Murray, Utah,
explored inexpensive, hard-hitting
promotions. Among the
session’s highlights, Behrens
discussed more uses for
Facebook. For instance,
Summerhays Music hosts
Facebook Fridays, which promotes
something new at the
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JUNE 2010 I MUSIC INC. I 33