 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Amusic store ormusical instrument store is a retail business that sellsmusical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such asmusic lessons, music instrument or equipment rental, or repair services.[1]
Music stores range from full-line stores[2] that sell products across all musical instrument and evenpro audio categories (sometimes including DJ equipment and visual stage components such as lights or fog machines), to music stores that focus on a subset of those categories (e.g. a store that sells acoustic and digital pianos, or a store that specializes only indrums andpercussion), to highly-specialized stores focused on a single product type (e.g. a guitar boutique focused on vintage collectible guitars, or asheet music store). In the United States and Canada, another common distinction exists between “Band and Orchestra” stores that cater to the needs of school music programs and their students, versus “Combo” stores that focus on instruments and equipment used by arock band.
Music stores arose to service the needs of the local community. This included not only individual amateur musicians, but schools from elementary to college level, civic bands and orchestras, churches, and entertainment ensembles that performed at events of the community and its organizations. In service of this diverse clientele, store owners might focus on some specialty or niche market (pianos, sheet music, percussion). Instruments might be purchased outright, leased or rented. Specific or non-stock items could be ordered through the store.
More commonly, music stores offered some variety, depending upon the tastes and resources of the owners and the desires of their clientele (whether actual or sought after). This might include some mixture offretted instruments (electric guitars, acoustic guitars, mandolins, ukuleles);brass,woodwind, andviolin-family instruments;drums andpercussion;pianos andorgans; consumable items (strings,reeds,drum sticks); accessories (metronomes, music stands); andsheet music.
In more recent decades, stores began to includeinstrument amplifiers, guitareffects units,electronic keyboards,microphones,sound recording equipment anddigital audio software. Recorded musical instruction became a niche, beginning withLPs and evolving through formats ofcassette tape,VHS video,compact disk, andDVD.
Some music stores provided instrument maintenance and repair,music lessons, or leasing of instruments and equipment.
In the 2010s, general music stores have had to face competition from online music stores, which offer a huge selection of instruments and equipment.
Electric guitars started appearing in the 1930s. Mainstream electric guitars stores sell well-known brands likeGibson,Fender andIbanez. Most guitar stores sellsix-string models, bass guitars,left handed guitars and electric guitar packages for beginners, which typically include a budget-priced electric guitar, a small practice amplifier, a strap and picks.
Guitar World magazine states that since guitar stores require patrons to try out guitars and amplifiers in the premises, some guitar players are nervous about playing in front of the store staff and other patrons.[3] AUniversity Press of Kentucky book onwomen in music states that customers did not treat a woman who worked at a guitar store like she knew anything about guitars until she would use special guitar terms.[4]
Acoustic guitar sections are one of the main areas in many music stores. Some stores create a separate area with a door, both to create a quieter area for customers to play the instruments and to enable humidifiers to be used. Famousacoustic guitars includeC. F. Martin & Company,Taylor Guitars,Fender,Gibson,Guild,Washburn andLowden Guitars.
One common specialty store is the piano store, which typically sells a range ofupright pianos andgrand pianos. In the 2010s, some piano stores sell high-enddigital pianos, including grand pianos equipped with a digitalplayer piano mechanism that can play back a recorded performance by activating the hammers. Piano sales are on the decline, in part because high-quality, properly-maintained pianos can remain playable for 60 to 80 years after their original purchase.[5] Some piano stores offer rental of new pianos; as well, some piano stores sell used pianos.[6][better source needed] In addition, digital alternatives have also become more affordable and accessible, prompting many consumers to opt forelectronic keyboards with built-in recording or MIDI capabilities.
The high price of pianos is one factor that is causing the closing of piano stores: "A good grand piano from a respected name costs about as much as a luxury automobile", and as such, children (and their parents) are choosing less expensive instruments, such as electronic keyboards or stringed instruments.[7]
Though sales of acoustic pianos and quality keyboard instruments continually declines in the United States, in China "piano sales are booming", with most instruments being intended for home use. This rise in sales is in part because the costly instruments are viewed as astatus symbol in China.[8]
Another specialty shop is the "violin shop", which, despite its name, often sells various violin family instruments (violin, viola, cello and often double bass, and the bows, strings,rosin, chinrests, and other accessories used with these instruments). Violin shops are often operated byluthiers (violinmakers) who make violin family instruments and bows for sale. Luthiers also do maintenance and repairs on violin family instruments and bows.
Sheet music stores sell printed classical music for songs, instrumental solo pieces,chamber music, and scores for major symphonies and choral works, along with instrumental method books, "etudes" (studies) and graded musical exercises. Many sheet music stores also carry printed music songs forpopular music genres such as rock, pop and musical theatre including individual songs and collections of songs grouped by artist, musical, or genre. Music for guitarists or electric bass players may be intabulature notation, which depicts where on the instrument the performer should play a line. In the 2010s, sheet music stores often sell legal, copyright-compliantjazzfake books. Sheet music stores often carry some practice accessories, such asmetronomes,music stands andtuning forks.
Pro audio stores sell and in many cases, rentsound reinforcement system components,PA systems,microphones and other audio gear. Some stores also rent "backline" musical gear, such asstage pianos andbass amps.
Prior to the widespread availability of lightweight electronicclonewheel organs in the 1980s and 1990s that emulate the sound of a heavy, electromechanicalHammond organ, many cities had organ stores which sold large electric and electronictheatre organs andspinet organs made by Hammond, Lowrey and other manufacturers. These organs were sold for use in private homes and in churches; electric and electronic organs were popular for churches, because they cost significantly less than apipe organ.
Music stores may sell used, possiblyvintage or collectible instruments and sound gear.
Used-gear stores may employ or offer aconsignment model, in which the store (acting as the consignee) sells the piece on behalf of the actual owner (the consignor) and takes a portion of the purchase price. Some stores also operate trade-in functions, allowing customers to exchange older gear forstore credit or discounts on new items.
Stores that primarily sell used equipment may carry new merchandise, minimallyguitar strings,patch cords and microphone cables. In the United States, nationwide chains such asMusic Go Round (about 30% new gear) andSam Ash Music carry on a steady trade of used instruments and equipment.
Online marketplaces such aseBay andVinted have expanded access to secondhand musical instruments, enabling peer-to-peer resale at scale. In response, several major music retailers have introduced resale programs that incorporate logistics, inspection, and fulfilment services. For example,Sweetwater operates a gear exchange program that allows customers to sell or trade used instruments for cash or store credit.[9] In the UK & Europe, retailers such asGear4music also offer secondhand platforms that enable users to buy and sell used instruments online.[10]
Since the 2000s, many music retailers have begun to adopt an online model. Retailers sell instruments and sound gear through websites that contain photos of the equipment, which are grouped into categories (e.g., electric guitars, amplifiers, PA gear). Each photo of a product is accompanied by the name and model number of each item, a description of each product's features, and the price. The sophistication of online music stores varies. Some online music stores have a single photo of the item, the product name and price, and a few bullets about the features. On the other hand, some online music stores have interactiveWeb 2.0 features, such as 360-degreevirtual reality-style images of the products, in which the viewer can "turn" the product around to see the back and sides, online comments sections where customers can review their purchases and additional music-related content, such as articles on musical instruments or sound gear written by store staff. Patrons pay electronically at online music stores using a credit card,PayPal or other electronic payment systems. The goods are shipped through the mail or by express delivery companies such asFedEx. Some music stores sell their products solely online. In other cases, some stores operate both a "brick and mortar" store (or chain) and an online store.
