MI Pro

As many had expected, the bite of recession has taken a while to nibble through to the MI trade, but now it seems the squeeze is well and truly on. Any theories as to why musical instruments fare so well when downturns hit are merely that, theories, but some do seem to hold water.

During this crunch, many people have put plans for the two big spends (houses and cars) on hold. So while estate agents and the automotive industry have been having a torrid time of it, the third element on the personal spending list, leisure and hobbies, has enjoyed some continued spending. Whether it is people returning to playing music or taking it up for the first time, there was something of a rush on instruments during the latter part of 2008.

With that rush now seemingly over, stores have to focus on the staples of their trade to keep the cash flowing. For MI, these staples are accessories and sheet music – two spheres that seem all but immune from the pains of recession.

For sheet music, this seems to be fairly accurate if one looks at the attendance of the main publishers in the UK as far as major trade shows are concerned. They were all at Frankfurt and they were among the first to book their spaces for the London International Music Show. Are they really doing well in a struggling market, or is it simply a case of bravado in the hope that appearances can hoodwink economic forces?

The publishers are adamant in their position that sales are indeed holding out, but reading between the lines one can see that there is a specific area maintaining this position. It boils down to three words (if one is to conform to the adage): ‘education, education, education’.

Hal Leonard’s European sales and marketing director, Mark Mumford, makes the point: “Education is a constant – a very stable sell through. But this doesn’t happen by itself. We invest a lot and work hard to get teachers and, from there, students to buy. This brings a continual stream of customers and it keeps us expanding and growing. Now around 50 per cent of Hal Leonard’s catalogue is education.”

“At times like these, I think the smaller, instrument-specific stores – particularly rock
and pop – are starting to find things a little more difficult, but bigger stores with sheet music departments and sheet music specialists are doing well,” comments Roberto Garcia, the sales and marketing director at Schott. “Schott and Boosey & Hawkes are very geared towards education and classical and we have seen no real changes.

“The peripatetic market is normal, so I think it is fair to say that education is holding the fort at the moment. We attend all of the education shows and there are the same number of delegates attending and there doesn’t appear to be any pessimism in that market at all.”

“There are rumours that budgets might be cut in the future, but certainly not for next year. This means schools are still buying for the classroom, so I suppose you could say that education is key, but it goes further than that,” suggests Phillip Littlemore, FM Distribution’s sales director. “Even when times are hard, parents will forfeit their own luxuries to let their kids do what they want to do, whether that is playing football or learning the trumpet. It is worth saying that there are an awful lot of good publishers out there making an awful lot of good product and it is being bought. Sheet music is still selling.”

ABRSM, of course, deals almost exclusively in educational material and has the benefit of its own syllabus to which teachers are somewhat captive. The association’s marketing manager, Ben Selby, while sensing things might be proving a little difficult for instrument sales, also sees educational materials as the most buoyant in the market at present. “I think by its very nature, education is more resilient than pop, for example, and it stays strong through recessions. It was the case in the ‘90s and seems to be holding true now.”

As for his captive market, Selby points out that this means more work and expense, but that the trade definitely benefits from it, too. “We change the syllabus regularly up to every two years for some courses, but this is largely expected by the teachers. They need to keep their subjects fresh and interesting. We have recently updated our technical requirements too, and this supports the publications behind that. With about 95 per cent of our sales going through the trade, however, there are a lot of positives.”

Generally, then, things are looking good for those selling sheet music in any significant amount and anyone looking for a boost in turnover might do well to discuss the possibility of stocking educational titles (if you aren’t already). Perhaps one of the most important things to consider is that music publishers are anything but exclusive. Information, advice and choice are available in spades from any of them.

Mel Bay
With Chris Statham, Mel Bay UK’s MD, up to his eyes with maintaining the colossal growth of his two year-old operation, while hiring new staff and moving office simultaneously, word from the American tutor specialist is that business is positively booming.

At LIMS, Mel Bay will be offering the usual incentives to come along and personally place trade orders during the show, including a free gift for each trade order, along with the chance to win a ‘credit crunching’ £350 credit note for one lucky trade account. Mel Bay will also be exhibiting its UK distributed catalogues, namely Walton’s, Mally’s and Mayas Music, AMA Verlag, AMPD (All Music & Publishing, Australia) and Sasha. Rodney Branigan will be performing on the stand, demonstrating his unique ambidextrous two-guitar technique and promoting his brand new DVD.

New titles for June include an Irish Mandolin tutor from the School of… series, a Bodhran tutor (Bodhran: The Basics) and the First Jams Ukulele book. As well as a new Encyclopedia of Bass Arpeggios, the publisher is also touting a new bass tutor DVD, focusing on African bass styles with The African Bass Bible.

Music Sales
Healthy sales are not limited to the UK. “The UK is steady for us at the moment,” explains Music Sales’ Chris Hargrave. “But as the biggest sheet music publisher in Europe, it is worth looking at the wider picture. France and Germany are having a fantastic time, with Germany in particular enjoying the benefits of our publishing schedule. We have a publisher, Bosworth, which targets the German market and it is having an exceptional year. We also had a really successful Frankfurt – again, mostly because of European customers.”

Hargrave went on to comment that growth in the UK was largely down to existing accounts, particularly the larger outlets (despite having been hit by some of the big closures in the past year or so). “It’s a month-by-month thing,” he continues. “We talk to all our dealers and some are up and some are down. Overall, April was a slower month, what with Easter and the good weather, but there are no real signs of things slowing. We’ve got a strong schedule planned and you’ll be seeing some key titles soon.”

For June, Music Sales will see the release of the new Gigbook range, an A5 format, red vinyl covered chordbook with melody notation, following directly in the wake of the popular Little Black Book series. On the tutor side of things, there will be the Junior Complete Guitar player, aimed at the eight to 12 year-old market, which, Hargrave explains, will fill a definite gap for youngsters to teach themselves and will use both current and back catalogues.

Finally, the Really Easy Piano Tutor fits into the Really Easy series of compilations and artist-based titles, but now using the catalogue for learning purposes.

Hal Leonard
Hal Leonard, in the main, nestles very happily in the Music Sales distribution stable as far as Europe is concerned, but with such a diverse catalogue (and orchestral music shipping out through Studio Music) the company has a lot to say for itself as regards its activities and publications.

“It is so important for us to get the message out that a £1,000 investment brings a quick, positive return,” says Mark Mumford. “In times when cash flow is a problem, sheet music really comes to the fore and I would seriously recommend dealers to consider a change of tack.”

Mumford says that while there is unpredictability on the pop market, there are titles such as the recent Twilight musical (not to mention the Guitar Hero and High School Musical books that fall into similar categories) that simply take on a life of their own.

“They are hard to predict, but they add a lot of weight to the argument for stocking,” he adds. “With the success of the wider brand of these publications, simply having these books in your shop window can generate business.
“The strength of Hal Leonard is not just the creativity of product, which it is very good at, but our ability to expand the appeal of the brand. You have to let people know who you are and where you are – really promote yourself.”

The next batch of titles worth watching include the Kings of Leon’s new album and a collection of ‘audition’ songs from the Andrew Lloyd Webber collection (for men and women) and taking the education theme slightly left of field, a series of DVDs aimed at Pro Tools users, showing how to get the most out of the audio workstation program.

Of special note for Hal Leonard is the exceptional coffee table The Story of Paul Bigsby: Father of the modern electric solidbody guitar. The title alone gives an indication of how controversial this book could be, as it illustrates, quite compellingly, how Bigsby (he of tremolo fame) actually preceded Les Paul (and Gibson) and Leo Fender to the manufacture of the first electric guitars as we know them today.

Schott
Aside from the educational aspect of Schott’s and Boosey & Hawkes’ business, both publishers have their roots firmly in the classical tradition, as well as some of the healthiest jazz lines around. “There is a lot for dealers to look at,” says Roberto Garcia. “The classical pocket scores and piano books are holding up extremely well. People can’t really afford to buy new instruments at the moment, but they can afford to buy new music and it’s keeping the market going.”

New titles from the Schott stable include the rather excellent Exploring Jazz tutors by Ollie Weston for sax, trumpet and flute intermediates. Weston includes step-by-step lessons of key concepts, while avoiding jargon and getting straight into improvisation. Each book also comes with a live jazz trio CD for accompaniment.

For Booseys, Christopher Norton continues in his prolific manner with two new books in the Microjazz series, Microswing and Microlatin, containing 20 new pieces of piano miniatures, aimed at helping the learner to gain new repertoire with some moderate challenges.

Continuing with education, B&H also has the new Voice Coach series, with selections and notes by Mary King. While labelled as a ‘coach’, the series will compile into a collection of repertoire that itself teaches technique and interpretation. Each piece is discussed at length and suggests methods of approaching their performance.

From the classical repertoire comes Boosey’s Vuelvo al Sur, a book of tangos for accordion, piano, clarinet and more, arranged by James Crabb. The book takes ten pieces by the Argentine master of tango Nuevo, Astor Piazzolla, including two pieces from the soundtrack of the film Sur.

ABRSM
Fresh from its recent image overhaul and high on the celebrations of its 120th anniversary this year, the Associated Board has consolidated its marketing and sales structure, as well as having revamped its corporate look. “It’s a lot more than just a logo change,” explains Ben Selby. “We spent a good couple of years consulting teachers and traders and everyone connected to us to get an idea of how we are perceived overall. The result was, happily, generally positive, but there was an obvious need for us to be bolder in the face we portray to the customer and the outside world.

“Previously, we had three logos, representing the three arms of the board, but the outside world saw us as one organisation, so we have created a single image. We have altered the language we use, too, which will be very noticeable when you look at Libretto (ABRSM’s in-house, trade-facing magazine) or our new website, both of which are simpler and bolder in their imagery.”

High in the section labelled ‘push’ at ABRSM is the new publication Raising an Amazing Musician: You, your child and music, a book that targets parents who want to bring music into the life of their children. No musical knowledge is assumed and advice and support is given, though the 20 short chapters, on how to support a child musically from birth to early adulthood. It’s well worth considering this one, whether you’re a retailer or a parent.

FM Distribution
With the sheer weight of catalogues and titles on its books, Faber Music Distribution is never allowed the luxury of taking anything for granted. “You have to work hard for every sale,” says Phillip Littlemore. “This is why we work closely with our retailers through good reps and good products.”

It’s a simple system, but it clearly works as Littlemore goes on to report good sales right across FMD’s catalogues, not just Faber. The company has been concentrating on promoting itself to the consumer of late with e-shots to peripatetic teachers and schools and is getting a lot of response from that.

Littlemore is also looking forward to LIMS and, following on from the last point, is looking at the show as a consumer activity, with any trade business done seen as a bonus. For those who think that sheet music is not a sexy sector of MI, try suggesting such to Littlemore. “Yes, you will get crowds gathering around for a new guitar launch or for some showy, gimmicky demo, but people don’t go to shows with £500 in their pocket to buy a big product. The extra bit of cash they might take with them is for the smaller items that really make the event special.”

Aside from the hope that the new Green Day album will be ready for LIMS (which depends upon getting the thumbs up from the band – never an easy task), Faber will be showing the new Ukulele Playlist book (yes, ukes are still going very strong), a guitar tab and notation edition of Queen: Greatest Hits, an Authentic Playalong series edition of Rush: Guitar, with every note of six numbers of the prog rockers and Nirvana: Complete Chord Songbook. The You’re the Voice series continues with ten songs in the style of Katherine Jenkins and The Piano Sessions: Contemporary ballads are worth a look.