Sam Ash Music Closing Stores

[GuitarAttack Forum]

All --

I saw this article this morning. It says that Sam Ash Music is closing 18 of its 44 stores, including the one in New York City.

www.guitarworld.com/news/sam-ash-store-closures

This line in the article is interesting: "Running a physical music store in the 21st century is no mean feat. Research from CTInsider shows that the number of music stores in the US is falling by around 2.9% year-on-year, with online retail a key driver in this trend."

While there a several closing in Central Florida, the one in New Haven, Connecticut is particularly interesting. Sam Ash was the last music store in that town of 135,000 people famous as the home of Yale University.

Is going into a "brick-and-mortar" music store a thing of the past?

John

[dnic]

The internet is affecting most all brick and mortar businesses. The only type of business not taking a big hit would be grocery stores. Even though a lot of people take advantage of delivery the physical store still needs to be there.
Online grocery stores may be the next wave.

[stratpurist]

The King of Prussia, PA store is one of the closings. I've often shopped there but the bigger loss is that store was regularly hosting jam sessions and open mics.
The monthly jams were hosted by a guy that toured with Steve Vai and was well attended by guitar players and other musicians as well as drummers.

For what its worth, finance and industry folks have been predicting the demise of GC for years and somehow they remain open in my area.
My favorite music store in the area survives due to exceptional personal service and has a decent business with lessons.
Hopeful that other brick and mortal stores can find a way to compete. The question I always as is who buys a $3,000 LP online? I couldn't conceive of spending $300 on an instrument without playing it first.

[antares]

>>>"The question I always as is who buys a $3,000 LP online? I couldn't conceive of spending $300 on an instrument without playing it first.">>>

Well I know you're bang on right there, but I bought my 1999 Heritage Sweet16 from the USA via eBay. It was perfect apart from a large undisclosed "V" shaped scratch which was visible in a listing image under extreme magnification. How much would a comparable Heritage cost- say an Eagle? Then I bought a 1982 Yamaha SA2000 from eBay, that'd be a couple of grand now. Again perfect after a minor action tweak or two. Then a Yamaha LS400vt over the internet from a bricks and mortar store- just fine. An equivalent LS model would be maybe £1,500-ish? A £200 solid timbers violin- again, all just fine. An Antonio Carvalho all solid timbers ukulele- again just fine. From memory, I think that's all the sight-unseen ones? I freely admit that I've been lucky/stupid, and I'm not in any hurry to do it again, but well- you know how it goes ... ;<D

[dnic]

There is another problem that comes along with buying guitars online. SHIPPING DAMAGE. A client of mine, Lee, wanted to drop a guitar off on his way to Guitar Center. He came back empty handed because his guitar was damaged in shipping to the store. Brocken headstock. This was the second try, the first also arrived with a Brocken headstock. Third guitar was a keeper. Very nice Gibson SG. OBTW Lee is the guy that bought my Paisley Strat.

Every time I ship a guitar I sweat bullets until the recipient confirms safe arrival.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Mar 11, 2024 8:25:49 GMT -6 stratpurist said:

The King of Prussia, PA store is one of the closings. I've often shopped there but the bigger loss is that store was regularly hosting jam sessions and open mics.
The monthly jams were hosted by a guy that toured with Steve Vai and was well attended by guitar players and other musicians as well as drummers.

I do think that the local music store is part of the area's art culture. Having jams and other events tend to encourage musicianship and can build a community.

I remember the impact the local guitar shop had on me when I was a kid and it led me into a life of guitar, be it good or bad! lol

Here is a link to an article I wrote on the subject in 2006. This has been one of our recurring themes:

www.guitarattack.com/opinion/transformed.htm

John

[dnic]

That's a good article John.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Mar 13, 2024 10:12:36 GMT -6 dnic said:

That's a good article John.

Thanks, Dane. I was doing some longer-form articles back then. Hard to believe it was that long ago.

Thanks for making the effort to read it. Most of what you see on the internet now is much shorter-form and crammed full of ads and pop-ups.

John

[antares]

That 2006 article was an engaging and extraordinary read John. It was very well written too.

If I may be allowed to I will offer the following; all businesses cow-tow to "The Market", whether large, small or leviathan. All will try to leverage The Market to their advantage. I have this idea that corporations whether large or small are rather akin to sentient organisms- they have a will to survive, but in this case "survival" means "do whatever it takes to make profit". I saw this where I worked for 32 years because one day I realised that the management structure (the individuals calling the shots) had changed completely over the decades, yet The Company's interests hadn't. It was as though the ephemeral idea of "The Company" possessed a will of its own independent of those running it, because otherwise there would have been gradual change. The only changes were those forced onto it by (eg) Airbus and especially Boeing. We should not be surprised to witness this everywhere and it extends to include representative organisations such as NAMM just as it does retailers of every magnitude.

I strongly believe that it is not Walmart et al who are the nemesis of "Mom 'n' Pop" stores- it is Joe Punter who as you observed will happily drive two hours each way to save $30 on a two grand drum kit. To one extent or another we are all guilty. That is "The Market" writ large; the apochryphal "agile" organisation will seek to offer an USP to entice potential customers, while all along that guy who will undertake a journey that costs him more in fuel than he saves may have simply decided to have a day out and factored the expediture on gas into the equation. No one considers that- the notion that any such purchase is isolated from other things Joe Punter has on his to-do list.

Over here I find that the oft quoted Mom 'n' Pop store is an underwhelming experience with a necessarily meagre choice at inflated prices. By contrast, when I walked into Guitar Centre in Renton, WA, my eyes popped out on stalks at the choice, and my lower jaw hit the deck! Moreover, I have repeatedly found that service in the guise of advice is generic, hackneyed and threadbare wherever you go, large or small.

Finally, I have repeatedly witnessed a clique atmosphere in Mom 'n' Pop stores where the proprietors regularly engage in camaraderie with hangers-on, while as an "outsider" I have been virtually ignored and left to walk around, until I dare to touch anything that is ... I well realise that may not be representative of USA stores though. That reminded me of going to collect an undelivered parcel from a courier's depot once. I stood at their Customer Desk for about ten minutes and no one came to assist. I noticed a security camera above, so I turned around the PC monitor on the counter and looked up at the camera while I hit ^Control-Alt-Delete^ a couple of times, and someone showed up within seconds! It's a disgrace.

Once again, thanks for a thought provoking article John.

[dnic]

Steve, you are not wrong. No matter what size or type of business it's about the bottom line.

[stratpurist]

Thanks for the article John. Some good insights. IF musical instruments are eventually going to be sold through mass marketing retailers (Walmart? seriously?)
Perhaps it will create more business for local luthiers who will be needed to perform proper setups and repairs on instruments purchased from these types of retailers.

[dnic]

It would be great if Costco sold guitar strings, not guitars just strings.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Mar 16, 2024 10:53:39 GMT -6 dnic said:

It would be great if Costco sold guitar strings, not guitars just strings.

We go to Costco and Sam’s quite a bit. I do like buying some things in bulk, and strings are one of them.it would cool if you could buy 30 packs of strings while you are picking up paper towels and Gatorade.

I don’t like strings in the tubes because I think they age quicker than those in sealed packs.

John

[dnic]

That's why I've never bought the tube type of strings. I couldn't use them fast enough.