BY KATIE KAILUS PHOTOS BY EMMANUEL PANAGIOTAKIS
Brighton Music Center, NAMM’s 2025 Dealer of the Year, shares its secrets to success. Spoiler alert: It all comes down to how you treat people. W hat started with two band directors, a payphone and a passion for spreading the joy of making music has grown into one of the most respected music retail- ers in the country. Brighton Music Center’s story spans decades of change, community roots and an unwavering focus on kindness. Led by two long-time managers-turned-owners, Rich- ard Schiemer and Brad Wittmer, Brighton Music Center continues to run on the foundation set by founders James Botti and James Kaplan in 1958.
JULY 2025 I MUSIC INC. I 29
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