Music Inc Magazine July 2025

July 2025

THE RETAIL TECH ISSUE

Helmuts Bems

24 I FROM THE TOP Helmuts Bems, founder and CEO of Sonarworks, shares the findings of his research on AI and the music industry. 34 I THE INAUGURAL MI 5 UNDER 45

Meet the five inaugural recipients of Music Inc.’s MI 5 Under 45 — a new 40 Under 40-style young leadership program launching this month.

38 I 5 SAAS TOOLS TO INSTALL — NOW

Brighton Music Center’s co-owners Richard Schiemer and Brad Wittmer.

28 I KINDNESS IS KEY Brighton Music Center, NAMM’s 2025 Dealer of the Year, shares its secrets to success, starting with treating people with kindness.

Streamline your MI operations, boost customer satisfaction and stay ahead of the curve with these essential SaaS tools that MI retailers are currently loving.

40 I GUITARS, AMPS & ACCESSORIES 44 I AUDIO & RECORDING 48 I DRUMS & PERCUSSION 49 I BAND & ORCHESTRA 50 I PIANOS, KEYBOARDS & SYNTHESIZERS 51 I DJ & LIGHTING RETAILER ASK THE 54 I ASK THE RETAILER X  Retailers share how they stay digitally competitive at their dealerships.

21 I NEXT-GEN RETAILING X Jonathan Hendrix on climbing the MI ladder. 22 I NAMM YP X  New YP President Erin Kessler discusses the organization’s impact. 23 I WOMEN OF NAMM X  Danielle Collins reflects on her first NAMM Fly-In experience.

16 I INDUSTRY NEWS X NAMM NeXT Moves Online X  ACT Entertainment Distributes Avid X Clear Tune Monitors Strikes Deal with Guitar Center X Sweetwater Publishes 2024 Impact Report X  Conn Selmer Names New CEO X Hosa Tech Founder Sho Sato Passes Away 12 I INDUSTRY PROFILES X How Belgian brand Invaders Amplification is making a bold push into the U.S. market. X A full recap of the 2025 NAMM Fly-In.

Jonathan Hendrix Erin Kessler

Danielle Collins

Cover photo by Emmanuel Panagiotakis.

6 I MUSIC INC. I JULY 2025

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