a larger Yonge Street location in 1985. By 1990, Cosmo Music opened the Brass and Woodwind Centre. In 2008, the store com- bined its locations into one large superstore. In recent years, the store was run by Tom’s son, Mark. When speaking with Music Inc. shortly after the closure announcement, Mark said the decision was also attributed to a costly and labor-intensive ERP (enterprise resource planning) project that strained the store’s cash flow, along with future economic concerns. “It was kind of a decision like backward looking, we had issues and forward looking, we didn’t see any positive cycle [coming along] anytime soon,” Mark said. “And that’s kind of how we came to the decision. It wasn’t really one thing. It was like a pros and cons list where you stack up all the pros and all the cons. There were way more things on the cons list than the pros list.” Cosmo Music’s retail store will remain open for a limited time, with a closing date to be announced. Fellow Canadian retailer Long & McQuade has acquired the building and will take over the location, continuing Cosmo’s rentals, repairs and lessons — and eventually — sales under the Long & Mc- Quade brand. MI — By Katie Kailus
Cosmo Music to Close After 57 Years C osmo Music, based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, has announced it will be clos- ing after 57 years. Mark Hebert (third from left) made the store’s closing announcement on YouTube alongside his family.
Beginning in 1966 as Cosmo Guitars, Tom Hebert’s import business expanded into a retail store in 1968. The store in Downsview, Ontario, offered guitars and accessories, and by 1971, Cosmo Music relocated to Richmond Hill, adding lessons and a wider range of instruments. In 1975, brass and woodwind instruments were introduced, followed by
Dubbed Canada’s largest MI retail store, Mark Hebert, owner of Cosmo Music, said he and his family made the decision follow- ing “significant challenges faced after the COVID-19 pandemic.”
SHURE SCORES VICTORY AGAINST PRODUCT COUNTERFEITING NETWORK S hure has collaborated with two other international counterfeit Shure products. The case concluded in December
audio equipment brands to address a network in China engaged in the large-scale manufacture and export of counterfeit products, includ- ing microphones, headphones and amplifiers. In May 2023, Shure re-
2024 with seven suspects sentenced to imprisonment ranging from two to four and a half years and fines total- ing $1.1 million USD. Shure and one other participating brand also concluded settlement agreements with the suspects for considerable compensation. “We are grateful to China’s PSB, pros- ecutors, and courts for showing determina- tion to fight these counterfeit crimes,” said Eric McAlpine, Shure’s vice president and chief legal officer. “Counterfeit products hurt everyone, including customers and au- thorized retailers, and we will continue to protect our brand from these illegal activities. Shure has been in business for 100 years and we want our customers to experience the quality of a genuine Shure product.” {shure.com}
counterfeit operation. China’s police force in the province, the Guangdong Province Public Security Bureau (PSB), launched simultaneous raids against the targets, seizing counterfeit products onsite at several locations in August 2023. The PSB investigated the trading company at the heart of the network and through careful forensics, discovered records showing more than $1.7 million USD in sales of coun- terfeit products from various international brands, including nearly $900,000 USD of
ceived information about a network of nine entities in China exporting counterfeit audio equipment to Southeast Asia. The network operated more than 80 separate online stores selling to customers in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. Shure, working through IP services business Rouse and its strategic part- ner firm, Lusheng, collaborated with two other audio equipment manufacturers to launch coordinated action against the
14 I MUSIC INC. I MAY 2025
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