Fortunate & Grateful W e’re writing to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mu- sic Inc. for featuring Brighton Music Center’s Dealer of Year Award in the July issue of the magazine. The headline of the cover story, ‘Kindness Is Key,’ not only honors everything we do at Brighton Music Center but it honors the founders, Jim Kaplan and Jim Botti. There could be no better gift to us here at Brighton Music Center than to keep that legacy going. We wanted to give a special thanks to all the employees of Brighton Music Center who made this honor possible. We truly work in the best industry in the world. This may be the only industry that genuinely works collaboratively to make sure everyone in the business of music succeeds. We have been fortunate to work with some of the most amazing people from our fellow retailers, to manufacturers, and all the people in between. So, thank you again for the amazingly well-written article. Richard Schiemer Co-Owner Brighton Music Center Pittsburgh Energized & Ready to Invade W e’ve just returned from Hellfest 2025 in France, which was an absolutely amazing edition full of incredible encoun- ters and inspiring conversations. As summer begins, we feel energized and full of ideas. This month, we celebrated Invaders Amplification’s 11th anniversary, and we’re very proud to have been featured in Music Inc.’s July issue. We remain optimistic about the connection people have with organic, all-tube amps, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us.
Troubles with a B&O Rental Provider W hen the penny pinchers get involved in the sales room, it typically signals the downfall of a company. We’re starting to see signs that this dynamic is playing out in the band in- strument rental companies and impacting one of the very big- gest band rental companies in our industry. The horrible news arrived this week when I was told that I would no longer be supplied with rentable cellos. I was presented with a spreadsheet of my cello renting history, and told that with how lacking it is, there was no good reason to spend $102 to ship a cello for my customer to rent. Funny thing is: The data is actually pretty good for a remote location such as ours. It proves that, since 2017, we rented 16 cellos and six of the rentals were for a duration exceeding 100 days, which creates enough profit to negate the shipping cost and build a nice profit. I’d consider our affiliate ac- count a low-hassle account, as we often handle cello restrings and setups in-house, so it’s not as if we were making service demands. I can only assume that a ‘scarcity mindset’ has taken hold of this company, and many future opportunities will be missed, which results in many families not getting access to good quality band instruments. I’m shaking my head at the stupidity of the whole thing.
By the way, for those in the U.S., a few shops now have our amps available to try out. From Belgium to the U.S. — thanks for supporting indepen- dent builders.
ling in the opportunity to try Taylor Trumpets. Their distinc- tive sound, coupled with their multitude of custom finishes and designs, ensured the instru- ments were extremely popular with people at the conference. Alongside the established fa- vorites were additional models which did much to catch the eye, including a Taylor Piranha in C, and the new Taylor Phat Puppy Plus. It’s a flugelhorn, in a full-size trumpet layout — and people couldn’t get enough of it. Thank you for showcasing the creative brilliance of [com- pany founder] Andy Taylor, and for shining a spotlight on U.K. manufacturing.
Francois Deschamps Founder Invaders Amplification Huy, Belgium
‘Thank You’ for Showcasing U.K. Manufacturing’ T hank you for the recent Industry Profile on Taylor Trumpets. Our company con- tinues to forge its own unique path with its bespoke range of horns, hand made in the U.K. We recently spent a fantas- tic week at the International Trumpet Guild conference in Salt Lake City, with profession- als and enthusiasts alike revel-
Anthony Mantova Owner Mantova’s Two Street Music Eureka, California
EDITOR’S NOTE: MUSIC INC. ENCOURAGES LETTERS AND RESPONSES TO ITS STORIES. EMAIL LETTERS TO EDITOR@MUSICINCMAG.COM.
Mark Good Marketing Coordinator Taylor Trumpets Norwich, England
10 I MUSIC INC. I AUGUST 2025
Powered by FlippingBook