Thank you, Steve’s Music Store!
Music stores are a little bit like record shops, libraries, small hardware shops and thousands of other businesses that just aren’t able to keep up with the Big A clearcutting competition into oblivion.
Last year in Canada, it was Cosmo Music, situated north of Toronto and in the US, Guitar Center closed hundreds of locations while Sam Ash Music went out of business altogether.
Recently, Steve’s Music Store announced that they would close all but one of their locations. This was sad news to me, but not much of a surprise.
A lot of ink will be spilled trying to figure out what happened. Obviously, the online world is no match for the high cost of rent, property taxes and vandalism that constantly assaults these entrepreneurs. So many local councilors fail to understand how stores like this aren’t just businesses. The centres of the universe for existing and aspiring artists.
I met a few of the owners of the franchise in Ottawa yesterday, expressed my condolences and bought a couple of things.
When I entered my early teens, it was so exciting to get on the bus, head downtown to Rideau Street and check out all of the different shops like Steve’s, a few record stores and more. A full Saturday would be blown just wandering without an agenda.
Eventually, I saved up enough cash to purchase my own keyboard. I picked the Yamaha DX-7. Imagine the sounds of Billy Idol, Genesis, U2 and dozens of other poppy sounds. I tried to imagine that as well, but was never that great at replicating those tunes! I was a little bit more like Ross in FRIENDS playing helicopter and dog barking samples as opposed to the next Magnum Opus or Peter Gabriel masterpiece.
It didn’t matter – me and a bunch of other buddies had fun playing basic three-chord songs but eventually I parted ways with the keyboard.
Several years went by and I moved to Toronto in 1995.
I was delighted to discover another Steve’s Music Store on Queen Street. It seemed like another wise choice – centred in the middle of Toronto’s musical universe. It was always busy when I went there and I bought loads of stuff there, but of greatest importance were my black and white Fender Strat (because that’s what the Edge of U2 plays) and my Seagull cedar top six string. I’ll suggest that Malcolm Gladwell has it wrong with the 10,000 hours hypothesis because I’ve certainly spent more time than that with both guitars and yet I’m a VERY long way from being an expert. That said, I don’t regret a single minute that I’ve had them in my lap, playing (poorly) a wide array of songs, from the Beatles to U2 to Wilco to dozens of bands and hundreds of other songs.
Fender Strat MIM
Seagull S6 Coastline
During Covid, these two guitars were an island of solace, serenity and safety for me. I’ve written a couple of dozen songs on them to date and hope to write many, many more.
It was during this time that I turned a lot of my attention to the digital framework for enjoying and making music. I purchased a new computer with enough memory to put an elephant to shame and also invested in software like Cubase which is a Digital Audio Workstation or a program that allows you to develop your own songs track by track.
When I made this transition, I thought I’d be a clever guy and suggest to a couple of retailers that they need to start selling computers because everyone was at home recording their thoughts and ideas digitally as opposed to using analogue instruments and inventory.
While I suspect this is just a small component of what brought a giant like Steve’s to its knees, there are dozens of other factors that remind me every day that small business owners put an enormous amount of themselves into the viability of what they try to sell. Don’t scoff or go running when a small shop has products that might be 10 percent or even more expensive than Amazon or other digital giants. Remember that they pay more taxes, better wages and support local activities that these people don’t and you can be certain that they’re not funding perverts and grifters in the Whitehouse like Bezos, Musk and Zuckerberg are.
What Future For Canadian Retailers?
Well, let’s start by reminding myself that I’m not a retail expert. As someone who’s tried to be an entrepreneur and as someone who was not very successful with it, the first instinct is to say ‘Stay in your lane’ … whatever land that might be.
I greatly admire the risks that people take on when they bring their passions and interests to the public in the form of a new business.
With all that said, is there an opportunity for a Canadian retailer like Steve’s to change how they’re doing business? Yes, they’ll only have one location open, but maybe now is the PERFECT to reevaluate their relationship with suppliers.
Over the last five or six decades, Steve’s – just like many other independent Canadian retail shops – essentially became franchises for American products.
On any given day, you could walk in and scan Gibsons, Fenders, Ibanez and Taylor guitars. Boss / Dunlop for guitar pedals. Gretsch (a subsidiary of Fender) drums. Ernie Ball chords and cables.
Etc etc etc.
The vast majority of suppliers are American companies that have consistently pushed manufacturing offshore to China and other Asian countries, but also require very restrictive sales and distribution practices that eliminate shelf space for domestic suppliers.
Any entrepreneur would be daft to avoid promotional budgets, brand recognition and generous return policies over small suppliers that may not support those approaches to business.
Up to a year ago, no one in Canada really questioned that approach. We were all happy to be buying from American companies.
Things Have Changed
Honestly, we didn’t want things to change.
However, with the vast array of threats coming from the United States, NOW seems like a perfect time to become a front for supporting and supplying Canadian-made products.
I won’t set up a complete inventory of options, but musicians will know brands like Degas Guitars (Seagull, Norman, etc). In fact, I have a Seagull and I’m quite pleased with it.
Little did I know, but there are dozens of guitar pedal makers in Canada. Check out Ehfects.ca for details.
In fact, Fairfield Circuitry is a favourite of the band Wilco. Fairfield makes their products in Hull, Quebec.
Go to the 24 minute mark to see him do an exceptional job of promoting Fairfield.
There’s no time like the present, Steve’s!
Show the world how awesome we are by showcasing and promoting Canadian-made products.
Other Links
- https://www.guitarscanada.com/threads/canadian-pedal-manufacturers.329433/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/1j5uvd4/list_of_canadian_pedal_builders/
- https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/pedal-builders-brands-in-canada.2121993/
- https://davekirbymusic.com/blogs/gear-tips/my-favourite-canadian-guitar-manufacturers
- Amplifiers: https://www.ehfects.ca/list/category/Amplifiers
- Drums: https://4allmusic.com/selection-luthiers-pays/luthiers-canada/387-drums-makers-canada/454-listing-drums-makers-canada
Do you have a favourite Canadian music and/or gear supplier? Please post them in the comments.
Be sure to post your favourite suppliers!