Music Retail
Robert Petteruti sat in the showroom of Twin City Music in Providence, RI, for his NAMM Oral History interview. The showroom is in the store his father opened in the 1930s and within the same building his grandfather owned since 1921. To say there was a lot of Petteruti history in that room is an...
David Ellis was greatly influenced by his father, Richard Ellis, the band director and music store founder. Growing up in the business, David developed a strong passion for music both as a retailer and as a player. In fact, the only two years David did not work for Ellis Music was when he was on...
Ted Rasch was one of only a handful of music retailers who began using the Internet for commerce as early as 1996. He was asked many times in those early years to explain the Internet and how it could possibly fit into the music industry. One of the advantages in using the Internet in the early...
Richard Ellis was proud of the three main areas of his professional career; playing, teaching and selling musical instruments. As a teenager Richard traveled with a big band, playing dances during the Swing Era. He later taught music at several levels as well as directed the local community band....
Bill Cooper is an independent sales representative whose background includes a great many experiences that have helped Bill best serve his dealers. Bill, who played French horn in school, taught college, owned a chain of music stores in Ohio and worked for St. Louis Music for 17 years before...
Madeleine Crouch always has an endless amount of energy. In the role of industry association manager, Madeleine took over the company established by Don Dillon, which offers organizational and planning services for a number of music industry associations including RPMDA, ISB and NASMD. Madeleine...
Lori Supinie has been an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she has provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products industry. She began working for Senseney Music in Kansas and soon took an active role in the store’s...
Bruce Bush cut his teeth in the industry as a music retailer. Just out of college he managed the print music department of Onondaga Music Service in Syracruse, New York. He later owned the store before deciding to take on the role of sales manager for Hal Leonard. A long-time advocate for music...
Becky Lightfoot was one of the first people to earn a degree in music business from the University of Illinois, which she put to good use immediately. Becky began working in the sheet music department for Art’s Music Center in Alabama right after college. She helped grow the print department and...
Bernhard Mueller has been the manager of International sales for Schott’s Music since 2004, after more than 20 years as the company’s distribution manager. His knowledge and love for music goes back to his childhood when he played in a rock band. At the age of 30 he taught himself piano and has...