In the past few years, Gist Piano Center has hosted dozens of themed recitals. These events have flooded the store with people and rapidly boosted Gist's reputation as a local center for music. In the process, the recitals have helped build lasting customer memories and strengthened relationships with community leaders. Gist President James Harding shows how.

Don’t miss out on your next big seller! This fast-moving Breakfast Session features a roundup of the best products and services at Summer NAMM. Join Frank Alkyer, publisher of Music Inc. and UpBeat Daily magazines, and a panel of music retail experts as they reveal the best and brightest releases at the show.

Susan Pascale is the founder and director of Pascale Music Institute, a nationally recognized children’s music lesson program and home of the Los Angeles Children’s Orchestra. In this series, she shares her proven ideas for building a successful lesson program. If you’re interested in growing your program, or starting one, learn from her tried-and-true best practices.

Whether the economy is strong or sluggish, it’s wise to keep a fiscal tight rein on your business. This will protect you during downturns and maximize your profitability in more stable times. Establishing a fiscally sound operation requires simple and long-term changes, but rest assured: There are steps you can take today to get started. Tracy Leenman of Musical Innovations shows you how.

Just as you can’t build a house without a plan, you can’t build a profitable music retail operation without a roadmap. Lori Supinie, president of Senseney Music in Wichita, Kan., offers her 10 best "do's" for stress-free financial operations. Use this as a checklist to keep your music retail business in the black, create a fiscally minded staff and prevent employee theft.

In less than one minute, Tracy Leenman of Musical Innovations shares her big idea: Get involved in your local chamber of commerce. Leenman hosted a business after-hours event through her chamber of commerce in August 2012. The event brought 200 people to her store’s parking lot. “One band director ended up bringing his whole marching band,” she says.

With 89 billion business emails sent each day, it’s tough to guarantee that any one email gets read—even one that has great content like yours. What’s a music retailer to do? At the 2014 NAMM Show, small-business guru Barry Moltz offered 10 ideas to help music stores stand out and ensure their emails get seen. Here are those 10 tips.

When was the last time you did a mirror test to make sure your business was still alive and breathing? With the rising influence of e-commerce and economic pressures, how do you keep your business relevant and focused?

The opening session at the 2014 NAMM Show, Breakfast of Champions, explored the latest music industry breakthroughs. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond kicked off the session by urging everyone to continue seeking breakthroughs at their businesses in 2014. "I believe it’s our role to recognize and take advantage of these breakthroughs and, most of all, to be creating our own," he said.

Surprise guest Smokey Robinson joins NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond during Breakfast of Champions at the 2014 NAMM Show. What follows is an up-close discussion about Robinson’s early musical life and the importance of music in the schools. Robinson, a legendary singer, songwriter and producer, also received the music products industry’s highest honor, the Music for Life Award.