Canadian Music Trade - December / January 2020

PRS Guitars Celebrates Its 35 th Anniversary Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Guitars, which was founded in 1985, is celebrating its 35th anniversary throughout 2020. The festivities include an open-house event for players and fans at its Maryland headquarters on May 8 th and 9 th , 2020. “My first guitar was built as a challenge to my college music professor for some credits. I got an ‘A’ and decided to pursue my dream of making guitars for a living,” founder Paul Reed Smith recalls. Over the next decade, Smith road-tested his own guitars while gigging and lent them out to friends to try, testing out many variations and combinations of headstocks, body shapes, tremolo designs, woods, and construction meth- ods to get the right mix. He’d also hang out at concert arenas, trying to score a backstage pass from the roadies in order to ped- dle his guitars to the rock stars, with Carlos Santana and Al Di Meola among those who agreed to try them. “I made deals. If some- one gave me an order, made a deposit, and then didn’t love the finished guitar, I’d give them their deposit back even if I couldn’t make my rent the next day,” recalls Smith in the company’s official biography. “After getting a small following and orders for more than 50 guitars, we built two prototypes. I popped them in the back seat of my truck and cranked it up, calling on guitar dealers up and down the East Coast. After many days and many miles, I came Paul Reed Smith in the late ‘70s back with enough orders to start a company.” Since those humble begin- nings, PRS Guitars has grown into a global business with hundreds of employees and sales Canadian Music Trade recently surveyed Canadian MI retail professionals on the importance of trade shows like The NAMM Show to their business’s success. Here are the results… How important is attending trade events like The NAMM Show to your store’s success in the following year? 47% 40% 7% 7% Very important Somewhat important Not that important Not at all important Have The NAMM Show and similar events become more or less important to your store’s success over the last 10 years? 20% 27% 33% 7% 13% Much more important Somewhat more important About the same Somewhat less important Much less important How important is educational and pro- fessional development programming at events like The NAMM Show to you and your staff? 27% 47% 20% 7% Very important Somewhat important Not that important Not at all important Which of the following areas of educa- tion/professional development is most attractive/useful to you and your staff? 29% 21% 0% 36% 7% 0% 7% Sales Management reps and superstar guitarists like Rush’s Alex Lifeson and John Mayer among its signature artists. For more information, go to www.prsguitars.com. TRADE SHOW SURVEY Do you agree that Canada should have its own MI trade show/conference ded- icated to showcasing new products and technologies, education and professional development, and social and networking opportunities? 47% 13% 13% 0% 27% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree Not sure Hiring/staffing Marketing/promotions Finance Lessons Other CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE 15

Canadian Music Trade - December / January 2020 | Page 15