Canadian Music Trade - February/March 2018 | Page 14

CLING ON’S PETAR CHEKARDZHIKOV Coast Music Now Distributing Cling On Tuners & Pickups Coast Music, a division of JAM Industries, has announced that it is now the Canadian distributor for the Cling On Tuner and Cling On Pickup. Based in Fullerton, CA, company CEO Petar Chekardzhikov is the creator of the Cling On Tuner and Cling On Pickup, the latter of which won the Best in Show Award in the Add On and Accessories category at The 2018 NAMM Show. Coast says it’s excited by these products and focused on increasing Cling On’s brand presence across the country. “We are delighted with this new partnership and strongly believe that we share the same goals,” adds Manuel Senra, senior VP at Coast Music. “We are very excited to partner with Coast Music and bring the Cling On Tuners and Pickups to the Canadian market,” says Chekardzhikov. For more information, contact Coast Music: 514-457-2555, [email protected], www.coastmusic.ca. Registration Open for 2018 RPMDA Convention in Minnesota The Retail Print Music Dealers Association (RPMDA) has opened registration for its 2018 convention, which will be held from April 25-28 at the Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. The education and event program has been released for the convention. Among the opportunities is a tour of Hal Leonard’s warehouse operations and an optional tour of Prince’s famed estate, Paisley Park. There will also be five rounds of “Power Hours” where attendees meet one-on-one with RPMDA’s sponsors for short presentations. Once again, the breakout sessions have been grouped into three different tracks for rookie print music special- ists, print music managers and buyers, and owners and general managers. Sessions will cover such topics as merchandising, assortment planning, promotions, social media, working with educators, the customer experience, online selling, and more. For more information, contact the RPMDA: 972-233-9107 ext. 211, [email protected], www.printmusic.org. 14 CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE (L-R) NOEL REDDING, JIMI HENDRIX & ROTOSOUND’S ALAN MARCUSON IN 1967 Rotosound Celebrates 60 Years of String Manufacturing British string manufacturer Rotosound is celebrating its 60 th anniversary this year. Formed in 1958 by James How as a U.K.-based, family-owned and operated company, Rotosound has become an icon of the British music in- dustry and continues to manufacture its range of strings in the U.K. The brand was championed early on by music icons like Jimi Hendrix, The Who’s John Entwistle, and Rush’s Geddy Lee. Now run by James’ son Jason, the brand is sold in more than 80 countries across the globe and still used by some of the top artists in the business, including Guns n’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. “I’m so proud that the company my dad started way back in 1958 is not only still recognized and loved by musicians all over the world, and still manufacturing and innovating in the U.K. to his same exacting standards, but is also entering an exciting new chapter, which will see us grow the business in new directions, finding yet more ways to excite musicians everywhere,” says Jason How. Rotosound is distributed in Canada by Yorkville Sound. For more information, go to www.rotosound.com. The Government of Prince Edward Island has announced that it is spending $300,000 on new instruments as part of an investment into a new elementary school curriculum for English and French students. The new curriculum will begin in September 2018 and combines music, movement, drama, and speech. The money is being used to buy 3,000 instruments, which are spread out across 19 instru