Canadian Music Trade - February/March 2018 | Page 16

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
T
hough the Music 8 brand
may still be relatively new
to some Canadian retailers,
the team behind it boasts
decades of experience in the
international MI industry.
The Montreal-based distribution
firm carries its own Music 8-branded
line of products – instruments, wired
and wireless microphones, pedals,
cables, stands, strings, and accessories
– in addition to being the Canadian
distributor for respected brands like
La Bella Strings, Rowin Tuners, Belcat
amplification, Hannabach Strings, and
Optima Strings.
Founder and President Alejandro
Scherb says that, when it comes to
choosing brands and products to
represent in the Canadian market,
he, Sales Manager Carlos Torres,
and their team are looking for those
with accessible price points that still
meet a high standard for quality.
“We try to get the most out of every
brand and product, and maintain a
certain uniqueness and singularity,”
he shares.
The story behind the company is
perhaps even more unique than its product
offerings. Scherb and his original partner,
Edgardo Beilin, founded instrument
distribution firm Beilin & Scherb in 1992
in their native Argentina; however, 15
years ago, amidst the Argentine Great
Depression, the pair decided to move to
Canada to provide a better opportunity for
their respective families.
“I had to start everything from scratch,”
Scherb says, “but through patience
and persistence, I knew I could build a
solid business like the one I had back in
Argentina.”
Music 8 has been a registered
trademark in Canada since 2006, and
the goal now for Scherb and Torres is
the same as it was when the company
16
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
Music 8
By Andrew King
catalogue that carefully details all of Music
8’s products.”
It can be a slow climb at times, he
admits, gaining trust from new dealers
and competing against brands that are
well-established in the market; however,
it’s a challenge to which he and Torres
have ably risen over their combined
decades in an industry for which they
clearly have plenty of passion.
The company benefitted from
a recent boost in the way of a new
partnership with La Bella Strings, a
globally respected string brand first
launched in 1860, for which Music
8 is now the exclusive Canadian
distributor. “We want to reposition the
La Bella brand name and recover its
prestige, which we know is engraved
in the memories of veteran musicians
and experienced storeowners who
used them as their first instrument
strings,” says Scherb, noting the
line is comprehensive in offerings
for virtually every type of stringed
instrument.
(L-R) Music 8’s Alejandro Scherb, La Bella Strings’ Richard
Cocco & Music 8’s Carlos Torres
Looking ahead at goals for 2018
and beyond, the team at Music 8 is
planning to make its presence even better
in that by partnering with a growing
known in the Canadian MI landscape
number of Canadian dealers seeking
and expand its territory and number of
unique, unsaturated product lines that
dealers. “We’re always looking to surpass
offer an alternative to widespread brands
our previous limits and hit new targets,”
while still boasting good value and
its founder explains. “We feel that Music
performance. What’s more, Scherb adds,
8 is in full bloom, and it’s exciting to see
is that many of Music 8’s products are
it thrive as we continue to adjust to new
as attractive for rental departments and
trends and a changing market.”
companies as they are sales floors.
That’s something Scherb, Torres, and
“In a time when technology is taking
the team have successfully done since
over our commerce and economy, we try
founding Music 8 over 10 years ago – not to
to prioritize human contact and person-
mention throughout their previous decades
to-person relations with our clients,”
of combined experience in the industry
Scherb says about Music 8’s general
– and it’s something they look forward to
approach to business. “We realize the
continuing as they push forward.
importance of direct marketing and its
impact on our clients’ confidence in us,
which is why we offer samples for testing
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
Canadian Music Trade.
for all of our dealers, as well as a complete
was founded: assembling a diverse and
high-quality product catalogue with an
accessible price range. “My vision has
always been focused on establishing a
strong foundation,” Scherb says, “and from
there, growing slowly and steadily.”
So far, the team has been successful