By Matt Bauer
Supplier Spotlight
Launch Music
Launch Music is a logistics , distribution , and marketing company serving Canadian music industry ( MI ) dealers and global MI brands with a full complement of musicindustry services . Located in Richmond Hill , Ontario , Launch Music offers a listing of distributed MI brands including Orange , Toca , Laney , SKB Cases , and in a most recent partnership effective Jan . 24 , 2023 , the exclusive distribution of Allparts Music Corporation in Canada , among others .
Another recent development is the appointment of Michael Gregory as VP Launch in July of 2022 . Gregory served as the Director of Sales at SFM where his efforts resulted in a decade of remarkable revenue growth . Prior to his role at SFM , Gregory worked as a Sales Representative overseeing the Ontario markets for LOUD Technologies and Behringer . Yet he credits the near-decade spent as a headhunter in the semiconductor industry as pivotal in his professional development . “[ That ’ s where ] I really cut my teeth , there ’ s no question about it . And it also taught me a lot about technology as things were developing . That was a really good learning experience for me in many , many ways . It ’ s a very different mindset ,” explains Gregory to Canadian Music Trade .
Launch Music ’ s dedicated team thrives on their ability to be agile . “ We ’ re moving in the right direction . Our goal is to have a catalogue full of reliable premium brands that dealers be confident in selling and be able to have them be very profitable ,” Gregory says . “ We ’ re 100 % retail focused . And when you look at a retail environment , it ’ s not always guitars and amps generally that bring people in every day . It ’ s cables , strings , picks , and other accessories that are the core of the business . And that ’ s where the high margin dollar sales come in . I personally care about brick and mortar .”
PHOTO : BACK ROW : MARK HEBERT ( PRESIDENT & CEO ), MICHAEL GREGORY ( VICE PRESIDENT - LAUNCH MUSIC ), RUDI BROUWERS ( CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ) FRONT ROW : NICOLE SIMPSON ( SHIPPING LEAD ), TAMARA FREETHY ( MARKETING MANAGER )
The recent purchase of a 300,000 square foot warehouse in Ogdensburg , NY , across the border from Prescott , ON , is part of a plan to expand the business , third party logistics and to offer distribution for North America in a free trade zone . “ No duties are paid until something moves from the free trade zone into the warehouse , as it starts to ship ,” Gregory explains . “ So it gives us the ability to hold things there and be agile in the sense of being able to supply both Canada and the US in a way that hasn ’ t been done before in our business .” Gregory also stresses the positive economic impact of the warehouse on the local economy . “ We look forward to bringing new employment opportunities to the area that might not have otherwise existed . So all of a sudden , [ Cosmo Music President & CEO ] Mark Hebert becomes a very important person to a small town in upstate New York , where as time goes on , will employ quite a few people .”
While Gregory won ’ t deny that the digital world ( especially post-pandemic ) is a huge and continually growing part of the MI business , he still believes that it ’ s still a tactile one . “ People like to feel , touch , hear and experience when they ’ re buying an instrument ,” he says . “ So there ’ s always going to be a place for brick and mortar and I think anybody who denies that is maybe going down the wrong path at the moment .”
With a further product distribution announcement coming in the near future , Gregory is optimistic about the organization ’ s development at this stage . “ It ’ s interesting every day , we ’ re learning a little bit more for Launch music about what what ’ s working for the customers ,” he says . “ As a young company , we have the ability to shape this into whatever we need it to be right now .”
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE 17