An Interview with
Jacqueline Renner
President , C . F . Martin Guitars
We had the pleasure and the opportunity to have a quick chat with the President of Martin Guitars , Jacqueline Renner along with Ric about their products showcased at Music China , what they think about the Indian market , their view on Trade shows and a lot more . Read on to find out !
Could you tell us about the products you have showcased at Music China , Shanghai this year ?
Jacqueline : The music china products that we have showcased include products that we introduced earlier in January this year at the NAMM show . It includes the D222 which is the exact replica of the Dreadnought Guitar that Martin built in 1916 . It was built in our custom shop and is a limited edition guitar , just to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Dreadnought guitar . I think that is probably one of my favorites .
The other one is the guitar we brought out in celebration of John Lennon ’ s 75th birthday . John had played our Martin guitars in his career . WE created two models : One was a limited edition John Lennon ’ s 75th anniversary and the other we have here at Music China is more broadly available instrument for this year .
Ric : I ended up buying one of my favorites , that is the OO that was built right after the depression . OOL 17 which is called Whiskey Sunset . It is very warm and sweet sounding and easy to play in your living room and write songs with .
Tell us how Music China as an exhibition has helped you reach out to your consumers or Distributors .
Jacqueline : In our partnership with our distributor in China , 2016 is quite important for us after a 20 year back and forth , we have regained the lawful right to our key trademark . Our logo is so distinctive of our Martin Guitars . We haven ’ t had the rightful ownership of that in China but this year for the first time , we are going to show our consumers and dealers in China that they will be buying authentic Martin Guitars
Your plans for the Indian Market
Ric : With the help of our distributor in India , we are trying to reach out to people there and also develop connections with Bollywood musicians / artists . Is it going to take some time for that market to grow , but I believe it is important to have a good foothold in there . We will make sure our strategies are in place for India and also that the trademarks are in order . We would reach out to the actual consumers and go to them .
Do you have endorsees in India ?
Ric : We don ’ t have any official endorsees as yet but we are in the middle of working with a gentleman who writes scripts for Bollywood . We have global ambassadors like Ed Sheeran , or even Eric Clapton . If they do play at a venue in Mumbai , lot of times , their management come to us saying they are playing in this city and if would support them and if we involve our distributor to work with the organizer , we will do it indirectly for world tours .
Jacqueline : As we grow in India , we will seek with our partner to expand the ambassador program . You may have heard of the ambassador program and we are building that all over the world market . So first , we need to be able to have artists play the Martin Guitars . When we do , we will add them to the family .
Your message for readers of the magazine .
Jacqueline : Please play our instruments ! We strive to make the absolute best acoustic guitars in the world . Give us a try and we hope you fall in love with us !
Ric : I think the Indian market is very talented and I have become a fan because of my daughter ’ s interest in Bollywood movies . I think it not only has good comedy but also good drama and they are so musical . So I think the culture is musical and there is no better instrument to share that than the guitar and we would like the Indian market to have the best guitar in the world , and that is Martin .
The Score Magazine
24 www . thescoremagazine . com