Canadian Music Trade - August/September 2020 | Page 24

Finding Your
NICHE
By Michael Raine
HOW SOME STORES
FOUND A UNIQUE
SPECIALTY WHILE
STILL SERVING
THEIR WIDER MUSIC
COMMUNITY
There are a lot of
niche stores in
MI – specialty
shops dealing
exclusively in
drums, pianos, production and
recording, and so on. But sometimes
a full-service store can still
carve out a specialization that
sets it apart for a select group
of musicians and makes it a
destination for the wider music
community in their region and
beyond.
As we learned from four
very different Canadian MI
retailers, there is no one way to
carve out a unique specialization
that augments the rest of
the store’s offerings. Sometimes
a general MI store finds a “side”
niche simply through opportunity
and happenstance; other
times, the shop may begin as a
specialty store and expand into
a more general MI operation
while maintaining that original
expertise. Then again, a specialty
store may just continue to
add additional specialties that,
when taken together, result
in an increasingly wider
customer base.
the standard product categories,
from guitars, amps, drums, and
keyboards to pro audio offerings
like wireless microphone
systems, studio monitors, and
consoles. At its newest location
in Quebec City, though, there’s
one wall that sets it apart in
the local community. In their
acoustic room, you’ll find some
of the finest custom guitars
from local luthiers, and slowly
but surely, that offering is
making MSP the go-to place for
discerning guitarists who want
both quality and uniqueness
while also using their dollars to
support local craftspeople.
“Just by dedicating one specific
wall in the acoustic room
to these instruments – gorgeous
custom guitars with their own
unique personalities – it offers
something different than a wall
from a popular brand,” says
Raphaël Bujold,
co-owner of MSP Musique, also
noting that many customers
have told them there’s
nothing else like it. “These
are very artistic and unique
instruments. When people
come into the acoustic room, it
catches their attention and can
be very inspiring, even if they’re
not at that level.”
As for the luthiers
themselves, it’s no surprise
that they’re thrilled to get
support from a major local
store and have their work
prominently displayed
on the sales floor.
“That’s unusual,
considering every
square foot has
a cost for the
retailer; we’ve
dedicated approximately
12 hooks
At MSP Musique’s three
locations in Quebec, they
carry everything you’d expect in
any full-service MI store across
GRAPHIC DESIGNGED BY FREEPIK
24 CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE