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February 28, 2009
Source - MMR Magazine
Guitar Hero and Rock Band Finally Hitting Bum Notes?
It's being widely reported that the music-based video game craze, led by the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, is dying down. According to Silicon Valley Insider, statistics released by the NPD Group confirmed that sales for music games were down significantly from last year. Sales of Guitar Hero were down 22 percent from the same time in 2008, while Rock Band took a huge dive, slumping 52 percent from the same time a year ago. Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone warned investors on an earnings conference call last week that Rock Band, which is partially owned by Viacom, was dragging down the company's overall earnings. Activision, manufacturer of Guitar Hero, has both Guitar Hero: Metallica and DJ Hero slated for release in 2009. Silicon Valley Insider suggested that two factors were contributing to the downturn for music-based games, explaining, "First, music games sold so amazingly well the past few years the market is approaching its saturation point -- most of the potential customers of a music game already own one." The Second Reason? "Music games were, basically, a very 2008 sort of fad. And all fads come to an end."
M. Steinert Closes Worcester Store
M. Steinert & Sons, one of Steinwaya's oldest dealerships, will close its Worcester, Mass. location. The company had a store in the Worcester area since 1872. Steinert headquarters in Boston and a satellite unit in Natick, Mass. will remain open. It was indicated that the company would be seeking another location as the economy improves. Steinert traces its history to 1860 when Morris Steinert opened a store in Athens, Ga. The Civil War caused Steinert to move to Connecticut and eventually operate more than 40 dealerships throughout the New England area. The Steinert family ownership continued until 1934 until longtime employee Jerome Murphy acquired the business in 1934. Today, brothers Paul and Jerome represent the third generation of the Murphy family to operate the business.
Virgin Megastore Times Square Closes Doors
Virgin Megastores announced that it will mark the closing of its iconic Times Square store with the biggest sale in music retail history. The staff at the Times Square Virgin Megastore has been working around the clock to prepare for this major event, which began February 19, 2009. The Times Square Virgin Megastore opened its doors in April 1996 and has since become an American icon, providing the backdrop for numerous movies and commercials filmed in the tourist hot spot that is New York's Times Square.
Trade Regrets
Christopher Ross, founder and president of Chris Ross & Associates, passed away on February 9. Mr. Ross attended Berklee School of Music, Hofstra University and later managed Bayshore Long Island music store where he taught many students. His later business venture, Chris Ross & Associates, was a prominent manufacturers representative firm specializing in audio/visual equipment, musical instruments & contracting to the broadcast markets. He was a member of NAMM's Advisory Board. A Memorial Service will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to remember Chris may do so through contributions to the Parkinsons Foundation, www.pdf.org.
"Yamaha Cares" Runners Raise Over $9K
An employee-based initiative dedicated to charitable works, Yamaha Cares, has a dual purpose of spreading the gift of music as well as promoting education, arts and community development in the places where Yamaha employees live and work. And, as a recent fundraiser for Children’s Hospital of Orange County’s (CHOC) Trial Net program for juvenile diabetes research illustrates, the projects are often deeply personal, as well. Three years ago, Katrina Jewell, daughter of David Jewell, marketing manager, Yamaha Drums, was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes. Katrina, now 16, is an outpatient at CHOC, one of a handful of research facilities in the U.S. that is trying to find a cure. "Katrina does great with her treatments," says Jewell. "I wanted to do something for her and also to help create more awareness." He contacted his daughter’s doctor, Dr. Susan J. Clark, and Carol Baker, Vice President of Human Resources, Yamaha Corporation of America, and suggested that the Southern California Half Marathon in Irvine would offer a good choice as a fundraising target. Shawna von Behren and Sandra Torres, who also work at Yamaha, helped Jewell organize the fundraising effort. Yamaha Cares also contributed cash prizes and door prizes, including a Yamaha BODiBeat for the person who raised the most money. The Jewell family and von Behren presented the $9,200 check to Dr. Clark in January. "She was ecstatic!" says Jewell. "The program at CHOC is one of only nine or ten in the U.S. that’s trying to find a cure and working to reveal causes and preventative measures that may be taken. This donation will really help them with their important work."For more information on Yamaha Cares, visit www.yamaha.com/yamahacares.
What Economic Downturn? – The Emptiest Cities in U.S.
A recent report in Forbes granted Las Vegas the unfortunate title of "America's most abandoned city" (narrowly edging out Detroit). Atlanta came in third, followed by Greensboro, N.C., and Dayton, Ohio. The rankings, a combination of rental and homeowner vacancy rates for the 75 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, are based on fourth-quarter data released Feb. 3 by the Census Bureau. Each was ranked on rental vacancies and housing vacancies; the final ranking is an average of the two.Cities like Detroit and Dayton are casualties of America's lengthy industrial decline. Others, like Las Vegas and Orlando, are mostly victims of the recent housing bust. Boston and New York are among the lone bright spots, while Honolulu is the nation's best with a vacancy rate of 5.8% for homes and a scant 0.5% for rentals.
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