[TPIN] Sheet music service.

[STEVENLSCHAFFNER at cs.com]

Hello all.

Just a brief note about sheet music retailers. 

Many don't accept returns because they find that after a customer walks out 
of their store with their purchase (or receives it in the mail) it is 
photocopied and then returned. Since sheet music dealers cannot return music to a 
publisher unless it is defective, they take the hit.

Now, obviously ALL brass players don't photocopy and return music, but I have 
been called to sub in brass quintets where MY OWN PUBLICATIONS have been put 
in front of me, and they are PHOTOCOPIES. The morons who do this don't even 
care if I know they are stealing my music.

In fact, I have almost ceased publishing brass music entirely because of 
this. I have found that choral music is a better way to make money for me as a 
publisher, since most choral directors don't have the time or inclination to 
stand in front of a photocopier for an hour in order to save 30 or 40 dollars and 
risk a fine. 

Perhaps this will change at some point, but publishing and selling serious 
music for brass is a marginal business at best. You can tell by the number of 
retailers disappearing year after year and the consolidations in the publishing 
business. How many times does one see that J. W. Pepper has just bought an 
independent dealer? Well, they are only buying the profitable ones. Look at all 
the stores that close with no replacement.

Steven L. Schaffner