
A few of the over 70 support staff behind every MMI purchase
Who We Are
Mississippi Music, Inc. (MMI) is one of the nation's largest complete musical instrument enterprises, according to the "Music Trades" magazine. We operate four retail stores throughout Mississippi. All Mississippi Music stores are full line music stores, which means they stock all types of musical instruments including pianos, organs, band and orchestra instruments, guitars, amplifiers, sound reinforcement equipment, synthesizers, sheet music, software and accessories for all musical instruments. We
believe everyone deserves the very best chance of learning to play a
musical instrument; therefore we provide the best quality instruments
for the price. We send staff to 2 trade shows a year in an effort to
make sure we are selling the very best instruments in every price
range. We realize that if an instrument doesn't play, sound and
function correctly the odds of a person continuing to learn are greatly
reduced.
"Our goal is to help everyone enjoy the world of making music." Audio Services is the professional sound installation division of Mississippi Music. Audio services personnel are certified by the best audio manufacturers in the world such as Peavey, Bose, Yamaha, and many others. They have the capability and experience to handle anything from the smallest church to the largest stadium. The
unusual growth of Mississippi Music, Inc. can be primarily attributed
to the character and ability of all the people associated with
the company. Almost
all of MMI's associates have some particular outstanding talent,
training, or ability, yet can adjust to a variety of skills
needed to operate a series of music stores. This vast store of knowledge is being constantly shared
with others in the company through a carefully planned series
of meetings and a system of daily communications.
Many of our employees are musicians with years of experience playing a wide range of instruments and styles. We also have the most highly trained and certified repair technicians in the region. Mississippi Music is dedicated to continually raising the quality and standards of our service because we feel our customers, children and communities deserve our best. Our History Previous
Individual Businesses J.
W. Johnson and J. W. Clinton opened Laurel Piano Co. in 1956. In 1957, Mr. H. B. Harrington merged his Pascagoula and
Laurel stores with Laurel Piano Co. to form Clinton‑Harrington
Piano Co. In 1960,
J. W. Clinton and Robert Fortenberry bought Peavey Melody Music
Co. from J. B. Peavey in Meridian. Then, in August 1961, Johnson Music Co., Clinton‑Harrington
Piano Co., and Peavey Melody Music Co. merged to form Mississippi
Music, Inc. MMI bought out Mr. Fortenberry's interest in 1962.
In
1966, MMI opened Johnson Music Co. store in Picayune with Johnnie
M. Lightsey as manager. The name was changed to Mississippi Music in 1973 and
the store was located at 117 West Canal St. MMI purchased all the assets of Gleaton Music Company with
locations in Biloxi and Gulfport in 1969. In 1970 Carmen Massey stores in Biloxi and Gulfport were
purchased. These
stores were combined into Mississippi Music stores in the two
cities. With the
expansion of the Edgewater Mall in 1971, the stores were combined
into one location for the Gulf Coast.
The
Pascagoula store closed March 31, 1975, because of over saturation
of that limited market area. This investment was then moved to Jackson and Mississippi
Music opened in the Jackson Mall.
During this year the banks that had been financing the sale of musical instruments could not make a profit on these small balance loans. So in September of 1975, Mississippi Music Acceptance Corp. was chartered to give MMI a reliable source of financing for its sales. Eagle Distributors was also started in 1975. The company saw a need for a regional distributor of musical instruments, accessories and method books and a need for very quick service to the southeastern region as well as the Mississippi Music stores. Eagle also sold its own line of guitars bearing the Eagle name. At
this time the company operated stores in the Jackson Mall, Cloverleaf
Mall in Hattiesburg, and the Village Fair Mall in Meridian. These Mall stores proved to be too small and too expensive
for a music merchant. In 1979, a new free standing 7,600 sq. ft. store was
built on Robinson Road in Jackson and the Jackson Mall store
was closed.
In
the spring of 1985 a new 11,000 sq. ft. store was constructed
on North 39th Avenue in Hattiesburg. The fall of 1986 also saw the completion of a new building
at 2415 S. Frontage Road in Meridian and the Village Fair Mall
location closed. In
July of 1987, the Edgewater Mall location moved to its new location
on Pass Road in Biloxi.
Modern
highways allowed the company to consolidate the Hattiesburg
and Laurel stores and the Biloxi and Picayune stores in 1991. This consolidation allowed a substantial reduction in
operating expenses and an increase in selection for our customers.
Recent Changes In July of 2002 the Jackson location moved to a spacious new store at 1001 Sara Lane in Flowood, a growing Jackson area community. August of 2007 saw the completion of a 5000 sq. ft. addition to our Flowood location which houses our shipping, receiving and repair departments making way for numerous teaching studios in our main wing at 1001 Sara Lane. |
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