Building a Business That Lasts: What 25 Years in Music Retail Really Means

When NAMM mailed me a certificate recognizing Royal Music’s 25 years in the industry, it arrived quietly — no phone call, no write up, no fanfare. Just a simple envelope with a ribbon to hang on my badge at the show.

“Your business has stood the test of time, perhaps one of the most difficult of all challenges, and for that, you have the respect of us all.”

It was a kind gesture. But what struck me most wasn’t the certificate — it was how few businesses ever make it to 25 years in the first place.

The Odds Are Brutal

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and SBA data, the survival curve for retail businesses looks like a cliff:

• Year 1: ~84% survive
• Year 5: ~58% survive
• Year 10: ~42% survive
• Year 15: ~25% survive
• Year 25: ~15% survive (meaning most are gone)

Music stores track almost identically — sometimes worse. Between online competition, shifting school budgets, and the “pandemic bubble” hangover, the industry has only gotten tougher.

So I wore that ribbon on my badge at NAMM, and the only person who said anything was Jerome Murphy from M. Steinert. With 150+ years behind his company, he understands what it means to stay alive.

The Pre‑Revenue Years No One Sees

Royal Music incorporated in 1992. In tech, they’d call that entire stretch before opening day “pre‑revenue.”

But pre‑revenue doesn’t mean pre‑work.

I was hiring staff, paying payroll, building out the store, and doing whatever business I could before the doors officially opened on May 17, 1993. Those months were a blur of risk, debt, and hope — the part of entrepreneurship no one celebrates.

The Joke That Wasn’t a Joke

People kept moving the goalposts on me:

• “The first year is the hardest.”
• “No, the first five.”
• “Actually, ten years means you’ve made it.”

I hit them all. And when the 25‑year certificate arrived, I caught myself thinking:
Maybe the next 25 will finally feel a little lighter.

Longevity Isn’t an Accident

I grew up watching my grandfather’s commercial printing company survive nearly 50 years. That business passed to my uncle and became a masterclass in what it means to build something that lasts.

The lesson was simple:
Businesses don’t survive by accident. They survive because someone runs them with a long‑term mindset.

Before opening Royal Music, I managed two stores for a dealer who had eight locations. After I left, he closed stores one by one. The last two standing were the ones I ran — because I treated them like they were mine. Stewardship matters.

What It Takes to Last 25, 50, or Beyond

Here’s what I’ve learned — and what I’ll be sharing more deeply at the Backbeat Retreat:

1. A Timeless Core Purpose

A business needs a “why” that outlives trends, recessions, and product cycles. Purpose is the only thing that keeps a company from drifting.

2. Adaptability + Prudence

Run your business like a living organism, not a rigid machine.

Legally, a corporation is treated as its own “person” — a separate entity with rights, responsibilities, and the ability to own property or enter contracts. But the law only gets you halfway there. A business may be a person on paper, but in the real world it behaves much more like a biological one: it grows, it adapts, it gets sick, it heals, and it can die if you don’t take care of it.

Treat it like something alive — something you steward, not something you squeeze — and it has a chance to make it 25, 50, or more years.

• Prudence gives the business the reserves to survive shocks.
• Adaptation gives it the flexibility to evolve with the market.

3. Play the Long Game Over Short‑Term Wins

Longevity requires decisions that won’t pay off this quarter — but will pay off for the next generation.

4. Community Integration

Music stores that last become part of the fabric of their towns. You can’t fake that.

5. A Culture That Outlives the Founder

If the business only works when you’re in the room, it won’t last.

Why I’m Sharing This Now

After three decades in this industry — and after watching so many stores close — I’ve become obsessed with the question:

What does it take to build a music business that lasts?

That’s one of the core themes I’ll be exploring at the Backbeat Retreat. Not theory. Not buzzwords. Actual lived experience — the kind you only get from surviving the first year, the first five, the first ten… and then waking up one day with a 25‑year ribbon on your NAMM badge.

— Jeff Mazza
Royal Music / Backbeat Retreat