What Mannys does

Mannys Music, operated by SoundBay Pty Ltd, is an Australian independent musical instrument and pro audio retailer founded in 1991 in Collingwood, Melbourne. It sells a broad catalogue spanning guitars and bass, band and orchestral instruments, keyboards, drums, live sound and PA, lighting, DJ equipment, studio gear, headphones, and accessories, carrying brands such as Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Roland, Yamaha, Nord, Pioneer/AlphaTheta, Focusrite, and Ableton. The business runs six physical superstores across Melbourne (North Fitzroy and Windsor), Sydney (Alexandria and Crows Nest), Brisbane (Fortitude Valley), and Perth (West Leederville), each with dedicated demo rooms, and supports them with an Australia-wide e-commerce platform that offers 2-hour Click & Collect, free shipping over AUD 100, same-day Uber Direct delivery within 20km of stores, and 30-day returns.

The company serves three primary customer segments: individual musicians from beginners to touring professionals seeking expert guidance, a dedicated Mannys Education division handling institutional sales to schools, colleges, and government education departments, and a B2B retail partnership channel through co-located Store DJ and BIG Music operations. Revenue is generated through one-time retail sales, education/institutional sales with credit terms, after-sales services (guitar repairs and quality control with 2-4 week turnaround), and gift cards. Payment options include Afterpay, Zip Money, PayPal Pay-in-4, Shop Pay, and major credit cards, and operations are restricted to Australia with no international shipping.

The underlying technology is a standard e-commerce retail platform with integrated inventory management, click-and-collect fulfillment, and shipping logistics integrations with Australia Post, StarTrack, and Uber Direct. The competitive position rests on 33+ years of brand history, six-store physical footprint, musician-staffed sales expertise, and a co-location model that combines instrument retail with DJ/pro audio and music education under one roof. Recent strategic activity has focused on national expansion (2019-2024), the Education division, and partnerships with Store DJ and BIG Music.

Name

Mannys

Legal name

SoundBay Pty Ltd

Website

https://mannys.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Mannys Music (SoundBay Pty Ltd) is an Australian independent musical instrument and pro audio retailer operating six physical superstores across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth together with a nationwide e-commerce platform, serving individual musicians, a dedicated Education division for schools and government, and professional touring customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fitzroy North

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Musical Instrument Retail Sales: One-time sales of musical instruments and audio equipment across categories including guitars, drums, keyboards, studio gear, DJ equipment, and pro audio. Products range from beginner starter packs to professional touring rigs.
2. Education and Institutional Sales: Dedicated sales channel for schools, colleges, tertiary institutions, and government education departments with special pricing, credit terms, and bulk purchasing options.
3. After-sales Services: Guitar service and repairs, guitar quality control checks, and professional after-sales service. Repair turnaround time typically 2-4 weeks.
4. Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift vouchers sold to customers for gifting purposes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mannys is an Australian independent musical instrument and pro audio retailer operating six physical superstores across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth, alongside a nationwide e-commerce platform. The company sells guitars, drums, keyboards, band and orchestral instruments, live sound and PA systems, lighting, DJ equipment, studio gear, headphones, and accessories from premium brands, supported by 2-hour Click & Collect, free shipping over $100, 30-day returns, and repair services. A dedicated Education division supplies musical instruments, music technology, staging, and PA equipment to schools, colleges, and government education departments with specialised pricing and credit terms.

Product overview

Mannys Music is an Australian independent musical instrument retailer operating six physical superstores across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth, combined with a comprehensive online e-commerce platform. The company offers a unified retail experience across product categories including Guitars & Bass (Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, PRS), Band & Orchestral instruments, Keyboards (Nord, Korg, Roland, Yamaha), Drums (Roland V-Drums, DW, Pearl), Live Sound & PA, Lighting, DJ Equipment (AlphaTheta/Pioneer), Studio Gear (Focusrite, Universal Audio, Ableton), Headphones, and Accessories. The company differentiates through staff expertise, in-store demo rooms, and services including 2-hour Click & Collect, free shipping over $100, 30-day returns, and a dedicated Education division for institutional customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Guitars & Bass Electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, pedals, strings, and accessories from brands including Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, PRS, and Maton, sold to individual musicians and professional players.
• Band & Orchestral Instruments Brass, woodwind, strings, and percussion instruments for students and professionals, including Bach, Yamaha, and Thomastik products, sold to musicians and educational institutions.
• Keyboards Digital pianos, workstations, organs, arrangers, portable keyboards, and stage pianos from brands including Nord, Korg, Roland, Yamaha, Casio, and Kawai, sold to musicians and schools.
• Drums Electronic drum kits, acoustic drum kits, cymbals, percussion, drum heads, sticks, and hardware from Roland, Alesis, Yamaha, DW, Pearl, Zildjian, and Meinl, sold to drummers and educational institutions.
• Live Sound & PA PA speakers, amplifiers, microphones, mixers, signal processing devices, and live sound accessories from Bose, RCF, JBL, LD Systems, Shure, and Behringer, sold to musicians, venues, and schools.
• Lighting Stage lighting, lasers, moving heads, disco effects, fog machines, DMX controllers, and lighting stands from Chauvet DJ, Event Lighting, Antari, and Showtec, sold to performers, schools, and venues.
• DJ Equipment DJ controllers, media players, turntables, mixers, headphones, beat production tools, and DJ accessories from AlphaTheta (Pioneer), Numark, Rane, and Allen & Heath, sold to DJs and electronic music producers.
• Studio Gear Studio monitors, audio interfaces, microphones, headphones, synthesizers, drum machines, and recording equipment from Focusrite, Universal Audio, PreSonus, Ableton, Moog, and Teenage Engineering, sold to producers and recording engineers.
• Headphones Studio monitoring headphones, DJ headphones, wireless headphones, and in-ear monitors from Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and Sony, sold to musicians, producers, and DJs.
• Accessories Instrument cables, stands, cases, gig bags, straps, picks, tuners, metronomes, and general music accessories from various manufacturers, sold to musicians and students.
• 2-Hour Click & Collect Service allowing customers to order online and pick up in 2 hours from any of the six Mannys store locations across Australia, with orders kept for 14 days with reminders.
• Mannys Education Dedicated education sales program for primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions, music colleges, and government education departments offering instruments, music technology, staging, and PA equipment with educational pricing, credit terms, and bulk purchasing options.
• Guitar Service and Repairs Professional guitar service, repairs, and quality control checks offered as after-sales support to customers, with typical turnaround time of 2-4 weeks.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift vouchers sold to customers for gifting purposes, redeemable across all Mannys retail and online channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 years of experience serving Australian musicians
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• BIG MusicsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In 2024, Mannys partnered with BIG Music in Sydney's northern suburbs to take over their Crow's Nest retail space. This arrangement allows BIG Music to focus on music education upstairs while Mannys operates as the North Shore's premier musical equipment retailer downstairs.
• Store DJcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016In 2016, Mannys joined forces with Store DJ, adding a dedicated DJ and Pro Audio showroom above the extensive ground-level Musical Instrument floor. This model served as the blueprint for the Mannys/Store DJ collaboration nationwide. Store DJ locations in Brisbane and Perth were brought under the same roof.
• Revolver Music GallerysupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2016Prior to the Store DJ partnership, Mannys operated locations at Revolver Music Gallery in Prahran (1998-2008) as part of their early expansion strategy before consolidating into their current superstore model.
• Australia PostsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary delivery partner for standard shipping. Orders over $100 qualify for free Australia Post shipping with insurance and registered post.
• StarTracksupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partner for heavy and bulky items that exceed Australia Post size limits. Used for items over 20kg or 105cm.
• Uber DirectsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSame-day delivery service for customers within 20km of stores with available stock. Deliveries run between 9am and 3pm.
• Startrack CouriersupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEvening delivery service available across Melbourne metro. Place order before 1:30pm for delivery between 6-9pm the same evening.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves18 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sweetwater: Largest US online musical instrument retailer with strong in-house content, gear expert sales staff, and free shipping. Closest international analogue to Mannys' musician-staffed, content-driven, omnichannel specialist retail model.
• Store DJ: Australian DJ and pro audio retailer with shared retail locations in partnership with Mannys since 2016. Comparable in DJ/pro audio assortment and Australian consumer base despite the partnership rather than competitive overlap.
• BIG Music: Sydney North Shore music retailer that partnered with Mannys in 2024 to operate the Crows Nest location. Comparable in Australian retail footprint, music education focus, and instrument/pro audio range.
• Guitar Center: US specialty music retailer with extensive physical store footprint and e-commerce; serves beginner, intermediate, and professional musicians across the same product categories as Mannys (guitars, drums, pro audio, DJ, studio).
• Andertons Music: Independent UK musical instrument retailer with bricks-and-mortar stores, YouTube content-driven marketing, and broad assortment. Highly comparable to Mannys' musician-led, content-and-service-led positioning.
• Sam Ash: Long-running US multi-store musical instrument chain offering guitars, drums, band instruments, and pro audio. Directly comparable as a multi-store specialist competitor with similar target customer.
• Thomann: Europe's largest musical instrument retailer, operating primarily online with a massive superstore in Germany. Comparable through broad multi-category assortment (guitars, drums, PA, DJ, studio) and direct-to-consumer fulfilment at scale.

Broad incumbents

• JB Hi-Fi: Australia's largest consumer electronics and entertainment retailer, stocking guitars, headphones, DJ equipment, and audio gear. Competes with Mannys on casual/budget buyers and as a general alternative for music-adjacent electronics.
• Amazon Australia: Global e-commerce marketplace that competes with Mannys on price, selection, and fulfilment for musical instruments, accessories, and pro audio gear sold by third-party sellers in Australia.

Emerging players

• Reverb: Online marketplace for new, used, and vintage musical instruments. Overlaps with Mannys on instrument discovery and used-gear demand, representing a partial substitute for in-store trials and a source of competitive pressure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/mannysmusiconline?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/mannysmusiconline
• Instagraminstagram.com/mannysmusiconline
• TikToktiktok.com/@mannysmusiconline
• Xx.com/MANNYS_AU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mannys

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mannys