Brass Bell Music Store

What Brass Bell Music Store does

Brass Bell Music Store is a family-owned music retailer and education business founded in 1971 by Alan Gaulke in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, and currently operating from a single location at 210 W Silver Spring Dr. in Milwaukee's Bayshore Mall since 2003. The company, now led by second-generation owner Tristann Rieck, sells instruments across eight major categories (band, orchestra, fretted and folk, keyboards, percussion, amps and speakers, pro-audio, and sheet music), and offers integrated services including instrument rentals, a full-service repair shop, and private music lessons across all major instrument families with 50+ teachers and 1,000+ enrolled students. Its core technology footprint is a traditional retail showroom paired with an AspDotNetStorefront e-commerce site and online lesson delivery via Zoom and Skype.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model combining one-time hardware sales (instrument and accessory purchases), recurring monthly rental subscriptions with rent-to-own equity accumulation ($8-$12/month maintenance protection plans included), private music lessons at $25-$30 per half-hour, and repair services starting at $60 per half-hour. Pricing is transparently published, with a 10% educator/student/military discount and tiered lesson rates based on teacher experience. The store generates 168+ school partnerships across southeastern Wisconsin as a primary institutional channel for instrument rentals and educational support, complemented by community events, recital programming, and a mail list for customer retention.

Distribution is regional and concentrated in the Milwaukee metro area, with a single physical showroom serving as both retail and service hub, supported by curbside pickup/drop-off and school-based delivery. The store has been recognized as a NAMM Top 100 Dealer (2022) and integrates Sheet Music Direct for 200,000+ digital downloads and Excelcia Music Publishing for print music. The company operates as an independent, privately held business with no disclosed investors, no parent company, and no external funding rounds.

Name

Brass Bell Music Store

Legal name

Brass Bell Music

Website

https://brassbellmusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brass Bell Music Store is a family-owned Milwaukee music retailer and education business founded in 1971, selling instruments across eight categories while offering rentals, repairs, and private lessons through 50+ teachers to 1,000+ students and 168+ schools in southeastern Wisconsin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Musical Instrument Retail

NAICS

Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (459140), Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (45914)

akta.pro primary industry

Musical Instrument Retail (Guitars, Keyboards, Drums, Band/Orchestra) (CRALAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Instrument Rentals & Leasing (Band/Orchestra Programs) (CRALAEAG), Instrument Repair, Maintenance & Luthier Services (CRALAEAF), Pro Audio & Recording Equipment Retail (MI-adjacent) (CRALAEAC)

Keywords

• Musical instrument retail
• Private music instruction
• Instrument rental services
• Instrument repair services
• Music education outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Instrument and Product Sales: Retail sales of musical instruments including band, orchestra, fretted, keyboards, percussion, pro-audio equipment, and accessories. One-time transaction-based purchases through physical store and e-commerce.
2. Instrument Rentals: Monthly rental program for band and orchestra instruments with rent-to-own options. Students can apply rental payments toward instrument purchase. Includes maintenance protection plans ranging from $8-$12/month.
3. Music Lessons: Private one-on-one lessons priced at $25-$30 per half-hour lesson. Registration fee of $40 per student (capped at $80/household). Month-to-month commitment with 400+ students enrolled.
4. Repair Services: Instrument repair and maintenance services for strings, woodwind, brass, guitar, and percussion. Rates starting at $60 per half hour. Includes ultrasonic cleaning services.
5. Sheet Music Sales: Physical and digital sheet music sales through in-store and online channels, including partnership with Sheet Music Direct for digital downloads of 200,000+ titles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Brass Bell Music Store is a family-owned, full-line independent music retailer selling new and used band, orchestra, fretted, keyboard, percussion, pro-audio, and print-music products. The store additionally offers private music lessons across instruments and voice, school-band/orchestra instrument rentals, and in-house instrument repair services through a single Milwaukee retail location.

Product overview

Brass Bell Music Store is a family-owned music retail and education business operating since 1971, offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services centered on musical instruments and music education. The core product offering spans eight major instrument categories: Band Instruments (brass, woodwind, percussion, accessories), Orchestra Instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass), Fretted & Folk Instruments (guitars, ukuleles, banjos, mandolins), Keyboards & Digital Pianos, Percussion, Amps & Speakers, Pro-Audio, and Sheet Music plus General Accessories & Gifts. These products are complemented by four integrated service pillars: Instrument Rentals (with rent-to-own and step-up programs), Instrument Repairs (internal repair shop handling all instrument types), Music Lessons (private instruction across all major instrument families with over 30 teachers), and Educators Resources. The store also provides instrument sizing guides, hosts events and recitals, and operates an instrument buyback program. The company has been recognized as a NAMM Top 100 Dealer and serves over 60 schools in southeastern Wisconsin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Band Instruments New and used band instruments sold to school music programs, students, and families for concert, marching, and ensemble use.
• Orchestra Instruments String and orchestral instruments sold to students, families, and school orchestra programs.
• Fretted Instruments Guitars, basses, and other fretted instruments sold to students, hobbyists, and performing musicians.
• Keyboards and Digital Pianos Keyboards and digital pianos sold to students, families, hobbyists, and piano students of all ages.
• Percussion Instruments Drum kits and percussion instruments sold to students, school programs, and hobbyist drummers.
• Amps and Speakers Amplifiers and speakers sold to guitar and bass players and performing musicians.
• Pro-Audio Equipment Professional audio equipment sold to working musicians, venues, schools, and event organizers.
• Sheet Music and Print-Music Department In-store and online retail of printed sheet music plus custom print-music services, stocked at over $80,000 in inventory.
• Instrument Accessories Cases, stands, strings, mouthpieces, reeds, metronomes, and other instrument accessories sold alongside instruments.
• Instrument Rentals Monthly school-band and orchestra instrument rentals for students across southeastern Wisconsin, with rent-to-own equity building up to six months of rental value as credit toward eventual purchase.
• Instrument Repair Services On-site instrument repair and maintenance by Brass Bell's repair technician team, backed by a 90-day repair service guarantee.
• Private Music Lessons Weekly private music lessons across a range of instruments and voice, taught by 50+ instructors across 17+ studios, serving 1,000+ enrolled students, priced between $5 and $15 per student.
• Instrument Buyback Store buyback of used instruments from customers, supplying inventory for the pre-owned retail line.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rent-to-Own program has hardly changed in over 48 years of business, demonstrating sustained success
• +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

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Excelcia Music PublishingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBrass Bell is an Excelcia Select Dealer, offering print music offerings from this publisher. This partnership provides access to Excelcia's catalog of sheet music and educational materials for students and teachers.
• Sheet Music DirectcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Sheet Music Direct for digital downloads of over 200,000 titles. Customers can access digital sheet music through SheetMusicDirect.com with integration at Brass Bell.
• Southeastern Wisconsin Schools (168+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool partnerships serving 168+ schools in southeastern Wisconsin for instrument rental programs, pickup/delivery services, and educational support. Includes districts such as Brookfield/Elmbrook, Brown Deer, Burlington, Cedarburg, Milwaukee, and many others.
• NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants)minorOthersMembership and recognition through NAMM, the international music products trade association. Brass Bell was recognized as a NAMM Top 100 Dealer.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sweetwater: One of the largest online musical instrument retailers in the U.S., offering band/orchestra instruments, pro audio, and accessories with strong educational and school channels. Comparable to Brass Bell across product breadth, school program support, and lesson/recording equipment, but at vastly greater scale and with a national online-only model.
• Guitar Center: Largest U.S. specialty retailer of musical instruments, including fretted/guitars, band/orchestra, pro audio, and keyboards. Overlaps with Brass Bell on fretted instruments, pro audio, and keyboards, but at much broader national scale across hundreds of stores.
• Sam Ash: Historic U.S. musical instrument retail chain offering guitars, band/orchestra, pro audio, and lessons across multiple stores. Overlaps broadly with Brass Bell's product categories, though Sam Ash has undergone significant store closures and restructuring.

Direct peers

• Music & Arts: National music retailer focused heavily on band and orchestra instrument rentals and sales, with strong school partnership programs across the U.S. Highly comparable to Brass Bell's rental and school-channel business model, but operating at chain scale across many locations.
• JW Pepper: Major sheet music and music education retailer serving schools, churches, and individual musicians with print and digital music. Comparable to Brass Bell on sheet music and educator-facing operations, though larger and more specialized in print music.

Emerging players

• Reverb: Major online marketplace for new, used, and vintage musical instruments. Comparable to Brass Bell's used/vintage instrument buyback program and accessories assortment, operating exclusively online with a marketplace model rather than integrated retail.

Regional players

• Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center: Long-running Mid-Atlantic music store with strong band/orchestra and pro audio offerings, plus lessons and repairs under one roof. Mirrors Brass Bell's integrated sales-rentals-lessons-repairs model in a different region.
• West Music: Iowa-based family-owned music retailer specializing in school band/orchestra instruments, rentals, and music education resources. Comparable business model to Brass Bell with school partnerships as a primary channel, though serving different regional geography.
• Schmitt Music: Midwest-based family-owned music retailer (founded 1896) with strong school music programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and surrounding states. Directly comparable to Brass Bell as a regional, school-channel-focused competitor operating in overlapping Wisconsin geography.

Others

• Hal Leonard: World's largest sheet music publisher and music education materials distributor. Comparable to Brass Bell's sheet music business and educator resources, and a strategic partner of school music programs. Operates as an upstream supplier/publisher rather than direct retail competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brass-bell-music-store

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Brass Bell Music Store