Mount Pleasant’s House of Music
B’s Music Shop has provided the citizens of Mount Pleasant with musical instruments and accessories for almost a decade, thriving in a time when other small music stores have been forced to close their doors.
B’s Music Shop has made great strides since first opening its doors. The store moved to its current location in Mount Pleasant in 2005, and expanded to incorporate the adjacent storefront in 2010. In that time, B’s Music Shop has become an important part of the community, providing many CMU and Mount Pleasant High School students with the band instruments they need.
Owner Brian Hansen originally opened the store, now located at 613 N Mission Street, in Alma in 2002, when he was just 20 years old. After managing a Mount Pleasant music store for several years, Brian decided to take a summer off. but was inspired open his own store after a conversation with an old boss.
“I couldn’t find a job, so I opened a store,” he said. “It seems like a stupid thing to do now, but I did it.”
In addition to selling new and used instruments and repairing instruments, B’s Music Shop also provides one-on-one music lessons for 15 different instruments including guitar, piano and cello. The store currently has over 100 students of all ages taking lessons.
“We’ve become a different store. We’re very family oriented,” Hansen said. “We like to create musicians and provide them with quality instruments.”
In a time when big chain stores and online retailers are putting other small music stores out of business, B’s Music Shop has found a way to grow. Brian attributes the store’s success to their well trained employees, as well as the store’s ability to change and adapt.
Part of changing with the times has been increasing the store’s online presence, and that includes having contests and giveaways on social media sites. This summer the store held a “Hottest Lick” competition on their Facebook page where guitarists submitted short videos of themselves playing in an effort to win a Peavey amplifier with a retail price of over $600.
The store is currently gearing up for another social media contest to be held this winter called “The Mistletoe Challenge.” Hansen estimates the store will giveaway over $1000 worth of merchandise. Hansen says these contests are less about self-promotion, and more about doing something nice for their customers.
“We try to treat everyone well,” Hansen said. “Our goal is to make everyone want to come back.”
