After the success of their Greensborough store, which has been operating since 2015, Living Music are now expanding into Carlton.
Offering the same services as the Greensborough store – or Greensy as their Manager Tim Williams refers to it – the Carlton store will be selling the usual brands of guitars, pianos and equipment as well as expanding their established music school. The Living Music team are super excited about the new store opening. After the success of the flagship store, Living Music has always wanted to expand and create the same community in other areas where they see the need for it, and even have plans for more expansion in the future.
“Even from just being there the last couple of weeks setting up, the response has been awesome,” Williams says. “We’ve been selling heaps of stuff and really we’ve been closed, so it’s just from people knocking on the door and asking to come in for a quick look. It’s been really good.”
Living Music also offer different brands of instruments, instead of just the big names such as Fender and Gibson, they sell guitar brands that are of the same of better quality. Williams says that Living Music does really well because they offer an alternative. “We’re big supporters of Cole Clark guitars, which are made here in Melbourne,” he says.
Williams says that their biggest goal as a music store is to build up their music school, as they believe that music is important for people in general. They want to encourage people to pursue music and they can help people build up their confidence to learn to play in a friendly environment.
“From what we gather, there are a lot of people in the Carlton area that want to learn music, but they just haven’t really had anywhere to do it,” Williams says. “We’re very family-orientated and easy going. We really appeal to the people that want to learn but are a bit too scared and unfamiliar, so we really help those people out. Most of us are from the country and we’re a bit more approachable and understanding and patient with people. We take the time out to get to know people and their needs, rather than just push something on them.”
Located in what some might say is a “grungy” area, Living Music offers a different shopping experience with modern facilities in a very clean and organised environment. They strive for customer satisfaction by firstly finding out why the customer is there and how to fulfil their needs, and then using their own knowledge and experience of being in bands to help.
“We offer a more contemporary shopping experience for people, with helpful staff that you can actually ask questions that you don’t know the answers to, and they’ll give you an honest answer. And they won’t make you feel stupid for asking that question,” he says. “We genuinely really try and help people and we won’t stop until they are satisfied.”
Williams says the best thing about working at Living Music is solving problems and overcoming challenges. He says there is lots of problem solving when it comes to helping musicians, as music evolves very quickly and technology is advancing rapidly, so as a music store, they need to keep up to date with the latest equipment.
“You really have to know so much stuff – there are so many different facets of the musical industry,” he says. “It’s a good, fun environment too. It’s pretty rewarding as well, knowing that you’ve taught some kids or helped someone out in the shop and then you go to The Corner Hotel and they’re playing that night, it’s really cool to see.”
