What Makes a Great Music Store In 2025?

Following on from last week’s blog post — and, importantly, some of your responses (thank you!) — I wanted to explore what actually defines a great music store in 2025. I’ve worked in a music shop for most of my adult life, and been a customer for the rest. I’ve been in good music stores, I’ve been in great ones, and I’ve also been in some terrible ones. So what separates them?

Let’s start with the obvious: the product. This is why we’re here. Whether it’s a brand-new Fender Custom Shop Telecaster, a microphone, or a cabasa, this is the reason music stores exist in the first place. Intasound is a general music store, but I think it’s fair to say we currently specialise in a few key areas: guitars, PA and lighting, and installations.

It’s almost impossible for any store to stock absolutely everything it would like to, so there’s always a process of choosing — and sometimes compromising — when it comes to selecting stock. A store’s product profile is often the thing that draws people in.

From there, things get a lot more subjective. As I mentioned last week, every guitar we sell comes with the Intasound Standard and our ‘Play-Ready Promise.’ That means it’s been checked, adjusted, and prepared to play at its best. You simply don’t get this online. Of course, any proper guitar specialist will have their own version of this — or at least, they should. A guarantee — or in our case, a promise — to the customer that the product is in the best possible playing condition.

And then we have the internet. The most powerful tool created by humankind… and quite possibly the most frustrating thing about our business. We’re constantly asked to price-match, but I don’t think I’ve ever been asked to “service-match.”

Don’t get me wrong — I fully understand the importance of price. But as I’ve said before, price doesn’t always mean value. You have to hold a guitar, feel it, play it — all things you can do in a music store but not online. You can ask questions, get advice, and have a face-to-face conversation with someone who actually cares. That peace of mind is incredibly difficult to replicate on a website.

We all remember shopping experiences — good and bad — far more vividly when they happen in a bricks-and-mortar store compared to a quick online purchase. We’ve all got a story about that one time a member of staff went above and beyond… or, heaven forbid, that time you were completely ignored. I remember being a kid, visiting Toys R Us and eagerly waiting for the walk down the aisles. Visiting a store is an experience, and it should be treated as one.

At Intasound, we want people to come in and genuinely enjoy their time here. We now have a car park at the new store — something we were sadly missing before, which could take the shine off a visit before you even stepped inside. We have fresh hot drinks, especially welcome as we head into the colder months. We’ve built a dedicated try-out room for anyone who wants a quieter space to test out an instrument. All these little touches contribute to the overall experience.

These experiences are subjective, and everyone wants something slightly different from their visit. But that’s the beauty of seeing real people, face-to-face, and actually having a conversation. At Intasound, we care deeply about the in-store experience, and we hope that comes across.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and to see what we could do to make your visit even better. Feel free to reply in the comments and let us know.

Thanks for reading!