Everything You Need To Know
The Music Industry
Running A Music Shop In The UK
Music Business Loans
Apply For Music Industry Finance
The Music Industry
Running A Music Shop In The UK
According to Statstica, 2019 revenue in the musical instrument market is forecasted to amount to £372 million, and is expected to grow annually by 1.7%. The demand for musical instruments remains high, and in fact, research from the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra reveals that nine in ten children aged 6 – 16 want to learn a musical instrument, demonstrating the ongoing appeal of musical instruments despite technologically changing times, and the resilience of the industry overall.
Now is undoubtedly a fantastic time to work within the music sector, as potential for business growth looks promising.
The survey revealed the most popular instruments appealing to the youth of today. Band instruments proved to be the most popular, closely followed by orchestral instruments.
Most Popular Musical Instruments:
- Guitar – 45%
- Piano – 36%
- Drums – 35%
- Violin – 10%
- Flute – 8%
- Saxophone – 8%
Setting Up A Music Store
The concept of starting up a music business can feel daunting, but with the industry steadily growing – it is a great industry to invest in. The musical instrument industry is a particularly specialist sector – so thorough understanding of the market is important. In order to set up a successful music business, the following considerations are necessary:
1) Have A Solid Game Plan
Having a clear, comprehensive plan of action is essential to any thriving business. Consider your personal vision for your company, what you wish to achieve, how you intend to achieve it, and who your target audience is.
2) Know Your Competitors
Take time to browse around the shops and websites of competitors in your local area. Consider how you plan to make your business stand out against its competitors. What will your USP be?
3) Location, Location, Location
The physical location of a business plays a key role in its success. If a shop is tucked away out of sight, or is on the far side of town, its likely that you will struggle to bring as many potential customers in through the door than if you were more central. The downside with this is that the better the location, the higher the cost – so bear this in mind! Sometimes, opting to rent a store with a better location can be well worth the extra expense.
4) Think Marketing
Getting your marketing strategy right is another key factor in setting up a successful business. Social media can be used as a way of advertising your music business at a relatively low cost, although sometimes investing a little bit more into your marketing campaign can be worth the investment.
5) Consider Your Funding Options
Securing funding will likely be your highest priority when starting up a music store. As well as investing your own personal savings and possibly having the financial support of family members or friends, there are a number of ways out there to secure funding – including seeking out investors, opting for a business loan, or a merchant cash advance.
Expanding Your Music Business
The cost of running and maintaining your own business can be substantial, and within the musical instrument sector there are several high costs to cover. As basic examples, these costs can include purchasing specialist stock, advertising, staff training, meeting bill payment deadlines, and other more general, day-to -day, running costs.
Such costs have the potential to prevent you from pushing the expansion of your music business as soon as you might like to. Remember that business expansion will improve your company’s overall profitability in the long run, which is something every business owner undoubtably strives for.
Music Business Loans
Apply For Music Industry Finance
Since the economic crash of 2008, it has been increasingly difficult for small and new businesses to secure funding with the banks. In the past, this was likely to be the very first go-to for a business in need of extra financial support, but now, for many businesses, this is no longer a realistic option. Fortunately, other funding options are available by which small and new businesses can acquire the financial assistance they need.
Grants, Funds and Investors
It is possible to receive funding as a musical instrument retailer via grants, crowdfunding platforms and also from angel investors. In order to attain funding through these means, you must know your business inside out and with investors you’ll need to be prepared to share the profits of your success. Attracting investors and qualifying for grants is not always easy; a level of perseverance will likely be required, but it may well be worth your time and effort in the end.
Merchant Cash Advance
A merchant cash advance enables musical instrument retailers to access between £5,000 to £500,000 in as little as 24 hours, offering a great number of benefits to your business.
This funding option varies from a loan in that it functions as an advance on your business’ monthly revenue through both your credit and debit card sales. Repayments will be automatically made from a small percentage of these card transactions each month. Any profit generated through cash sales will be kept by your business, and there will be no interest rates to be paid on top of the borrowed sum. Using a merchant cash advance, you don’t need to worry about months where business is slower, as repayments are always nicely in sync with your sales.
Loans For Music Businesses
Whilst loans with banks are now much more difficult for small businesses to attain, it is still possible to get a loan for your company. SME Loans offers business loans especially designed with small businesses in mind, supporting your growth and music business expansion.
Music business owners can look to borrow any required amount between £1,000 to £500,000 to help with the general upkeep of your company, or to fund new business ventures. As with the merchant cash advance, you should have the funding supplied to your account rapidly, within a little as 24 hours. The music business loan will then be repaid in scheduled monthly instalments, with interest rates that are pre-agreed with your lender.
The rapid 24 hour funding provided to you through both a merchant cash advance and a business loan can be used to help cover whatever costs your music business requires, including helping you to meet staff costs, finance music equipment purchase, payment of unanticipated bills, undergo renovation or even fund the launch of a new marketing campaign.
Apply For Music Industry Finance
We support the growth and expansion of the musical instrument sector and work closely with you to ensure we match you with the best funding option available for you. Whatever your requirements may be, you can apply for funding up to £500,000 with us.
Applying for funding with us should be simple – but if you run into any issues, or have any further questions, give us a call on 020 3475 9213.
Qualifying criteria
To find out whether your music business is eligible for funding with us, check that your company:
- Is registered in the United Kingdom
- Has been actively trading for a minimum of 6 months
- Has a monthly turnover of at least £5,000
- Has a business owner over the age of 18 years.
- Is a limited company
Applying With Bad Credit
Securing funding for your business can be difficult when you have a poor credit rating, but at SME Loans we approve loans on a number of factors, including your business’ financial performance. As such, it is possible to secure funding with us even if your credit history isn’t quite up to scratch, through our bad credit business loans.
How To Apply
Step 1:
Start by heading over to our application page. Here you will be asked for further details about your business, to ensure that we successfully match you with the lender best suited to you and your company. We will ask you to provide us with:
- The name of your music business
- How many years you have been trading for
- Your average monthly card sales / monthly turnover
Step 2:
We will then ask you for:
- Your title, first name and surname
- Your position within the business
- Your email address and telephone number
Step 3:
Once these details have been provided, click to accept the terms and conditions and then click ‘get my quote’. Your application will then be processed and assessed by one of our approved business finance suppliers.
Step 4:
One of our account managers will shortly be in contact with you by either phone or email to discuss the terms of your loan or cash advance agreement.
Step 5:
Please take your time to carefully read through all of the terms of agreement, then sign the relevant documents and return them back to the lender. You should then receive the funding to your account within as little as 24 hours.
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