General Advertising Information

Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer is a semiannual publication devoted to the purchase of new, used, and restored acoustic pianos and digital pianos. It replaces the highly successful Annual Supplement to The Piano Book, published since 1996.

Background

The Piano Book, by Larry Fine, has been the standard consumer reference in the acoustic piano business since 1987, and virtually without competition for most of that time. With hundreds of thousands of copies sold, The Piano Book is a well-known brand name within the piano field. Since 1996, Mr. Fine has regularly updated The Piano Book through its Annual Supplement, which contained the most current instrument reviews, ratings, and prices. The Annual Supplement has been the only publication to provide this information, and so has been used extensively as a sourcebook in the acoustic piano business by consumers and trade alike.

Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer is a new formulation of the Annual Supplement that adds content pertaining to used, restored, and digital pianos to the already existing content pertaining to new acoustic pianos. The publication schedule has been increased to twice yearly in recognition of the faster product development cycle of digital pianos and the rapid changes in acoustic piano manufacturing, distribution, and pricing. It is now distributed free in two online editions, as well as in print, fully taking advantage of all available technologies for the benefit of its advertisers and readers.

Description

Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer is part book, part magazine. Because piano buyers need all information pertinent to their buying decision immediately and not over a multi-issue time span, the "book" part contains a core selection of brief articles by industry experts (including the editors) covering many aspects of the piano market, such as high-end pianos, electronic player pianos, digital pianos, purchases by institutions, etc. These core articles will remain unchanged, or change only slightly, from issue to issue.

The "magazine" part of the publication consists of features that change with each issue: spotlights on particular technologies, companies, or dealers; product reviews; and, of course, all the brand, model, and price listings that have made the Annual Supplement such an important reference work for more than a decade.

The online edition also links to an extensive searchable database containing price information on virtually every make and model of new acoustic piano on the U.S. market. Shoppers can search by brand, type, quality level, price, size, furniture style, and finish. They can even calculate a rough "street" price on every model chosen. Thousands of active piano shoppers use this invaluable tool to produce a shopping list of brands and models that meet their needs.

Distribution and Circulation

Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer is available free online, both in a Flash format that provides a lifelike magazine-reading experience and in an easy-to-read HTML version. As well, it is available as a print publication, much as the Annual Supplement was. The print and online versions are nearly identical, though of course the online version is hyperlinked throughout, both to other sections of the publication and to outside resources, including advertisers' websites, databases, video clips, etc. Visitors are given the option to purchase the print version directly from our website. It is also available on Amazon.com and in bookstores, for which we have always had excellent distribution of The Piano Book and the Annual Supplement through our book trade distributor, Independent Publishers Group.

The PianoBuyer.com website, which hosts the online versions of Piano Buyer, receives more than 10,000 unique visitors each month, who register nearly 1.5 million pageviews of each issue of the publication. In addition, several thousand print copies are sold or distributed annually. Although most readers of Piano Buyer are in the market to buy a piano, each issue is also thoroughly read and used as a reference by the piano trade. Piano Buyer is, therefore, unique in its ability to reach both consumer and trade readers.

How the Publication Is Promoted

Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer is promoted through multiple channels, including Internet search-engine listing, e-mail, direct mail, and traditional book publicity. Advertising or cross-promotional arrangements have been made with a number of other piano-related websites — including Piano World, the world’s most visited piano website, with over 5 million visitors annually — as well as with PianoMart.com, Piano Technicians Journal, Making Music Magazine, Music Trades, American Music Teacher, and others. Traditional book publicity will be directed specifically at other publications whose readerships match the demographics and characteristics of piano buyers.

Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer provides piano manufacturers, dealers, rebuilders, technicians, and others an opportunity to effectively and inexpensively deliver their message to a precision-targeted market of active piano shoppers.

For further information contact
Barbara Fandrich, Advertising Director
bjfandrich@pianobuyer.com

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