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{MUSICVILLA}
jumped back into the business
in the late ’90s.
“Back then, we had a paper
file box on the counter where
someone would always be looking
for a drummer or guitar player,”
Decker said. “It was like a
little musicians’ filing cabinet.
That was our community directory.
People also were always
calling me looking for a band
for a wedding or other event.”
He built montanabands.com
as a Rolodex to free himself
up from all those phone calls;
montanamusicians.com soon
followed as a statewide effort
to connect musicians. Both have
developed into Facebook-meets-
Craigslist hybrids where bands
can upload information with
links to their websites or demos,
and people looking to hire bands
48 I MUSIC INC. I JULY 2012
for events can search by genre.
“We’ve tried to bring the Montana
scene together,” he said.
“[The sites] are great resources.”
Though Music Villa is starting
to see the fruits of its online
efforts — nearly a quarter of the
store’s high-end acoustic sales are
now shipped orders — Decker
said he’s been criticized over the
years for his less sales-oriented
projects, including the networking
sites and “The Music Store”
Web series, which features short
webisodes chronicling life at
Music Villa in the vein of such
shows as “Pawn Stars.”
“A lot of music stores are
always chasing the dollar and
always following the money,”
he said. “For a lot of the Web
stuff we’ve been doing over the
years, I’ve gotten asked many
times, ‘Well, how much money
is it making you?’
“After a couple of years, I’m
seeing the store is packed every
day. A lot of people comment
about [‘The Music Store’] and
call us to ask when we’re going to
do more episodes. We had to quit
in January because we have to
sell guitars. But hopefully, we’re
able to go back and make a few
more episodes because it seems
like people really want them.”
Decker added that “The
Music Store” and social networking
sites can break up the
atmosphere of constant selling
that consumers get bombarded
with daily.
“People want quality information
they can use,” he said.
“How many e-mails are you
signed up for where after awhile
you just can’t take it anymore?
I don’t care what they’re selling
— I don’t even want to hear
about it, you know? I get an
e-mail every day from Guitar
Center and Musician’s Friend
for an extra 15-percent off —
every single day. After awhile,
people get sick of it, and then
they’re just used to it. Then if
you don’t sell it for that, you’re
in trouble. Every day is a sale.
“We’re not trying to sell
people anything [with these
projects]. We want the sites to
help people and bring musicians
together. It’s good for everybody.
How can it not be good for a
music store in the long run? It
has nothing to do with trying to
sell them everything. It’s about
keeping a good vibe and community
thriving.” MI