Paiste America Appoints KMC Music to Serve as its Sole United States Distribution Partner

Strengthening a percussion portfolio that already includes Gibraltar, Latin Percussion, Remo, Toca, Vater, and Vic Firth, KMC Music (www.kmcmusic.com) today announced that it has been appointed to serve as the sole United States distribution partner of Paiste America (www.paiste.com), one of the world’s most renowned lines of cymbals, hand cymbals, and gongs that includes the iconic Paiste 2002 Series and the highly respected Paiste Signature Series.

“The addition of Paiste to our already extensive percussion portfolio reinforces our position as the MI retailer’s only true one-stop source for all of their percussion needs,” KMC Music Vice President of Merchandising Roger Hart emphasized today.  “We are proud to be able to offer our customers the cymbals used by artists that include Stewart Copeland, Nicko McBrain, Ian Paice, and Alex Van Halen, among many, many others.” 

The success of Paiste can be directly attributed to the core philosophy that underlies all of its product development programs.  “As a family business, we have always been driven by the goal to constantly create new sounds with cymbals, gongs, and bronze percussion instruments that meet the unique needs of drummers and percussionists,” explained Paiste CEO Erik Paiste.  “And now, with the help of KMC Music’s extensive in-field sales, merchandising, and support teams, the Paiste line of cymbals and gongs is going to be more immediately available to the largest network of MI retailers in the world’s largest MI retail marketplace.” Key house accounts will continue to be served by Paiste America and its own sales team.

“Experimentation, integration, and revolution are all a normal part of the Paiste product development effort,” Erik Paiste continued.  “The art of percussion has evolved to a point where the technical and musical components that go into creating ‘sound’ have reached unprecedented new heights.  Today’s drummers and percussionists speak many musical languages and actively perform in several genres.  Paiste is committed to keeping up with these trends and, as a result, our product line today meets more musical styles and needs than ever before.” 

KMC Music Strengthens Its Product Portfolio With the Addition of Five New Product Lines

Reinforcing its position as the MI industry’s one-stop source for the broadest array of retail MI and pro audio products, KMC Music (www.kmcmusic.com) today announced that it has been appointed to serve as the United States distributor of Keeley Pedals, Mono Bags, Mooer Pedals, Pigtronix Pedals, RCF professional audio products, and Suzuki Harmonicas.  According to KMC Music Vice President of Merchandising Roger Hart, the new appointments effectively mean that dealers will now be able to offer even more options to their customers.

“No one is more focused on meeting the needs of MI dealers than KMC Music,” Hart said today.  “The addition of these five great new lines to our product portfolio underscores the fact that our manufacturer partners understand that our ability to serve dealers as a complete solutions resource is unmatched by any other company.  They understand that we can meet the needs of our dealers better than anyone else.  Even more importantly, our valued retail partners can now order even more solutions from a single source — KMC Music!”

The addition of five new brands to the KMC Music portfolio comes at a time when the industry-leading distributor of MI and pro audio solutions has begun the next chapter in its history as a division of JAM Industries.  Recently, KMC Music announced the opening of a new corporate headquarters and training center in Bloomfield, Connecticut, a new 300,000 state-of-the-art warehouse and operations center in Southaven, Mississippi, and plans to add to its team of in-field sales professionals. 

Latin Percussion®, Toca® and Gibraltar® Percussion Brands Return to KMC Music as Part of New Distribution Agreement

Underscoring its unique ability to provide manufacturers with a broad and deep reach to every segment of the MI retail marketplace, KMC Music (www.kmcmusic.com) today announced that it has been appointed by Drum Workshop, Inc. (www.dwdrums.com) to serve as the preeminent United States distributor with the largest selection of Latin Percussion®, Toca®, and Gibraltar® percussion brands.  Drum Workshop acquired the brands three months ago in an asset sale agreement with then KMC Music owner, Fender Musical Instruments, Inc. 

“We welcome the return of these great brands to the KMC Music family,” KMC Music President Mark Terry said today.  “This is a great moment for our dealers, who can now again order the Latin Percussion, Toca, and Gibraltar brands from the industry’s best high value added distributor, KMC Music!  Drum Workshop’s appointment is a true testament to KMC Music’s unique capabilities.”

Under the terms of the agreement announced today, KMC Music assumes immediate responsibility for selling, marketing, and supporting the three industry leading percussion brands to all non Drum Workshop house accounts, providing KMC Music’s sales team with the ability to bring the brands to some 6,000 additional MI dealers across the country.  “This appointment reaffirms KMC Music’s distribution strengths,” Terry emphasized, “And, in the process, it effectively cements our position as the industry’s most complete one-stop shopping resource for any MI dealer looking to offer their customers the broadest range of percussion brands and options at every major price point.”

The Latin Percussion, Toca, and Gibraltar brands now join KMC Music’s existing arsenal of percussion lines that include Remo drumheads, Vater Percussion, World Percussion, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Evans Drumheads, ProMark Drumsticks, DW Hardware, PDP hardware and drums, Regal Tip drum sticks, and Innovative Percussion. 

Commenting on the appointment today, Drum Workshop, Inc. President Chris Lombardi noted that, “KMC Music is the logical solution considering the history they have with these iconic brands.  They are a natural complement to our own sales organization and they possess the field sales and telemarketing teams, the service and support staffs, the year-round promotion programs, and the logistics and fulfillment capability needed to bring the Latin Percussion, Toca, and Gibraltar brands to the widest possible audience of musicians.  We very much look forward to working with the entire KMC team.”