Mars Music
Encyclopedia
Mars Music, Inc. is a now defunct chain of music stores headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
. The company was founded in 1996 by guitarist and former Office Depot
president Mark Begelman, who created the superstore store chain after experiencing dissatisfaction with his own music store shopping experiences. MARS was initially an acronym for "Music And Recording Superstore." At its peak following an aggressive expansion plan, Mars Music consisted of 49 stores in 20 states and was the second largest company of its kind in the U.S., but the company went out of business in late 2002 after over- expansion, struggles to raise additional capital, and a failed reorganization attempt.
A retail superstore concept, Mars Music had a wide selection of music instruments and pro audio equipment clearly priced on display for customers to try in large stores, each with practice rooms, a recording studio, and a performance stage, all with the slogan "We love when you touch the stuff."
Mars Music stores included a "Learning Center" where instrument lessons for individuals and groups were taught, including the "Babies Make Music" early childhood music program and "Weekend Warriors" program designed for adults who want to play on the weekends. At one point, Mars Music was the largest provider of private music lessons in the U.S.. Mars also introduced interactive online instrument lessons with pitch recognition technologies that were new at the time.
A related charitable organization, the Mars Music Foundation, operated to grant music lessons and the "In Tune With Kids" program that accepted instrument donations, then reconditioned and donated the instruments to area schools.
, paying $3.3 million to secure the naming rights of the Coral Sky Amphitheater for 6 years, renaming it the Mars Music Amphitheater. However, Mars declared bankruptcy two years later, and the facility returned to its original name.
The Mars Music e-commerce division, marsmusic.com, co-sponsored Metallica's
Summer Sanitarium Tour
in the summer of 2000, including online fan chats and a live concert webcast.
Mars Music launched a record label named Martian Records, a partnership between Mars Music and Chris Blackwell's
Palm Pictures
. The first and only act signed to the label was Seven Channels, selected through a contest that generated over 3,000 submissions from hopeful unsigned acts.
markets following the dot-com bubble
and subsequent stock market downturn of 2002
, Mars Music was forced to attempt reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and eventually filed Chapter 7
bankruptcy
in November 2002.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The company was founded in 1996 by guitarist and former Office Depot
Office Depot
Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...
president Mark Begelman, who created the superstore store chain after experiencing dissatisfaction with his own music store shopping experiences. MARS was initially an acronym for "Music And Recording Superstore." At its peak following an aggressive expansion plan, Mars Music consisted of 49 stores in 20 states and was the second largest company of its kind in the U.S., but the company went out of business in late 2002 after over- expansion, struggles to raise additional capital, and a failed reorganization attempt.
Company history
Mark Begelman began Mars Music with the purchase of the five-store Ace Music store chain in south Florida. He had gone into one of the Ace Music locations to try a guitar amplifier, but a salesperson told him he couldn't turn up the volume, and that if he purchased it and didn't like it, he wouldn't be able to get a refund. Frustrated with his shopping experience and music stores' limited product selection, lack of clear pricing, and store personnel who wouldn't allow customers to try the merchandise, he used $10 million of his own funds to start Mars Music.A retail superstore concept, Mars Music had a wide selection of music instruments and pro audio equipment clearly priced on display for customers to try in large stores, each with practice rooms, a recording studio, and a performance stage, all with the slogan "We love when you touch the stuff."
Mars Music stores included a "Learning Center" where instrument lessons for individuals and groups were taught, including the "Babies Make Music" early childhood music program and "Weekend Warriors" program designed for adults who want to play on the weekends. At one point, Mars Music was the largest provider of private music lessons in the U.S.. Mars also introduced interactive online instrument lessons with pitch recognition technologies that were new at the time.
A related charitable organization, the Mars Music Foundation, operated to grant music lessons and the "In Tune With Kids" program that accepted instrument donations, then reconditioned and donated the instruments to area schools.
Partnerships and sponsorships
In January 2000, Mars Music entered into an agreement with SFX EntertainmentLive Nation
Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....
, paying $3.3 million to secure the naming rights of the Coral Sky Amphitheater for 6 years, renaming it the Mars Music Amphitheater. However, Mars declared bankruptcy two years later, and the facility returned to its original name.
The Mars Music e-commerce division, marsmusic.com, co-sponsored Metallica's
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
Summer Sanitarium Tour
Summer Sanitarium Tour
The Summer Sanitarium Tour was Metallica's packaged tour in the Summer of the year 2000. Taking place in "stadiums, arenas, and yes, even speedways," the tour was one of the top grossing tours of the Summer. It was also the final tour for long-time bassist Jason Newsted who quit the band in January...
in the summer of 2000, including online fan chats and a live concert webcast.
Mars Music launched a record label named Martian Records, a partnership between Mars Music and Chris Blackwell's
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures
Palm Pictures is a US-based entertainment company owned and run by Chris Blackwell. Palm Pictures produces, acquires and distributes innovative music and film projects with a particular focus on the DVD format...
. The first and only act signed to the label was Seven Channels, selected through a contest that generated over 3,000 submissions from hopeful unsigned acts.
Expansion and bankruptcy
In 2000, Mars expected to gross $300 million in sales and was planning for a future initial public offering. In April of that year, Mars launched their e-commerce website, marsmusic.com. But as expansion costs exceeded shrinking venture capitalVenture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
markets following the dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
and subsequent stock market downturn of 2002
Stock market downturn of 2002
The stock market downturn of 2002 is the sharp drop in stock prices during 2002 in stock exchanges across the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe...
, Mars Music was forced to attempt reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and eventually filed Chapter 7
Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 7 of the Title 11 of the United States Code governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States...
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in November 2002.