Inside Sweetwater’s mission to inspire musicians and create the next generation of talent
From fresh amateurs to some of the most iconic names in entertainment, any musician will be familiar with Sweetwater, the world’s leading music technology and instrument retailer. Sweetwater has been dedicated to helping musicians and exceeding their expectations since its foundation in 1979, and this approach to customer service has seen the business evolve into the top music retailer in the US.
Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sweetwater employs around 2500 people and serves over 13 million customers, with its annual revenue projected to reach $1.8 billion this year. The company carries over 100,000 products for musicians and creators, including guitars, drums, instruments, recording technology, concert equipment, microphones, speakers, lights, video cameras, and podcasting equipment.
President and CEO, Mike Clem, sits down with Retail Merchandiser to share more details about how Sweetwater maintains its industry-leading position. “We’re blessed to serve a wide range of musicians from students to rock stars, and we’re known for our huge product assortment, great pricing, and lots of value-added perks,” Mike opens. “Around one third of our business is B2B sales, where we put sound equipment into schools, houses of worship, and sporting or concert venues. This separates us from other music stores because of the level of complexity and expertise required.
“However, what makes us truly unique is our 600 ‘Sales Engineers’, who are true industry experts. We recruit from all over the country and each new Sales Engineer goes through our 13-week Sweetwater University training program before they even interact with a customer. Each customer is matched with an expert, enabling us to get to know you, understand your goals, and nurture the relationship over time to deliver the highest level of trust and personalized service.”
Elaborating on Sweetwater’s value-added services, Mike continues: “We offer a free two-year warranty and tech support, as well as providing candy with every order to offer a personal touch. One of our most interesting and unique things is our Guitar Gallery. For most guitars, we take it out of the box on delivery and conduct a 55-point inspection to ensure the aesthetics and playability of the instrument. Each product then goes through a photography process, and we take high-res photos of each guitar at a serial number level. This means that even if we have five of the same guitars in stock, customers can browse the website and choose the specific instrument they want to reserve. Any instrument is an emotional purchase, so this service helps to bridge the gap between brick-and-mortar and online shopping.”
As the retail industry increasingly moves online, Sweetwater is known for adding more value and trust to its customer relationships. “We’ve carved out a reputation for digital innovation combined with an old-school approach to customer service,” Mike explains. “We’re using technology that augments our humans, not replaces them. While many companies are using AI to cut costs and eliminate human interaction, our reputation is based on true relationships and over-the-top customer service.”
Aside from customer relationships, Sweetwater also maintains positive and longstanding relationships with its suppliers, such as with Sennheiser. “Sennheiser has played a significant role in our growth, having been part of our vendor family for more than 20 years when we carried just a fraction of the brands we do today,” Mike says. “We stock countless Sennheiser and Neumann products, and they are consistently among our bestsellers in their respective categories. We attribute this to the consistent quality and innovation of the brands, and are always happy to trust their microphones, headphones, wireless gear and more as reliable solutions for Sweetwater’s discerning customers.”
As most of its employees are musicians, Sweetwater is committed to providing the community with musical opportunities, especially in schools and underserved areas. “We have a mission-driven mindset, and we’re passionate about growing the next generation of musicians,” Mike states. “We partner with several organizations, especially those who work in the school system, as we believe there is an ‘a-ha’ moment to be had when young people discover their creativity.
“We’ve enjoyed a charitable partnership with We Make Noise, formerly Beats by Girlz, for several years. We Make Noise is an excellent global organization that
creates opportunities for girls and women. Our partnership has covered everything from direct financial support to recruiting program participants, and we even recently hosted one of their studio workshops for 21 attendees at Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne.
“We’re proud to call We Make Noise one of our premier philanthropic partners, along with over 200 organizations we supported in 2024 with more than $985,000 in funding, gear, and volunteering support,” Mike reveals. “Our Sweetwater philanthropy strategy is to create more musicians (focused on K-12 youth music programming), empower more voices (provide opportunities in underrepresented communities), and care for musicians.”
As our conversation continues, Mike turns to what’s next for Sweetwater. “We’re excited about our growth with schools and educators, specifically our ability to now rent school instruments to students nationwide,” he shares. “We’ve pioneered a system where we can give students a high-quality instrument with many free upgrades at a better price. The result is that students are more inspired and tend to keep an instrument for longer.
“We’ve also recently launched our ‘Gear Exchange’ online marketplace, where customers can sell used gear on our website. If they choose to take their earnings in store credit, we waive all selling fees, and the marketplace has been well received by our customers looking to trade old gear for newer equipment.
“In terms of the future, there are plenty of growth areas for our business, especially in adjacent areas like video,” Mike concludes. “Most importantly, we want to remain known for our extreme expertise and customer service, not for growing too quickly. Our entire culture is built on serving one customer at a time and addressing one detail at a time. We believe that if we do that with passion and precision, then the money will follow.”