A Local, Family-Owned Business Dedicated to
Music Education and Performance
Since 1972, Mills Music has served the music industry in Puget Sound. Established by entrepreneur, Michael J. Mills, the company, whose humble roots began on Main Street in Bothell, Washington, has grown to 11 retail stores from Monroe in the North Sound to Burien in the South Sound. Our newest store openings include Poulsbo and Yakima.
Our Mission Statement is as follows:
Providing
Musical Opportunities Through Education, Support, Sales and Service,
Mills Music is Committed to Integrity and Quality Products, for an Enjoyable
Music Experience
In the Pacific Northwest, Mills Means Music, and this family-owned business has built a reputation of service and commitment supporting music education and performance at every level. "We would like everybody to make music," says company founder and president Mike Mills, "and we would like to help everybody make music." This commitment has meant embracing a broad perspective on inventory, staffing, service, and instrumentation.
In the early days, Mills Music operated from an 1100 square foot space acquired from Robinson Music. With one table of sheet music, a host of LP records, and a small guitar and band department, there was just enough room for two teaching studios. "The teaching dimension has always been an important part of what we do," says Mills. "It’s not enough to simply provide the instruments. We also want to make sure our customers can learn to play them."
These early days were a struggle. Beginning with two small business loans, and a young family at home. Mike, like most small business entrepreneurs, wore many hats to keep the business growing. Mary, his wife, has always been involved, too, helping with the accounting and, at that time, monthly invoicing. The Mills' three sons were also involved helping photocopy invoices and prepare monthly mailings.
For two years, Mike was able to run the business on his own with limited part-time help from Bothell High School students. Mills Music has always been open six days per week and it was with great relief that the first full-time employee was hired. Balance between work and family was difficult for Mike in those days but Thursday nights were dedicated to his sons. Their involvement in Boy Scouting still brings fond memories of many treasured father-son events.
In late 1975, the Jones & Mohn Building across the street became available and Mills Music moved into its 9000 square foot facility in January of the next year. Hosting five teaching studios and vast retail and inventory storage space, the company began to realize its goal of making a wide range of music available to the community. By 1978, Mills opened its first branch store in Monroe and over the past 20 years, has continued to strategically open stores throughout the area. The company’s philosophy has been to operate stores that can support school districts with strong music programs. Today, Mills Music has stores located in:
- Bothell
- Monroe
- Redmond
- Mill Creek
- Issaquah
- Bellevue
- Lynnwood
- Burien
- Kent
- Yakima
- Poulsbo
In each geographic area, Mills Music has established a strong community connection by supporting the efforts to music education from the neighborhood piano teacher to the local high school band and orchestra programs.
From the beginning, Mills Music has been a family business operation. Mike and Mary have overseen and guided the growth and expansion of the company for the past 28 years. Each of their sons have been involved, with Mark choosing to dedicate his career to Mills Music. An accomplished musician who completed a business degree at the University of Washington, Mark also apprenticed as a orchestra string instrument repair technician. His well rounded background fully complements the business operation and he has become an integral part of its management.
In 1988, the Mills family was inspired to renovate its Main Street Bothell building into a state-of-the-art music store. The basement was converted from offices into inventory storage, the main level hosts instruments, merchandise, and sheet music, and the top floor houses seven teaching studios, a performance recital area, and corporate offices. There is no finer comprehensive retail music store available in the Seattle area.
Mills has always taken a very holistic approach to music. The development of teaching studios and performance recital areas are seen as a means of giving back to the community and supporting the development of musical education and performance.
By hiring expert repair technicians for both band and orchestra instruments, the company has been able to better support school musical education and performance efforts. It is not Mills Music’s purpose to simply sell instruments, but to totally support the education and maintenance of the equipment they sell.
In addition, Mills is committed to providing a comprehensive inventory of musical instrumentation, accessories, and sheet music. The company has been able to maintain a full-service approach in all of its stores without limiting inventory or specializing. In the words of Mark Mills, "We strive to be the general store of the music industry in our area." This is truly unique in the industry today.
In 1981, the company introduced piano sales and rentals into its operation. It has also developed a specialized business in sound system design and installation. Today, each Mills Music store location provides sales and rentals of all band and orchestra instruments, teaching studios, private instrument lessons, five stores host repair shops, and most have piano inventory.
"We want to be the Northwest’s best resource for music. We are committed to staying on the cutting edge. We represent the finest instrument franchises in the world, from piccolos to pianos," says Mike Mills. "We support music education from its roots to the latest changing developments."
As both Mike and Mark Mills look to the future, they see the challenges and opportunities posed by new technology. "What people want in music is changing," comments Mark. "MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is where we’re headed and expanding our business. This involves the computerization of instruments, such as pianos with computer CDs that play performance-level music at the click of a button."
To stay in business, Mills Music is committed to staying on top of all musical needs whether for the church, the private teacher or school music education program, or the individual student or musician. "Again, we would like everybody to make music and would like to help everybody make music," says Mike Mills. "That’s our commitment and our philosophy."
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© 1999 Mills Music