The new Music151 store in Fairfax. CREDIT MUSIC151
A Fairfax musical operation that’s been operated virtually for much of its six-year history has opened Music151, a new brick-and-mortar location focused on musical instruments and supplies. Music151 opened its doors in November 2023 at 4840 80th St. Suite A in Fairfax as an expansion of the fp Music Academy, which was founded as Fairfax […]
A Fairfax musical operation that’s been operated virtually for much of its six-year history has opened Music151, a new brick-and-mortar location focused on musical instruments and supplies.
Music151 opened its doors in November 2023 at 4840 80th St. Suite A in Fairfax as an expansion of the fp Music Academy, which was founded as Fairfax Piano in September 2017.
Owner Mike Nemeth said the operation’s new facility in Fairfax is dramatically larger than its first physical site, which included spaces for lessons and a retail space of “about 100 square feet.”
“It was pretty hilarious,” Mr. Nemeth said. “It was open by appointment only. It served our students, and that was a good thing. But we found that we needed a physical presence – up until Music151 came around, we were a completely virtual organization.”
Music151 store in Fairfax
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The new Music151 store in Fairfax. CREDIT MUSIC151
A look at the Music151 showroom. CREDIT MUSIC151
A look at the Music151 showroom. CREDIT MUSIC151
A selection of cables at Music151. CREDIT MUSIC151
A library of sheet music and music books. CREDIT MUSIC151
An assortment of music supplies. CREDIT MUSIC151
A selection of guitars for sale. CREDIT MUSIC15w1
Room 1 at Music 151. CREDIT MUSIC151
Music151 owner Mike Nemeth and his family. CREDIT MUSIC151
fp Music Academy (think the musical terms “forte” and “piano”) has offered music lessons nationwide since its inception, with only two of the business’ seven teachers located in Iowa. The lessons are offered for a variety of band and orchestra instruments, about 20 in total, and are conducted either in teachers’ location, via Zoom, or hybrid options.
“We have elementary school kids, studying various instruments, all the way up – I have somebody about my age, in her 60s and she's in Florida,” Mr. Nemeth said. “And I've got students on both coasts, as well as locally. So I've had to back off on my own personal students, just because this store takes a fair amount of time.”
A career in music came later in life for Mr. Nemeth, who says he spent most of his professional career as an electrical engineer.
“It was quite a tortuous path,” he said. “I studied piano when I was six years old back in Indiana, and I had an absolutely irreplaceable teacher. After some number of years, I quit that teacher because I was young and stupid, and I pursued a degree in engineering. I only started teaching not long before this company started. I’d been playing places for a very long time, for congregations and whatnot, and I was asked about teaching by somebody who heard me play. I was between jobs at the time, and discovered that (teaching) was kind of cool, so I started gathering a few students. It just snowballed from there.”
Mr. Nemeth said fp Music Academy’s current student count is “in the 30s,” though it’s been as high as 60 in the past.
“I don't have any problem finding teachers,” he said. “I've advertised on online platforms for teachers and I get flooded with resumes. It's finding students that’s been a little more of a challenge.”
Music151 provides an extensive selection of musical instruments and supplies, from electronic keyboards to traditional band and orchestra instruments, drums, cables, microphones, professional audio equipment and sheet music books. Repair services are also available for a variety of instruments.
“We’re looking to supply both our students and music teachers in the area,” Mr. Nemeth said.
There’s been dramatic growth in online sales for musical instruments and supplies, but Mr. Nemeth said in-person shopping offers benefits not available online.
“Who's going to buy a guitar online?” he said. “The same holds true for a lot of different instruments. Musical instruments are so unique. They're almost tailored to an individual person – somebody gravitates towards this one versus this one. You can't try it out online. It's just impossible. You could order one and try it out and send it back, but you're going to be doing that for months before you find the right sound, the right feel.
“The emotions are involved, the senses are involved,” he added. “So having that physical place where you can touch it, you can feel it, you can try it out and say ‘I like this one, I don't like this one,’ then make a decision based on experience, rather than looking at it on a monitor. And that’s part of the store, trying stuff out. It’s not like it's all in boxes, where all you can do is stare at the box and say ‘yeah, that looks like a good box.’ Here, you try it out, strum a guitar, play a piano. We want to be able to have some fun here and allow music to happen spontaneously, whenever people show up.”
In addition to the larger retail space, Music151’s new location also includes Room 1, a 1,040-square-foot teaching studio and events space.
“It's not only a space for learning here, for events and recitals and whatnot, but it's audio-video enabled and Internet connected,” Mr. Nemeth said.”We have a big screen. So any of our teachers from anywhere in the country can teach (virtually) right into this room. We can also host individual lessons and group workshops. It gives us a great deal of flexibility that we've never had before.”
The new facility has provided a new revenue stream for the business, and it’s been successful so far, Mr. Nemeth said, adding that he’s looking to forge relationships with area school districts and music instructors. He noted that the store is easily accessible – “we’re just five minutes from Westdale.”
He also indicated that his store’s services and inventory are competitively priced.
“A lot of boutique places are fairly pricey,” he said. “But we work hard at finding affordable musical instruments and affordable accessories for those supplies. There's some items priced in this store that can beat Amazon's prices. And I don't say that lightly, because it’s true. We try our best. We realize that music can be expensive. It's not free by any means. We even offer a free first meeting with a teacher. There's no obligation. There's no money upfront, just meet with a teacher and see if that relationship works for you.”
Now that Music151 is fully operational, Mr. Nemeth said he’s all-in with his new venture.
“This is my career now,” he said. “We needed to be open by Christmas, and we did that. Now, just getting the word out is really critical to what we'll be doing.”
