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It’s been an institution in the Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal music scenes for decades, but Steve’s Music will soon be shutting down almost all of its stores.
On Saturday, the chain announced it was liquidating inventory at all five of its locations.
According to its Ottawa manager, the plan is to close every store save for the one on rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal.
“I’m kind of at peace with it. I think working day in, day out, we were kind of seeing the trends and the writing on the wall,” said Dan Sauvé, who’s worked for Steve’s Music in Ottawa and Montreal for more than 25 years.
After the news broke, customers like percussionist Jon Granda flocked to the Ottawa outlet Sunday.
“This is terrible news for me. It’s terrible news for the music community in Ottawa,” said Granda, noting there aren’t a lot of music store options near downtown.
Frédéric Laforge was also in the Catherine Street store looking for an electric guitar. He said he’s been shopping at Steve’s Music for 25 years and was upset by the impending closures.
“The world of artists is already difficult, and we’re removing more support to them,” Laforge said. “So then, who wins is the big guys, the bigger store who gets all the business. And those medium, small guys are struggling.”
‘We know how to pivot’
Company founder Steve Kirman opened the first store in Old Montreal in 1965.
In Ottawa, Steve’s Music called the ByWard Market home for more than four decades before moving to Centretown last year, citing years of rising crime rates around Rideau Street.
Sauvé, who’s managed the Ottawa stores since 2018, said he was surprised by the flood of customers Sunday, adding that the days of that being the norm are long gone.
The company has to keep up with the evolving marketplace, said Sauvé, which is why it’s switching to mostly online retail.
“We all work in the music industry, so we know how to pivot and adapt to changing conditions,” he said.
Steve’s Music Store opened its first location in Old Montreal in 1965. Since then, it has established a presence in other parts of Quebec as well as Ontario and customers say it continues to play a big role in Montreal’s music scene.
Sauvé said there’s no set closing date for the Ottawa location.
As for Granda, he said nothing will beat a brick-and-mortar music store.
“There’s absolutely something to be said — especially for musical equipment — to come in and try it yourself, to give it a nice crack on the snare, to strum the guitar, to hit a cymbal and hear the fade, the decay,” he said.
“You need to listen. Because that’s what musicians do.”
