Just Released New for 2026

The 200 largest music products retailers posted respectable results in 2025, with aggregate revenues advancing 5.3% to $6.9 billion.  

Before cheering the revenue gain, it should be noted that it was entirely the result of tariff driven price increase rather than any increase in consumer demand. In 2025, the average tariff rate on imported music products nearly tripled to 14.8%, tagging the industry suppliers with a whopping $627 million tax bill. Suppliers and retailers alike compressed their margins to minimize price hikes, however, the magnitude of additional tariff costs—9% of the Top 200 revenues– was simply too large to absorb. Even after taking lower margins, average selling prices on the full range of music products increased between 6% and 10%. To cite one notable example, tariff related costs forced Shure to raise the price on its popular SM58 microphone 10% for the first time in over a decade. 

Sales increases in the past were usually accompanied by a larger employee count or additional store fronts. Not so in 2025. The Top 200 employee count remained essentially unchanged at 21,541 and the store count declined slightly to 1,097 outlets from 1,100 last year. Economists would describe higher selling prices and a stable employee count as a “productivity gain.” However, these gains were more than offset by compressed margins. As on retailer put it, “We seem to be getting less return from our efforts, no matter how hard we try.” 

In the 2026 Top 200 Report, you will find detailed data on America’s largest music stores and what their sales were in the last year. In addition to total revenues, this report includes sales per employee, sales per store, and productivity rankings, as well as general background and contact information for the 200 largest U.S music retailers. 

The most current report includes information on companies with sales ranging from $2 million to $2 billion. Collectively, this group of leading music stores employs over 20,000 and accounts for more than 80% of overall music industry sales volume. 

Available formats:

• PDF: $65.00
• Microsoft Excel + PDF: $119.95 – Spreadsheets include five years of sales history with year-over-year comparisons, store count, employee count, product types sold, CEO, and complete contact information.

Order below.
Information in the current report includes estimated sales, employment, and location count data for the largest 200 music stores in the United States.