West Music history

To save money the partnership closed their first location and moved shop to the back of Huyett Music Company at 110 Iowa Avenue in the summer of 1942.

In April 26, 1943, the partnership was dissolved, Pearl West returned to teaching woodwinds at City High School, in Iowa City during the day, and at night, continued the repair business in the back of Huyett Music.

During the early 1950’s, Pearl and Eleanor continued to operate West Music, with Eleanor serving as the office bookkeeper while raising their two children, Shari and Steve.

Steve West joined the company in 1969, after graduating from the University of Iowa.

He was named Sales Manager in 1971.

In 1973, the downtown Iowa City location moved to its current location in Coralville.

In 1977 West Music was awarded the exclusive distribution rights of Miyazawa Flutes from Japan to the United States; the original relationship with Miyazawa began primarily thanks to Pearl’s expertise in flute design and production.

1, 1978, that publishers received their first mechanical rate increase of the century — to 2.75 cents per song, or half a penny per minute, whichever was greater.

Steve West’s passion for elementary music education led to the formation of the West Music Music Education Catalog Department in 1980.

On that same day, the Board of Directors named Robin Walenta, who joined the company in 1982, as the new President.

In 1984, West Music expanded operations to Cedar Rapids.

Beginning in 1986, publishing evolved into a multibillion-dollar sector that has the clout to get Congress to pass laws like the Music Modernization Act and fight for a bigger slice of the music dollar.

In 1988, Westco, a separate import/export wholesale company was created to help establish a dealer organization on a national level.

1995 saw the beginning of West Music Music Therapy Services, a division of West Music focused on using music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages.

The West Music website launch in 1996 coincided with extensive technology upgrades, linking stores together online and greatly enhancing efficiency and communication.

Sadly, on January 27, 1999, company founder Pearl West passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The musical culture of the Hebrew peoples, recorded from about 2000 bce and documented primarily in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), was more directly influential in the West because of its adoption and adaptation into the Christian liturgy.

In 2005, utilizing experiences in early childhood education, West Music introduced a new line of children’s exploratory instruments, Sounds Like Fun.

In 2006, a 40,000-square foot fulfillment center was built in west Coralville.

Sadly, on June 1, 2008 company co-founder Eleanor West, wife of Pearl and mother to Stephen passed away.

In 2010, in a natural progression from the company’s beginning as manufacturer of P.L. West Flutes, West Music became the North American distributor of Trevor James Flutes.

Westco was greatly expanded with the launch of a new web site and catalog in 2011.

West Music also became the North America distributor of Sankyo Flutes in 2013.

United States revenues bottomed out at $7.1 billion in 2014 as companies scrambled to stem the bleeding.

SESAC commanded a $1.125 billion valuation when a Blackstone investment fund acquired it in 2017.