My Life in Percussion: Five Decades in the Music Products Industry by Karl Dustman

This memoir by Karl Dustman details his illustrious music industry career. Dustman began his professional career in music retail, leading to a sales forecaster for IBM. This opened the door to an executive position with Ludwig Drum Company where he spent 11 years in the marketing and educational departments. Executive-level stints with Gretsch, Hohner-Sonor-Sabian, Pearl, and Sonor gave Karl great insight into the percussion industry of the 1970s through the '80s, '90s, and into the current era, which he shares here in intimate detail. Striking out on his own as a marketing consultant, Karl worked not only with numerous music industry clients, but other businesses which further developed his skill set. Along the way, Karl authored numerous articles to share his percussion marketing expertise; many are included in the book's appendix. Also included are capsule histories of the Ludwig and Gretsch drum companies, and a good look at the inner workings of the Percussion Marketing Council for the past nineteen years. Pretty much anyone who has worked in the percussion industry over the last five decades has crossed paths with Karl Dustman. This book has been painstakingly written to provide insights and details to a career that spans over fifty-five years and continues to this day. The huge assortment of photos, internal documents, examples of the many different marketing, sales, promotional product launch materials, and massive trade show exhibits are included in each of the nine chapters. The personal stories and memorable moments illustrates an ever-changing industry filled with products, people, company mergers, brand acquisitions, and personal uncertainty for the future through five decades of career development. This could also serve as an "industry textbook," illustrating the vast differences in the industry's retail, wholesale distribution, and manufacturing environments and workplaces. The journey is not limited to percussion but includes direct experiences with acoustic and digital pianos, electric, acoustic, and classical guitars, and even sound reinforcement.