In 2010 Miller Piano Specialists was awarded Yamaha Authorized Dealer status for Middle Tennessee, a great honor for a small, locally-owned, family-run piano store. In 2023, as part of their move toward retirement, Ross and Sylvia Miller began to transition the company to new ownership, entering into a management agreement with the future owner. This future owner took over the majority of management and operations in February 2023. After more than 13 years of providing world-class sales and support of Yamaha Piano products, including a near record year for the store in 2023 under the management agreement, Yamaha appointed one of their national dealers to service the market. As such, effective March 31, 2024, Miller Piano Specialists’ authorized Yamaha Piano Dealer status expired.
Understanding our many years of Yamaha customers may have questions about service and support, we offer the following FAQ.
Q: What happened?
A: In the fall of 2019, Ross and Sylvia Miller expressed their desire to retire to Yamaha Corporation of America and began looking for a suitor to purchase their company. The Yamaha dealer agreement specifies that when a Yamaha Authorized Dealer company is sold, Yamaha Authorized Dealer status is excluded from that sale, and Yamaha reserves the right to manage its distribution as it sees fit.
Yamaha denied two business proposals from two qualified dealers interested in purchasing Miller Piano Specialists—one an existing Yamaha dealer and the other a well-regarded education company wanting to expand into music products retail. Both buyers ultimately decided they would not proceed with the purchase of Miller Piano Specialists without the Yamaha authorization.
To the best of our knowledge, during this time, Yamaha engaged other dealers in its national network to explore their interest in the Nashville market. At least one of the national companies expressed interest, and Yamaha engaged with them.
When another purchaser for Miller Piano Specialists came forward, a retired Yamaha executive, talks were again initiated with Yamaha, and a comprehensive, multi-year business plan was presented, focused on updating the retail piano experience. Yamaha ultimately decided to stick with the status quo and awarded the authorization to the national company.
Miller Piano Specialists’ Yamaha Authorized Dealer status was non-renewed, a standard procedure for Yamaha in these types of matters, finalizing on 3/31/2024.
Q: I purchased a Yamaha Piano from Miller Piano Specialists after April 1, 2024. What about my Yamaha Warranty?
A:Yamaha extended, in writing, the ability for Miller Piano Specialists to continue to sell new Yamaha inventory between April 1, 2024, and May 31, 2024, with all new sales being authorized by Yamaha and the new Yamaha Piano warranty being fully intact.
Customers who purchased during this time should expect warranty coverage in line with their instrument’s Yamaha warranty. This is true for all Yamaha Piano, Disklavier, Clavinova, and other Yamaha Piano category instruments.
Q: I bought my Yamaha instrument before March 31, 2024. What should I expect?
A: Miller Piano Specialists has been providing world-class service to piano buyers in the Middle Tennessee area since 2002. We were not appointed as a Yamaha Authorized dealer until 2010.
Part of the sale of Miller Piano Specialists to the new buyer includes requirements for continuity of service. While it’s spelled out in the purchase agreement, the new owner has proved to be very focused on not only meeting the prior service levels but exceeding them.
We look forward to you learning about our next-generation piano store plans and the amazing new programs that will benefit our past customers. Though our company no longer sells new Yamaha instruments, we remain Yamaha Piano experts and will continue to support past and future customers with knowledge and expertise only available with decades of experience.
Want to know more about our new owners? You can find more information here.
Q: If you’re not selling new Yamaha pianos, what will you sell?
A: It’s no secret that Yamaha is one of the best-marketed pianos in the world. Yamaha is the largest music products company globally and invests massive resources to ensure consumers know its products and its name. However, Yamaha is not the largest piano company in the world.
While Yamaha is a very quality and durable piano, there’s a widely held belief in the industry that the world’s best pianos come from Europe (e.g., the Hamburg Steinway compared to the American Steinway), and the highest value pianos come from either China or Indonesia. This value proposition of high quality and low price, specifically available in today’s Chinese instruments, is what propelled the Yamaha piano’s popularity in the 1970s and 1980s.
Miller Piano Specialists has represented Pearl River pianos, the world’s largest piano manufacturer, since the company’s founding in 2002 and remains committed to the Pearl River group of products (Pearl River, Ritmuller, Kayserberg). Pearl River is built in the world’s most modern and advanced piano factory, encompassing more than 1.2 million square feet, in China. Many industry experts argue it is currently the industry’s best value proposition. We’re particularly fond of the Ritmuller instruments (European design and materials/components, built in Pearl River’s factory for a fraction of the price of a comparable European instrument).
Additionally, Miller Piano Specialists is authorized for Seiler Pianos, one of the industry’s oldest and most trusted brands, but one that many American consumers may not have heard of. Seiler ranges from hand-built instruments made in its German factory to widely produced instruments made in Indonesia. Seiler does not manufacture in China.
Finally, a large portion of Miller Piano Specialists’ business has always been in finding good used pianos from trusted brands (like Yamaha, Kawai, Steinway, Baldwin, Mason & Hamlin, Chickering, etc.), servicing those instruments to current playability standards, adding our store warranty and lifetime trade-up program to them, and selling them for fair prices.
We will continue to be aggressive in offering our customers great pianos at the most affordable prices available and will work hard to remain the best value piano store, with the highest levels of service, in Middle Tennessee.
Q: How do I get service or support for my Yamaha instrument purchased from Miller Piano Specialists?
A: The same as always… connect with us at 615-771-0020, or chat with us online. We remain committed to ensuring you have an amazing experience with your instrument. We’re so focused on service, even customers who didn’t purchase from us are in awe at the level of service and support we provide.
Additional Questions?
Have additional questions that you’d like us to address? Submit our Ask a Specialists form, call us at 615-771-0020, or text/chat with us using our online tools.
