Founded | 1922 |
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Founder | Sam Manus |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California |
Key people | Ron Manus, Morton Manus, Iris Manus, Gear Fisher |
Official website | www |
Alfred Music is a music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, (Los Angeles), California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
Alfred Music’s history began in New York City’s Tin Pan Alley in 1922, when Sam Manus, a violinist and importer of mood music for silent films, started a music publishing company and named it Manus Music. The company published primarily popular sheet music. In 1930, Sam acquired the music publisher, Alfred & Company, founded by Alfred Haase. Sam decided to combine the names and shortened it to Alfred Music, which the company is still known as today. Sam’s son, Morty (né Morton Manus; 1926–2016), clarinetist and pianist, began working for Alfred Music in the late 1940s and met his wife Iris at the company when the bookkeeper, Rose Kopelman, brought her daughter to work one day. Inspired by the need for quality music educational products. Morty, a clarinetist and pianist, oversaw the development of an instructional series for accordion, followed by books for guitar, piano, and recorder. Alfred Music was now more than just a sheet music publisher; the company was taking its first steps to becoming the leader in music education. In 1975, the firm moved to larger offices in Los Angeles. In 1980, with growing sales, the company went international.
In 2002, the company partnered with Daisy Rock Girl Guitars, and in 2005 it acquired Warner Bros. Publications from the Warner Music Group, again expanding its business.
As of 2016, Alfred Music is also paired with MakeMusic, which is part of Peaksware Holdings, LLC portfolio of companies, to transform how music is composed, published, taught, learned, and performed by bringing together the leaders in educational music publishing and music technology.
Behind the Player is a series of DVDs from Alfred Music Publishing, consisting of conversations with and bona fide song instruction from hard rock guitarists.