Well-known music shop closes down for good after 20 years at prominent location in Northampton
A well-known music shop has sadly closed its doors for good after 20 years at a prominent location in Northampton.
Musical instrument retailer Play Music Today (also known as PMT) has closed down all 11 of its UK stores across England and Wales, ceased trading, and entered administration.
PMT Northampton, in Bridge Street, is one of those affected and sadly closed down on June 11. The store first opened in the town in 2005.
According to administrators, the company has entered insolvency and appointed insolvency practitioners. Certain assets – including some stock, branding, and websites – have been sold to Gear4music Limited.
A Gear4music Limited spokesman said: “The closure of PMT will be felt across the music community. It’s a change that will be felt not only by customers, but by the people behind the brand – and across the wider music community that PMT served for many years.
“Like many of you, we were saddened to hear the news. Over the years, we’ve worked alongside the same suppliers, shared industry spaces, and even welcomed a few former colleagues into our team. This moment affects many people – and our thoughts are with everyone impacted.”
National reports suggest that there have been 96 redundancies across PMT's team, with 48 members of staff retained to assist administrators.
The store had a 4.7 out of five star rating from 500 Google reviews.
One recent reviewer said: “Visited the Northampton store today. Spoke to two staff and observed another. These people all love their jobs! All friendly and very helpful. Went in to do some window shopping and walked out with a guitar.”
Another wrote: “Amazing store. Workers are always friendly and ready to go above and beyond. Taken my guitar in so many times and they have always been able to tell me what’s wrong and fix it free of charge. They are amazing people.”
Independent music retailer St Giles Music paid tribute to the PMT Northampton team. In a Facebook post, they wrote: “Very sad news to hear that PMT Northampton has closed. Jay and the guys were a great team to have in town as a larger music retailer. Hope all goes well in the future, chaps!”