Chelsea Self/Post Independent
Streaming audio over the internet is nothing new — anyone with a computer or smart phone can do it quite easily. But stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus pandemic have increased the need for high quality audio streaming.
That built-in microphone in your computer or smart phone may be adequate for video conferencing with your office, but it does nothing to enhance the quality of music or detect the nuance of church services or teaching professionals.
So musicians, churches, teachers and businesses that depend on quality audio have developed an increased interest in professional audio interfaces for their streaming purposes.
Enter Glenwood Music, which has been deemed an “essential business” as defined by state regulations, but only for the technology products they sell related to internet streaming.
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“Colorado says that technology products that enable the stay-at-home order are considered essential, but everything else we sell is not,” said Joe Rodgers, owner of Glenwood Music.
The store can sell any of its products, as long as it is prepaid with a credit card and picked up curbside, shipped or delivered, but only with the streaming technology products can they allow anyone to come inside.
“We can allow one person into our store, as long as they use our disinfectant, hand sanitizer, abide by social distancing and all of that,” Rodgers said. “Because the technology products are complex enough that not everyone knows what they want.”
In addition to the computer interfaces Glenwood Music sells USB microphones. And for consumers who plan on using multiple microphones and/or instrument inputs, they also sell mixing boards.
“For bands, they can plug into the mixer, and take the output of the board into one of these interfaces,” Rodgers said. “That way they can use multiple instruments, which is also what the churches are doing — they’re using their own inhouse board and using these boxes to stream it.”
The selling of these essential technology products is the one piece of Glenwood Music’s business that Rodgers said has allowed the store to stay “open” over the past few weeks, despite the fact he has had to furlough all but one employee.
“At least it has allowed us to limp along and keep business flowing to some degree,” he said. “Even though it’s fallen off a cliff quite a bit.”