Raymond Music to Close as Young Owner Tunes Into a New Chapter

After three years of running his music store largely on his own, Bryce Raymond is ready to close the doors and figure out what comes next.

Raymond Music, located in Goleta, is set to close August 28 after three years of offering instrument repairs, sales, lessons, and rentals. Raymond plans to move back to Las Vegas, where he grew up, and take some time to explore what he wants his next chapter to look like.

“I started to think about what I actually want to be doing,” Raymond said. “I opened a full music shop, but really, my specialty is woodwind and brass repairs. That’s what I enjoy the most.”

The decision to close wasn’t made overnight — he’d been thinking about it for months, increasingly questioning whether running a full-service music store was the right fit for him. 

Eventually the cost of operating a business in Santa Barbara, combined with the demands of running the shop largely by himself, eventually pushed him toward a change.

“I knew I needed to hire somebody because working roughly seven days a week, 14 hours a day is just not feasible long term,” he said. “But I looked at the numbers and realized I’d have to make an exorbitant amount of money in order to hire someone else.”

Raymond’s path to Santa Barbara was hardly planned. He was studying computer science at Grand Canyon University in Arizona when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down his school, housing, and job at a local instrument shop. After returning to his parents’ home in Las Vegas, Raymond began applying for whatever work he could find.

The only opportunity that came through was in Santa Barbara, where he was offered an apprenticeship with veteran instrument repair technician Nick Rail. Raymond already had experience repairing instruments, but he said Rail taught him the skills he needed to become a professional-level technician.

After Rail retired, Raymond saw an opportunity to open a music store of his own. There was a demand for another local option, and Raymond figured he had the experience and knowledge to give it a shot.

“I was only in town because of the job,” he said. “It just kind of happened to work out that way.”

At just 23, Raymond opened Raymond Music in 2023. With help from his dad, grandpa, and a few friends, he built much of the store himself, including the walls, lesson rooms, and workbenches. 

Being able to build the business from the ground up is something Raymond said he is particularly proud of. He secured a business loan while still in his early 20s, developed the store’s layout, and spent years working long hours to keep it running.

What began with Raymond’s specialty in woodwind and brass repair eventually expanded to include guitars, string instruments, lessons, and other services. While he learned to handle many of those areas, he eventually realized that trying to do everything was taking him further away from the work he enjoyed most.

“Don’t do too much,” Raymond said when asked what lesson he would take with him if he were to start over. “You don’t need to do quite everything all the time.”

For now, Raymond isn’t rushing into another storefront. He plans to take a break, potentially work a regular job to build up some savings and explore other interests, including computer science and mechanically oriented work.

Eventually, he hopes to return to instrument repair on a smaller scale, potentially working out of his home before opening another storefront. But if he does return to retail, he said it would likely look very different: a smaller operation focused primarily on woodwind and brass repairs, with a limited sales floor.

“That’s an idea for later down the road,” Raymond said. “For now I’m taking it as it comes.”