About Alfred Publishing

Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., (alfred.com) the world leader in music education products since 1922, is dedicated to helping people experience the joy of making music. With hundreds of expert authors and composers backed by a talented staff in six offices worldwide, Alfred publishes educational, reference and performance pieces for teachers, students and performers spanning every musical instrument and style.

Alfred Piantodosi, a composer and musician, founded Alfred Publishing Company in New York in 1922. His modest Tin Pan Alley pop song catalog included such hits as "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe"—songs that still generate revenue for the company.

Sam Manus, a violinist who had provided background music for silent movies, bought the company in 1928. In 1950, Sam's son Morty, a clarinetist and pianist, and his wife Iris, began working for the company. Inspired by the need for quality music education products, Morty oversaw the development of an instructional series for accordion, followed by books for guitar and piano.

Alfred outgrew its New York headquarters in 1975 and moved its offices to Los Angeles and its warehouse to upstate New York. At this time John O'Reilly joined Alfred as an editor and oversaw its explosion of band and orchestra titles. In the 1980s, overall sales doubled to $12 million and Morty's sons Steven and Ron joined the company. The 1990s saw expansion into the international market with branch offices in Australia, Asia, the U.K. and Germany, and sales doubled again to over $25 million. Today, Alfred is the world’s largest educational music publisher, with over 15,000 active print, video (DVD, VHS/PAL), software, general MIDI, audio CD, and enhanced CD titles in circulation throughout the world.

Alfred has either acquired or made distribution agreements with an impressive array of other publishers including National Guitar Workshop, Studio 4 Productions, the Dover Music catalog, Faber Music, Myklas Music Press, and Highland-Etling. In addition, we've recently expanded our state-of-the-art warehouse in New York to 100,000 square feet. Our specially designed picking and shipping systems ensure almost 100% accuracy in filling orders.

Most recently, Alfred purchased Warner Bros. Publications—one of the largest publishers of printed music—from Warner Music Group.

As we enter our second century, Alfred continues embracing new technologies while adapting to market changes—all with a company-wide commitment to service. From "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" to the creation of the world's best-selling piano method and the production of interactive music software, Alfred steadily expands its sales through the dedication of our highly trained and talented staff throughout the world.