Melissa Loggins
Musician/Business Owner/Community Leader
Melissa Loggins
Musician, Artist, Author, Community Builder and Owner of Music Authority
Melissa Schlea was born and raised in a small farming town just southwest of Toledo Ohio. It was a close-knit community, full of wonderful people, but economically depressed so her parents moved to sunnier skies in Georgia during her senior year of high school. Melissa stayed behind to graduate from Woodmore High School where she was one of about 74 students.
She went on to study Music at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Music Education for 3 years, then she switched to Music Business. She graduated in December 2000. She also interned in development for the Atlanta Opera while at Berry and went to work in music retail after college.
In 2002, Melissa was recruited to work out a business plan for a new company, and Music Authority was born (which was originally owned by the Martin Family). The next year she married Andrew Loggins, and the couple decided to purchase Music Authority and proceed to live in an apartment above Andrew’s dad’s carpet cleaning shop for the next 6 years because they bought a business instead of a house.
She had a dream and a vision – working toward that vision helped her accomplish her dreams and more. Melissa can discuss how to stay focused on and visualize what is important even during the tough times – how her music store survived through COVID-19 – and the coping skills that others can use based on her experience.
Music Authority has been the cornerstone of the North Georgia music scene for almost two decades. Music Authority empowers musicians to reach beyond their potential through dedicated instruction, world-class facilities, music equipment sales, rental and repair; formation of rock bands that perform at live venues around the area to build confidence through family, expert and peer support networks and community-service projects.
Music Authority is also known for and continually sets the benchmarks for top quality student experiences and professional instruction opportunities for music lessons. Music Authority's students have gone on to study at schools like Belmont, Middle Tennessee, North Georgia, UGA, Georgia Southern, and KSU.
The educational experience is committed to helping musicians by providing several collaborative and creative performance programs for our students. In their own venue, The Back Room, Music Authority hosts various workshops throughout the year. Keep an eye on the events page for the latest updates on what's going on at Music Authority.
Beyond the traditional lesson, Music Authority also offers opportunities to intern in sound production, event planning and learning beginning instrument repair. They carry an incredible selection of instruments and gear at low prices with an in-house disco repair shop.
Music Authority is recognized as one of the Top 100 Music Stores in the World for 8 years for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 by the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants). Melissa is a regular presenter at NAMM University (the educational programs) having presented 5 times in 4 years and is a presenter again in January 2025.
Music Authority
123 Merchants Square,
Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-9066
To learn more about Music Authority please visit MusicAuthority.com or on Facebook/MusicAuthority or visit the store location and backroom venue at 123 Merchants Square, Cumming, GA 30040.
BOOK SERIES:
Melissa is also a published author of eight books. She goes by the pen name Anne Schlea. Adults and young adult readers craving the latest paranormal read will enjoy Author Anne Schlea’s popular series on Amazon. She recently visited Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania strolling through Bran Castle and imagining what gave Novelist Bram Stoker the inspiration to write Dracula. She is an avid reader with a deep love of paranormal fiction, history and mythology. By merging these loves, she creates a vibrant world readers can step into. As a child, Anne read the entire paranormal fiction section of her hometown library in Northwest Ohio. Today, her personal collection holds over 3,000 titles.
Anne lives in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. She attends Dragon Con every year where she loves to meet new writers and attend writer's panels. Her writing buddy is a Siamese cat mix named for the Toto song Rosanna. In 2022, Anne was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She took an 18 month break from writing to battle cancer and to regain her health after she reached remission in September 2022. She has published 8 books. The Retribution Universe: Retribution, Contrition, Sovereign, Genesis and Amends. She has also written The Fallen, Orphan of the Fallen and Recruit of the Fallen.
Music Authority
123 Merchants Square,
Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-9066
To learn more about Music Authority please visit MusicAuthority.com or on Facebook/MusicAuthority or visit the store location and backroom venue at 123 Merchants Square, Cumming, GA 30040.