Don Teach writes [Digest 971030, "Artists ask for Yamaha"]:

  "Artists Ask for Yamaha......Randy Newman,  Marvin Hamlish ...,  Little
   Richard..., this weekend Jerry Lee Lewis....

  "...the biggest surprise for me was how many artists wanted the Yamaha
   Midi Grand.  The stage volume is unreal and often as loud as the main
   public-address amplifier."

I confess that I completely misunderstood what Don was saying in
the beginning.  When I hear, "artist" I think of Van Cliburn, or
Murray Perriah.

Somehow, I didn't think of performers like Randy Newman, Nasty Boys,
Nine Inch Nails, etc.  ;-)    Has anyone wondered why these "artists"
want a piano which can be played/augmented by a sequencer??

Most people think Nike invented the idea, but piano manufacturers have
always been promoters, with a stable of artists who will request their
product.

 Piano companies sign up artists whom the company believes will reach
their potential market.  For their best artists, the company supplies
a piano with a large name decal on the side visible to the audience.
No longer just the fallboard!

As far as an artist's preference for one piano over another, it's not
going to be scientific to look only at bookings.  Far from it.  I believe
it better to consider competitions such as the Van Cliburn Int. Piano
Comp.  we have here in Ft. Worth every four years.  Competitors have
their choice from a field of pianos, each carrying pedigree and
reputations of their own.  The pianos most often selected are Steinway.

In this venue, the artist is not looking to make the sweetest deal from
a corporate sponsor, but is trying to select the piano which will assist
him/her in sounding the absolute best.  I must add, though the most
favored pianos are Steinway, it is the ones _rebuilt_ by a particular
local tech which are most favored.

Robert Linnstaedt