Hot Times In ‘Music City’

“Industry conditions continue to change rapidly, and this year’s Summer NAMM Show provided a unique platform for our members to better understand the impact of these changes.,” observes NAMM’s Joe Lamond.

14,055 registered attendees (representing a 1 percent increase compared to last year and a 14 percent increase over 2014) seemingly agreed, with a commonly reported assessment that this year’s gathering in Nashville was the strongest in quite some time. Evidence of this was borne out, in part, by the return of a handful of significant exhibitors which had been no-shows in recent years, joining returning companies and new faces. In total, this Summer NAMM Show featured 517 exhibitors, an increase of five percent compared to ’15.

NAMM reports that this year’s convention had a similar number of registered buyers as at the 2015 event, though with a slight dip in community music stores, but an uptick in buyers from Asia and Europe and strong representation from larger U.S. dealers.

“Armed with stronger relationships between retailer and vendor, the latest in product offerings, and a clearer sense of fall and holiday inventory needs, I believe that the companies who were with us in Nashville are better prepared for the coming months,” adds Lamond. “The great energy of the NAMM community could be felt from the opening Breakfast Sessions to the fantastic evening events.”

The 2017 NAMM Show will take place January 19-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

Voices from the Show Floor

“The show was great for us, and the [Ernie Ball] party was a blast. We didn’t exhibit last year, so I can’t really speak to any improvement but the show definitely improved from when we last came.

The overall vibe to our new products was amazing. Dealers who hadn’t seen the St. Vincent/Valentine/Cutlass/Sting Ray got to see them in person for the first time, as many of them didn’t attend winter NAMM show.

The new expression pedals were also a huge hit. Most importantly, the quality of conversations definitely was better at this show than in the madness of Anaheim.

We’re definitely happy to be back, and hope the show continues to grow.” – Brian Ball, Ernie Ball, Inc.

“This year’s Summer NAMM was teriffic! As can be expected in a steamy, hot environment, the vibe of the show was slow and calm. Happily, the business was brisk and solid! A steady flow of retailer traffic gave us our best order writing summer show in the last five years. We met with many new dealers and had plenty of time to talk and socialize in the evening with existing dealers. Overall the show was an improvement of the recent past shows, and seems to be getting better each year. We were very happy with the results of this year’s NAMM Show and thank the entire NAMM team for another great event!” – Stephen Schmidt, Casio America, Inc.

“We seemed to be getting a lot more recognition from people and therefore a lot more interest – but I assume that’s because there’s been a whole year for the market to learn about the BeatBuddy.” – David Packouz, Singular Sound

“This was our first Summer NAMM at our new distributor’s booth, so it’s hard to compare… Time will tell if business was up, too.” – Rafael Atijas, Loog

“The Summer NAMM Show is always good for us. We are able to meet and interact with over 100 of our customers, both big and small. Nashville is a great host and we had almost 1,000 people attend our annual Summer BBQ on Wednesday night.

It felt like there was more vendor and dealer participation, but that’s anecdotal.” – Peter D’Addario, D’Addario & Co.

“Hosa had a great show this year. We saw an increase in business compared to last year, with more quality visits with dealers. Summer NAMM is still one of the best ways for us to connect with smaller shops that don’t necessarily make the trip out to Anaheim. If a prospective dealer, or someone who is currently buying through distribution, stopped by the booth, we had an unhurried opportunity to walk them through the product line and necessary steps to going direct.

“The overall vibe is that of a regional guitar show, with a casual nature that makes it easy for both exhibitor and attendee. Also, the continuation of ‘public day’ helped to avoid the dreaded last day crawl that can happen at other trade shows. Overall, the trip made for a successful show and an easy decision for Hosa to keep coming back to Nashville. – Kyle Lassegard, Hosa Technology, Inc.

“I thought it was a good show. It was good to see a few more manufactures back supporting the show. Hopefully this will motivate some more dealers to visit, as well, in the future. As far as comparing to last year on a business level it was pretty similar. We have plans to continue to support the Summer show.” – Tim Pfouts, S.I.T. Strings Co., Inc

“I felt a better openness and willingness from other attendees to discuss ideas, whether that was dealer to dealer, or manufacturer to dealer. There was a sense that some of the hot air had left the balloon, and a refreshing sense of humility was making its way back into conversations. It appeared that everyone was a bit more open, and I believe that is because in the music business we are currently in a time of rediscovery; it’s no longer just about sales and big name lines. The industry seems to be looking for leadership and vision and innovative thinking. The art form of music making has begun to re-enter the discussion and, funny enough, that will eventually lead back to sales.” – Menzie Pittman, Contemporary Music Center

2016 Summer NAMM Best & Worst In Show Awards

Best Big Win

The Top 100 Dealers awards presentation is always great fun and this year’s even moreso when regular MMR contributor Menzie Pittman’s Contemporary Music Center was named Dealer of the Year. All stores represented were (and are!) deserving, but it was particularly gratifying to see Menzie pick up the trophy.

Best Kickoff

It may feel like a broken-record type situation to include this event once again, but what can I say – it’s just that good. D’Addario’s Pre-NAMM Party set things off on a great note with mouth-watering BBQ, local beers, goodie bags, and great live music (pictured: The Mojo’s All-Star Bluegrass Band).

Worst ‘Commute’

I don’t mind walking, personally. I walk all the time – pretty long distances, too. You wouldn’t think the 1.5 city block trek from my hotel to Music City Center would be any big deal, but in the insanely oppressive heat hitting Nashville this June, even a few steps outside was brutal.

Best Mid-Day Concert

On Friday afternoon, legendary guitarist Robben Ford put the Roland Blues Cube through its paces – you can’t ask for much better lunchtime listening than that!

Best Return

They’d been gone from the Nashville get-together for a few years, but Ernie Ball returned to Summer NAMM – and they came back with a bang. The company hosted “Picker’s Paradise” at Mercury Lounge, introducing new gear and featuring performances by a ton of impressive musicians, including a white-hot set from Motley Crue lead guitarist, Mick Mars.

Worst No-Show

A byproduct of a show that was busy at all hours of the day and night (a good thing!): I had no “free time” to hit up my beloved Springwater Supper Club. Oh well – there’s always next year!