News

Mary Luehrsen – 2015 Don Johnson Industry Service Award Winner

Eight New NAMM Board Members Elected

At its Annual Meeting of Members, held January 24 during the 2015 NAMM Show, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) named eight new music industry professionals to its board of directors. The NAMM Board provides leadership, counsel and direction to NAMM, the NAMM Foundation, and the global music products industry.

In welcoming the eight incoming industry leaders, chairman Larry Morton expressed his confidence in the expertise and dedication of the new directors. “We are delighted to welcome these successful and respected professionals to the NAMM Board,” said Morton. “They represent a diverse cross-section of our NAMM Membership and they will bring their unique market perspectives to help us lead the organization forward. We’re very grateful that they are willing to make this commitment on behalf of our NAMM Members and the industry at large.”

Craigie Zildjian Honored at 2015 SheRocks Awards

Chauvet DJ Takes Home Two DCAs

D’Addario Team Receives MMR Dealers’ Choice Award

Peavey Electronics Honored with NAMM Milestone Award

NAMM honored Peavey Electronics Corporation® with the Milestone Award for 50 years of service in the music products industry. The award recognizes retailers and manufacturers who have succeeded over the years through best practices and strong community standing to reach a landmark anniversary.

“Our philosophy has always been simple – we didn’t start out to be the biggest, we wanted to be the best”, said Hartley Peavey of Peavey Electronics Corporation in Meridian, Miss. 

Hartley was given the award by NAMM CEO and President Joe Lamond during Peavey’s 50th Anniversary celebration at the Hilton Anaheim on Jan. 22.

Brian Ball Appointed President of Ernie Ball, Inc.

Ernie Ball, Inc. has announced Brian Ball as its new president. Company CEO Sterling Ball made the announcement, representing the company’s long-term plans for growth and expansion.

Brian’s grandfather Ernie Ball founded the company in 1962; Ernie Ball Inc.’s three-generation family legacy is strong, and Brian’s rich background and history with the company will allow him to serve the business while adding innovations and updates to the product line, as well as company culture and branding.

Sterling Ball stated, “Since 1962, Ernie Ball Inc. has been dedicated to providing tools for artists, and we are excited to see what another 50-plus years in the industry will bring under Brian’s leadership.”

Gibson Bands Donates $50,000 to Wounded Warrior Project, Hosts Scavenger Hunt to Give Away Over $50,000 Worth of Products

Gibson Brands will host a Golden Ticket scavenger hunt on Friday, January 23, 2015 in conjunction with the NAMM Convention at the Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The forty (40) Golden Ticket prizes will consist of Gibson and Epiphone electric and acoustic guitars along with Gibson Brands Pro Audio equipment totaling over $50,000 in value.  With every ticket found, Gibson will make a donation to Wounded Warrior Project with a guaranteed total of $50,000.  Clues as to the location of the items in The Great Gibson Grab are on Twitter: @gibsonguitar #GibsonGrab @wwpinc #woundedwarriorproject. The scavenger hunt will be in the four blocks surrounding the Convention Center (800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim, California  92802) from 10-3 p.m. on January 23 and the guitars and gear will be redeemed with the tickets at 3:30 p.m. at the Gibson Bus which will be parked on the grounds of the Anaheim Convention Center outside next to the Venue Arena, near the NAMM outdoor “Venue Stage.”  The hunt is open to the general public and the attendees of the NAMM Convention.

ROLI Names Stein Head of Sales Americas, Launches Equator Synth

ROLI, design-led music technology leader and developer of the award-winning Seaboard GRAND, today announced that Gregg Stein will join the ROLI team as head of Sales, Americas. This follows a breakthrough 2014 which has seen units shipping around the world to customers, and leading artists such as Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman performing on the Seaboard to global audiences. ROLI recently secured $16.5m in from leading venture capital firms in 2014, and acquired JUCE, an acclaimed C++ framework used by leading audio companies such as Korg, Pioneer and Akai Professional.

AES Announces that Avid’s Hernandez, Jr. Will be Keynote Speaker at 57th Intl. Conferene

The AES has announced that Avid chairman, president, and CEO Louis Hernandez, Jr. will give the keynote speech at the 57th International Conference, taking place in Hollywood, California, March 6-8, 2015. The Conference, being held at the world-famous TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Hollywood Boulevard, will feature some of the best and brightest in the world of engineering for entertainment production, as the AES holds its first-ever dedicated event on The Future of Audio Entertainment Technology. Hernandez will present his keynote address on March 6, at 8:00 AM.

Ashly Audio Appoints Leslie Executive VP

Ashly Audio has announced that industry veteran Scott Leslie will join the company as executive vice president. Ashly and its parent company, JAM Industries, are committed to a new growth strategy and they are drawing on Leslie’s vision, experience, and leadership to help execute it. In the newly-created position, Leslie reports to Ashly CEO and president Mark Wentling and oversees the R&D, marketing, and the North American sales divisions.

HARMAN Acquires SM Pro Audio

HARMAN announced the acquisition of Melbourne, Australia-based SM Pro Audio and its incorporation into the HARMAN Professional Division as an innovation hub for a wide range of pro audio and musical instrument (MI) technologies across HARMAN’s professional product brands.  According to Blake Augsburger, president, HARMAN Professional Division, the depth of innovation and quality of engineering talent at SM Pro Audio provides HARMAN Professional with a strong internal technology partner for a broad range of products