GAMA Organization Celebrates 80 Years of Advocacy

In existence since 1933, the Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association (GAMA) has been representing and promoting the American guitar industry for 80 years now.

After decades of expansion, GAMA refocused its energies in the mid-’90s and began to seriously concentrate on guitar education as a means to advance the instrument’s profile and strengthen the culture.  The resultant Teaching Guitar Workshops (TGW) program, along with the partnership with Guitars in the Classroom (GITC), has impacted thousands of educators and many hundreds of thousands of students. MMR spoke with a few key GAMA officers and board members about the organization’s mission statement and observations on the current state of the guitar market.

Industry Involvement

Robert Sulkow, GAMA’s executive director, notes, “When I first started working with GAMA, the Teaching Guitar Workshops were just a test program. The group was highly focused on its sales data report and was not a strong industry participant. Since then, GAMA has emerged as an engine for market development and the creation of shared value. GAMA’s impact is social and economic.”

Enhanced and expanded industry support will be key to GAMA’s future growth, says current GAMA Board vice president Peter D’Addario of D’Addario & Co.: “Teaching Guitar Workshops have trained over 2,500 teachers in the last 10 years, providing them with guitars, accessories, and the educational tools that they need to offer guitar in their music programs. Teaching Guitar workshops have been extremely successful.

“In 2013-2014 we are looking to expand on our mission and get involved in supporting other types of guitar education programs. Frankly, we need more industry-wide support to make this happen. GAMA is made up of 50 or so members, however some of the most prominent companies in our industry are not members. If we had 100-plus members, we would have the financial ability to support a wider range of programs.”

Current GAMA member and past-president Harvey Levy of Levy’s Leathers can speak to the value of partnering with GAMA first-hand.  “Levy’s has benefited greatly from being a part of GAMA,” he says.“ In addition to getting to know key members in our industry, I have gained insights into the music business that I could not have discovered on my own. Many of the 68 distributors Levy’s has around the world were referrals or introductions from GAMA members. There is always talk about ‘giving back to the industry’ by getting involved in industry associations, but it is a two-way street. There is much to be gained by being involved with others who make their living selling related and similar products.  Through my close association with GAMA over the years, I’ve had dinner, drinks, conversations, and meetings with many of the major guitar and accessory manufacturers and distributors. Not only has it been personally enjoyable, but has also increased my understanding of our industry and contributed to Levy’s success.”

Keeping Interest Alive

A challenge that all guitar suppliers and retailers struggle with in today’s climate is the seemingly decreased interest in the instrument amongst younger people.  Is it the diminished visibility of guitar in popular music?  The lack of guitar-driven music on the charts? “Excellent question,” says D’Addario. “Industry trends show the guitar’s popularity is diminishing. Is it because guitar songs don’t top the charts any longer? That is probably part of it. There is a multitude of explanations. I will offer this: We live in a world of instant gratification. We can get any information we want with our smart phones and we can access movies, music, and any entertainment we want 24/7. The guitar does not provide that type of instant gratification.  It is hard work to learn to play and anyone who is good will tell you about the hours that they spent practicing and learning. But they will also tell you how rewarding it is when you reach that level where you can play and jam with others. All the instant gratification in the world can’t replace the feeling you get making music with other people. And GAMA is here to nurture that. Our goal is to keep the guitar at the center of music education and to provide opportunities for young people to learn the guitar and get together to play music.”

Looking to the Future

Taking advantage of opportunities provided via social media is a key component of GAMA’s outreach strategies going forward. “GAMA leverages technology to augment the tools and knowledge it provides to the education community and also to bring GAMA members closer to classroom guitar educators,” says Sulkow. “Our communications strategy involves social media, blogging, and surveys. All of these areas deliver valuable information, which help us bring compelling content to our constituents.”  D’Addario adds, “The Teaching Guitar Facebook page (www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Teaching-Guitar-Workshops/98983006090) is very active.”

“Right now, we are focusing on building partnerships and expanding the Teaching Guitar Workshops, but we’re planning several exciting things,” says Sulkow of what the immediate future holds for GAMA. 

“We are also working towards making TGW more self-sufficient in terms of funding, allowing us to branch out into other areas,” says D’Addario. “We would love to be able to support more guitar education programs and training sessions, as well as being able to create a successful marketing campaign centered around playing the guitar.”

 Although future initiatives wouldn’t necessarily be limited to just the guitar.  As Sulkow observes, “Our metrics suggest that school music educators may be interested in ukulele, bass, and electric guitar/guitar technology. We’re discussing different marketing campaigns, learning labs, and community guitar programs.”