“Believe in Music Week was conceived last August when it became clear that the physical NAMM Show would not be possible,” explains NAMM president and CEO Joe Lamond. “From that humble starting point, we kept our members needs in mind and built a platform that welcomed our community with new products, education and training and engaging live streaming to advocate for music and music education. We learned a ton and can’t wait to explore the exciting opportunities this virtual event has created.”
While nobody (nobody that we spoke with, anyway) would suggest that even the most well organized and presented streaming events, videos, and Zoom meetings – in this case over 600(!) hours of content – could replace the experience of an in-person convention, the whole week could only be considered a runaway success. NAMM and participating companies and organizations managed to put together a meaningful experience under extremely challenging circumstances.
In all, Believe in Music Week was attended by 93,226 individuals with 1,227 brands “exhibiting” and hosting just under 700 events. 187 nations and territories were represented with international participants making up over one third of the total number (33,379). Additionally, over half a million dollars were raised for 12 nonprofit beneficiary organizations as well as other NAMM Foundation charities that work to advance access to music-making.
Chris Martin, NAMM Chair and CEO of Martin Guitar, said, “As you may have heard, the guitar business is pretty good despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. While some of us are doing ok, other members of our association and the communities they serve to continue to struggle. Believe in Music week served to help those in need while benefitting the industry at-large with education and the opportunities to connect.”
Voices from the (Virtual) Show Floor
“We have been pleasantly surprised with the number of quality engagements and the size of livestream crowds throughout the week. The live chats have been lively and feedback from attendees has been great so far. After hosting about a dozen unique NAMM live events yesterday we are coming up on about 10K total impressions, so I’m feeling good about the overall ROI for the week already. The NAMM crew has been a pleasure to work with – even as we all have been collectively building the plane while we’re flying it in some cases. Thanks to Joe and everyone for staying positive and innovating and listening to exhibitor and attendee feedback along the way. Here’s to another successful day today as we wrap up the week!” – Jeff Hawley, marketing director, Allen & Heath USA
“It was a very impactful and positive experience! In addition to our virtual booth, we hosted 15 virtual sessions that were attended by thousands of music retailers and consumers, far more than we would have reached in a traditional setting. In the absence of the physical show, it was great for our staff to connect with our retailer customers in a special way, outside the normal course of doing business. We also connected with store employees who normally don’t attend the NAMM Show. From a marketing perspective, BIM Week provided a huge, broader reach. Our virtual sessions are now available on demand and viewable by anyone that wants to see them, not just the fortunate few that get to attend the NAMM Show.” – Larry Morton, CEO, Hal Leonard
“It’s been just as busy as a traditional NAMM Show for us. You know, when I’m talking to our sales reps, both here, based in California, and around the world, they’ve had just as many meetings… actually, more meetings, than they would normally have. Now, you have access to every dealer that is a Taylor dealer, where at the NAMM Show, you might be dealing with maybe 25 percent of the dealers who actually make the trip to Anaheim. And then, in the following weeks, you end up having calls with the dealers that didn’t come to Anaheim.
So what our reps are doing is, once the dealer views our product-launch videos, they set a follow-up meeting to discuss dealer programs, what type of goals we’re setting for this year, and additional products that might not have been in the launch videos. And for me, my job is basically coaching, cheering, and inspiring our team to have those long days. And we’ve got team members here in California that are starting at 5:30 in the morning with their meetings. Some of them have dealers on the East Coast, so they want to get started early. Even myself, I was on Zoom meetings this week late night with Singapore, New Zealand, last night was South Korea. It’s also really been nice to wake up in my own bed every night!” – Monte Montefusco, vice president of sales, Taylor Guitars
“Yamaha connected with thousands of dealers, educators, artists, and sound professionals and inspired our customers with a powerful Yamaha experience during NAMM Believe in Music Week. We live for these relationships, and though we were physically separated, we were present at every moment of the virtual show – from dozens of product demos to our Night of Worship and ‘The Sound of Us’ documentary streaming events. We strive to empower our customers to progress personally, make an impact and come together with others through music. Their reaction to our presence humbled us. We will keep working to make certain they can rely on Yamaha to help them make waves.” – Tom Sumner, president, Yamaha Corporation of America
“We at D’Addario were so incredibly impressed by the support and laser-fast communications we received from the NAMM Believe in Music exhibitor support team. Understanding that the platform was new to all of us, the NAMM team were extremely collaborative, responsive and accommodating. As event managers, physical or virtual, NAMM continues to prove to be best in class.” – Chris Griffiths, chief sales officer, D’Addario & Co.
Tours Galore
Albeit not quite an up-close-and-personal experience, virtual factory and facility tours reigned supreme at Believe in Music Week, as both major brands and up-and-comers guided fans and retailers through their workstations. Viewers were transported as far as Brazil (Tagima) to peek inside factories and facilities, and while there certain were a fair share of guitar companies jumping on the trend (PRS, Cole Clark, Breedlove), the tours available ran the gamut of the MI world. JodyJazz, D’Addario Woodwinds, Tycoon Percussion, Electro-Voice, Mojotone, and Santa Cruz Gear Company also welcomed folks into their homes and headquarters. It’s an opportunity that in “normal” circumstances likely wouldn’t happen (who wants to watch a screen on a gorgeous day in Anaheim?), but fit the needs of the moment. Booth tours are so 2020.
36th Annual TEC Awards
Winners of the 36th NAMM Technical Excellence and Creativity (TEC Awards) were virtually announced on January 22 during Believe in Music Week, celebrating the wide-spanning audio work in music-making, live performances, video games, television and films.
“Despite the global pandemic, the industry continued to innovate, creating one of the largest collectives of product nominees in the 35-year history of the awards,” shared Eric Geer, TEC Entries & Nominations supervisor. “And given the world engaged in virtual interaction on an unprecedented level, the products honored helped connect us all by delivering music and sound across the world.”
The biggest winner of the day was Universal Audio, who won four awards, followed by JBL and AKG, who won two awards each. New inductees to the TECnology Hall of Fame include the Western Electric 639A Ribbon Microphone (1938); RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer (1957); 3M M56 16-Track Recorder (1968); Constant Directivity Horn, Don Keele (1975), and the Near Field Monitoring, Ed Long (1977).
The Parnelli Awards
Also on Friday, the Parnelli Awards honored past award recipients in special event, “Keep the Torch Lit, 20 Years of Parnelli Awards” retrospective. The two-decade highlight reel also offered a memorial video saying goodbye to those we’ve lost this year, and some well-wishes and words from Parnelli Awards executive producer Terry Lowe, chairman of the Board of Advisors Marshall Bissett, and TPI’s Michael and Elizabeth O’Keefe.
Top 100 Dealer Awards
Friday, January 21 saw the virtual NAMM 100 Dealer Awards, with the industry gathering to celebrate independent music retailers. Beaverton, Oregon’s Five Star Guitars was selected as “Dealer of the Year.” A full list of honorees can be found at mmr.news/t100
NAMM Museum Renovations
On January 20, viewers were able to learn about the renovations made to NAMM’s Museum of Making Music, located in Carlsbad, California at NAMM’s global headquarters.
Originally launched to honor the centennial anniversary of NAMM, the museum staff felt like it was time to give the museum a bit of a facelift, especially since so many visitors to the museum comes from outside of the industry.
“Over the years, we came to serve hundreds of thousands of people and visitors from the general public,” shares Carolyn Grant, executive director of the museum. “Also, interestingly, most of those people were not familiar with the music products industry. We felt we were missing an opportunity to really reveal and interpret our industry for the general public and especially to invite them into this unique and rich, and vibrant world.”
Because the museum had initially been organized to celebrate NAMM’s centennial, its story ended in the late 1990s. Paired with some outdated technology in the exhibits, Grant says they finally hit a tipping point in recent years and made the decision to renovate, raising over $1 million in grants and donations.
2021 She Rocks Awards
The She Rocks Awards were presented on January 22, the final day of Believe in Music Week, swiftly transitioning to a virtual format for 2021. Esteemed women in music, such as The Go-Go’s, Nancy Wilson, Margaret Cho, and Amy Lee (of Evanescence), accepted honors from the comfort of their homes.
“It means so much when you’ve been doing this for 45 years and you’re recognized by your peers – your true peers, women in rock and roll,” shared The Runaways’ Cherie Curie, as she accepted the “Ground Breaker Award.”
Other musicians honored include drummer Cindy Blackman Santana, pianist Starr Parodi, engineer Ann Mincieli, as well as music industry professionals Gwen Bethel Riley (SVP of Music for Peloton Interactive) and Kim Warnick (executive director of Calling All Crows).
MMR readers will recognize Sharon Hennessey, president of On-Stage, as the recipient of the “Excellence Award,” celebrating her decades of service in her family’s Connecticut business.
“I’ve had the incredible opportunity to grow up in the music industry – I attended my first NAMM Show about 1988, and [saw] the Peavey booth with the line wrapped around the hallway to get a glimpse at Eddie Van Halen. Well, I did the responsible thing. On the way home on the plane, I decided to quit my first job, and join the family business.”
The surprise honoree of the evening was Laura Clapp Davidson, who was surprised with the “Champion Award” by Laura B. Whitmore, founder of the Women’s International Music Network.
At present, Summer NAMM 2021 is scheduled to take place July 15-17 at Music City Center in Nashville.
