Here we are, smack-dab in the middle of summer, and I’m about to ask you to think about events in December. Hey, it’s only fair – if I’ve got to be mindful of this stuff, you could at least come along for the ride, too.
Nominations for MMR’s 29th annual Dealers’ Choice Awards (DCAs) are now open. Hit up https://mmrmagazine.com/dca/ to let your voice be heard! While the voting for final winners across all categories (later this fall) will be limited to current MMR subscribers only, this part of the process is open to all. Know of a recent product or instrument introduction that has been ringing the register at your MI retail business? Now would be the time to share that info with us and your fellow readers and dealers.
As usual, we’ll be announcing those who worked their way to top honors in our December issue, but before we get there, you all need to help determine who deserves to be considered across each of the 17 categories. If you’re exclusively, say, a Band & Orchestra retailer, simply nominate brands and models relevant to your business and leave the rest blank – couldn’t be easier! If you don’t have much to say about electric guitars or sound reinforcement, but lots to suggest when it comes to home digital keyboards, that input is not only welcome, but essential. Please join the fun and help determine what brands will ultimately wind up with pretty, pointy, heavy crystal trophies (the things could truly do some serious damage and are brutal to lug around the Convention Center) come Winter NAMM-time when we hand out the things.
Oh, yeah – the other “big news”: MMR, along with sister titles, School Band & Orchestra, JAZZed, and Choral Directorrecently went through an change in ownership (see page 8 for more details), but it’s pretty much business as usual over here – only more focused, more determined, and… well better. All the usual hoo-ha, such as the annual Dealers’ Choice Awards, remains as it ever was. I’ve been through four of these “transitions,” myself, and I can say with absolute honesty and no small degree of pride (Humility? Pfft… What good has that overrated character trait ever done me?) that we remain dedicated to covering and serving the MI community at the highest level and look forward to continued and strengthened relationships with all of our readers and partners in the industry. The MMR of today is now staffed exclusively by musicians, gearheads, nerds, geeks – we’re all lifers who “get” both you and your customers – and have the piles of gear, tales from the road, and diminished checking accounts to prove it.
Summer NAMM (see page 12) was a welcome reminder of why ours is the business I want to be involved in. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. MMR has been around for over 140 years and I’ll be damned if that noble lifespan is going to be cut short on my watch. With Mike Lawson at the helm as publisher (do ask him about his eight billion guitars – assuming you have three hours to spare) it’s a safe bet that we’ll be doing everything we can possibly think of to help advance music making and music education in the months and years to come.
Looking Back on 2025: A Year of Controlled Chaos (Emphasis on “Controlled”)