“This year’s show was truly a testament to the collective energy created when NAMM members from around the world come together. It was simply amazing,” says NAMM president and CEO Joe Lamond.
With a record-setting 1,726 exhibitors (up from 1,621 last January) and 101,736 registrants (compared to 99,342 last year) at the 2016 gathering in Anaheim, “amazing” is an apt description.
Among the exhibiting companies were 409 new-to-NAMM entries and – perhaps the most telling metric when it comes to assessing both the overall health of MI, as well as the importance of the Show – 174 companies returning to Orange County after a lapse of a year or more. NAMM’s international reach continues to grow, as well, with 15,915 international registrants from 125 countries at this year’s get-together, a 20 percent increase over 2015.
Construction of a new wing of the Anaheim Convention Center that is currently under construction was prompted in no small part by the continued growth of the NAMM Show.
While buyers and suppliers still make up the bulk of attendees, with media, invited guests, artists, NAMM’s Generation Next (college music students), and Music Education Day participants (school music teachers), this year’s Show was perhaps the most inclusive yet.
The focus on music education and creating – and retaining – more music makers was stronger than ever with a number of sessions, presentations, and tutorials in various formats. “Weird Al” Yankovic was the special guest for the inaugural NAMM Foundation Grand Rally for Music Education, sharing insights about his creative process with college students and educators. The Grand Rally also served as the setting for the presentation of MMR’s Don Johnson Industry Service Award to Steve West of West Music.
Dr. John & The Nite Trippers headlined the NAMM Foundation Celebration of Music Education in association with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Imagine Party on Friday.
“I personally loved the focus on learning, with packed NAMM U sessions and our new Grand Rally for Music Education,” Lamond says. “Like so many things today, music continues to change at an amazing pace, but based on what we witnessed in Anaheim our industry seems poised for future growth.”
Voices From the Show Floor
“WNAMM16 felt extremely positive. There was a great buzz at the show and in addition to business as usual, we felt a true celebration of the power of making music. Overall, everyone at the Show seemed to have more positivity and optimism than years prior, as well as a stronger sense of camaraderie and respect for each other’s innovations.
A trend I noticed was industry enthusiasts coming to the show on Thursday, day one. The show floor traffic on Thursday was insane, we felt the energy was invigorating. In addition to industry professionals, dealers, distributors and fans, I also felt more artists are attending NAMM than ever before and utilizing NAMM as an opportunity to connect with fans, as well as the brands they work with.
At Korg we are expecting a strong 1st Q. So far we are off to a great start in 2016 and are confident that will continue throughout the year.”
Brian Piccolo
Korg USA
“The 2016 NAMM show was the most exciting industry gathering I have ever attended!
“First, it was huge with a record 1,726 exhibiting companies representing over 6,000 brands to over 100,000 registrants. It was also vibrant with our industry showing incredible resiliency to bring more music to our world in spite of recent negative economic and world events. I think we were all ready to experience a little sunny optimism with our friends and the NAMM Show in Anaheim delivered the perfect opportunity.
“Finally, it was a highly valuable investment of our time, energy, and resources. We were able to see new products, great educational sessions and connect with industry colleagues all in one place.
“Every person I talked to expressed such positivity that I left the 2016 NAMM Show energized and confident that 2016 will be our best year ever!”
Mark Goff
NAMM chairman, president of Paige’s Music
“It was an extremely busy show for Yamaha. We took a different approach to our booth design that garnered positive responses from dealers, artists, and other attendees. Most notably, there seemed to be an increase of international attendees compared to last year.
“Dealers were looking for different ways to merchandise their brick and mortar and online stores. Video content seemed to be the focus for many dealers, so we were on camera more than last year, conducting interviews from our booth.
“With dealers more intent on improving their self-generated content, expect more video content from production demonstrations to quick tips and more to help guide the customer through the purchase process.”
Nithin Cherian
Yamaha Corporation of America
“This year’s NAMM proved to be one of the most successful shows we have attended since the release of our 16-channel Hear Back PRO personal monitoring system.
Everyone seems to be quickly hopping on the networked audio train, and understandably so. We are also seeing a lot of iOS apps, and even wireless hardware solutions. Every year we hear questions about going wireless, which makes sense for some applications.”
Donnie Pitts
Hear Technologies
“NAMM 2016 was a great show in the world of DJ gear solutions. This year we saw considerably more activity from all DJ brands. Traffic was constant for Numark at the show with several new products. In our world, the clear theme of the show was getting back to removing the laptop from the stage. All companies seem to offer new standalone or screen-based solutions. I expect 2016 to be a great year for the customer who will get to see great innovation and options through out the DJ gear category.”
Christopher Roman
inMusic Brands, Inc.
“Generally the show felt busy, although some of this felt that it was due to a much higher consumer presence on Friday this year where that had been more relegated to Saturday and Sunday in year’s past. As a result, Sunday felt slower than normal as it lacked some of the consumer presence felt on Friday and Saturday. Dealer traffic seemed strong on Thursday and although exhibitors aren’t writing business on the spot like the old days, conversations with buyers still seemed productive and more geared toward working with us to plan for the months ahead. International presence felt heavier this year as well. This may have been specific to us since we added a lot of traffic from Hohnor and SONOR international distributors now that all the brands are now represented in the USA b the KHS America family and displayed in our side-by-side spaces in Hall D. Some additional international presence at NAMM may also be the result of the public uncertainty surrounding Frankfurt Musikmesse.”
Mike Robinson
KHS America, Inc.
“This year’s show seemed to have an even more positive vibe over 2015. Attendees were very dialed into the new products and discussions were more about purchasing as opposed to ‘window shopping.’ Traffic was steady and the energy level was high. General conversation between exhibitors also focused on the future and optimism that although challenges still exist, we are collectively in a better place to confront them.”
Mark Sapienza
Avedis Zildjian Company
“Winter NAMM 2016 was a personal best for me. Roland launched more than 100 new products at the show, including the new premium accessory line for Roland. Roland’s ELCajon EC-10 demo video featuring Heidi Joubert went viral, and our social media fans were very vocal about how pleased they are with Roland’s accessory line. Spirits were high across the board with dealers, artists, the press and our sales team. We are looking forward to building on this momentum and making 2016 an even bigger year than 2015.”
Jay Wanamaker
Roland Corporation U.S.
Summer NAMM returns to Nashville’s Music City Center on June 23-25. The NAMM Show returns to Anaheim, January 19-22, 2017.
Eight New NAMM Board Members Elected at the 2016 NAMM Show
At its Annual Meeting of Members, held January 23 during the 2016 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 incoming industry leaders, chair Mark Goff expressed his confidence in the new directors’ expertise. “We are grateful to these eight respected, established professionals for stepping up to serve the global music products industry and NAMM’s membership,” said Goff. “They represent a diverse, cross-section of the membership, each bringing a unique market perspective to the board. We look forward to working with them to lead the industry forward.”
The following NAMM Members were elected to serve three-year terms on the incoming 2016 board:
Steve Ceo – C.A. House Music
Cindy Cook – The Candyman Strings & Things
Larry Fishman – Fishman Transducers, Inc.
Richard McDonald – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Clinton Muntean – Mainline Marketing, Inc.
Myrna Sislen – Middle C Music Corp.
Tabor Stamper – KHS America, Inc.
Clint Strait – Strait Music Co.
The NAMM Board bids farewell with great appreciation to the outgoing board members, including Gayle Beacock of Beacock Music Co., Inc., John D’Addario III of D’Addario & Company, Inc., Jim DeStafney of Blues Angel Music, Jessica Freehling-Kazzie of Art’s Music Shop, Inc, Rob Joseph of MusicMax Inc. dba R. Joseph Group, Ben Kraft of Kraft Music Ltd., Ron Manus of Alfred Music, Andy Zildjian of SABIAN Ltd.
31st Annual NAMM TEC Awards
Winners in 31 technical and creative achievement categories were announced at the 31st Annual NAMM TEC AWARDS held on January 23 in Anaheim, California.
Comedian Sinbad brought the laughs as the jubilant host of the award show. Four companies, Avid, iZotope, Shure, and Solid State Logic, won multiple awards in the Technical Achievement category each taking home two TEC Awards.
Don Was, one of music’s most significant artists and executives, received the evening’s highest honor, the Les Paul award. Was ended the night and his own celebration with a live music performance that included his former Was (Not Was) band’s catchy ‘80s hit “Walk the Dinosaur.”
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, along with Record Plant’s Chris Stone and the late Gary Kellgren, became the newest inductees to the NAMM TEC Awards Hall of Fame. Baxter, a founding member of Steely Dan, took to the stage for a set that included the group’s famous track “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.”
In total, winners in more 31 categories were selected from 180 nominees by voters from major pro audio publications, as well as members of the Producers & Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy, Game Audio Network Guild, and select NAMM members.
Percussion Marketing Council – Annual All Membership Meeting
People gathered bright and early on January 22nd for the Percussion Marketing Council’s Annual All Membership Meeting. Brad Smith, Dave Jewell, Stacy Montgomery Clark, and Karl Dustman discussed a variety of topics. Highlights included the 2016 Roadie For A Day campaign – which gives fans the opportunity to enter to win an all-access backstage experience with Rich Redmond, the drummer for Jason Aldean. Joe Lamond, CEO of NAMM, made an appearance to voice his and the NAMM Foundation’s support of the PMC and their efforts.
Fishman Celebrates 35 Years
“We aren’t selling toothpaste,” said Larry Fishman, president, during Fishman’s 35th Anniversary presentation. “Don’t ever forget that. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for music! We couldn’t do without our musicians… If we do another 35 years, I’ve got to live ‘til 105, and I’m gonna do it!”
The 2016 She Rocks Awards
It was near impossible not to be star-struck at this year’s ceremony. Honorees included Jennifer Batten (acclaimed guitarist), Mindy Seegal Abovitzv (founder of Tom Tom Magazine), Cathy Carter Duncan (co-founder and CEO of Seymour Duncan), Becky Gebhardt and Mona Tavakoli (co-founders of Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls L.A.), Leslie Ann Jones (director of recording and scoring at Skywalker Sound), Mary Luehrsen (executive director of the NAMM Foundation), Crystal Morris (co-founder and president of Gator Cases), and Chalise Zolezzi (director of brand communications at Taylor Guitars).
Roland Piano Dealer Breakfast
Appreciation was certainly on the menu at the Roland Piano Dealer Breakfast as executives gathered to celebrate high achievements of some of the best Roland dealers in the United States. One of the most popular contemporary male artists today, Brickman and Roland announced a collaborative effort for in-store appearances as he tours, all in support of music education – something near and dear to his heart.
