NAMM NeXT 2024, held July 16-17 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, was not a typical Summer NAMM Show in Nashville. It was a completely different approach to gathering NAMM manufacturers, retailers, and industry enthusiasts. There were no exhibits, no visitors in wild outfits seeking endorsement opportunities, and no loud parties in the hotel lobbies. NAMM NeXT 2024 focused on business strategies, coaching attendees for growth regardless of their market focus. It featured two days of seminars covering all aspects impacting our industry, from AI developments to entrepreneurial innovations, with ideas presented by leaders in the business world outside the traditional Music Industry (MI) sphere. These sessions, typically available at a regular NAMM Show, were often hard to attend due to the focus on working booths and writing orders from the blue-badged buyers at trade shows.
The lineup of speakers included:
– Whitney Johnson, leadership and innovation expert, CEO and co-founder of Disruption Advisors, and host of the Disrupt Yourself Podcast;
– Brendan Witcher, vice president, principal analyst at Forrester Research, expert on consumer behavior and technology trends, and commentator for Bloomberg, CNBC, NPR, and The Economist;
– Mark Schaefer, global marketing expert, best-selling author, and executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions;
– Katy Craig, professional certified coach with the International Coaching Federation and Coactive Training Institute;
– Dana M. Peterson, chief economist with The Conference Board, global economist, advisor, and expert forecaster on economic drivers and business;
– Troy Tomlinson, chairman and CEO at Universal Music Publishing Nashville.
NAMM stated, “One of the primary goals for NAMM NeXT is uniting NAMM member communities from every corner of the world and sharing best business practices while bringing NAMM NeXT geographically closer to these members.”
NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants), the largest global non-profit music trade organization, announced the conclusion of NAMM NeXT, a two-day summit aimed at providing the music industry with insights and analysis for the future of business. More than 100 global companies gathered at the inaugural conference, held at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 17-18, 2024.
“We knew that we needed a new event, in addition to The NAMM Show, to unite the leaders of our NAMM Member companies around the common goal of strengthening the music products industry,” said John Mlynczak, President and CEO of NAMM. “The overwhelming positive energy and abundance of ideas demonstrated that our industry as a community is more than just belonging to something; it’s about doing something together that creates more music makers worldwide… and we could not think of a better location than Music City, USA.”
NAMM NeXT featured big-picture and hands-on sessions with experts from both inside and outside of the music industry to inspire new ideas, develop talent, and drive conversations that will elevate attendees’ businesses and the global industry. Attendees participated in keynotes, panel discussions, and workshops for a deeper look into various business focuses.
The event featured keynote speaker Daymond John, founder and CEO of FUBU, Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, star of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” and CEO of The Shark Group.
“Most other industries have annual leadership events and dedicated leadership conferences; unfortunately, our music products industry did not… until now,” said Elizabeth Heidt, chief marketing officer of Gibson. “To be part of this inaugural event, in Nashville, that combines outside-the-industry knowledge with inside-the-industry perspectives to help accelerate our industry’s growth was incredibly impactful for Gibson and our team, as well as the wider industry. We are a proud partner of NAMM and can’t wait to participate and support next year.”
“I quickly realized that working with NAMM and this event would not only be enjoyable but also a chance to support the music industry in creative business practices that have been missing the last few years,” said Brendan Witcher, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. “I have spoken at conferences around the world, and I can say that participating in and being on stage at NAMM NeXT was sensational in every aspect.”
NAMM NeXT will continue as an investment in the music industry at large and be held annually. Future NAMM NeXT events will focus on helping grow the music business by elevating the companies and people in the industry. NAMM will announce future dates and cities for 2025 in the fall.
