Recent

Aaron Dablow

GAMA Elects New Board Members

September 24, 2025

Black Diamond Strings Relocates HQ

September 23, 2025

Hal Leonard Secures Exclusive Worldwide Distribution of Bruce Springsteen Sheet Music

September 22, 2025
JodyJazz Founder & President Jody Espina joins Kirk Whalum on stage at the 2025 Savannah Jazz Festival to celebrate the company’s 25th Anniversary

JodyJazz Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Special Performance by Kirk Whalum at the Savannah Jazz Festival

September 22, 2025

On-Stage Orchestra Music Stand Gives Musicians a Great View

September 22, 2025

Sweetwater Named Among Global Top 100 Inspiring Workplaces for 2025

September 22, 2025

EHX Bender Royale Germanium Fuzz

September 22, 2025

The New Multi-Purpose Stand from CHAUVET DJ, FLEXstand FX ILS Doubles as a Light Show

September 19, 2025
Thursday, September 25, 2025
  • Contact
MMR Magazine
  • Subscribe Now!
    • Subscribe Now!
  • Advertise
  • Email Press Releases!
  • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
  • Newsroom
    • News
    • MMR Global
    • Supplier Scene
    • Upfront
    • People
  • Awards
    • Dealers’ Choice Awards Ballot 2024
    • Don Johnson Award Winners Archive
  • Directory
  • Get Support!
No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe Now!
    • Subscribe Now!
  • Advertise
  • Email Press Releases!
  • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
  • Newsroom
    • News
    • MMR Global
    • Supplier Scene
    • Upfront
    • People
  • Awards
    • Dealers’ Choice Awards Ballot 2024
    • Don Johnson Award Winners Archive
  • Directory
  • Get Support!
No Result
View All Result
MMR Magazine
No Result
View All Result

You’ve Gotta Be In It To Win It

Christian Wissmuller by Christian Wissmuller
July 20, 2018
in Editorial
0
938
SHARES
2.3k
VIEWS
Share on Facebook
ADVERTISEMENT

In early January it was confirmed that Gibson Brands would not be attending the 2018 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim.

Rather, the organization is focusing on the Consumer Electronics (CES) show, which takes place in Las Vegas just before the NAMM Show.

ADVERTISEMENT

Now, to be clear, I am not slamming Gibson. I’m the very satisfied owner of no fewer than four Gibson guitars and I grew up dreaming of owning a Les Paul. I also don’t have an ownership stake in the company, I don’t work there, I’m not privy to the specifics behind why Gibson opted to be a no-show at this year’s NAMM convention in any way, and I’m really not qualified to judge their decision fairly.

I just think it’s a little sad is all.

I mean, if you were an car buff (or worked in that industry) attending the North American International Auto Show and you found out that Ford or BMW had chosen to sit this year out, you’d probably be bummed, right?

Gibson is certainly not the first – and likely won’t be the last – “big name” to bail on a prominent MI trade show. A number of longtime exhibitors chose to give the Summer NAMM gathering a pass in the years when the show departed Nashville (though many have since returned). The same can certainly be said for the now much-smaller Frankfurt Musikmesse (although, again, some have begun to exhibit once again).

I recently had a brief chat with Hap Kuffner of Kuffner International, Inc., who feels strongly that participation in industry events is a must. “Put it this way: I haven’t missed a NAMM Show since 1974 on either coast,” he says. “I haven’t missed the Frankfurt show since 1980, and I’ve only missed one Music China in the past 15 years. You really need to go to these shows. It’s that simple. You should be going. The buyers deserve that respect. It’s an expense, yes, but it’s well worth attending all of these shows. As the New York lottery used to say, and I’ve used this quote many times before about trade shows: ‘You’ve gotta be in it to win it.’”

NAMM president and CEO Joe Lamond has this to say: “The purpose of The Show is bigger than any one company; it’s about the gathering of the music industry and its many tribes. It seems to me that people have been coming together in these kinds of pilgrimages since the dawn of human history, and while I imagine there are many reasons for this, as time goes on, those reasons evolve, as well. For me, the NAMM Show has been the one constant; the steady, reliable platform, and usually the only time I get to see so many of my friends and peers from around the world in one place. We do business with each other, we learn from each other, we laugh with each other, and we mourn when a member of the tribe passes on – things I value more and more every year.” Aside from Kuffner’s and Lamond’s very valid – to my mind, anyway – observations, whenever a heavy-hitter bows out of one of these significant annual industry gatherings, it feels like a conscious choice to not really be an active part of the MI community, to not support and engage in the culture.

And, like I say, that’s a bummer.

Previous Post

Positions Available at D’Addario

Next Post

Fort Pitt Piano Company: A Family Tradition of Encouraging Family Tradition

Related Posts

Current Issue

Bridging the Sound – Audio Interfaces and the Modern Musician’s Toolkit

April 25, 2025
Current Issue

Twang, Nostalgia, the Americana Boom – and Why Now is the Time to Take Advantage

March 25, 2025
Editorial

Enough with ‘It’s Back!’

March 25, 2025
Christian Wissmuller
Editorial

Is Your Store an ‘Experience Destination’?

January 9, 2025
Editorial

A New Year – and Potentially Plenty of Change – Awaits

March 25, 2025
Editorial

FOMO Can be Good for You!

December 17, 2024
Next Post

Fort Pitt Piano Company: A Family Tradition of Encouraging Family Tradition

Please login to join discussion
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

Black Diamond Strings Relocates HQ

September 23, 2025
Aaron Dablow

GAMA Elects New Board Members

September 24, 2025

The New Multi-Purpose Stand from CHAUVET DJ, FLEXstand FX ILS Doubles as a Light Show

September 19, 2025

Class of 2013: CR Alsip – Small-Scale and Loving It

October 4, 2013
Aaron Dablow

GAMA Elects New Board Members

Black Diamond Strings Relocates HQ

Hal Leonard Secures Exclusive Worldwide Distribution of Bruce Springsteen Sheet Music

JodyJazz Founder & President Jody Espina joins Kirk Whalum on stage at the 2025 Savannah Jazz Festival to celebrate the company’s 25th Anniversary

JodyJazz Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Special Performance by Kirk Whalum at the Savannah Jazz Festival

Aaron Dablow

GAMA Elects New Board Members

September 24, 2025

Black Diamond Strings Relocates HQ

September 23, 2025

Hal Leonard Secures Exclusive Worldwide Distribution of Bruce Springsteen Sheet Music

September 22, 2025
JodyJazz Founder & President Jody Espina joins Kirk Whalum on stage at the 2025 Savannah Jazz Festival to celebrate the company’s 25th Anniversary

JodyJazz Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Special Performance by Kirk Whalum at the Savannah Jazz Festival

September 22, 2025
ADVERTISEMENT
The Latest News and Gear in Your Inbox - Sign Up Today!
  • September 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • August 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • July 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • June 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
  • May 2025

    Articles | Digital Issue
© 2005 - 2025 artistpro, LLC
7012 City Center Way, Suite 207
Fairview, Tennessee 37062
(800) 682-8114

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe Now!
    • Subscribe Now!
  • Advertise
  • Email Press Releases!
  • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
  • Newsroom
    • News
    • MMR Global
    • Supplier Scene
    • Upfront
    • People
  • Awards
    • Dealers’ Choice Awards Ballot 2024
    • Don Johnson Award Winners Archive
  • Directory
  • Get Support!

© 2005 – 2024 artistpro, LLC 7012 City Center Way, Suite 207 Fairview, Tennessee 37062 (800) 682-8114

This is Modal Title

Click Me
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?