Day Three of 2008 Summer NAMM

NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry, kicked off its third and final day of 2008 Summer NAMM with more business meetings, product demonstrations, NAMM University sessions and networking.

The day’s show events opened with a lively performance by the Stephan Dudash Quartet just before the morning's NAMM University Breakfast Session, "Best in Show." Frank Alkyer, publisher of Music Inc. magazine, led a panel of industry experts who shared their favorite show floor finds in various categories. Panelists included Zach Phillips of Music Inc. magazine, CPA Alan Friedman of Friedman, Kannenberg & Co., Pete Gamber of Alta Loma Music, Liane Rockley of Rockley Music, Jonathan Mover of Drumhead magazine and Ted Eschliman of Dietze Music. Their selections for the top products consisted of amps, drums, pedals and a variety of other classic and innovative products.

On the show floor, attendees walked the aisles to network with other industry professionals and check out new, innovative products introduced for the first time at the show.

“I’ve seen a lot of stuff I hadn’t seen before,” said Jon White, a buyer for Gorilla Guitars in Columbus, Ga. “I’m getting to play on stuff I’d only seen in catalogs, but never got my hands on, so that’s helping us out with placing orders. That part’s been really great. Nobody’s rushed me—everybody’s had plenty of time to talk.”

For exhibitors, this was an opportunity to spend quality time with buyers and network with other industry professionals.

“The show went really, really well, and I’m glad we’re back in Nashville,“ said Tim Austin, of 65 Amps in North Hollywood, Calif. “We’ve had a great response. We’ve had a lot of our dealers come by. We’ve seen a lot of new dealers. I think it was a great success, and we’re looking forward to coming back next year.”

“Summer NAMM has been fantastic,” said Mark Stoddard of Lava Cable in Fayetteville, N.C. “I had a dealer order in the first hour I was here, so it’s been wonderful. I’ve had a great time and we’ve been able to get our name out, we’ve had traffic going by all three days.”

“It was great—Friday and Saturday were incredibly busy,” said Athan Billias of Yamaha in Buena Park, Calif. “We had great dealer turnout; lots of local dealers, but also many dealers from around the country. We were very excited. Our expectations coming into the show, to be honest, we didn’t know what to expect—we looked at it positively. We were thrilled with the turnout.”

Summer NAMM was viewed as a great opportunity to launch new products by first-time exhibitors.

“This was the first time anyone has seen or heard of our product before,” said Mike Krumholz of Dave Chiappetta Enterprises, LLC in Brooklyn, N.Y. “We’ve been sitting on it for five years. The show was unbelievable—we showed the product on Friday, and by Saturday we were distributing it internationally.”

Attendees were also impressed with The Club, a new, lower-cost exhibitor option and also a quiet place off the show floor for business meetings.

“The Club has been really nice because it’s a quiet place where you can find a table, some chairs, people can sit down and get a load off their feet and you can have some good meaningful business and a great meeting of the minds, so it’s really worthwhile,” said Bob Jesperson of Kaman Music in Bloomfield, Conn. “We have a smaller booth at this show, so obviously we’re not able to show a lot of our products, but it’s not really a big product show, it’s more of a planning show for the holidays and fall business, so for sitting down and planning, the quiet atmosphere of The Club is more conducive. It’s been good, steady business.”

The NAMM University morning sessions and "Lunch & Learn" mid-day session focused on Internet marketing and saving money on business services used every day.

“The main reason I came is today is for all the classes at the Idea Center,” said Sheri Haas-Heike of Royalton Music Center. “The help with the Web site is what I’m after—and then everything else is a plus. There were lots of good ideas. So now I have to go home to figure out how I’m going to do this stuff.”

The day was also designated “Music Education Day,” and included a breakfast with Bob McGrath (of Sesame Street), a few hours on the trade show floor to see the newest products and NAMM University sessions specifically related to this audience.

For more information about 2008 Summer NAMM or the 2009 NAMM Show, January 15–18 in Anaheim, Calif., interested parties can log on to www.namm.org.