2011 Summer NAMM Closes; Experiences Overall Attendance Decrease, NAMM U Attendance Increase

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) closed its 2011 Summer NAMM music products trade show today at the Nashville Convention Center, reporting 10,898 registrants over the three-day show, a 13 percent decrease from 2010.

The typically trade-only event also opened its doors to the public for “Wanna Play Music Day” today providing musicians and music buffs a rare opportunity to sneak a peak at the new instruments, music-making technologies, and pro audio and lighting equipment yet to hit retail stores. At show close, NAMM reported 1,133 public day attendees who infused the exhibit hall and meeting rooms with fresh energy on the final day of the show.

Summer NAMM was dedicated to the local community music dealer and emphasized educational sessions, which are tailored specifically to help them be more successful.

Although overall registration decreased, attendance at NAMM University courses increased over last year with many dealers singing the sessions’ praises in post-event surveys saying, “Just the right information at the right time", "NAMM U is a real wake up call and just what I needed" and "Best session I ever attended" (Web marketing trends).  Overall attendance at the NAMM University Breakfast Sessions increased by 27 percent over last year.

This year's event featured several changes including NAMM’s inaugural “Top 100 Best Dealer Awards” event, honoring the nation’s most progressive and innovative music product retailers. Through this program, NAMM encouraged retailers to share best practices to help build businesses and grow the market of music makers. NAMM’s first “Dealer of the Year” was Senseney Music in Wichita, Kan.

“This show is very important to a core group of our Members—our local community music stores —and we are firmly committed to its continued growth in the years ahead,” said Joe Lamond, president and CEO, NAMM. “In addition to the hundreds of established manufacturers here meeting with dealers, this year’s show helped to launch more than 100 brand-new emerging companies bringing fresh, innovative products and services into our industry.”

During the show, Summer NAMM exhibitors enjoyed full aisles, did good business and enjoyed the infusion of the public on the last day, which is traditionally slower.

“We count on Summer NAMM to kick start the second half of our year and the show really delivered for us this year,” said Michael Harris, Harris Musical Products, Inc.

“I believe we’ve turned the corner,” said Harvey Levy, Levy’s Leathers. “Things are starting to go up again in this down economy, so I’m quite impressed. The public day was good today, and we still had buyers coming through. So really all three days were good days from a sales point of view. The Top 100 was a beautiful idea, it brought many strong dealers here.  In fact, you’ve probably got the top 300-400 dealers in the country here and you have more time to spend with them because it’s a smaller show.”

“Summer NAMM 2011 appeared to me to be a fairly tame show based on the number of people in the aisles,” said Gerson Rosenbloom, Wechter Guitars. “But based on the buyers in our booth, it was a fabulous success.”

“It will take time for our industry to rebuild the attendance at Summer NAMM,” said Rick Young, Yamaha.  “However, the fact is that many of our retailers still look at this as a good time to attend and connect with their suppliers, as well as sharpen their business skills and network with colleagues. Given the lingering economic conditions, it makes good sense to use every way possible to build your business and being a part of the show allows all attendees that opportunity.”

“It’s been great,” said Jason Bartel, Maple Leaf Strings. “We’re a start-up company. We’ve had lots of people come by and they’re excited about what we have to the whole product line as well as our new cases.”

“Just about every buyer we talked to is interested,” said Von Luhman, Pick Punch. “We talked to a lot of distributors that are wanting to carry our product. It’s been a humbling experience, really overwhelming.”

“Nashville’s been great,” said David Jahnke, Hal Leonard Corporation. “We had a better show than last year. More dealers are showing up. Everyone’s in a great mood. Nashville is our favorite show because it’s warm and welcoming. You have time to sit down one on one and have meaningful conversations.”

“Summer NAMM 2011 was instrumental in developing our dealer base," said Jamie Scott, 3rd Power Amplification. “Wanna Play Day” was wonderful for 3rd Power. Showing an interested teenager the different sounds of our guitar amps was so much fun. His dad was smiling ear to ear at seeing his son so interested in music!

“We’ll be coming back next year," said Michael Santucci, Sensaphonics Hearing Conservation.

NAMM’s next show is the 2012 NAMM Show, Jan. 19-22, 2012 in Anaheim Calif.  The next Summer NAMM will be held in Nashville, July 12-14, 2012.