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NARIP @ NAMM 2015

NAMM 2015 has been the most exciting, energetic one we’ve been to yet! With a record breaking 99,342 NAMM show registrants and 1,621 exhibiting companies the energy at this year’s show was through the roof. .

By Mary Bee

NAMM 2015 has been the most exciting, energetic one we’ve been to yet! With a record  breaking 99,342 NAMM show registrants and 1,621 exhibiting companies, (the number of new exhibiting companies more than doubled from 2014), the energy at this year’s show was through the roof. My favorite thing about NAMM, and what makes it stand out from other conferences, is that electric energy generated by such a massive amount of people all coming together in the same place who are so excited (and likely as obsessed as I am) about music.

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Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM

Highlights for me were seeing the incredible displays and demonstrations (many featured in the above video), as well as many of the panels in the H.O.T Zone. I am a bit of a panel junky so this part of the show is like a candy store to me!  Sometimes I have to hop from one panel to the next mid-session to see what is going on in the next room. So many topics were covered from production, crowdfunding, music placement to finding your niche audience, and much much more. One of the most interesting talks was given by Jeff Weber, who outlined a business model he has been working on for 10 years for a new type of record label structure. It sounds like it will work and be just great!

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Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM

Another incredible highlight from the show was getting to meet the legendary George Clinton (Parliament Funkadelic). He was sweet as can be and was kind enough to take pictures with and give free autographs to attendees. It was wild telling him about the funk parties my friends and I would have in college to only his albums, no need to change a CD or find another similar band, P-Funk was all we wanted… or needed!

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NARIP’s Mary Bee with George Clinton

 

 

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A feature of the show worth mentioning was the NAMM Show app. It seems to get better and better, but this year I was beyond impressed. We could not only view the events for each day, but highlight what we wanted to see and it automatically made a schedule for our day. No more flipping furiously through schedules and missing panels or performances in the shuffle. I had my days planned out when I got there and not only that, but each event listing had built-in GPS directions to get to exactly where the event took place. So useful!

 

 

What people are saying about NAMM 2015

“Our traffic flow has been much higher than the last few years, and while attendance is clearly up, these are quality visits, not just quantity. Dealers are here to make decisions on purchases, see what’s new, but also to learn about ways that we can help them grow,” Terry West, president and CEO of Pearl Corporation.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM

“I’ve had the most honest, straightforward conversations with vendors on where we can take our business. Brands are here figuring out how we can work together beyond products. I’ve never worked harder,” said Gayle Beacock, Co-Owner of Beacock Music in Washington. “Coming out of this show, I have a very clear plan and solidified direction.”

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM

“I tour the show floor imagining that I am a customer in my own shop – what things jump out at me – because if it evokes a reaction in me, chances are it’s going to evoke a reaction on the part of my customer,” said Monster Music’s Brian Reardon of Levittown, NY.

There was so much to do and see it was of course impossible to get to it all, but what I can always count on when I leave NAMM, is walking away with new inspiration.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NAMM

 

Mary Bee works for NARIP as a marketing manager. She loves getting to know and help connect NARIP members, as well as cover great industry events like NAMM. She is also a singer from Rhode Island who has lived in L.A. for three wonderful years.  MaryBeeMusic.com
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