NAMM 2016 will be one for the records. Not so much because of product announcements or outstanding technology - which was aplenty, but more because of the shared passion for music, entrepreneurial spirit, and community connection around the music. During four days, the NAMM Show was upbeat and confirmed how important it is to inspire creativity and how the MI market actually matters.
As the National Association of Music Merchants confirmed and anyone could attest this year, the NAMM Show is growing. Held January 21-24, NAMM 2016 welcomed a record number of exhibitors and registrants to Anaheim, CA. Hundreds of new-to-NAMM companies paired with an increase in global interest, and those quintessential “only at NAMM” moments made for what many NAMM members called the most exciting NAMM Show in the association’s 115-year history. The only problem with the NAMM Show is the Anaheim convention center (ACC) itself which is getting too small for the dynamics which this annual event has created, hindering its own growth in the increasingly important pro audio segment.
With its powerful combination of show floor presentations, live performances, seminars, educational sessions, celebrity appearances and networking events, the 2016 NAMM Show turned the Anaheim convention center into a loud circus on Friday and Saturday, making life impossible for many exhibitors and visitors, and walking the aisles extremely difficult. Fortunately the convention center expansion is already happening and promised for Summer 2017 and will be a reality for NAMM 2018. The expansion of the ACC will include the addition of 200,000 square feet of exhibits, better parking, new loading docks and access.
This means that next year, the NAMM should actually make an extra effort to organize available space and actually control attendance. It’s becoming increasingly visible, every time a celebrity walks the show, that those crowds are not there for business as it used to be. Five years ago, you could still see Stevie Wonder with its entourage walking freely from demo to demo. Now, he needs reinforced security and those increasing crowds of selfie-grabbers following him are becoming hazardous.
Live PA demonstrations should not be allowed at all in the halls and most live performances should take place elsewhere - preferably outside. Also, exhibits on level 2 and 3 should be managed differently, since there’s no point on exhibiting there if access becomes always restricted by long lines and limited capacity escalators. Also, security personnel needs attention. Repeatedly we found access restricted in one point and no problems on the next door. Some entrances would allow access to the newsroom before the show opened, while others would say they had no such instructions.
All those aspects need to be considered when the NAMM Show is benefiting from a record 1,700+ exhibitors showcasing products of every type across music products, pro audio, lighting, and sound recording, collectively displaying over 6,000 brands to attendees from 125 countries and regions around the world. But all that can serve no purpose if the NAMM becomes a gigantic circus and no longer a trade-show.
High Notes at 2016 NAMM Show
audioXpress walked the halls as much as possible and everywhere we found an upbeat mood regarding the business environment - increasingly more competitive than ever. A better economy in the US domestic market is creating a foundation for companies to be optimistic. Not enough yet for serious expansion and certainly not enough yet when considering the international or global perspectives. But manufacturers understand the need to invest in better products and new technologies and gain some strategic advantages ahead - especially considering returning currency challenges and great instability in emerging markets.
NAMM 2016 was essentially a transition year, with some key technologies on the horizon and a notable disconnect between what was still dominantly on display and the visible trends on the consumer and IT space - as confirmed during CES 2016. As we wrote before, even for consumer and lifestyle brands, the NAMM Show is a key stage for trying to gain traction among key influencers such as musicians, and many companies, headphone manufacturers in particular, understand that and have leveraged this year’s show.
On the other hand, companies such as Gibson, Fender, Yamaha, Roland and other larger groups occupying the top levels of the convention center and adjacent hotels, were clearly in Anaheim for backstage work and have not unveiled any groundbreaking products, even though there were key signs that great things are on the horizon. That leaves ample space for younger and small companies and business to grab headlines directly in the show-floor. Especially for those companies that actually have focused on designing and developing products for a NAMM unveiling. For many American companies, NAMM is the critical platform for product launches, but we also have seen an increasing number of Chinese companies in the show-floor which are actually tuning their marketing at this event. Not so much for the volume of business they actually make in Anaheim, but for the impact that attending NAMM creates internationally and increasingly back in their own domestic market.
As the NAMM Association noted, the music industry is increasingly global. “As we look at the record number of exhibiting brands, influx of new entrepreneurial spirit and attendance from 125 countries, the industry seems poised for vital growth and breakthroughs,” said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. “The NAMM Show is a reflection of our industry, not only where it is now, but even more importantly where it is heading next.”
As the scope of music making expands, so do the number of brands that depend on the NAMM Show platform to unveil new products. This year’s show was the largest and most inclusive event in the National Association of Music Merchants’ (NAMM) 115-year history. A record 1,726 exhibiting companies representing more than 6,000 brands brought the entrepreneurial spirit to life. The energy was palatable, with a 7% increase in exhibiting companies over 2015’s event.
A mix of NAMM member buyers and retail employees, exhibitors, media, artists, NAMM members’ invited guests, NAMM’s Generation Next (college music students) and Music Education Day participants (school music teachers) resulted in a record 101,736 NAMM Show registrants. This is a 2% increase over last year’s record-setting event. International registrants traveling to Anaheim from abroad reached 15,915, a 20% increase over 2015, representing 125 different countries. According to the organizers, the number of new companies relying on the NAMM show platform grew again, representing 409 of the total exhibiting companies. In addition to the new-to-NAMM names, 174 companies returned after a lapse of a year or more.
This year according to longtime NAMM Show exhibitors, buyers arrived ready to buy, many writing orders at the show. As audioXpress could confirm with many traditional music instrument manufacturers but also among speaker manufacturers, firm orders at the show increased in comparison to last year and projections for the year are up. For startups and emerging brands from US, Europe and even Latin America, this year’s show was great for business. While retailers and distributors come to NAMM to make purchase decisions, the show is also the place to see the big picture of where the industry is heading, and spot potential growth areas for the year ahead.
Summer NAMM returns to Nashville’s beautiful Music City Center on June 23-25. Global growth opportunities abound at NAMM Musikmesse Russia, September 15-18 and ProLight+Sound NAMM Russia, September 15-17. The NAMM Show returns to Anaheim, January 19–22, 2017. Then in 2018, the global music product industry will return to Anaheim with room to grow into the new, modern wing of the Anaheim Convention Center that is currently under construction.
www.namm.org/thenammshow/2016
