Library | NAMM.org

Library & Resource Center

Established in 1946 when NAMM was only 45 years old, the NAMM Resource Center provides its Members, the media, academic researchers and the general public with access to historical data about this great industry.

Scope
The broader scope of the collections is the history of the music products industry. Within that broader scope, materials are categorized into five main subject categories:

NAMM History
Manufacturer History
Retail History
Music History (especially as it pertains to instrument and product innovations)
Legacy Collections

Drawing on more than a century of NAMM research, records and archives, the Resource Center has access to everything from statistical records on retail music products sales to videotaped interviews with more than 1,000 of the people who have shaped this industry's history.

We hope you find what you're looking for right here, but if you have any questions, please contact us at 760.438.8001 or via e-mail at library@namm.org.

Publications

2009 NAMM Global Report featuring Music USA

NAMM's mission is to unify, lead and strengthen the global music products industry and to increase active participation in music making. In addition,...

PLAYback Magazine

Previous issues of PLAYback can be viewed in the ARCHIVES section of nxtbook. PLAYback is NAMM's quarterly publication providing Members...

Oral History
In Memoriam
What's New

Oral History

Oral History Video Clip Tutorial

Click on this image to view a brief tutorial on how to easily navigate NAMM Oral History Video Clips.

Pat Brown

Pat Brown has a most familiar face. His smile can be seen in the ProMark booth at every NAMM show and PASIC convention. More than a friendly smile,...

Yoshi Hoshino

Yoshi Hoshino is the president of Hoshino Gakki Company, a music company that has remained in his family since first opening in 1908 to sell sheet...

Alberto Kreimerman

Alberto Kreimerman opened Hermes Music Stores in the United States with branches in Mexico beginning in 1982. His goal was always to serve music...

Teresa Leithold

Teresa Leithold has taught music since 1956! While her husband ran the family music store in La Crosse, Wisconsin, she created the music...

Susan Lipp

Susan Lipp has a background in the theater, which she has used to great success in running the pro-audio distribution company Full Compass. The...

David McAllister

David McAllister grew up in Eastern Canada as a child of the 60s and 70s and a big fan of the music of the era. He studied sales and marketing,...

More Oral History

In Memoriam

Remembering oral history interviewees who passed away in 2010.

Margaret Levin

Marge Levin was the secret behind the great success of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center in Maryland, a fact Mr. Levin was proud to admit....

Art Van Damme

Art Van Damme became one of the biggest stars of the 1950s with a 15-minute radio and TV program, a noted role in the NBC orchestra, and many...

Jake Hanna

Jake Hanna was the epitome of what a big band drummer is all about. Jake started playing drums at five in a drum corps in the Boston area. He...

Herbert Newton

Herbert Newton opened his piano store in 1939, a few years after becoming a piano tuner in the Norfolk area. Back in the beginning of the store,...

Martha Markowitz

Martha Markowitz married her knight-in-shining-armor right after World War II. She soon helped him run the small organ company he started before the...

Ed Thigpen

Ed Thigpen, known as Mr. Taste for his remarkable touch and feel as an innovative drummer, had a few (hundred) tricks up his musical sleeves when it...