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Celebrating its 10th anniversary, “Breakfast of Champions” kicked off the 2016 NAMM Show. At this year’s session, NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond spoke with a rare and influential group, music industry game-changers, about the state of the industry and where it's going. Right after a high-energy musical performance, ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro sat down to discuss his career and the ukulele explosion. Highlights from his interview with Lamond: The Smartphone of Instruments “It’s very easy to play right away,” Shimabukuro said of the ukulele. “You don’t feel like you have to

During “Breakfast of Champions” at the 2016 NAMM Show, Hal Leonard President Larry Morton discussed disruptive technologies with NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. Morton weighed in on how his core business, print music, has evolved with digital technology. He also touched upon Hal Leonard’s distribution business and the importance of partnering with retailers. Highlights from the interview: How did you approach digital technology with print music? This was 1997 when we decided to launch the industry’s first digital sheet music website with our dealers. It was kind of a shocking t

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Annie Clark of St. Vincent stopped by “Breakfast of Champions” at the 2016 NAMM Show. Clark had come to the show to launch her own signature guitar through Ernie Ball. During “Breakfast of Champions,” she discussed guitar game-changers with NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. Highlights from the interview: On her unique approach to the guitar: “I guess I always looked at guitar as a noise-generator,” Clark said. “It could be a monster, it could be a shield, it could be very gentle. So I kind of just tried to explore the full palette of what guitar m

Jonathan and Susan Lipp, the heads of music retail powerhouse Full Compass, joined NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond at “Breakfast of Champions” during the 2016 NAMM Show. In a spirited interview with Lamond, Jonathan and Susan weighed in on everything from adapting to game-changing technologies to the importance of advocating for music education. An edited transcript of the interview: How did this all start?Jonathan: The original Full Compass was founded in 1971. I had three partners, and we built a recording studio from scratch. In 1977, my mother died, and I had a very small in

Singer-songwriter and musical icon Graham Nash inspired the audience at “Breakfast of Champions” during the 2016 NAMM Show. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond interviewed Nash about his first guitar, the importance of music education in the schools and why he decided to uproot his life to join what was then a little musical startup: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash also received NAMM’s 2016 Music for Life Award. Here are Nash’s highlights from that interview: On following your instincts "My mother’s advice to me as a child was, ‘You’re a decent person. Follow your heart. It w

At the 2016 NAMM Show, Fender CEO Andy Mooney joined NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond for “Breakfast of Champions.” During the interview with Lamond, Mooney discussed his plans for the guitar and amp company after seven months at the helm, along with his background as a musician. Highlights from the interview: On his love of the guitar: “Before I joined Fender, I actually had 40 guitars in my collection. Now, my wife is terrified. (Laughs) We’re going to have to buy a bigger house, I think. “I really wanted to be a professional musician but realized that the likelihood of that wo

Running a successful music lessons program comes with its challenges, namely missed lessons and cancellations. At 2015 Summer NAMM, Carol Cook of The Music Room in Palatine, Ill., shared how she breathed new life into her program and business by revamping her lessons program and eliminating makeup lessons. For Cook, the sheer magnitude of managing cancelled lessons, both online and by phone, was more than her team could handle and prevented them from doing what they do best—teaching. Rescheduling lessons also became a logistics tangle and kept staff from delivering value. “By agre

Is offering free shipping worth it? Consider the data. Recent research by Accent shows that 88 percent of consumers would be more likely to make a purchase from an online shop if it promised free shipping. Depending on your business, the benefits of offering free shipping to customers can be numerous and impactful. Research also reveals that most companies that offer free shipping experience an immediate boost to online sales, which in turn drives top-line revenue and profitability. Typically, consumers will place larger orders when presented with free shipping. Long-term customer

Is offering free shipping worth it? Consider the data. Recent research by Accent shows that 88 percent of consumers would be more likely to make a purchase from an online shop if it promised free shipping. Depending on your business, the benefits of offering free shipping to customers can be numerous and impactful. Research also reveals that most companies that offer free shipping experience an immediate boost to online sales, which in turn drives top-line revenue and profitability. Typically, consumers will place larger orders when presented with free shipping. Long-term customer

In our mobile, social, right-now world, consumers speak their minds like never before—in-store and online. This presents a huge opportunity to music businesses willing to embrace comments and complaints. Join Jay Baer, digital business expert, entrepreneur and marketing guru, for this eye-opening and entertaining Breakfast Session on customer service in the modern era. He’ll reveal why customers are more vocal than ever and how to use this as an opportunity to grow your business and improve the customer experience. Baer will also share tips and strategies for turning bad news into

In our mobile, social, right-now world, consumers speak their minds like never before—in-store and online. This presents a huge opportunity to music businesses willing to embrace comments and complaints. Join Jay Baer, digital business expert, entrepreneur and marketing guru, for this eye-opening and entertaining Breakfast Session on customer service in the modern era. He’ll reveal why customers are more vocal than ever and how to use this as an opportunity to grow your business and improve the customer experience. Baer will also share tips and strategies for turning bad news into

Is debt ever good for music retailers? It can be, according to financial gurus Alan Friedman and Daniel Jobe of Friedman, Kannenberg & Co. At the 2015 NAMM Show, they discussed the appropriate kinds of debt and when debt can create opportunity for a business to grow. Friedman and Jobe acknowledged that many people feel uncomfortable about being in debt and associate debt with going out of business. According to Friedman, that’s not necessarily true, and the way we look at borrowing is changing. “We’ve found that many of our best retail clients have used debt to grow their busi