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The last morning of the 2013 NAMM Show kicked off with Best in Show. Six retail gear experts shopped the show to find their favorite products and presented the top picks during the popular Breakfast Session. The second category, Gotta Stock It, featured products that retailers want to stock right now—if they haven’t already.

The last morning of the 2013 NAMM Show kicked off with Best in Show. Six retail gear experts shopped the show to find their favorite products and presented the top picks during the popular Breakfast Session. The first category, Best Accessories And Add-ons, featured great products from the small goods arena. 

Leaders never stop learning, and the NAMM Show 2013 Breakfast of Champions focused on industry leaders who are committed to continued growth and success. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond sat down with these champions for up-close-and-personal discussions about the importance of leadership, how to lead through the best and the worst of times, and how to stay focused on the future. This session provides some powerful perspectives on the industry’s current challenges and opportunities—plus insights and takeaways you can use to grow your business in 2013.  

Surprise guest Randy Jackson joined Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO, who presented Jackson with the industry's highest honor, the Music for Life Award. Jackson is a record producer, recording industry executive, bass player, TV star and judge for “American Idol.” He received the Music for Life Award for his efforts to promote music and music education. Here, he reveals his beginnings as a pre-teen who discovered the guitar, the different twists and turns throughout his career, and the inspirations that kept him moving forward to realizing his dream.

Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO, welcomes two very different retailers who have a lot in common—both are second-generation owners, both have fathers named Roger, both are the same age. Still, each leads through unique business models. Ben Kraft, owner of Kraft Music, heads up one of the leading independent music retail dot-coms. He began selling and marketing instruments online in 1994. Last year, his company opened an enormous new distribution center, and it’s received major awards from Kawai, Korg and the industry trade magazines. Chris White, owner of White House of Music, o

Chuck Surack, president and founder of Sweetwater Sound, has raised the bar of customer service, marketing and technology in music products retail. During the economic downturn, he famously told his employees that he refused to participate in the recession, and he hasn’t had a down year yet. Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO, invites Chuck to discuss how he started Sweetwater Sound from the back of a van and built the company into the largest independent retailer in the industry—through its focus on customer service, training and empowering each salesperson; reinvesting back into

Larry Thomas has run two of the largest companies in the music products industry, yet he’s managed to stay relatively under the radar. He’s the former head of Guitar Center, where he helped build the company into the national retail chain it is today. Now, he’s the CEO of Fender Musical Instruments. Listen as Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO, sits down with Larry Thomas to discuss his early industry experiences and the importance of having a vision.

Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO, welcomes Takura "Tak" Nakata, president of Yamaha Corporation of America, which celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2013. Joe explores with Tak what makes him a leader, as well as how Yamaha exhibits strong leadership in product quality, service and partnering with its dealers and customers. Yamaha artists, legendary bass player Nathan East and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and spokesperson against animal cruelty Sarah McLachlan, join the discussion as guests.

Social media. Smartphones. Tablets. Internet access everywhere, all the time. There's a point when technology shifts from being a trend to becoming a disruption in daily business. Yet another point comes when consumer behavior starts to shift, and we're presented with an important decision: Either we embrace this change or we don't. Our choice will ultimately impact the bottom line, one way or the other. The challenge now is how to reach a new generation of customers who don’t rely on TV, radio, newspapers or magazines to find you. Your customers are taking to social networks, You

Social media. Smartphones. Tablets. Internet access everywhere, all the time. There's a point when technology shifts from being a trend to becoming a disruption in daily business. Yet another point comes when consumer behavior starts to shift, and we're presented with an important decision: Either we embrace this change or we don't. Our choice will ultimately impact the bottom line, one way or the other. The challenge now is how to reach a new generation of customers who don’t rely on TV, radio, newspapers or magazines to find you. Your customers are taking to social networks, You

Social media. Smartphones. Tablets. Internet access everywhere, all the time. There's a point when technology shifts from being a trend to becoming a disruption in daily business. Yet another point comes when consumer behavior starts to shift, and we're presented with an important decision: Either we embrace this change or we don't. Our choice will ultimately impact the bottom line, one way or the other. The challenge now is how to reach a new generation of customers who don’t rely on TV, radio, newspapers or magazines to find you. Your customers are taking to social networks, You

What you did to get your business to where it is today is not what you need to do to get your business to where it needs to be now. Business growth requires different actions as the market changes. Small-business guru Barry Moltz has identified ways that businesses get stuck, causing their growth to slow down. By making changes to these ineffective patterns, your business can start to flourish again. Watch Moltz's Breakfast Session, and learn how to boost revenue and avoid the traps that keep businesses struggling for years.