Day Four of the 2008 NAMM Show

Day four of the 2008 NAMM Show brought music products professionals to the Anaheim Convention Center for one final day of meetings, networking, education and music.

As an introduction to the NAMM University Breakfast Session, Hutchins Consort gave a unique live performance on scaled violins, and this year's Wanna Play? Awards, recognizing non-musical companies using music in their advertising, were announced. Representatives from Clorox, Converse and Kaiser Permanente were on hand to accept their awards. The final session was "Best in Show: This Year's Hottest Products," moderated by Frank Alkyer and featuring panelists Zach Phillips, Alan Friedman, Pete Gamber, Liane Rockley, Victor Salazar and Ted Eschliman. Among the top products were snare drums, guitars, print music and amplifier plug-ins.

NAMM University hosted its final seven sessions in the NAMM Idea Center, on topics including Web site design and consumer financing, as well as four sessions created specifically for Music Education Day. The day included a breakfast reception and networking opportunities for regional music teachers.

On the show floor, buyers visited booths for a final look at the newest products from more than 1,500 exhibitors.

"Obviously you come with a perception, you know the big players in the market, the household names, and as you go to the various stalls I think what's hit me is the people that have ideas of their own," said Esther Daly, Al'Bang'N'Strum'It, Navan, Ireland. "They have unique products that you would never have seen. Just looking at a magazine or looking through a trade book you wouldn't have gotten the concept to actually visualize it in it's intensity—it's everything and more."

"I like to see how things are changing, what different stuff might be coming out," David Dudley, Dave's Drum Shop, Ottawa, Canada. "There seems to be a lot of these trends that are different here in the U.S. than Canada, and it's interesting to see that stuff develop and see how long it might take to get up to Canada."

"The dealers I saw here were the ones who decided they were going to find a way to make their businesses work," said Pete Gamber of Alta Loma Music.

Many exhibitors claimed the show was strong for buyer traffic.

"This has been our best show in corporate history," said David Jahnke, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis. "We always track our sales when we talk to customers and do projections, and the vibe this year was some of the most optimistic that I've ever seen."

"We had a great show," said Dick Boak, Martin Guitars, Nazareth, Pa. "It was the third-best trade show in our history."

"Overall the show's been great," said Lena Juncha, Shure Inc., Niles, Ill. "We had a lot of booth traffic and a lot of meetings with our dealers, which is always great."

"The show was a big hit for us with lots of attendees, they liked our products and they liked our display," said Dan Norton, Ernie Ball, San Luis Obispo, Calif. "For the visitors, this is probably the best forum in the country for people who are going to buy something in this coming year to see what is available."

NAMM will bring the industry together again for 2008 Summer NAMM, June 20–22, 2008, in Nashville, Tenn. For more information and news updates, interested parties may visit www.namm.org.