NAMM Makes Plans to Hit the Road for Town Hall Meetings in Four U.S. Cities

NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry, today announced its plans for a four-state NAMM Town Hall meeting tour in 2008 to meet with industry retailers, manufacturers and reps to discuss the changes and issues facing the industry today.

NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond will take to the road April 29, with his first stop in the Los Angeles area. Additional meetings will be held in or near Washington, D.C., on May 16, Chicago on May 20, and Boston on May 21.

The open forum event is also a chance to learn a little more about NAMM’s current activities, including its consumer-facing public awareness campaign, Wanna Play?, which is designed to engage people of all ages in making music, and the association’s ongoing work to strengthen school music programs.

This year’s regional tour intends to meet three specific objectives:

• Communicating NAMM’s mission to music products dealers
• Opening up a two-way dialogue about industry issues
• Discussing how NAMM can better serve its Members and the industry.

The 2007 town hall meetings held in Flushing, N.Y., Nashville, Tenn., Atlanta, Ga., Orlando, Fla., and Austin, Texas, were well attended and offered attendees the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding about the structure and mission-driven work that NAMM does in an environment outside of the NAMM Show setting.

NAMM encourages attendance by NAMM Members and non-Members, and welcomes music products industry manufacturers, retailers, suppliers and reps to attend these open-dialogue assemblies. The Town Hall meetings are approximately half-day events. Breakfast and lunch will be provided by NAMM. More information about exact meeting locations will be announced at a later date.

For more information about how to participate in the NAMM Town Hall meetings, interested parties should send an e-mail to Judy Dodds, director of Membership at NAMM, at judyd@namm.org.