News Releases

Multi-GRAMMY® winner, composer and performer Kenny Loggins has been presented with the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) “Music for Life” award at The 2022 NAMM Show. NAMM’s highest industry honor, the award was given at the opening Breakfast of Champions session in celebration of Loggins’ lifelong commitment to inspiring music makers everywhere.

Earlier this evening at The 2022 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, the industry gathered to celebrate the spirit of the independent music retailer and to applaud their accomplishments, resilience, and commitment to serving music makers at the Top 100 Awards. The annual awards event also announced the “Best of” category winners, including “Dealer of the Year” and “Customers’ Choice” awards. Congratulations to the following category winners: All County Music – Dealer of the Year All County Music – Best Community Retail Store

The NAMM TEC Committee is pleased to announce pioneer and bassist extraordinaire Carol Kaye as the recipient of this year’s Les Paul Innovation Award alongside top hitmaker, producer, and performer, Peter Asher, who will be inducted to the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame. The Les Paul Innovation Award is given on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation to honor individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of artistry in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer, inventor, and musician, Les Paul.

The National Association of Music Merchants is pleased to announce the list of independent music product retailers to be honored at the organization's Top 100 Dealer Awards. Now in its twelfth year, the annual awards honor retailers worldwide who demonstrate exceptional commitment to their stores, neighborhoods, and customers and share in a vision of creating a more musical world through their local communities.

World’s Largest Annual Music Celebration to Include Special Events in New York City, Nashville, and for the Very First Time, Atlanta Make Music Day, the global celebration of music held annually on the summer solstice, today announced that this year’s vast program will observe the festival’s 40th anniversary and feature a full return to in-person events, with more than 5,000 live, free music-making events held nationwide on Tuesday, June 21.

To offer continued stability for the global industry association in anticipation of the retirement of NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond in spring 2023, the NAMM Executive Committee has retained the firm of Russell Reynolds Associates in the search for the association’s next Chief Executive Officer. Russell Reynolds Associates is a global leadership advisory and search firm that works across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, with a focus on the recruitment of transformational leaders who can meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

As schools across the nation regain their cadence with the return to in-person learning and the reduction in mandates, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation is pleased to celebrate the list of Best Communities for Music Education (BCME).

For emerging college music students and faculty, K-12 music teachers and administrators, and nonprofit leadership, signature programs and events of The NAMM Foundation will return to The 2022 NAMM Show, June 3-5 in Anaheim, California. From the professional development program tracks of GenNext, Music Education Days, and The Nonprofit Management Institute to a variety of opportunities to network and reconnect, attendees will experience a career-expanding and innovative program to spark the next great idea and make connections to advance music education.

Women of NAMM (WON) is pleased to announce six recipients of its annual NAMM Show scholarship: Hailey Canfield, Dietze Music; Alia DiLullo, Gator Co.; Tamara Freethy, Cosmo Music; Kristi Noble, Quinlan and Fabish Music; Jessica Palmer, West Music/Music ConstructED; and Mandy Stertz, Pecknel Music Company. The annual scholarship program seeks to support women with goals to connect, support, and grow as professionals and leaders, and to partake in professional development education, networking and mentoring with women who are industry leaders at The NAMM Show.

The Bernice Ash Memorial Scholarship Fund is pleased to announce the first two recipients of its award, Kwanté Greenidge, General Manager of Sam Ash Music - Brooklyn and Anna Nguyen, Digital Marketing Analyst at Yamaha Corporation of America. The scholarship, which was founded in 2021, honors the remarkable life and legacy of Bernice Ash, a music retail visionary who spearheaded the expansion of the Sam Ash family-owned music stores, broadening inventory for the chain across multiple new categories.

NAMM’s Museum of Making Music and The NAMM Show (June 3-5) are pleased to welcome “Les Paul Thru the Lens,” an exclusive traveling gallery of photos highlighting the life and career of music industry icon, inventor, and musician Les Paul.

Music Hackspace, The MIDI Association, and NAMM are proud to announce that submissions are now open for the 2022 MIDI Innovation Awards, a showcase for music innovation using MIDI. MIDI has been at the center of music technology innovation since 1983, and MIDI 2.0 is poised to repeat MIDI 1.0’s global success in the decades to come. To further MIDI’s development and artistic impact, the second edition of the MIDI Innovation Awards continues to acknowledge MIDI innovation.