JUNE 14 I 2011 SUMMER NAMM I SHOWS
Bring on the Heat

The Nashville, Tenn., heat index will hit new highs from July 21–23. That's when Summer NAMM rolls into town, bringing with it the show's inaugural dealer awards, a public day and a slew of educational opportunities. The event will be held at the Nashville Convention Center.

The Dealer Oscars
NAMM will host its first Top 100 Dealer Awards on the evening of Friday, July 22.

The new program recognizes outstanding music retailers in "best of" categories, including "Best Curb Appeal," "Best Use of Social Media" and "Best Sales Promotion," along with such categories as "Support Music Local Advocacy Award," "Wanna Play 'Music Makes a Difference' Award" and "Dealer of the Year."

Attendees will get to see dealers' submissions and the elements that propelled these 100 businesses to the top of the industry.

"I'm looking forward to recognizing our members for the great work they do each day and sharing some of the best practices within our community to help everyone grow stronger," said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. "We hope this event will gain momentum in future years and become another good reason for dealers to attend Summer NAMM."

Open for Business
An earlier version of NAMM's public day debuted at last year's show with Wanna Play Music Sunday. This year, NAMM's unveiling a bona fide public day on Saturday, July 23, opening the show floor to musicians and industry outsiders.

To boost traffic, the organization has teamed up with consumer magazines, including Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard, Electronic Musician and Modern Drummer, to market the public day to their readers. The publications will promote the event to more than 1 million combined subscribers each month and offer a free three-month subscription to all Wanna Play Music Day ticket buyers. The publications will also participate in creating consumer clinics, master classes and themed events for the public on Saturday.

"We'll have some great clinics, workshops, panels and educational sessions and special events like the World's Fastest Drummer competition and Guitar Player's Guitar Superstar contest," Lamond said.

Information Station
Music Inc. columnists will be represented in full force at the convention, with educational sessions hosted by such experts as Alan Friedman, Greg and Grant Billings, Danny Rocks, and Pete Gamber. Lamond also called "The NAMM Retail Summit," Thursday morning's NAMM U Breakfast Session featuring author Robin Lewis, a not-to-miss educational opportunity.

"[Lewis] will explore how our members can stay ahead of the many rapid changes occurring in this new phase of retailing and give them some ideas about how to make the most of this sales year," he said.

Lamond added that he believes there's still a need for the industry to meet over the summer.

"We're hearing time and time again how fast the game is changing and how critical it is for the industry to come together to navigate these changes," he said. "We feel it's an important role for the association to provide this opportunity for our members and the rest of the industry to meet, do business and learn this summer." MI

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