NAMM 2016! Crazy, exciting, and exhausting!
Creative Commons: Justin Higuchi – Cindy Alexander @ NAMM Show
As the scope of music making expands, so do the number of brands that depend on the NAMM Show platform to unveil new products. According to NAMM statistics, this year’s show was the largest and most inclusive event in the National Association of Music Merchants’ (NAMM) 115-year history. A record 1,726 exhibiting companies representing more than 6,000 brands brought the entrepreneurial spirit to life.
The NAMM show is where artists meet the industry to learn what is new, what is cool, and just get together and network. For the 5th year, JoyTunes was part of that energy. Check out the video of us at NAMM 2016 below:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHYtxYvx0HE[/embedyt]
What is it like to attend the NAMM show?
It is difficult to describe. I have often heard it described as “Comicon for musicians”, which does fit. But it is so much more.
As an exhibitor for the show, we spent many months organizing what the booth would look like, how to make it “cool” and attractive, and how to stand out. We were fortunate to have some of our collaborators, Yamaha, Kawai, and Casio provide instruments for the booth. We had large-screen TVs to demo our apps, Piano Maestro and the latest to join the JoyTunes family, Simply Piano.
But it is the people that really makes the experience.
From the start of the show, you never know whom you might encounter. We had visits from some of our most active JoyTunes teachers who use Piano Maestro, like James Ferguson and Linda Rohmund.
We saw humorous signs and shirts:
But one of the most fun aspects of NAMM is the people you might encounter. There are many well-known musicians and actors who attend NAMM to see what is new in our industry. One of the highlights for me was having Stevie Wonder walk by and stop a few feet away! Yes, Stevie Wonder!
Others you might see include Weird Al Yankovic, Graham Nash, Nathan East, and Chaka Khan. Of course, there are many others!
The NAMM show now includes teachers and students, as part of their Music Education Days and Generation Next. This is how I received my first invitation to NAMM – as an educator. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it!
Click the links below to see the NAMM photo and video library!
