Sweetwater GearFest and Summer NAMM Observations

[Anderton]

Attendance figures aren't in for Summer NAMM yet, but they're projected to be between 12K and 13K for the three days. Meanwhile, GearFest attendance increased by 50% over last year, bringing in over 12K people in two days. In terms of numbers alone, GearFest has reached parity with Summe NAMM and you could make a strong argument it has surpassed Summer NAMM in some ways.

 

There are significant differences. NAMM is not in business to lose money, and I'm sure Sweetwater loses money on GearFest. Unlike NAMM exhibitor space is free, and attendees don't pay to attend, either. Nor is it dealer/buyer oriented; aside from Summer NAMM's "public" day, it's supposed to be about writing orders for product. Furthermore, at GearFest presentations are much looser - you can set up space in the tents, but the booths aren't as sophisticated as Summer NAMM. So overall, the two shows are very different animals. But...

 

In terms of which does more for the music industry, my vote would go to GearFest. Sure, manufacturers can write orders at NAMM, but who's driving the demand? GearFest gets musicians and ordinary people excited about making music, and excited about the gear they use to make music. Although a lot of them will buy from Sweetwater, these are the same people who will go into music stores in their area and ask for the products that dealers will order at NAMM.

 

Although NAMM does do instructional workshops and seminars, Sweeetwater way outpaces what NAMM does. There's a steady stream of educational elements to Sweetwater; some people go to GearFest more for the education than to check out the gear. This also gets people excited about making music, as they become aware of the power that these new tools offer.

 

I'd like to see Summer NAMM do more to get people excited about music. The Winter show is the big show with all the industry stuff. Summer NAMM used to be their big show when it was held in Chicago, but now it's kind of a mom and pop dealer show. I think they can conduct the business they need to conduct in a day, so why not make the show more for musicians and would-be musicians?

 

• Have the dates be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday would be strictly B-to-B. Saturday and Sunday would be open to the public.
  
• Drop the public day price from $10 advance/$20 at the door to $5 and $8.
  
• Don't call the day that's open to the public "Music Industry Day"! That sounds pretty unsexy, and makes it sound like it's for the industry. Call it "Make Music Day" or something like that.
  
• Give a finite number of free tickets to local schools with music classes to increase attendance for the TEC sessions and workshops.
  

 

That's just a start...do you have any ideas on what to do with Summer NAMM?

 

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

I want to think about it a bit, but I definitely believe you're on to something in terms of promoting participation. Yes, promoting music in schools is important, but I think NAMM and the industry in general should try to come up with new and innovative ways to encourage people of all ages to play music, and further opening the doors to a NAMM show could be a good way to do that. Kudos to Chuck and the folks at Sweetwater for doing their part. They may be losing money on the event, but I really do think that there are going to be long term benefits for the industry at large because of those 'fests.

 

[Anderton]

As to whether GearFest loses money, I'd be willing to bet that attendees have such a positive experience they're more likely to order their next big piece of gear from Sweetwater. If you look at Sweetwater's growth over the years, it makes sense that GearFest fuels at least some of that.

 

This is why I think it's so important for NAMM to understand that if their mission statement is to be a "National Association of Music Merchants," the best thing that could happen to ANY music merchant would be more people getting excited about playing and listening to music.

[MDMachiavelli]

Being a country musician I have really wanted to go to Summer NAMM, being in Nashville. I had industry rep/business owner who would probably let me go as their REP this year and just couldn't get off of work.

 

I would love to go and be able to experience it.

[Chris Loeffler]

Summer NAMM is always going to live in the shadow of the Winter show, so I agree... they should come up with something that differentiates it other than "smaller, muggier, and ideal for mid-West M&P". I would love to see it be the "better the retail landscape" show to Winter's "Get your POs for the year"... more focus on manufacturer-create education and programs for retailers to bring to customers.

[MikeRivers]

Craig, you might have enough influence to change how NAMM sees their shows as beneficial to the industry, but I've always found that they're strongly on the side of the retailers, figuring that the retailers will do their magic to sell the products. I wonder if the wrong people are attending the educational seminars that lean toward technology. They're great for the musician-tire kickers who manage to get into the show, but the buyers and managers don't really get much benefit from them.

 

What would be good is if there was a program that would get more of the on-the-floor sales people to those seminars so they might know a little more than their customers and can actually help them make the right purchases. That's going to be really hard to do, because somebody has to stay home and sell stuff during the show, and then there's the travel cost. Maybe a scholarship program for, say, 100 floor sales people each year, nominated by the member dealers. NAMM might have the clout to get them affordable hotel rooms and flights to ease the burden on the retailers. Somebody's got explain the different kinds of plugs and jacks to those people.

[Phil O'Keefe]

There's nothing more important to retailers than customers and sales. There's nothing that will kill sales faster than general lack of interest in the activity your products are used for. Having NAMM actively promoting music participation will help insure there will continue to be a market for the retailers.

 

Maybe one of the solutions is to offer up some of the more musician-friendly and neo-musician friendly seminars for public viewing, post-show?

 

How about a virtual reality version of the NAMM show that's open to everyone? Keep the dealer info confidential and private and accessible for dealers only (or limit that to the physical show itself), but allow the public at large to get a taste of some of the new gear, learn from the seminars and round tables, and get a taste of the excitement and fun of participating in musical activities.

[Chris Loeffler]

How about a virtual reality version of the NAMM show that's open to everyone? Keep the dealer info confidential and private and accessible for dealers only (or limit that to the physical show itself), but allow the public at large to get a taste of some of the new gear, learn from the seminars and round tables, and get a taste of the excitement and fun of participating in musical activities.

 

Tied to what you're saying, this would give retailers a better taste of what the market is for a new product. If they see a lot of end-user activity around a product, they can cut a PO with confidence.

[MikeRivers]

How about a virtual reality version of the NAMM show that's open to everyone? Keep the dealer info confidential and private and accessible for dealers only (or limit that to the physical show itself), but allow the public at large to get a taste of some of the new gear, learn from the seminars and round tables, and get a taste of the excitement and fun of participating in musical activities.

 

The Sound On Sound Project Studio Expo workshops that they hold at the AES show can be watched on line. I suppose if NAMM could get permission, some of the workshops, panels, and tutorials that they have at the show could be put on line as well. As far as gear goes, there are loads of uploaded videos from the show with someone from the vendor giving a product run-through. In fact, there are probably some here already. Back when Harmony Central was flush with money, they did some pretty sophisticated show videos and interviews. All it takes is $money$.

 

[Anderton]

I've been floating the idea of a virtual trade show for years, with specifics. I think within 5 years it will not only be reality but commonplace, especially for smaller fields.

[Dendy Jarrett]

NAMM, short for the National Association of Music Merchants is a show that was designed to allow music merchants (retailers) to conduct business with manufacturers. My first NAMM show (some 30+ years ago) found the drum area relatively quiet with retailers and manufacturers sitting at tables writing business. Now NAMM is akin to a circus. It seems to have become all about the numbers. (how many attended), when instead, it should be about how much business was written.

 

I like your approach, Craig, but I would say that the show should be Thursday- Sunday. Thursday and Friday should be open to music retailers ONLY. Not even guests or artists. Yes, this would be a hard reality check for NAMM, as I would imagine crickets would be chirping in the hallowed halls of NAMM. Why? Well, when I attended my first show, there were well over 10,000 music retailers in this country. Now, I'd dare say it is probably less 70% (under 3000). However, it may be the best way to determine if NAMM is even relevant anymore to B2B relations.

Why open the first to days to music retailers only? It would give businesses the chance to see gear without distraction in an environment where they can hear what is being explained. Where a demo can be given that is actually educational to the dealer. Dealers don't want to see Artists. They've all seen them and have had them in their stores giving clinics and such. They shouldn't be required to fight "hall long" lines to get to a booth to see the latest gear because Slash is in the booth signing autographs.

 

If Thursday and Friday were open to music retailers only, then Saturday and Sunday (which should only be a half day) could both be public days. Those days business transactions could be over and those days would be purely open to inspire musicians.

 

Given proper planning, manufacturers sales reps could leave on Saturday allowing the churn of airport traffic to be reduced. Those music retailers who don't care about the congested halls of public day could also leave, further reducing the airport clogging after the show.

 

Again, maybe this is a too practical approach that holds too much common sense. But, for those of us that have attended for years, it certainly seems that for NAMM, it has become all about the attendance numbers, and not so much about the business of Musical Merchants.

 

D

[MikeRivers]

Good thought, Dendy. It would be a big change for both the manufacturers and the dealers who attend. For lot of the stuff that really needs hands-on demos, like the Avid and Yamaha consoles, for instance, the major dealers arrange private showings, and a lot of the big wheeling and dealing is done in suites rather than on the show floor.

 

I don't know what there is about drums that you could teach retailers, other than perhaps how to set up a drum kit and tune it so it will sound good on the floor (I'm sure there's more), but something like this could pay off if the dealer takes the information back to his store, tunes the drums so they sound good in the showroom, and offers to tune up the drums that a customer buys. A panel discussion with representatives of several DAWs with emphasis on unique features that each offers could help a dealer steer a customer into the right product.

 

Thing is that the retailers have only so much time to spend at the show. They need to get their business done and get back to making money. This is why I think that education would be a better bet at the summer show, because that's usually slower paced, and dealers might be inclined to take an extra day to "go to school."

 

I really wonder where all those people who attend and spend half a day banging on drums (and the other half playing bass) come from. The show might be more civilized if they were to greatly restrict the number of non-trade attendees (letting people like us in, of course) and suggest to the dealers that a way to bring customers into their stores is to have a "Post NAMM Saturday," They coud set up special displays of gear that they saw and liked, demonstrate it, perhaps with the assistance of a couple of manufacturer's reps (this is beginning to sound like a mini Sweetwater Gearfest), and maybe sell some stuff to their own local customers.

 

The tire kickers who get in to NAMM probably don't go to their local dealer, they see what's cool and then go shopping for it on line.

[Etienne Rambert]

Tell you what, I'm shopping Sweetwater from now on. I bought a Guild Starfire III from it along with a BOSS Octo-pedal. The Octo pedal did not arrive. .But I was traveling and had no time to hassle w/ a refund. So I let it slide.. Joe Schafer, the Sweetwater sales guy stayed on the case though.He emailed me a week later - out of the blue - and asked me if I was sure it didn't arrive? Did look inside both cases? Like I told him both boxes were snug around the Guild. No way a pedal box could fit.

 

Next day, the BOSS Octo was delivered overnight free to my home address, courtesy of Joe Schafer and Sweetwater. I'm going to buy a KRONOs one of these days. Maybe other stuff too. He'll be the first one I call. He really stayed on the ball and did the right thing.- without me even raising a fuss or even inquiring about it. That reflects well on his company and on him too.

[Anderton]

What you have experienced is the norm, not the exception. That's just one of the reasons I'm personally supportive of Sweetwater beyond their being a way to buy gear...they represent the way business should be done and people - from employees to customers - should be treated.

 

I admire Chuck Surack. He has reduced all the complexities involved in running a business to three simple rules: Hire good people, pay them well, and train them properly. Your post indicates something that simple can actually work.

[Mats Nermark]

I really enjoy reading this thread where a lot of reasoned views are expressed backed by solid experience. Not a common experience on Internet forums these days.

 

I have never been to the Gear Fest (but I really would love to) and haven't been to Summer NAMM since it was located in Atlanta. I have however been to Winter NAMM 16 times and the Frankturt Messe 30 times in addition to a number of other shows, so I feel I have some experience of what's being discussed here.

 

I agree with almost everything being said here but as an educator I see the need for the MI business to take steps to put enthusiasm on the agenda. Enthusiasm for music and playing an instrument, weather that instrument is a violin or a computer loaded with music making software. Enthusiasm is needed for kids to be willing to forgo the instant gratification factor of other stuff that competes for their attention, time and money. There are smartphone apps and computer games that they can learn quickly and get an early reward and when they get bored they buy another app they can learn quickly and get an early reward and move on to the next one, etc. The game Rock Band was the same thing. A friend of mine who teaches guitar groups in a school that gives evening classes told me he got very many students enrolling directly into the advanced classes and when the classes started these students didn't know the first thing about playing a guitar. But they got very good scores in Rock Band so they thought they were advanced. Some quit and some started in the beginners group but soon dropped out because they realized the work required and they just didn't want to wait for the reward.

 

If possible I would like to see something that got kids really excited about playing/making music in the same way that I'm excited about playing/making music. Where they realize and accept that music is not an end to be reahed but a journey to enjoy. A journey that may take you to exciting places, make you meet cool people with whom you can have an exceedingly good time, make you feel good and, not the least, give you a place within yourself where you can withdraw to a find peace of mind for a while.

 

I have no firm answer what it may take to get there in any specific culture/country but here in Kungsbacka, Sweden we are trying a new concept of turning things around a bit. Instead of classes where the teacher is telling the students what to do we have started a class called "The Computer As A Musical Instrument And Recording Studio". No formal knowledge of music is required. Just an interest in doing something with music. My thought is that a kid 12 years old knows a lot about music without knowing it as he/she probably has listened to music one way or another since birth. So when they first get to class I see we have a lot of things to talk about. Then they sit down at a DAW loaded with loops and software instruments and I show them how to drag and drop some loops to start being creative. And that seems to be pretty much all it takes to get them started. They sit there with their headphones and do THEIR thing. They each go musically where they want to go, not where I need them to go to comply with my plan. Then when they get an idea where they want to go next they ask me for help/advice and I show them how and explain the musical theory of why that is a good idea. As a long time educator I can say it's extremely rewarding to have students effectively saying, "Hey teacher, come teach me something because I really want to learn". The kids listen to each other's work and learn from each other and if many say "I want to know how to do that", then that's a subject for a short lecture. It could be about envelope generators or how to work a reverb but equally well about music theory like rhythm or harmony. As an educator it is so much fun flying by the seat of my pants, never knowing what to expect and seeing all these young people develop a deep enthusiasm for music.

 

It doesn't stop there. It has happened that a kid needs an electric guitar. So I bring my guitar to lay down some tracks for them and sometimes that has generated an interest in the guitar so the kid is now attending regular guitar classes.

 

I must, however, admit to the fact that I also learn a lot. These kids a have a refreshing no-nonsense attitude for music and they bring new music to my attention all the time.

 

This way of doing things is getting a lot of interest in other cities so it will be exciting to see if it takes off on a national level.

 

A final philosophical thought. In these groups I see kids who have never met each other before, from all walks of life not knowing anything about each other, get together, work together and have fun together. Makes me wonder if music could be the solution for a lot of social problems prevalent in our society. I wish everybody could experience the pure joy of making music.

 

So back to the original topic, maybe NAMM or some other organisation could help schools set up programs aimed at promoting creativity that shows both the short term and the long term enjoyment of making music. Because once a person realize that music is it, the MI business has a customer for life. So maybe it could be worthwhile for the MI business participants to raise their eyes from their quarterly reports and take a look at the long term survival of the industry and think a bit differently. I truly feel that the best people to "sell music" to presumtive customers are well supported and continually educated music teachers. Take NAMM to all kinds of schools and bring the teachers to NAMM and educate them.

 

Having read what I just wrote, I realize I'm coming off as rambling. Sorry about that! I'm just so very enthusiastic about making music and enabling others to experience the same joy.

 

Cheers,

 

Mats N

[MikeRivers]

You can lead a horse to water . . . etc.

 

Education and music in the schools is one of NAMMs major programs. The problem is with the schools, and what they think the students want to learn. There's a newly built "upper elementary" (grades 4-6) school in my neighborhood that has a really impressive video studio, but no band room. I don't see kids getting off the school bus carrying violin or trumpet cases.

 

I think that one of the reasons that kids aren't as interested in actually playing music, as opposed to assembling sounds on a computer, is that our heroes and what they do aren't as approachable (sorry, that might not be the right word) as they were in "our" day. It wasn't hard to imagine doing what Buddy Holly or Chuck Berry, or even The (early) Beatles were doing. But how do you start to become the next Beyonce? Taylor Swift got out of the coffee houses pretty quickly. It's hard to find a good role model any more.

 

I believe there are a small handful of kids interested in small-market musical genres. You can get a masters degree in jazz and even bluegrass music, but where do you go to school to become a modern day rock star? Probably in multimedia production, with a minor in law.

[Anderton]

Having read what I just wrote, I realize I'm coming off as rambling.

 

I disagree!! It's a thoughtful post that's right on target. Your approach to getting kids involved makes a whole lot of sense.

 

I attended a Tennessee Arts Academy fund-raiser on behalf of Gibson a couple days ago and got to interact with a lot of teachers. They are working under really difficult conditions. 30 years ago the state provided funding for arts education but the amount has remained constant, so effectively, it's been cut by about 55%. So it's up to companies like Gibson to take up the slack.

 

Ableton did a great thing recently where people could trade in their old computers for gear credits. Ableton refurbished the computers and gave them to schools. Why isn't NAMM doing something like that?