NAMM Fills Nashville's New Music City Center with Opportunities for Success

CARLSBAD, Calif., April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NAMM and Nashville – two names that are practically synonymous with making music. Summer NAMM returns July 11-13, 2013 to the city where American music has been made and played for generations. This year, the show moves into a new home – Nashville's Music City Center – offering new opportunities to build lasting connections, conduct robust business and re-stock for the fall and holiday, while celebrating the best in music retailing.

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"As we move into Nashville's brand new Music City Center, Summer NAMM will focus on dealer education, strengthening relationships between buyers and vendors and helping dealers and brands plan 3^rd and 4^th quarter purchases for the holidays," said NAMM CEO and president Joe Lamond. "This is the perfect opportunity for the industry to come together in a relaxed setting that is perfect for networking with friends and peers and taking in some of the best music found anywhere."

Summer NAMM is designed to foster relationships and enable the discovery of new products. The show's intimate feeling encourages quality meetings between brands and top buyers. Last year, top dealers representing 78.40% of the industry's buying power in the U.S. were present at Summer NAMM. This group, which includes Sweetwater Sound Inc., Guitar Center and Sam Ash along with the top independent retailers, accounts for a combined $3.73 Billion in annual sales.

The music-making industry has a rich and colorful history in Nashville. Known as "Music City," Nashville's roots are in the celebratory fiddle music played by the city's earliest settlers as they disembarked safely on the shores of the Cumberland River. Home to The Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Music Row, and a GRAMMY-Award-winning symphony, Nashville is the ideal location for the summer's biggest music-industry event.

New Location
Summer NAMM's new location is the magnificent Music City Center. In the heart of downtown Nashville and adjacent to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Music City Center welcomes NAMM Show exhibitors with 1.2 million square feet of city views and landscaped public areas. Three years in construction, the recently completed Music City Center features allover solar panels and a green-landscaped roof, designed to mimic the rolling hills of Tennessee. NAMM fills this soaring space with an impressive array of exhibitors from cutting-edge pro light and sound manufacturers to boutique instrument craftsmen.

Brands
Summer NAMM is the pre-eminent opportunity to set the stage for a successful fall and holiday selling season with face-to-face meetings between top retailers and the most innovative established and emerging brands. Spending quality time with customers, and building brand in the exciting atmosphere of the magnificent Music City Center. Retailers can prepare to flourish in the second half of the year, flush with new product and new inspiration from innovative and influential manufacturers and distributors.

Walking the aisles of Summer NAMM, visitors will recognize industry icons and high-profile product lines. The show welcomes back Yamaha, TASCAM audio recorders and mixers, Hal Leonard, Alfred Publishing, Sabian, Remo, Taylor Guitars, C.F. Martin, QSC Audio, The Music People and Two Old Hippies. Additionally many brands are returning after a Summer NAMM hiatus including Deering Banjo Co., ESP Guitars and Warwick. Retailers can restock school band and orchestra products before recruitment season hits high gear from brands including BG Franck Bichon, Cannonball Musical Instruments, and Howard Core Company. Summer NAMM continues to be a platform for buyers to also discover new, emerging brands and for product launches to make a big splash.

Professional Development Opportunities
Retailers take top billing at Summer NAMM, with programs and sessions tailored to spotlight the needs of the independent music-industry professional. Dozens of business-boosting workshops and sessions are planned for Nashville starting with Retail Boot Camp on Wednesday, July 10, before the show even opens. Boot Camp will address attracting new customers, nurturing the customer base, and invigorating the independent retailers' music-making communities. Boot Camp attendees will sharpen their skills and investigate new strategies for navigating the marketing obstacles in the current dynamic economy.

The Idea Center is open for business, and NAMM U Breakfast Sessions are held every day of the show. Join the opening-day Retail Summit breakfast session on July 11 in its new Davidson Ballroom location inside the Music City Center. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond hosts an inside look at the people and companies that are thriving in this hyper-competitive business climate, and their ideas for ending 2013 strong. You'll walk away from this session with a plan for the critical holiday season that will carry over into next year.

Top 100 Dealers
For many the show's apex is the announcement of the Dealer of the Year. NAMM-member retailers are nominated in several categories, from Best Sales Promotion to Best Emerging Dealer. An independent panel of industry judges assesses all of the nominees. The retailers with the top scores in each category are named to the coveted Top 100 list. Friday, July 12, the winners of the main categories, and Dealer of the Year are awarded at a celebratory dinner attended by leading music-industry professionals.

See the directory of brands attending Summer NAMM: http://www.namm.org/summer/2013/directory.

Members of NAMM and the Music Industry can register online starting today: http://www.namm.org/summer/2013/badges

About NAMM
The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is the not-for-profit association with a mission to strengthen the $17 billion music products industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies located in more than 87 countries. For more information about NAMM or the proven benefits of making music, interested parties can visit www.namm.org, call 800-767-NAMM (6266) or follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

SOURCE The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)