Summer NAMM Thoughts, Anyone?

[Anderton]

I admit it, I didn't go Saturday. I wasn't covering the show for anyone, and have enough work that I didn't need to pitch any manufacturers. As always, it was great to see people in the industry and say hi, but the flip side was that meant they weren't having substantive discussions with dealers about selling gear and distribution. I'm not sure how much business was getting done. Also, there seemed to be fewer of the little companies with weird ideas. Perhaps it's gotten just too expensive.

 

I also can't help but wonder if GearFest is cutting into Summer NAMM. Winter NAMM is where all the business gets written, and even though Summer NAMM has a public day, it's not surprising if a 100% consumer-oriented show like GearFest would siphon off all those people.

 

If you went to Summer NAMM...what did you think about it?

[Mike Rivers]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Summer NAMM show was becoming too expensive for exhibitors. I couldn't justify going this year, or really for the past 3 or 4 years, because hotel prices have just gone sky high around show time. Anaheim and Las Vegas have contracted the same disease. During CES next year, the Red Roof Inn, where I'd been staying during CES and NAB shows for under $70/night (about $20 more than their regular rate) is quoting $189! The La Quinta is booked up already (for January) at more than that. The Extended Stay is $79 next week, $207 during CES 2020. The dumpy Ramada where I last stayed during NAMM at $89 is up to $377 for the next Winter NAMM. Who can afford to attend these shows? Surely not an unpaid reviewer like me.

 

New York doesn't heist up rates during AES. It's expensive enough there all the time.

 

Maybe Las Vegas hasn't figured out Infocomm yet since they alternate shows annually between Las Vegas and Orlando. Last year Vegas was reasonable, Orlando was this year, too. I haven't looked at their show dates for next year yet. Hope they aren't reading this forum.

[nursers]

That's some great info Mike, thanks. I'm hoping to come from Australia to Summer NAMM next January, looks like accommodation could be fun to find. Like you I'll be an unpaid reviewer, so it makes it a challenge.

[Mike Rivers]

That's some great info Mike, thanks. I'm hoping to come from Australia to Summer NAMM next January, looks like accommodation could be fun to find. Like you I'll be an unpaid reviewer, so it makes it a challenge.

 

Oh, that's right, to you guys down under, January is Summer. Craig was talking about the show in Nashville last week.

 

When I first started attending the NAMM show, I think in 1987, while the Hilton and Marriott closest to the convention center were really expensive, hotels within a 15 minute walk were the typical "Disneyland family friendly" places and could be had for $35-40 a night. Normal inflation would put that at about $65 today, so today's rates are quite out of line with the economy. The other thing is that in those days, the convention center parking garage was fully open and parking was $3 for a day, so if the close-in hotels were full, I could park a few miles away, drive in, park, and take the stairs or elevator upstairs and be right at the show. Now, they open only one garage, parking is restricted to exhibitors and buyers (you have to have the right color badge), and it's $18 or so a day. There's general parking in a field across the road that has been, I think, $15. A couple of years ago, I got an AirBnB guest room for about $90/night that was about the same walking distance as the hotels I'd been using, and what that showed me was that, if I got there early enough, I could find parking on the street and stay in a nicer hotel a short drive away, so I tried that last year and it worked pretty well. But I suppose one year my luck will run out and I'll be greeted with more "No Parking" signs.

 

For two or maybe it was three years, they moved the show to the downtown Los Angeles convention center while they were rebuilding the Anaheim convention center. I really liked that because I could find a nice place to stay away from the crowd and take the Metro to the show.

 

Check hotel rates throughout the year. Just to be sure, I booked the place I stayed this year for next year in February, and just last week I checked the rates and found that the price of my stay had dropped by $20/night, so I booked a room at the lower rate and canceled my original reservation. It could go down further before it goes up close to show time (you can count on that). So play the game, read the fine print, and be sure you aren't booking a non-refundable rate too far in advance.

 

 

 

 

[Anderton]

I used Air B&B for last Winter's NAMM show, well with it at $80/night, a mile from the convention center. But you have to be careful, because sometimes people realize they could get more...so they cancel your reservation and re-list for a higher price. That happened to me when I got an Air B&B for GearFest, and the owner realized there was going to be an influx of people competing for rooms.

[Anderton]

Oh, and speaking of GearFest:

 

GearFest 2019 attendance: 17,000

NAMM Summer 2019 attendance: 16,000

 

What does that tell you?

 

 

[Joe Muscara]

Oh, and speaking of GearFest:

 

GearFest 2019 attendance: 17,000

NAMM Summer 2019 attendance: 16,000

 

What does that tell you?

 

[Mike Rivers]

 

GearFest 2019 attendance: 17,000

NAMM Summer 2019 attendance: 16,000

 

What does that tell you?

 

Musicians are value conscious? I was going to say "cheapskates" but a trip to Gearfest from out of the neighborhood isn't cheap. And I don't know if what, now, are relatively inexpensive hotels around Fort Wayne hike up their prices because of Gearfest. And, interestingly, while air fare the Washington DC airports is about the same to both Nashville and Fort Wayne airports, it's $100 more than flying to Los Angeles.

 

I need a sponsor, or a patron, or a paying job in order to continue going to trade shows.

[nursers]

That's some great info Mike, thanks. I'm hoping to come from Australia to Summer NAMM next January, looks like accommodation could be fun to find. Like you I'll be an unpaid reviewer, so it makes it a challenge.

 

Oh, that's right, to you guys down under, January is Summer. Craig was talking about the show in Nashville last week.

 

When I first started attending the NAMM show, I think in 1987, while the Hilton and Marriott closest to the convention center were really expensive, hotels within a 15 minute walk were the typical "Disneyland family friendly" places and could be had for $35-40 a night. Normal inflation would put that at about $65 today, so today's rates are quite out of line with the economy. The other thing is that in those days, the convention center parking garage was fully open and parking was $3 for a day, so if the close-in hotels were full, I could park a few miles away, drive in, park, and take the stairs or elevator upstairs and be right at the show. Now, they open only one garage, parking is restricted to exhibitors and buyers (you have to have the right color badge), and it's $18 or so a day. There's general parking in a field across the road that has been, I think, $15. A couple of years ago, I got an AirBnB guest room for about $90/night that was about the same walking distance as the hotels I'd been using, and what that showed me was that, if I got there early enough, I could find parking on the street and stay in a nicer hotel a short drive away, so I tried that last year and it worked pretty well. But I suppose one year my luck will run out and I'll be greeted with more "No Parking" signs.

 

For two or maybe it was three years, they moved the show to the downtown Los Angeles convention center while they were rebuilding the Anaheim convention center. I really liked that because I could find a nice place to stay away from the crowd and take the Metro to the show.

 

Check hotel rates throughout the year. Just to be sure, I booked the place I stayed this year for next year in February, and just last week I checked the rates and found that the price of my stay had dropped by $20/night, so I booked a room at the lower rate and canceled my original reservation. It could go down further before it goes up close to show time (you can count on that). So play the game, read the fine print, and be sure you aren't booking a non-refundable rate too far in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again Mike - and the Summer thing was a mistake, totally meant to say Winter NAMM, but yeah January and Summer psychologically go hand in hand here

[Dave Bryce]

Oh, and speaking of GearFest:

 

GearFest 2019 attendance: 17,000

NAMM Summer 2019 attendance: 16,000

 

What does that tell you?

 

I believe the fact the Gearfest has pretty much all the MI and Pro Audio manufacturers there AND that it's a selling show featuring show-specific discounts have got to be factors.

 

I genuinely wonder how much of the attraction of Gearfest is the panels/exhibits, and how much is the discounts?

 

dB

 

[Anderton]

Oh, and speaking of GearFest:

 

GearFest 2019 attendance: 17,000

NAMM Summer 2019 attendance: 16,000

 

What does that tell you?

 

I genuinely wonder how much of the attraction of Gearfest is the panels/exhibits, and how much is the discounts?

 

Well, my workshops are always packed, and I'm not alone. The educational component gets a lot of traction.

 

[Dave Bryce]

Oh, and speaking of GearFest:

 

GearFest 2019 attendance: 17,000

NAMM Summer 2019 attendance: 16,000

 

What does that tell you?

I genuinely wonder how much of the attraction of Gearfest is the panels/exhibits, and how much is the discounts?

Well, my workshops are always packed, and I'm not alone. The educational component gets a lot of traction.

Oh, I have no doubt that's the case... but what I'm talking about has to be a component as well, one which SNAMM simply doesn't offer. I'm just wondering what the ratio is.

 

I remember doing those big ol' Skip's Music selling shows years back. Deals galore. Always packed. Gand Music used to do it, too.

 

dB

 

[Geoff Grace]

I remember doing those big ol' Skip's Music selling shows years back. Deals galore. Always packed. Gand Music used to do it, too.

 

dB

Yep. You convinced me to buy an Alesis QS8 at Skip's Music Expo in 1997. It was a good choice. Those were good times.

 

I wonder what the Summer NAMM attendance would be if it were held at the Anaheim Convention Center, as is the case with Winter NAMM. My guess is that it would beat Nashville's 16,000 but that it would still be dwarfed by Winter NAMM.

 

Considering how the Musikmesse and Summer NAMM are faring these days, Winter NAMM seems something of an aberration. I hope it continues to thrive.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Joe Muscara]

I visited Summer NAMM once when it was in Austin. I talked to a number of people that weren't happy about it being there because they were from the East Coast and while Nashville was doable from where they were from, Austin was a bit of extra effort. This is anecdotal, of course, and there were obviously some who might have been happier to have it in Austin because it was closer for them.

[Mike Rivers]

I visited Summer NAMM once when it was in Austin. I talked to a number of people that weren't happy about it being there because they were from the East Coast and while Nashville was doable from where they were from, Austin was a bit of extra effort. This is anecdotal, of course, and there were obviously some who might have been happier to have it in Austin because it was closer for them.

 

Summer NAMM was in Chicago for many years, then they started moving around. It was in Atlantic City once or twice, and was going to alternate years between Austin and Indianapolis until Nashville bought out those contracts and they decided to make Nashville their home. I enjoyed Austin best - nicer space, nicer weather, cheaper hotels, better food, and better off-site music. I didn't do Atlantic City or Indianapolis shows, and went to two or three in Nashville before giving up on it.

.

[Mike Martin]

Putting my CASIO hat for a moment....Summer NAMM is still pretty valuable. We see a bunch of dealers that just don't make it to Winter NAMM. It isn't Winter NAMM and we don't expect it to be but for what it is and what we do there it is worth it. Summer NAMM does have a public day on Saturday, NAMM in general is mostly about vendors meeting with dealers.

 

Gearfest on the other hand is a consumer, sale event. Sweetwater has done a great job hosting artists and workshops that people would not have access to otherwise.

 

For now, it is worth it for us to do both. It isn't a one or the other scenario.

[Anderton]

Putting my CASIO hat for a moment....Summer NAMM is still pretty valuable. We see a bunch of dealers that just don't make it to Winter NAMM. It isn't Winter NAMM and we don't expect it to be but for what it is and what we do there it is worth it.

 

That's good to hear, I got the impression from some folks they weren't writing a lot of business. Then again, your "keyboard equivalent of ukulele" was a significant introduction...I wouldn't be surprised if you got some traction with that.

 

Gearfest on the other hand is a consumer, sale event. Sweetwater has done a great job hosting artists and workshops that people would not have access to otherwise.

 

For now, it is worth it for us to do both. It isn't a one or the other scenario.

 

That makes sense, it's good you feel it's important to connect with consumers. What are your thoughts on public day?

 

[Mike Rivers]

Summer NAMM does have a public day on Saturday, NAMM in general is mostly about vendors meeting with dealers.

Gearfest on the other hand is a consumer, sale event. Sweetwater has done a great job hosting artists and workshops that people would not have access to otherwise.

 

For what it's worth, for the last couple of years, Winter NAMM has had a non-member registration which, if you're wearing the right colored hat and the wind is blowing in the proper direction (meaning they've been pretty close-mouthed about this and changed it a few times) you could get a full access badge for as little as $25. Last year there was a little qualification questionnaire you needed to fill out, with qualifiers being that you had a recording studio (doesn't everyone here?), owned or managed a music venue, were the sound person for a club or house of worship . . stuff like that. I think there were two tie-ins with this, one being an open door to people who might be buying new gear or recommending it, and the other was to attend the AES@NAMM classes - for which you needed a NAMM badge in addition to paying the additional AES@NAMM registration fee. And maybe a third being is to get some $$ out of the folks who beg their dealer or other member-friend for a badge, since members are allowed a certain number of show badges as part of their membership, and not all of them can afford to send enough employees to use all of their allotment.

[Doerfler]

Summer NAMM was in Chicago for many years, then they started moving around. It was in Atlantic City once or twice

 

I vaguely remember going to NAMM in Atlantic City, early 1990's I guess. If it was anything substantial I'm sure I would remember more.

 

[Anderton]

They've done New Orleans, Austin, Indianapolis, and maybe Atlanta at one point? The Nashville show was the only "post-Chicago" venue that seemed to stick.

[RABid]

I was in Nashville on that Saturday and totally forgot about NAMM. I never hear any of my Nashville musician friends talk about going to NAMM. But then, they only talk about the traffic.

[Anderton]

I was in Nashville on that Saturday and totally forgot about NAMM. I never hear any of my Nashville musician friends talk about going to NAMM. But then, they only talk about the traffic.

 

They don't need to go to NAMM, they're already immersed Still, it's worth it IMHO. And the Music City Center actually has enough parking!!

 

With Nashville, Music City is a spec, not a marketing tag. I feel quite at home here.

[Mike Rivers]

And the Music City Center actually has enough parking!!

 

Hopefully it's cheaper and closer to the show than the Anaheim NAMM parking. When I first started going to Nashville for NAMM, while the nearby hotels were still prohibitively expensive, I could rent a car, stay a 10-15 minute drive away, and park at a church across the street from the old convention center for $2/day. No more.