Industry Insights: What We Learn From the 2024 NAMM Global Report
The 2024 NAMM Global Report celebrates NAMM’s 18th year of compiling data from across the globe, now representing 32 countries. This effort takes four months, and we work closely with partners around the world to present a holistic overview with both country-specific data and localized knowledge.
This year’s Global Report is part of our new Industry Insights initiative, which represents our commitment to providing data and research to support industry growth. This year we have released an expanded NAMM Show 2024 Post-Show Report and a commissioned study by Forrester® Research, both adding significant value to NAMM membership in addition to this Global Report. You may view all our Industry Insights reports on our Industry Insights page.
The narrative of each country in The 2024 Global Report presents a unique picture into the opportunities and challenges in their own markets, and reading through these, we see key themes emerge. Our goal in sharing this information is that we as an industry learn from each other, but more importantly, we have empathy and support each other. By understanding the nuances of each global territory, we can make better decisions to grow our shared industry.
The key theme this year is stability. We see signs across the board of a stabilizing music products industry, with the pandemic boom and bust of at-home instruments and gear leveling out the inventory issues, live touring demand leveling, and school music making its full return. Taking in all the data, there are three areas of focus we are looking at for the future:
School Music Program Resiliency
After a time where school music came to a sudden halt, we now see the resiliency of these programs as they have bounced back and are ahead of 2019. Nothing could have tested our U.S. school music system more than stopping all programs during a pandemic. The injection of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds demonstrated a commitment to supporting education, and when the ESSER grant program used the Title I model for the disbursement of funds, it was a good sign that decades of advocacy work for including music as part of a well-rounded education has paid off. With school music being up so much last year, we do look ahead with caution as there could have been an “ESSER bump” that may level off in the next year. However, the school music product segment is stable, passed the hardest test ever, and we see a long future ahead for this category.
The Busted Booms Becoming Balanced
The results of this year’s report show that the sales booms of lockdowns in certain categories have come to an end, with 2023 showing revenue declines across these product segments. However, the inventory imbalances of these categories continue to recover, which demonstrates that we are moving in the direction of balance and stabilization. In three years, we will be able to look back at the revenue line graph and see what looks like a heartbeat in these categories over a few years, and we hope to see overall growth over a decade despite the roller coaster of the past four years. For now, balance is the key.
Desire for Music Making Is Still High
The booms and busts on top of inventory imbalances have skewed our data in understanding the overall picture of people’s desire to make music. Looking at additional data points, we see the used gear market very active right now, and consumers’ desire to see live music is thriving. While used gear sales and surplus inventory are affecting revenues, we do look overall at the human desire to experience and make music as a key factor for our industry. Times of high inflation do affect consumer spending on luxury and hobby purchases, but taking that into account along with the rise in used gear and a booming live music scene, the report’s data shows a positive trend around the demand for music making. Without this strong demand, the other challenges the industry faces would be much worse. If there’s anything industry members can do to support each other, it’s to continue to ensure the desire to play instruments and create music stays strong across communities.
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While we all want to see the revenue graphs constantly go up and to the right, we are reminded that after turbulent times a little stability is a good sign. While The 2024 NAMM Global Report is a snapshot of the last year, we can gain some insights into where we go next. As an industry, we should continue to share insights and support each other so we can grow together. The demand for music making is there, and together we can navigate the shifts of inventory, consumer spending and used gear to ensure a strong future.
Discover More Industry Insights
NAMM is a not-for-profit trade association that represents the music, sound and event industries with the mission to strengthen the music products industry. One way we do so is by providing members with industry data to guide their decision making. Access our various reports by visiting the NAMM Industry Insights page.
About the Author
John Mlynczak is the president and CEO of NAMM, with expertise in the music industry, education, technology and leadership. He previously worked as VP of music education and technology at Hal Leonard, director of education for PreSonus Audio, and as a music educator at the K12 and collegiate levels. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and master’s degrees in both music performance and education leadership from Louisiana State University.