NAMM NeXT Highlights
It’s always a pleasure to see people in our industry come together. Usually, we see that happen at The NAMM Show in January. But this July 17–18, NAMM members gathered in Nashville, Tennessee, for a different reason — to grow as leaders.
NAMM NeXT, the inaugural mid-year event for leadership development, brought together NAMM members for two days of big ideas and insights from expert speakers, workshops and industry panels. At NAMM NeXT, members had the opportunity to take a step back from the day-to-day demands of their businesses and focus on the big-picture — their strategies for growth and for evolving.
This was a chance for music industry leaders to immerse themselves in professional development and do deeper dives into top-level business topics. As Zach White of White House of Music put it, the event offered “diverse perspectives that challenged industry norms. I particularly appreciated the insights from outside the music industry, which broke through conventional thinking.”
Speakers who helped challenge the norm were Mark Schaefer, a marketing expert who spoke about how businesses can begin to harness AI, and Brendan Witcher, VP/principal analyst at Forrester Research, who gave attendees perspective on why music industry companies need to become current with the capabilities of generative AI.
Joe Heffernan of Johnson String Instrument shared his thoughts on the discussions around AI: “A significant takeaway was the realization that our industry may be trailing in AI adoption and that many MI retailers are collecting customer data that provides little impact when compared to retailers across many sectors. The inclusion of a Forrester report focused on customer experience in the age of AI further enriched the conference by offering clear guidance on enhancing our marketing approaches and metrics.” (NAMM members interested in the full AI report by Forrester can find it on NAMM’s Industry Insights page.)
Brendan Witcher also made the point that it’s important for companies in our music industry to band together to make music-making more appealing to potential customers, whose attention is being pulled by various other recreational industries. For the music industry to continue to thrive, it has to have a clear message of the benefits of making music so that more people will adopt it into their lives.
Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, offered NAMM members an analysis of the music industry compared to other industries and gave insight into the various factors that go into measuring the state of the economy. Her presentation was invaluable for getting a deeper understanding of current challenges business leaders are facing, but it also made us aware of the opportunities that exist.
“I particularly enjoyed different ways of looking at the future, from AI to the international economic forecasting.”
— Angela DuBois, NAMM member, The Mighty Quinn
NAMM NeXT is about delivering content that leaders can use to refine their business strategies, but it’s also about providing connection and inspiration.
After several sessions of in-depth technical content, it was refreshing to hear keynote speaker Daymond John address NAMM members. Founder/CEO of FUBU and Star of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Daymond John took the stage to give us a message of what it takes to succeed in a business. His storytelling was fun and engaging, and it was a good reminder that no matter what field you’re in, business leaders have a shared experience of taking risks and having the courage to keep moving forward.
Other highlights include the Gibson Garage, a private evening of live music, drinks and appetizers, panel discussions featuring music industry leaders who all shared heartfelt stories and their passion for the industry, live music performances from artists Maura Streppa, Bri Bagwell, Paul Childers, Devon Gilfillian, Ross Livermore, Zoee, Charlie Worsham, Clare Cunningham and Frank Ray, and of course, all the time spent connecting and conversing with each other.
As your association, it’s our commitment to support the music industry and continuously provide a variety of ways for members to connect, learn and improve their careers. Members voiced their desire for a summer event that would focus on professional development and networking. By bringing together expert speakers from both inside and outside of the music industry, we aimed to do just that — offer an event for members to gain new perspectives and sharpen their business acumen so they can continue to lead their companies toward success, all while getting a mid-year opportunity to see each other in the same room again.
Daniel Jobe of FKCo offered his view on the value of attending: “Most people hear the word NAMM and think of the ‘big show’ and lots of products. However, when you are in the business of selling a musical experience, you are in business and need to know how to run that business. Events like this set the product aside, and help owners be better businesspeople and refocus on what is most important. If you don’t make time to work on the vision of your business, you may miss the trends and set your business back for future opportunities.”
A big thank you to all our platinum (Gibson and Yamaha), gold (Martin & Co. and Korg USA Inc.) and silver (The Music People and KHS America) sponsors for NAMM NeXT — your generous support and devotion to NAMM’s mission to help our industry thrive and create more music makers is deeply appreciated by all.
To see our full photo album of the event, check out the NAMM NeXT Photo Gallery.
About the Author
Pete Johnston is the director of marketing for NAMM. A music industry veteran with decades of experience in marketing, design, production and communication, he also is the executive producer of the NAMM TEC Awards which recognizes the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games and multimedia.