NAMM Celebrates and Congratulates The Top 100 Dealers

Earlier this evening at The 2022 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, the industry gathered to celebrate the spirit of the independent music retailer and to applaud their accomplishments, resilience, and commitment to serving music makers at the Top 100 Awards. The annual awards event also announced the “Best of” category winners, including “Dealer of the Year” and “Customers’ Choice” awards.

Congratulations to the following category winners:

All County Music – Dealer of the Year

All County Music – Best Community Retail Store

Cottonwood Music Emporium – Best Customer Service

Antonio Violins and Ukes – Best Marketing and Sales Promotion

Impulse Music Co. – Best Online Engagement

Maxwell’s House of Music – Best Store Design

Andertons Music Co. – Customers’ Choice Award

Amro Music Stores – Innovation Award

Zeswitz Music – Music Makes a Difference Award

Of the awards, NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond shared, “At the heart of each music retailer is a story of community, of going above and beyond to serve others with the instruments and tools to experience the joy of making music. This has never been more evident than in the past two years. Service to community-at-large, no matter the circumstances, is why we celebrate these stores and all music retailers tonight.”

One such story comes from Fred Schiff, President of All County Music and recipient of “Dealer of the Year” and “Best Community Retail Store.” In his application, Schiff detailed the efforts of his company to help school music programs reopen. This included virtual fittings for instruments, establishing an “emergency road team” to assist live bands at football games, competitions, and evaluations, renewing its financial support for over 1,000 music students, leading relief funding advocacy in the state of Florida for music programs, and many other community support initiatives.

The “Music Makes a Difference” winner, Zeswitz Music, also underscored the importance of community support and ensuring that every child has access to music. In 2017, the company established the William H. Zeswitz Scholarship Program and since then, has awarded the instrument rental scholarship to 690 students at no cost. In the past year, the company embarked on a multi-year expansion of the program, awarding 80 students in 2020 to 255 students in 2021, and eased the application process for the 15,000 families the company serves. The company also revised the process to keep students on their musical path: after a year, the student is encouraged to apply for renewal, which is then approved. The program has led to many first musical experiences for students who may not otherwise be able to play an instrument and serves as a living memorial to honor the memory of its founder, William H. Zeswitz.

Selection for the “Best of” categories followed the same process as in previous years: To determine the “Best of” category winners, a panel of independent judges reviewed and made selections from the Top 100 finalists. Each finalist was evaluated for effectiveness in marketing, customer engagement, and innovation in retail. In addition, the event’s “Customers’ Choice Award” was determined by an online popular vote among customers and fans.

View the list of the Top 100 honorees here: https://ww1.namm.org/thenammshow/2022/top-dealer-awards/winners