NAMM 2019: 100,000 people and thousands of cool gadgets and hot instruments headed for Anaheim Convention Center
Audio engineers, sound experts, music teachers and a bevy of other professionals will flood the Anaheim Convention Center and nearby venues through the weekend for an event that aims to deliver on all things music: The National Association of Music Merchants Show.
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More than 100,000 people are expected to visit the this year’s show, which runs from Jan. 24-27. It will offer 400 educational sessions, 150 networking events and 7,000 brands.
This is the second year the show will be able to take advantage of the convention center’s new wing, ACC North, which offers 200,000 square feet of additional space. The towering glass structure took two years to complete and cost $190 million.
Junior Tauvaa, senior vice president of sales and services for Visit Anaheim, said last year’s show had a “huge impact” of nearly $171 million on the region. He said the region includes other Orange County cities and part of Los Angeles County.
He said the economic impact was expected to grow to $181 million this year based on a calculation that took into consideration “the pace of the show, the size of the show and the growth of the show.”
Brands from both near and far have set up shop for this year’s NAMM and many were showing off their wares during a media preview day in the lobby of the convention center on Wednesday, Jan. 23.
Musician Lauren Lusardi, who also goes by the name Plasmic, was marketing the new Sonogenic keytar from Buena Park-headquartered Yamaha. She played the instrument and flipped her bright pink hair back and forth as passersby stopped to see what she was doing.
Lusardi said this was her first year working the show but she’s been a NAMM visitor in the past.
Mike Nayar of the Guitar Strap Co. of Perth, Australia, was showing off his company’s wide assortment of wares.
One of the straps, called “The Show Stopper,” was a collaboration between the company and Burn Jewellery of Western Australia. The managing director of the jewelry business, Colin Burn, held up the strap, which featured precious gems such as rubies and sapphires, as several journalists’ cameras focused in on it. Burn said the strap was worth $1.2 million Australian dollars (around $860,000 U.S. dollars).
“This is the third year that we’ve actually been invited back,” Nayar said “This year, for us, I think was a chance to sort of showcase exactly how much we’ve grown in the last three years, especially as a small company starting in Perth to becoming an international one as well. It’s one of those great opportunities you can’t say no to when it comes around. We make so many friends out of it.”
James Watson, who goes by the artist name Eightch, was marketing the Korg Minilogue XD, a type of synthesizer. He said being at the show wasn’t just a chance to market a product he liked but also a chance to connect with other musicians.
“You get to meet people from all over the world who are passionate about instrumentation,” he said. “It’s kind of a cool experience.”
Watson said he also relished the chance to explore the selection of instruments available.
“I think my mind is expanded as an artist as well when I see a product I can incorporate into my songwriting,” he said.
The preview ended when Charles Berry, Jr., son of rock ‘n’ roll icon Chuck Berry, was presented with a replica of his father’s iconic guitar. Berry said it looked like what he remembered seeing at his home as a young child.
“This is as accurate as it gets,” he said. He soon played a tune for the crowd on the guitar.
The NAMM Show
When: Jan. 24-27
Where: Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim.
Information: www.namm.org