Canadian Music Trade - December/January 2019 | Page 16

NAMM NEWS
By Zach Phillips
THE
INNOVATION SUMMIT
The 2019 NAMM Show delivers 400-plus
educational sessions to help you innovate
and fine-tune your competitive edge.
In
a world of Spotify and stream-
ing, I recently came across a
record store chain in full-on
expansion mode. Based in the
northeast, Bull Moose Music
successfully competes with its 12 large-format
stores, finely tuned inventory, and boatloads
of data about customer buying patterns.
Shop its website for a record and you’ll see
which locations carry the album in real time,
and like Amazon’s physical stores, Bull Moose
stocks each location differently based on local
consumer behavior.
Bottom line, it’s a record store competing
on its own terms in a disrupted industry. Yet it
got there by taking a hard look at the direction
of retail and finding ways to innovate in that
ever-changing world. If you’re inspired by its
story – I know I am – then you’ll want to be at
The 2019 NAMM Show. There, NAMM U will
hand-deliver the big ideas, best practices, and
proven tools to help you innovate in your busi-
ness and forge your own competitive edge.
In fact, we’re launching a new program to
jump-start your process: the Retail Innovation
Summit.
Held on Wed., Jan. 23 rd , the day before the
show opens, this daylong education experi-
ence is designed to immerse you in trends,
strategies, and ideas to transform your busi-
ness. Expect a future-forward workshop that
explores new ways to amplify your success
and dramatically reshape your future.
Fast-forward to Friday morning, and we’re
bringing you a NAMM U Breakfast Session with
world-famous innovation expert Daniel Burrus.
He’ll dive into disruptions in the marketplace
and how you can seize game-changing
opportunities to succeed in the new normal.
Add to that the NAMM Idea Center, which will
deliver convenient sessions every half-hour
throughout the show on such critical topics as
online marketing, employee motivation, music
lessons, finance, and much more. Think of the
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CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
Idea Center as a source for practical building
blocks to create your next breakthrough.
Of course, retail innovation sometimes
comes in the form of capitalizing on new
markets and services. Bull Moose, for instance,
diversifies its core product category, recorded
music, with toys, games, and books. Likewise,
I’ve heard from NAMM members who’ve add-
ed festival production, installations, and stage
and theatrical lighting to their retail business.
For that reason, The 2019 NAMM Show rounds
out its program with a suite of education op-
portunities in audio and event technology.
For pro audio professionals, free sessions
at TEC Tracks offer big-picture topics with
industry thought leaders. Or, you can dive
deep into skills-based training at AES@NAMM,
an exclusive education opportunity for audio
veterans and aspiring professionals alike. As a
bonus, A3E (Advanced Audio + Applications
Exchange) has expanded its program on the
future of audio, readymade for anyone interest-
ed in music technology and forward-thinking
concepts.
For the event tech community, The NAMM
Show features education in lighting, lighting
networking, safety, and rigging, curated by
a range of partners: ESTA (Entertainment
Services and Technology Association), Timeless
Communications, Lighting&Sound America,
and PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound
Association).
In all, it adds up to more than 400 educa-
tion opportunities for every major community
in the music, sound, and event technology
industries. You’d be hard-pressed to find that
anywhere else. We hope to see you there –
and be part of your next innovation.
Zach Phillips is the Director of
Professional Development for
the National Association of
Music Merchants (NAMM),
the global not-for-profit trade
association representing
9,000 manufacturers and re-
tailers of musical instruments
and sound products. NAMM’s
mission is to strengthen the
music products industry and promote the plea-
sures and benefits of making music.