Canadian Music Trade - February/March 2018 | Page 13

Cosmo’s Mark Hebert Among New NAMM Board Members During The 2018 NAMM Show, NAMM welcomed eight new members to its board of directors. Each board member will serve a three-year term and pro- vide oversight, input, and direction to the organization. Among the new directors is Mark Hebert of Cosmo Music in Richmond Hill, ON. The other seven are: Christie Carter of Carter’s Vintage Guitars; Jimmy Edwards of Marshall Music Company; Louis Hernan- dez of Avid Technology; David Kalt of Chicago Music Exchange; Tim Miklaucic of Cordoba Music Group; Mark Terry of JAM US Music Group and KMC Music Group; and Barbara Wight of Taylor Guitars. For more information, contact NAMM: 760-438-8001, www.namm.org. Canadian Music Trade surveyed MI professionals across Canada to find out which products and musical trends they think will be popular and generate buzz in 2018. We also compared the results to those from last year’s survey. Here’s what we found: 67% of respondents think rock band instrument sales will remain about the same 81% who thought so in January 2017 in 2018 as last year, which is down from the 75% think home recording gear sales will continue to rise in 2018, which is up slightly from 69% in 2017 31% think guitars & related products will create the most buzz in the industry this 44% last year year, down from SPEAKING OUT What are you expecting in 2018 as far as which product groups will perform best, or the health of the MI market as a whole? “Does not look that great. Radio and record companies continue to play music the majority of people don’t like. Young people have little opportunity to play anywhere live.” “The staples of the business will stay strong – top 5: strings, cables, tuners, capos, picks.” 25% say Rock/Alternative is the most popular genre among their customers. Last year, Folk/Americana was the most popular with 38% . This year, 44% think DJ/electronic instruments and music-making tools will continue to see a 19% think they will plateau rise in popularity and sales in 2018 while What external factor do you think has the largest impact on which products are popular among your customers? Which music is popular on radio, online, etc.: “I think the health of MI will drop as the baby boomer segment ages.” Community buzz about new products among musicians: How innovative a product is: Effective marketing campaigns by suppliers: 38% 44% 6% 12% “Expect sales to have a modest growth based on economic conditions [by] region.” CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE 13