Canadian Music Trade - February / March 2021 | Page 10

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Over 90,000 Take Part in NAMM ’ s ‘ Believe in Music Week ’ Online Event
NAMM ’ S JOE LAMOND & MELISSA ETHERIDGE ON BELIEVE TV
A convergence of 93,226 industry leaders , buyers , sellers , music educators , artists , media , and music makers from 187 countries and territories gathered between Jan . 18th and 22nd to take part in NAMM ’ s first large-scale online event , Believe in Music Week .
The event saw industry professionals virtually convene in 983 special sessions and events , engage with 611 hours of livestreamed and programmed content , which included nearly 200 education , training , and professional development sessions presented by 391 speakers , and experience new products from 1,227 participating brands in the Marketplace .
“ While we knew we could not truly replicate The NAMM Show , we felt that this unprecedented time made it even more important for us to gather the global industry with a marketplace to launch new products , provide an extraordinary education campus , and to bring everyone together as a community to promote music and to set the stage for industry recovery and growth ,” says NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond .
The event took place on the Swapcard platform and created a social network of industry activity from members found across the globe to network , learn , and be inspired . At press time , 33,379 international registrants attended – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – representing over 187 countries and territories .
Three main TV stations – Believe , Artist , and Gear TV – offered live interviews , new gear features , and special performances . On the Thursday and Friday , Believe TV served as the main hub of activity and featured the likes of Lamond and co-host Herb Trawick ( Pensado ’ s Place ) for two full days of industry updates , interviews with “ Unsung Heroes ,” and a series of special events . It featured live interviews with Grammy-winning stars Garth Brooks and Melissa Etheridge as the recipients of 2021 ’ s Music for Life award . In his interview , Brooks told stories of adaptation and recognized the importance of his tour team and bandmates , as well as the best advice he could offer emerging leaders in the industry .
“ My team ’ s Believe in Music week experience was fantastic . The platform brings an incredible ability to connect with people whom you may not have even connected with at NAMM in person ,” says Cosmo Music President and CEO Mark Hebert to CMT . “ It ’ s a great place to publish and display new products and the TV channels streamed some super incredible content . The Believe in Music Week interface is an unbelievable accomplishment for the NAMM team and makes me proud to be part of such a wonderful industry trade organization !”
The NAMM U Business track brought together top minds to offer actionable strategies , tactics , and best practices for music retailers and brands . In the Audio Production and Technology track , sessions for recording , live sound , house of worship professionals , and music technologists dove into the latest tools , tips , and innovations while also exploring the landscape of new technology .
“ Although we deeply missed our usual face-to-face meetings with our dealers , we feel that with the great work by Yamaha Corporation of America in building out all of the great media and content on the eight Yamaha virtual booths , that we were able to share a lot of the excitement of new product launches and artist demos and performances . In addition to the NAMM BIM platform , we also conducted four dealer webinars for product launches featuring Canadian artists in a combination of live and pre-recorded interviews and product demonstrations ,” adds Steve Butterworth , VP of sales and marketing at Yamaha Canada Music , to CMT . “ For those brands and dealers that participated , my impression is that there is definitely an opportunity to expand the NAMM experience virtually in future years by being able to share the excitement of the show with many more people around the world .”
A suite of sessions curated by ESTA ( the Entertainment Services and Technology Association ), among others , offered professionals a range of knowledge and credit opportunities in the Entertainment Technology track , while the Artist track covered the new music industry landscape and tips for success . Finally , the NAMM Foundation delivered programming for music and arts advocates , non-profit management , and music education professionals .
The Believe in Music platform will remain open to registrants until Feb . 28 , 2021 . For more information , go to www . namm . org or attend . believeinmusic . tv .
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