Summer NAMM Show to Leave Nashville After 2004
Indianapolis and Austin to Host Summer Trade Show in 2005 and 2006 ;

November 5, 2003
Citing the need for a larger venue to accommodate the growing number of exhibitors and attendees, NAMM, the International Music Products Association, announced that Indianapolis, Indiana, and Austin, Texas, will host the association's future Summer Session trade shows on a rotating schedule beginning with Indianapolis in 2005 and followed by Austin in 2006. The 2004 Summer Session will once again be held in Nashville, the show's location for the past 11 years.

NAMM began researching new locations after the city of Nashville announced that it would not be expanding its current convention center or constructing a new facility in the foreseeable future. NAMM's decision followed several years of research and due diligence including a NAMM Member survey, as well as a nationwide evaluation of more than 20 potential host cities and convention centers.

In the survey commissioned by NAMM from Precision Reports, which demonstrated a record number of responses by NAMM Members, approximately 70 percent of respondents voted for a location other than Nashville. Specifically, 66 percent of responding 2003 Summer Session exhibitors preferred to change the location of the show. More than 84 percent of responding buyers who have not attended the Summer Session in recent years chose a different location for future shows and the majority of responding buyers who attended in 2003 (approximately 6 out of 10) voted to hold the show in a location other than Nashville. Finally, the survey also revealed that the majority of respondents favored rotating the show's location from year to year.

Over the past ten years, NAMM has seen it's membership nearly double, while the total Summer Session attendance and number of exhibitors more than doubled to 23,000 and 543 respectively.
For more information, visit their web site at www.namm.com.

"Nashville's loss and Indianapolis and Austin's gain. Why on earth Nashville would not expand their convention center or build a new one to house the NAMM Summer Sessions is beyond me. Very poor decision on their part especially when Nashville is considered the Country Music captial of the World. And beyond Country Music Nashville is still considered a major Music related 'hub'. When you think of Nashville you think of Music."

Like I said: Nashville's loss and Indianapolis and Austin's gain.

PS: When it's held in Austin Tx in 2006 it will be better situated for DonM and possibly others from SZ to attend. So maybe it won't be bad after all? And I'm pretty sure we have members around Indianapolis Indiana too?? At least closer than it would be for them to go to Nashville. So maybe it's a win win situation for us. But it's sure a loss loss situation for Nashville.

Best regards,
Mike

Mike, this Nashvillian is very pleased that (so far) we have not expanded our convention center. The projected cost was $500,000,000!!!!!! We will be paying for many years for the spending of the last administration. I love the Titans, glad to have the Predators, enjoy the new library, but my property taxes have increased over 100% , a $1400/ year increase. I enjoyed NAMM and will try to go one last time next summer, but the taxpayers here are tapped out.

Bill, I'm sorry to hear about your property taxes. Maybe you can get a job transfer to Austin TX or Indianapolis IN. Seriously though, $500,000,000 seems a little steep to me for just an 'addition' to the existing Convention Center. For example, we here in the San Diego Calif. area are anticipating the opening of the San Diego Padres new Ball Park this coming spring. Construction is almost complete. The total Cost?: $456.8 million ($285 million for ballpark construction; $171.8 million for land acquisition and infrastructure). Since the Convention Center would just be an 'addition' you would think the land that it's on and the adjacent nearby land is already bought and paid for so they possibly wouldn't need to aquisition more land. That would save "millions" of dollars right there. Again; infrastructure would be far less than building a "new" Convention Center so again, you would save millions more dollars on infrastructure. Back to the Padres Ball Park. Here are some images of the Ball Park. Remember now, this is a 'new' structure NOT an addition. And it cost less than a Nashville Convention Center "addition"??






I'm also surprised that Nashville can't get some financial help from Federal, State, or even from some of the heavy weights that Trade at NAMM. Oh well, like I said before Austin and Indianapolis will be the winners but for you and other Nashvillians I'm happy that your property taxes aren't going to go up anytime soon.

Best regards,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 11-09-2003).]

Indianapolis will be great! Only 4 hours away from me. Now if I can only get in.

Tom

Mike, OK, according to all the experts "expansion" seems to be not an option at the existing center, so the proposal was for "replacement", on waterfront property, and with a new luxury hotel, and a new shopping complex, and and and---------
all wonderful things to be purchased with other peoples' money!

Austin sounds great. It's half way between where I live and where my mother lives.
DonM

I think they should roatate it all around the country to the major cities from Seattle to Miami.

More importantly I think they should extend them for a couple of days and have them open to the public. It would be the only place that we could get a look and try of some products and an explanation of how they work. Many products that come out we never see hit the shelves in our music stores.

On top of which it would be a great sales tool for the companies to get customers to go in to their local stores and ask for the product. Much like we see all the drugs advertised on TV now....."ask your Dr." it makes sense to me. Not to mention by having paying public come in would help keep the cost down for vendor spots by defraying some of the expense. I sure would attend and buy one of those crappy over priced hot dogs for lunch. With the $4.00 soda too.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

I'm torn on that thought Terry. I still think that trade shows should be exclusive to the dealers. I'm sure there is much to be gained from the reactions of the buying public, but the manufacturers are aiming a different "pitch" to their dealers, and it would be difficult to set up two pricing schedules and have to "police" the crowd for who's who. Even with ID badges, you could never tell who was getting inside info.

A a former dealer myself, I like the idea of having a closed show, and if you are lucky enough to have a pal in the biz ...... you can always "sneak in" (with an invitation)and get a preview anyway.

The face of retail is changing so fast since the internet, it's hard to keep up with the new rules. We'll all just ride this out and see where it ends up. It'd be a shame if the Mom & Pop stores fall to the big box stores.

Dave,
The mom & pop stores are falling like flies as we speak. Even if they are able to match prices, often the sales tax is enough to make the difference. The way to fight the online stores is with service and product knowledge. Many dealers fall miserably short in these areas, so they probably won't survive. Dealers like George and DanO are the exception.
DonM

Dave,
My thought would be more like Thursday Friday dealers with credentials only, Sat/Sun open to public.....so the pitch on the weekend would be retail.

If not that than perhaps a seperate show for the public to view new products. It is done for most every other type of product produced, why not music gear?
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html



[This message has been edited by trtjazz (edited 11-11-2003).]