Interview with Joe Lamond of NAMM
In prepartion for the on-coming big conferences of CES and NAMM in January, we took some time to have a short 1:1 interview the Mr. Joe Lamond, President and CEO of NAMM, to get some quick insights on how the music business has been doing this year. In direct fashion, here are the points of the discussion on the overall direction, which is looking very positive.
M&E – As the world wide economy is still uncertain ( both big ups and downs), but the trends to content consumption are increasing – how has the music marketplace been holding up?
Joe: The music products industry has a long history of stability in good times and in bad. But lingering economic factors including 10 percent unemployment, the struggling housing market and the national debt has hurt consumer confidence and doesn’t help anything sold at retail. But consumer demand for playing musical instruments remains very high and we see that everywhere we look from movies and TV shows to commercials to YouTube. And all of that demand translates into strong sales for our industry.
M&E – Similarly, as the growth of tablets and smart phones are driving new areas of consumption of music (as music, in games and video), how is the marketplace changing for makers of musical instruments/equipment and their buyers? (more towards performance, professional recording, home recording, web cast, etc)
Joe: Our industry has always been driven by technology and innovation. For example, Thomas Edison was a NAMM Member as was Ray Kurzweil and Robert Moog among many other visionaries. We’re seeing our Members embracing new technologies like tablets, smart phones and apps and bringing them to market at the NAMM Show in new ways such as our App and Gaming Pavilion display.
M&E – The education of music, especially in elementary and middle schools, has long been under attack, despite the beneficial findings of such education. Has this become a bigger challenge in the current economy, and is NAMM and its partner organizations addressing support for this area with any new programs?
Joe: Yes, NAMM has been advocating for strong music programs in schools since the 1940s and today we are the lead lobbying group on this important issue. We have also assembled a grassroots coalition of partners and friends (almost 300 national organizations) called the SupportMusic Coalition who meet by phone regularly to share best practices and information about how to keep music education strong in the schools for every child in America. This is important because the majority of education funding decisions are made at the local level.
M&E – Are there any areas of specific growth that you are excited about? (e.g. tablet applications, live performance, etc)
Joe: Clearly, technology-based musical instruments are helping people be more creative and introducing new players to the idea of making and creating their own music. But we’re also seeing a 16 percent increase in ukulele sales, one of the most basic wooden musical instruments around. So I think just the fact that more people are playing music makes me happy.
M&E – How are the local merchants holding up with the internet and big outlet (Guitar Center & Best Buy) entering the marketplace? Is this and the internet as a teaching resource affecting the local “teacher & private student” market which was traditionally done in local music stores?
Joe: Well, all of the companies you’ve described are NAMM Members and ultimately, the customer will decide which model serves them the best. Overall, NAMM wants the industry to grow. But I do want to say that buying a musical instrument often requires extra services like setup, instruction and repairs and there is no better place to get this kind of expertise and care than from local community music stores. These stores are a very important part of our communities and our industry.
