MOTU not exhibiting at 2024 NAMM?

[mhschmieder]

I only recently noticed that NAMM is back to its original dates and location, so I didn't have time to prepare ticketing as I am now on the east coast, but I meant to check whether vendors who previous pulled out (such as Yamaha) are returning this year, and I wonder if the rates have gone way up to where it's not worth it for certain types of companies?

Yamaha was a big blow as they are all about what NAMM was founded for, which is to showcase gear for representatives of schools who are making purchasing decisions for bands and orchestras. Yamaha has always been huge in the educational space. The show wasn't originally so much about retailers as it was about those indirect sales channels.

Didn't MOTU pull out of NAMM already, a bit after Yamaha did? I thought I remembered discussion on this topic a year or so ago, or maybe that was about MOTU pulling out of Summer NAMM? Will there only be a Winter NAMM this year?

[hammerman]

Damn!

I had no idea they weren't going to be there. And the dinner...

I'm flying in from Boston. Regardless, I hope to bump into some fellow Unicorns...

[midilance]

I wouldn't be surprised. With the general business climate, especially with the big box stores, and the ability to keep up with things on the web, I wonder if NAMM will ever be like it has been. I have great memories of NAMM going all the way back to 1976.

[James Steele]

I wouldn't be surprised. With the general business climate, especially with the big box stores, and the ability to keep up with things on the web, I wonder if NAMM will ever be like it has been. I have great memories of NAMM going all the way back to 1976.

I just checked in the NAMM iOS app again and searched the Exhibitors and no MOTU.

I also wonder if NAMM will ever *completely* regain it's former glory. I really think the show is a vicim of the pandemic. Many companies discovered that they didn't need to drop the kind of serious coin necessary to exhibit. The capabilities offered today on the web made exhibiting at the show not nearly the value proposition it used to be. I know of one company that was spending over $450K when all the costs were added up to exhibit at NAMM, and decided to significantly downsize.

I nearly skipped it this year, coming within a hair's breadth of cancelling my motel room in the area. I decided just the other day to go because there are a few people I like to visit with and see while I'm there and I scored a coveted pass to one of the concerts/events nearby. And of course, I will check out the gear and make a list of things that interest me beforehand, but I could have done that on the internet for a LOT less money.

I don't like that NAMM raised the price and further, from what I've seen, they've loosened up the requirements for obtaining passes so that practically anyone and everyone can get in in order to generate more revenue. For many, NAMM is a social event rather than a trade show. From what I've seen there are many people who don't even have passes for the show itself and they just go to hang out in the Hilton or Marriott lobby. I recall back in the 80s, it was getting easy to get a pass and you had a lot of people going that only went to hound any artists they saw for pictures or autographs. I had heard enough artists complained that NAMM tightened up requirements for getting passes and it settled down. Honestly, I'd like to see NAMM go back to being a bit more exclusive. The more lookie-loos and "fans" inside the show, the more exhibitors might become annoyed. The consumer is not who those businesses are there to show their new products to from what I always understood.

[mikehalloran]

…
I don't like that NAMM raised the price and further, from what I've seen, they've loosened up the requirements for obtaining passes so that practically anyone and everyone can get in in order to generate more revenue. For many, NAMM is a social event rather than a trade show. From what I've seen there are many people who don't even have passes for the show itself and they just go to hang out in the Hilton or Marriott lobby. I recall back in the 80s, it was getting easy to get a pass and you had a lot of people going that only went to hound any artists they saw for pictures or autographs. I had heard enough artists complained that NAMM tightened up requirements for getting passes and it settled down. Honestly, I'd like to see NAMM go back to being a bit more exclusive. The more lookie-loos and "fans" inside the show, the more exhibitors might become annoyed. The consumer is not who those businesses are there to show their new products to from what I always understood.

I couldn't agree more.

I'll be coming in Thursday but won't attend till Friday & Saturday.

Since I could score a Buyer's badge for $150, I did not bother renewing my membership this year—this makes admission a bit le$$ for me. I have a standing offer for a courtesy badge from NAMM but I'll be there to some business so No Thanks to that. My friend scored a badge from Santa Cruz Guitars and is kicking herself—without Buyer or similar, many companies are unlikely to talk to her.

I haven't scoped out the surrounding events but I hope to catch a couple or more.

The change that allows me to attend is that there's a medical supply company on the floor so I'm renting a scooter. Doing it with a non-powered wheelchair was never going to happen again. Once was enough.