He’s upbeat about music-gear sales
Starting today, the Anaheim Convention Center becomes ground zero for guitar geeks. It’s the annual four-day trade show of the music products industry, and hotshot musicians from around the country will be there to check out the latest guitars, amps, electronic keyboards and digital recording gear.
Staged by the Carlsbad-based International Music Products Assn., the event (and the trade group itself) still goes by its old acronym, NAMM, for National Assn. of Music Merchants. Though the NAMM show encompasses all facets of the retail music business and segments such as school bands, it’s perhaps best known as a sprawling backstage for working musicians and wannabes.
The Times talked with NAMM President Joe Lamond, a former pro rock drummer, about the event’s appeal and the challenges facing the music industry.
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How are music sales being affected by the recession?
We are certainly being impacted. But as a whole, our industry didn’t have a big upswing [during the boom] and we don’t expect to see a big downswing. The way music fits into our society, there’s just a steady consumer demand.
There are parts of our industry that are very much affected, [such as] piano sales, since they can be tied to the stock market or home sales.
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Why is that?
If someone moves into a new home, they decorate. For a lot of people, having a piano in their home is a statement. But while most of the country is seeing a decline, we will probably see a spike in piano sales in the Washington area with the new Obama administration. A whole group of people will be moving into Washington. It’s good for business.
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NAMM is making a big push for more music education in public schools. How do you sell that at a time when school districts are slashing budgets and laying off teachers?
I think part of the answer is funding research that links music education with success in other subjects. In a 21st century workforce, where we are looking for people who can innovate and who can work in teams, we think these things are critical. Music teaches you to be creative.
But all of that can fall on deaf ears when you’re dealing with massive budget cuts. When I meet with groups, I ask them how many have used their skills at dissecting frogs. No hands go up. But you can learn so many things with music, whether it’s the history of composition or the science of sound.
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And what about those who would say that you’re just trying to sell more tubas?
It’s a logical connection to make: We’re just in it for the money. But I’m unapologetic, because [the value of music education] is true. And for those of us who had it growing up, how can we deny it to the next generation?
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What’s been the impact of Guitar Hero?
Anecdotally, a lot of our members are saying there is an impact. Guitar sales remain strong, up about 1% in spite of the economy. Our surveys show that 82% of people who don’t play an instrument wish they did. I think the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games attack that directly.
There’s a universal dream people have: being at a holiday party, rattling off a couple tunes on the piano, and having a small crowd gather around. Or being at a campfire and picking up a guitar and playing. These games play into that, and I believe we are going to get a percentage of those people into our music stores, and I think some research we’ll be doing will confirm that.
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Your contract with the Anaheim Convention Center expires in 2010. The word is that it won’t be extended.
We need more space. We use up every square foot of the convention center, and we use portions of the Marriott and the Hilton. Every eight to 10 years since we’ve been there they’ve had an expansion, but the last was 2001. We’re due, but I don’t think anyone knew how tough the credit markets would be.
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If not Anaheim, where might you go?
The L.A. Convention and Visitors Bureau -- those people are the best. You couldn’t do much better than to work with that team.
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Despite the recession, you still expect to have nearly 90,000 people at NAMM. What’s the appeal?
It’s a huge family reunion of the global music industry. This is the show that anyone who is anyone comes to. There are people who set their calendars by the NAMM. There are people who are dying of cancer, and they make the effort to get to NAMM. It’s not just a trade show, it’s a pilgrimage.
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I’ve been to NAMM. And there are a lot of people there who don’t look like they own a music store or make instruments.
It is a trade show, and it’s not open to the public. But we have members who will invite their key customers, their key artists. Part of the intangible is who you’ll see at the show. Robert Downey Jr. was there last year; turns out he is an active piano player. It’s one thing to see an Eddie Van Halen -- you expect to see him there -- but it’s another thing to see someone like Shaq at the show.
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You used to be a professional rock drummer. What was the best band you ever played in?
Tommy Tutone. You remember, “867-5309”?
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Did you play on that track?
No, I started playing with them [afterward] in ’86. And it was like in [the film] “Spinal Tap” -- as we started playing smaller and smaller places, I became the tour manager too.
Then I realized that the business side of the music industry was pretty good, and I was better at that than playing music.
Like a lot of people in this business, I found a way to stay in the business I love.
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