A convergence of 93,226 industry leaders, buyers, sellers, music educators, artists, media and music makers from 187 countries and territories gathered this past week to take part in NAMM’s Believe in Music Week. The event, which spanned Jan. 18–22, saw industry professionals virtually convene in 983 special sessions and events, engage with 611 hours of live-streamed 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, all to celebrate the power and resilience of music and to plan for the year ahead.
“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,” said Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO. ‘What surprised me the most was the incredible amount of quality content that was created by NAMM and our members for Believe Week and the fact that we might have inadvertently just created the best music social network out there!”
With the mission to support the people who bring music to the world, members and participants raised or pledged nearly $500,000 in matched funds for 12 nonprofit beneficiary organizations, as well as other NAMM Foundation charities that work to advance access to music-making.
On the opening day of Believe TV, Fred and Dinah Gretsch, the Gretsch Company and Jerry Ash and the Ash Family also announced the creation of the Bernice Ash Memorial Scholarship Fund in The NAMM Foundation.
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 – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – representing over 187 countries and territories – attended.
At the Marketplace, the latest technologies and gear were presented across brand experience pages, showcasing brand stories and information, along with special events. At press time, 768 brand events were held throughout the week.
Click here for more of the Music & Sound Retailer’s CTV @ Believe In Music Week coverage.