Namm '09

[GlennO]

The 3 months since the Omnisphere release have been a blast and while I have to admit the awards have been nice, it's most gratifying to hear how customers use Omnisphere in their music. So, if you're at NAMM next week, please stop by the Spectrasonics booth and say hi!

Also, over the years, it's been a lot of fun to meet Crystal users at NAMM (feedback from Crystal users is always appreciated), so this invitation is for you too. It's always fun to meet Crystal users in person and connect a face with someone I know online.

- Glenn

[serge]

Glenn, i will not be at NAMM09 - but i wanted to let you know that I like Omnisphere.

[glokraw]

The 3 months since the Omnisphere release have been a blast and while I have to admit the awards have been nice, it's most gratifying to hear how customers use Omnisphere in their music. So, if you're at NAMM next week, please stop by the Spectrasonics booth and say hi!

Also, over the years, it's been a lot of fun to meet Crystal users at NAMM (feedback from Crystal users is always appreciated), so this invitation is for you too. It's always fun to meet Crystal users in person and connect a face with someone I know online.

- Glenn

When its time to stretch your legs at namm, booth 1027 may be of interest.

http://www.electronicspecifier.com/Exhi ... M-2009.asp

Hope the show, and 2009 are both great experiences!

[koolkeys]

I'll be there Glenn, and the Specs booth is already on my list! Already located on the floor map and centered in. Are you up for answering any questions at NAMM, a 'la reporter style?

See ya there!

Brent

[duglmac]

I am not an omnisphere user, but Crystal was the first software synth I really got to know when I was a poor student.

If you are the originator, then I will indeed stop by at NAMM and say hi.

[Gribs]

Sorry mate, I own and love Omnisphere but NAMM is for music merchants and not for customers, producers, home studios, or musicians so I'm not going.

[djanthonyw]

Sorry mate, I own and love Omnisphere but NAMM is for music merchants and not for customers, producers, home studios, or musicians so I'm not going.

Who told you that?

[ew]

Sorry mate, I own and love Omnisphere but NAMM is for music merchants and not for customers, producers, home studios, or musicians so I'm not going.

Who told you that?

Basically, he's correct. You either have to be associated with or guest of a vendor.
Note the statement under badges and registration:

http://www.namm.org/thenammshow

ew

[djanthonyw]

Sorry mate, I own and love Omnisphere but NAMM is for music merchants and not for customers, producers, home studios, or musicians so I'm not going.

Who told you that?

Basically, he's correct. You either have to be associated with or guest of a vendor.
Note the statement under badges and registration:

http://www.namm.org/thenammshow

ew

Yes, but you don't have to actually be a vendor yourself.

[ew]

True. However, what I think Gribs is saying is that it's not open to the public per se

ew

[Gribs]

Aye, we just discussed it in HC KSS forum. The show is not open to the public, nor is it open to anyone who wishes to register as a professional scientific or engineering conference or trade show would be. In that realm, if you are not a member of the society sponsoring the event (e.g SPIE, IEEE, SID, APS, AAS, SIAM, AMA, ASME, etc.) then you just pay extra to register for the conference. For NAMM, if you are not a vender, meaning a merchant, then you have to be a guest of a vendor or merchant, and guest passes are limited. In addition, directly from the NAMM web page:

http://www.namm.org/membership

"The following individuals/companies/entities DO NOT qualify for NAMM Membership and may not attend NAMM trade shows:

Bands or musical groups, DJs, churches, school districts, colleges, concert promoters, production companies, film and movie companies, home recording studios, music clubs or venues, performing artists or musicians, private music teachers, producers, record labels, record/CD stores, songwriters, studio audio engineers or theaters, etc."

So NAMM is definitely not a show for customers, musicians, producers, etc. If you are a manufacturer of intruments or a software developer, the people to whom you are presenting and selling at NAMM are vendors of music products and their guests. For some odd reason the category "commercial affiliates" includes industry magazines and reference book publishers along with OEMs. So you are also selling to magazines that publish reviews of your product(s). You are not presenting and selling directly to your customer base except a minority of customers that happen to be affiliated with one of the other members.

I am a music hobbyist who comes from a professional engineering/scientific background. I am used to trade shows and conferences in that arena, especially in the area of flat panel displays and consumer electronics. I must confess that I just learned this fact about NAMM today and was quite surprised by it. In the businesses I play in, you just don't cut customers out of your loop like that, but then again I wasn't exactly worried about thousands of groupies crowding in to hear my last talk at SPIE on "Laser Induced Thermal Imaging of Vacuum-Coated OLED Materials". A big entertainer showing up at a booth to sell an instrument they endorse might have a different story.

[Ben [Camel Audio]]

Hi Glen - would be cool to meet you in person as I really respect your work on Crystal and Omnisphere, so I'll definitely stop by the Spectrasonics booth and see if you're about - would also be good to see Eric again. Camel Audio doesn't have a stand but I'll be there wandering about checking out stuff. Like Glenn, I also always like to meet users of our stuff, so if anyone sees me wandering about (in a Camel Audio T-shirt), do stop me and say hi.

[koolkeys]

So you are also selling to magazines that publish reviews of your product(s).

This statement is NOT true. I am going as a writer for a magazine(not ProRec). Media such as magazines and websites like Sonic State are there to COVER the show, not be 'bought out'. So that statement is completely wrong.

Just wanted to clear that up.

Brent

[koolkeys]

By the way, there are already around 100,000 people that attend NAMM every year. Can you imagine if they let in the end user as well?

There are enough ways to get in if you keep your ears open or look through all your connections. But the NAMM organization is about music merchants and selling. Some companies fill VERY large orders at NAMM. Money is being made, no doubt about it. But it's just not intended for the end user, despite how much fun they may have at it.

That being said, I can't wait for NAMM! It's going to be busy, but getting to meet many of you will be a pleasure!

Brent

[Gribs]

So you are also selling to magazines that publish reviews of your product(s).

This statement is NOT true. I am going as a writer for a magazine(not ProRec). Media such as magazines and websites like Sonic State are there to COVER the show, not be 'bought out'. So that statement is completely wrong.

Just wanted to clear that up.

Brent

Understood. My meaning was not intended to state that a magazine is there to be bought out and I apologize for making it sound like that. However, a company or product that generates interesting news and gets good coverage in a magazine or web page will benefit from that coverage. Generating good PR is always a good and intentional reason for a company to go to a conference or trade show and in that way they are selling to you. Companies with deeper pockets will have trained PR people that are there to talk with journalists and not screw things up like an engineer like me (case in point here). There is nothing wrong with that IMO, it is just part of doing business. As a journalist you must certainly understand that the bigger companies send their best sweet-talkers to give you a good dog-and-pony show? Your job is to play the game, read between the lines, sift out the BS, and give us the news (isn't it?).

Also, suppose I am editor of "Gribs Gearhead" monthly magazine that covers all sorts of stuff in electronic music making gear. I go to NAMM to oversee coverage by my reporters. The next year I have enough room in my hard copy for say 4 in-depth reviews of new products each month and I have 128 candidate submissions for reviews for the year. I need to evaluate which products would be of most interest to my readers and sell more magazines. Will I be more or less likely to pick products that generated the best buzz at the NAMM conference or will I pick something weaker that didn't generate as much interest? Now suppose I am a manufacturer that wants to get a product reviewed in a great magazine and we all know "Gribs Gearhead" is one of the best So I am going to make sure my PR people do a good job trying to impress the guys from that magazine. So in that way, the manufacturers are also selling (pitching) to the magazines that write reviews. They might fail the pitch, but you gotta believe that they are doing that.