Not impressed by NAMM product announcements

[TristezaOrange]

Well just about every person in scandinavia has a iphone and ipod.
Overall marked share doesnt prove anything.

Almost no one in Cyprus has an iPhone.

Overall market share doesn't prove anything.

[vespers75]

Well just about every person in scandinavia has a iphone and ipod.
Overall marked share doesnt prove anything.

Word!

Word is a Microsoft product though.

[eduardo_b]

Well just about every person in scandinavia has a iphone and ipod.
Overall marked share doesnt prove anything.

First, Nokia outsells iPhone in Scandinavia, and second, market share is everything. BlackBerry outsells iPhone by a significant margin in terms of market share worldwide.

[warp x]

Well just about every person in scandinavia has a iphone and ipod.
Overall marked share doesnt prove anything.

Almost no one in Cyprus has an iPhone.

Overall market share doesn't prove anything.

Word!

[jeffb01]

There was some exciting news for me:

1. New free OS4 for the virus TI with new comb filter, vowel filter, arp modulation, and distortions.
Last year they released it the day of the show - this year we'll have to wait a few weeks. but awesome.

2. New free OS for Omnisphere with a new filter type.
I don't know much about the filter, but a new filter's cool. And the beta is coming out next week. Semi-instant gratification is nice from spectrasonics where we usually have to wait months. I was hoping for new soundpacks for omnisphere or rmx 2.0, but I'm not complaining.

3. Amplitube 3.0
It's not free like entry 1 and 2, and it includes hendrix and metal I hear, which I already own... but I bet it will be awesome.

4. New Mellotrons
I won't be picking this up, but these are the fun announcements you can just lust over. I guess there's a digital version and an analog version that actually uses tape - how cool.

[engine]

OP-1 by Teenage Engineering

State Zero by Mungo Enterpises

and the eigenharp presentation.

all hardware.

[blank/diod]

But namm seems to get worse every year. It's really hyped and it super crowded but it's the same ol' thing.

Pulling out of these trade shows seems to be a growing trend, whereas ten years ago they pretty much dictated companies' release schedules. Apple stopped going to Macworld (go figure...). Propellerhead Software used to be at both NAMM and MusikMesse, they stopped exhibiting at the Messe a few years ago and now they're not exhibiting at NAMM either. It's a massive undertaking for overseas companies (and most of the music software companies are located in Germany, Sweden, Italy, France etc) to fly in dozens of people and half a portable building just to stand there for a couple of days in an ocean of noise. The Messe in particular is quite useless from a business perspective because there are barely any business people there, just the general public and half of them are smoking indoors.

You get more exposure in the press and on the web if you release your product at some other time of year, the calmer the better. In the coverage from NAMM/MusikMesse you're sharing the spotlight with everyone and his brother, and the news about your product is drowned in the tsunami of other news. There were hundreds and hundreds of new products announced, but the only ones I've noticed are AmpliTube 3, some Akai keyboard with an iPhone dock, and for some obscure reason, a signature GWAR guitar.

[eduardo_b]

But namm seems to get worse every year. It's really hyped and it super crowded but it's the same ol' thing.

Pulling out of these trade shows seems to be a growing trend...It's a massive undertaking for overseas companies (and most of the music software companies are located in Germany, Sweden, Italy, France etc) to fly in dozens of people and half a portable building just to stand there for a couple of days in an ocean of noise.

I'm wondering if these shows are not going to become less attractive over time given the cost for participating versus the amount of revenue needed just to pay for this. I can see the value if distributors/dealers are going to be ordering, but otherwise it would be easier to find other ways to announce and market new products. I used to go to Comdex each year, along with 200,000 other people, and it really was too big, too noisy, too everything. I don't know if it even still exists. Every hotel room in or near Las Vegas was booked for that week.

[headquest]

This does look like a terminally ill trade show - perhaps the days of NAMM are coming to an end.

The Ableton/Serato thing is interesting in terms of being sort of groundbreaking, and the Devine Machine Cycler could be interesting too. But there's really nothing that has grabbed my attention yet in terms of "grabbing the wallet". I need to look at what hardware announcement have come through though... maybe a different story that I've missed.

[blank/diod]

I'm wondering if these shows are not going to become less attractive over time given the cost for participating versus the amount of revenue needed just to pay for this. I can see the value if distributors/dealers are going to be ordering, but otherwise it would be easier to find other ways to announce and market new products. I used to go to Comdex each year, along with 200,000 other people, and it really was too big, too noisy, too everything. I don't know if it even still exists. Every hotel room in or near Las Vegas was booked for that week.

Yeah, I don't know... up until the mid 90's these shows had a lot of power because it was the only way to see the latest gear immediately. The alternative was to wait a few weeks for the next edition of some music tech magazine. It was crucial for the exhibitors, the media, the distributors and the retailers to be there. When you returned from the show you had tons of exclusive info and you got to be cool for a few days. But now, with the internet, what's the point? Anything unveiled at the show will be on everyone's computer screens in minutes. The only thing the show offers is the hands-on experience, but with everything moving to the software domain, there's no hands-on aspect to speak of anyway. Places like Harmony Central are the new trade shows, and you don't have to pay shitloads to go to Anaheim or Frankfurt and walk miles through crowds...

[ouroboros]

ouroboros
I don't know if I tell you often enough, but I love you.

I find you write what I want to post, only better

[Stupid American Pig]

Well I do know of one thing that hasnt been announced yet, that surely made me happy Krim knows what Im talking bout...

[justin3am]

I don't think that the trade show is dying, it's just evolving with the market. It's less about consumers this year and more about manufacturing and distribution. Hal Leonard has a huge presence at the show and there are lots of new Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean CMs showing off their services.

The people I know who are going to the show won't spend more than a few minutes at the Harmon/Roland/Yamaha/DW booths. They're looking for the company who prints and stuffs the cheapest 4-layer SMT PCBs. People seem to forget that NAMM is for merchants and manufacturers, not consumers.

@ed: didn't Comdex turn into CES?

[RunBeerRun]

I want some new guitar picks. Nothing under 3 mm, I'm not a girl!

[ckatrun411]

So what's going on with Cakewalk? Lowest common denominator keyboards, monitors, audio cards? Roland took them over, and made them into the, "Crazy Eddie," of pro audio. I'm sure the vapor-ware, super synth of two or three NAMMS past, shows up in a few years, branded as a Roland something or other, with a $2,750, instead of a $199. It will be dsp, and whatever, I'm sure it will be nice....


An overseas company, snatches up an American brand, and its the same strategy every time...

Make low cost, budget stuff, rake in money on what was a great name. When the name fails, sell it to a manufacturer, who then puts that name on a power cord, you soon find at Walmarts.............. Phillips, Cakewalk, RCA.......




Sick, sad, world..