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NAMM Show

The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology communities". It is typically held in January at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

One of the world's largest trade shows for music products, NAMM restricts entrance to owners, suppliers, distributors, journalists, employees, endorsed artists, and guests of NAMM member companies. Vendors display products, allowing dealers and distributors to see what's new, negotiate deals, and plan their purchasing for the next six to 12 months. The event attracts famous musicians, many of whom are endorsed by exhibitors and come to promote their own signature models and equipment.

A smaller convention, NAMM Summer Session, typically takes place in June or July in Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1901, 52 members of the National Piano Manufacturers Association of America formed the National Association of Piano Dealers of America (NAPDA). They held the first annual NAPDA Convention in Baltimore in May of the following year. In its early years, the trade show moved to different cities in the eastern United States, including Buffalo (1903), Atlantic City (1904), and Washington, D.C. (1906).

In 1912, the NAPDA became the National Association of Piano Merchants of America (NAPMA), and the show became the NAPMA Convention.

By 1919, the popularity of early jazz and the marching band music of John Philip Sousa had convinced many piano merchants to produce full lines of band instruments. The NAPMA renamed itself National Association of Music Merchants, or NAMM, and its show became the NAMM Convention. Its location would alternate between New York City and Chicago for the next 50 years.

The NAMM Convention did not take place in 1932 or 1934 due to the economic climate of the Great Depression. In 1937, the first year that attendees were required to register, the NAMM Convention had 248 members in attendance, including 24 piano manufacturers, four organ manufacturers, 11 piano distributors, 10 music publishers, eight radio and phonograph manufacturers, 18 miscellaneous exhibitors, and 10 string instrument manufacturers.

Due to U.S. involvement in World War II, the NAMM Convention did not take place in 1942 or 1945, and in 1943 and 1944 the event was held as the Wartime Educational Conference. The NAMM show resumed in 1946, and was held at The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

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