There’s no getting around the smaller tally of exhibitors and the lack of some “big names” normally present at Summer NAMM, but the numbers truly don’t tell the full tale of this year’s get-together in Nashville…
It’s not all doom and gloom. (Or in the case of those selling German-made pianos, drang und strum.) Pianos are selling and some salespeople and retailers are doing well. A handful are even expanding and opening new stores. “Ori Bukai [of Allegro Pianos] is always the expectant salesperson realizing a tremendous percentage of sales and success,” says James Reeder of Blüthner. “Despite the ‘rumor’ of a recession, he has completed a new showroom. Anyone doing what he has done has got to be doing everything right!”
Since its introduction in 2001, more than 100 million iPods have been sold. In the process, Apple’s compact digital media player has revitalized that company’s fortunes, helped to reshape popular culture, and (along with iTunes) almost single-handedly destroyed the traditional-model recording industry. Sure, there are other compact players out there – some marginally successful, too – but the iPod is king, with over 70 percent share of the market. It’s an icon, an all-purpose synonym for any product with similar functionality: Much as one might say, “Do you have any Scotch Tape?” or “Pass me a Kleenex,” for most of the world “iPod” = “portable media player” and that’s just all there is to it.
