Frequently Asked Questions

NAMM was formed in 1901 in New York. After several difficult years during the Great Depression, NAMM closed its New York doors and re-opened in Chicago. While in Chicago, the industry enjoyed great growth and NAMM's many music programs, such as AMC, flourished. NAMM's headquarters were relocated to Southern California in 1984, where the current building was established in Carlsbad (in San Diego County) in 1997.

Our office is frequently contacted by the owners of older pianos asking about a sticker they found on the back or underside of their piano. The sticker relates to a program that occurred just before World War I called "For the Advancement of Music." In the early 1900s, there was a significant increase in the number of misleading "stencil" pianos in the marketplace, which led to the establishment of this program.

Stencil pianos often had deliberately misspelled names on the fallboard that looked or sounded similar to well-known manufacturers. For example, "Steinbay" in place of "Steinway," "Baltman" to represent "Baldwin," "Chichester" instead of "Chickering" and "Bush & Gaerts" in place of "Bush & Gerts." These pianos were often of lesser quality, and the piano industry was very concerned that consumers were being misled into buying a potentially inferior product when they thought they were getting a piano from a name manufacturer.

"For the Advancement of Music" was a cooperative effort between the National Piano Manufacturers Association (NPMA)—now known as the Piano Manufacturers Association International (PMAI)—and the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). The goal was to identify for the consumer those pianos made by legitimate manufactures. Stickers were placed on every piano built for several years in the early 1900s with a serial number that was logged into a record book at the NPMA headquarters. Unfortunately, those records have been misplaced or destroyed over the ensuing years, with the result being the loss of a significant historical record.

Often those contacting our office about the stickers are hoping we can date their piano using the serial number on the sticker. Unfortunately, without the record book, that is not possible. In some cases, however, piano owners may be able to date their pianos with the brand name and serial number by referring to the Pierce Piano Atlas, which lists serial numbers for several of the older piano brands.

NAMM's privacy policy forbids the association from providing any mailing lists or mailing labels containing the contact information of NAMM Members to non-Members and non-exhibiting companies or other third parties for marketing purposes. This also includes mailing lists of trade show attendees or attendance rosters from NAMM University seminars. Exhibiting companies can receive buyer lists by completing the form in the exhibitor manual. The Pre-show lists are available to exhibiting companies only after the deadline for early registration, approximately five weeks before the show.

NAMM publishes Music USA: the Statistical Review of the Music Products Industry on an annual basis. The hard copy publication is available to NAMM Members for $25 and non-Members for $75 plus shipping and handling. To order, send an e-mail to info@namm.org or call 760.438.8001.

First, review our Membership criteria and if your company meets them, then determine which type of NAMM Membership you qualify for. Once you have determined your Membership category, download, complete and submit the appropriate application.

Over its more-than-100-year history, the association has evolved from a national entity representing the interests of music products retailers to an international association including both commercial and retail Members. The International Music Products Association’s name, NAMM, comes from the acronym “National Association of Music Merchants,” but the long form of the name is no longer used. Today, we simply say that NAMM stands for the interests of the global music products industry.

Attendance at NAMM trade shows is restricted to companies that make, buy and/or sell musical instruments and products. If your company meets this requirement, visit our Membership page to start the process of becoming a Member of NAMM.

It’s important you book a room at an available hotel and then fax or e-mail a copy of your acknowledgement number and details of your first choice to the appropriate Housing Bureau (see contact info. below) and note your request to be waitlisted at the hotel of your choice. If rooms become available, the Bureau will go through the waiting list in priority order and inform you when the change has been made.

Anaheim Housing Bureau800 W. Katella Ave.P.O. Box 4270Anaheim, CA 92803Phone: 714.765.8868anaheimhousing@anaheimoc.org 

Nashville Housing BureauCVB Housing Bureau150 4th Ave., North, Suite G-250,Nashville, TN 37219Phone: 615.259.4700 / 877.259.4716ncvbhousing@visitmusiccity.com

A listing of hotels in the NAMM block, complete with pricing and a map that shows the specific locations, is available on this site at www.namm.org/thenammshow

Show Hours:(Hall E and the NAMM Idea Center open at 9:30 a.m. each day of the show)

Anaheim Convention Center800 West Katella AvenueAnaheim, CA 92802

Thursday, January 15    10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Friday, January 16    10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Saturday, January 17    10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sunday, January 18    10 a.m.-5 p.m.

You can contact the Anaheim Housing Bureau directly for assistance.Anaheim Housing Bureau800 W. Katella Ave.P.O. Box 4270Anaheim, CA 92803Phone: 714.765.8868anaheimhousing@anaheimoc.org 

Badge registration is open to all Active NAMM Member companies and their staff beginning on September 8th at www.namm.org/thenammshow. Exhibiting companies can begin registering for badges on October 27th once initial booth assignments and allotments are confirmed.

You’ll be provided with an exclusive link for hotel reservations for Anaheim and then be encouraged to enter your company information and Member number. We’ll include your Member number in the e-mail you receive so you have it handy.Once reservations are complete you’ll receive an immediate acknowledgement number from the Passkey booking system, operated by the Anaheim Housing Bureau. It’s important to note you only have until November 13th to confirm your rooms; after that date a processing fee of $35 is charged for any rooms cancelled. 

The hotel reservations booking system (Passkey) for The NAMM Show in Anaheim opens on September 15 . To reserve your room, you must use the personalized link NAMM e-mailed you on August 26. If you did not receive an e-mail and are an active Member, please visit www.namm.org/thenammshow. You will then be prompted to enter your user name and password. Click the HOTELS option on the left side of the page and you will soon receive an e-mail with an exclusive link. The link will lead to a page where you can quickly and easily make your hotel reservations. The site will ask for your company information and Member number, which we’ve included in the e-mail you receive so you have it handy. 

Once your reservations are complete, you’ll receive an immediate acknowledgment number from the Passkey booking system, operated by the Anaheim Housing Bureau. It’s important to note you have until November 13 to confirm your rooms; after that, a processing fee of $35 will be charged for any room cancellations.

2009 Summer NAMM will take place July 17–19 in Nashville, Tenn.

The dates will move back to June 18–20 in 2010 and will remain in late June for the foreseeable future, making sure not to overlap with InfoComm, another industry event.

Dr. James L. Greenwald, associate professor of family medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University and an active amateur trombonist, was recently quoted on this issue. ("Germs Live on Musical Instruments and Everywhere." Syracuse Post-Standard, Sept. 19, 2006.) When asked whether sterilizing an instrument would get rid of germs, he replied, "It would kill all the germs, but so what? They would come back as soon as you brought the instrument back into the world." Download the article (PDF).

In our experience and to the best of our knowledge, wind musical instruments are sanitized with soap and water or alcohol before they are rented. All reputable instrument dealers should do the same. In addition, many music educators instruct their band students to re-wash the wind instruments themselves before playing them.

The world is filled with germs, and it's possible these germs can be spread any number of ways, such as through school books, sporting equipment, eating utensils and drinking fountains, etc. However, NAMM believes the many benefits of band students playing musical instruments, including improved academic performance and self-esteem, far supercede the possibility of contracting a disease in this manner. The traditional practice of cleaning the mouthpiece with soap and water and/or alcohol has been deemed sufficient for years, just as eating utensils are cleaned with soap and water in the cafeteria. We have, and continue to, recommend that musical instruments be sanitized with soap and water and/or alcohol on a regular basis or between users.

Dr. Michael Wessels, the head of infection control at Boston Children's Hospital, says, "Just swabbing the instrument's mouthpiece with alcohol should kill most of the germs." TheBostonChannel.com, Sept. 14, 2006

As to whether unsterilized rental musical instruments pose a public health risk, The Washington Post reports, "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention knows of no disease outbreak tied to wind instruments."

John Bradley, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, says that "Even if disease-causing bacteria could survive the usual summer gap between student rentals (which he considers unlikely), the pathogens associated with such illnesses as staph and strep infections, meningitis and tuberculosis aren't likely to do harm if encountered through a wind instrument.” The Washington Post, Sept. 5, 2006 "Tune Into a New Worry"

Throughout NAMM's 105-year-history, we are not aware that there has been any significant outbreak of disease from playing musical instruments.

Finally, Brian Majeski, editor of The Music Trades magazine, the industry's oldest trade publication, says, "We have covered the school band and orchestra market for more than 60 years without a printed mention of a single instance of disease spread through rental instruments."