We do an awful lot of big things in the industry , and that ’ s probably what it is . I have the most amazing team in the industry in my store . They tend to take on projects that seem extremely unwieldy . CosmoFest is an example , and that is just one example of many , both externally-facing and internal projects that my team is willing to undertake that is really big . I think in a world where many people or many organizations are hesitant to take big leaps of faith or make major changes , my team seems prepared to take those on .
CMT : In that case , what ’ s been your secret to creating a team that is both competent and ambitious ?
Hebert : I think one of the things is that in our leadership group , which is about 17 people , most of them have worked for us for more than 20 years . So , they ’ re all seasoned music instrument professionals who I believe are best-in-class and I tend to treat them that way . So , I don ’ t micro-manage and I don ’ t question decisions that they make . I find when they feel more responsible and they have that vested interest in their own departments , they have more of a desire to be successful on their own . It really has nothing to do with proving something to me or because they ’ re mandated to do it . It ’ s more of a feeling of pride that they ’ ve taken on that task that they came up with and they succeeded .
CMT : Looking ahead to Believe in Music Week , what are your initial thoughts on this new virtual event and what it plans to do ?
Hebert : So , sitting on the NAMM board of directors , I kind of got an insight into some of this way earlier . And to be honest with you — and this may seem surprising and I ’ m kind of trying to yell from the rooftops to everyone I know about this — I think the platform they ’ ve chosen and the concepts and ideas surrounding Believe in Music Week are game-changing for the industry . I truly believe that . I know they ’ re already likely going to continue to have a virtual event for years to come . So , on top of The NAMM Show we ’ ve become used to , there will also be a virtual event .
So , here ’ s why I think it ’ s game changing — I think it mimics the trade show very well . So , it has meeting places , it has product viewings , and all the same things that a common trade show has . The difference is anybody can go . You can be anywhere in the world . That ’ s instead of having a couple handfuls of Canadian dealers going to
NAMM and able to experience that , and a lot of that is due to budget constraints and time . For a lot of dealers , it ’ s just them , or them and a couple employees in their store and they can ’ t go to NAMM , which is a shame . Now they can go . Even in bigger stores , it means that not just the management team can go . Now the purchasing team and all the sales people can go . So , everyone gets to experience NAMM and I think that ’ s amazing .
CMT : How will the Cosmo team be approaching Believe in Music Week ?
Hebert : We haven ’ t come up with a plan yet . I ’ ve put this in the hands of my purchasing department , who typically do the plan for NAMM . We usually don ’ t just take purchasing department people , we usually take a team of between 10 to 14 people depending on the year , and it ’ s a variety of people from across the organization . I would suspect that we would encourage the vast majority of our staff in whatever department they work in , whether it ’ s office or sales , educational or warehouse , I think we ’ re likely going to encourage everyone to participate .
CMT : What elements of the show do you think will be most useful for your team ?
Hebert : I think it would depend on the department . Obviously , the purchasing department is usually mired in purchasing meetings and new product demonstrations and stuff like that . So , the purchasing department people , or those involved who usually go to NAMM for purchasing purposes , would be doing mostly that . The other people , like sales and warehouse and office staff , could participate in some of
the learning channels that are occurring , or some of the TV programs , like interviews with artists , browsing some of the products in the marketplace . So , I think there ’ s a bit for everyone .
Likely , depending on how professional you are within the organization – by that I mean , if you ’ re warehouse , office , or logistics staff and not really involved in purchasing — I think those people will be more interested in some of the more mainstream items , like the artist interviews and stuff .
The sales people are really going to be product-focused . So , all the new product that is going to be released simultaneous to Believe in Music Week .
CMT : At least as far as you expect , what are the pros and cons of this virtual show for purchasers ?
Hebert : The pros would be that there is far less time for social engagement and you ’ re in your office at your computer , so you can be entering new inventory items or forecasting or projecting future plans depending on what the new products are . You know , you ’ re sitting at your work station and have the availability of those tools right at your fingertips while you ’ re learning about these new products .
But on the flip side , the con is a lack of social engagement [ laughs ]. You know , the feeling they get and the whole “ returning to Mecca ” feeling and the concerts and all the perks that go along with NAMM . That is also a con , so there ’ s benefits and detriments to this version of NAMM .
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Music Trade .
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