The Score Magazine April 2018 issue! | Page 30

SNEHA RAMESH JOE LAMOND, NAMM President and CEO How was NAMM 2018 for you? What was the best take away? If memory serves, this was my 35th Winter NAMM Show and in my opinion, each one has been quite different from the last, this year was no exception. Seeing NAMM members, alongside our partners and guests, create a powerful, business-driven industry gathering was the most exciting aspect to me. The launch of new and innovative products, the peer to peer networking opportunities, and unique gathering of virtually the entire musical ecosystem for four days in Southern California created one-of-a-kind opportunity for our members. And it was much bigger than previous shows! What was new for this year’s show, particularly on the pro audio front? Pro Audio expanded this year with the addition of a new hall at the Anaheim Convention Center. The new space 28 The Score Magazine highonscore.com also allowed us to grow the lighting and event technology component of the show. Something that was very important to us was being able to offer world class education to these important groups which led us to some new partnerships. For the first time, ever, The Audio Engineering Society presented more than 300 sessions, whitepapers and hands- on training at The NAMM Show, with the AES@NAMM program. In addition to the other great training through TEC Tracks, A3E: Advanced Audio + Applications Exchange and the Pro Production sessions, the show featured the 33rdd Annual TEC Awards, honoring the products used in production, and welcomed the Parnelli Awards, which recognizes the people, products and services in the event technology industry. Entertainment Services and Technology Association also offered some incredibly valuable training focused on lighting and event tech.