The massive music show at the Anaheim Convention Center this past weekend was the largest event ever held at the venue, organizers said. The NAMM Show, put on by the International Music Products Association, brought in 95,709 registered attendees — almost 10,000 more than just three years ago.
The four-day event, which ended Sunday, brought in an estimated $80 million to the Orange County economy. Each year the show is the largest event at the center, which is the biggest on the West Coast with 1.6 million square feet. Exhibitors show kazoos to drum sets and take up all of the floor space and even leak over to nearby hotels.
The attendance uptick bodes well for more than just NAMM. “I think it speaks to the upward moving in the economy,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau. “People, in the last few years, didn’t attend meetings (overall) as fervently as they did in the past.”
The event is always closed to the general public. Badges are free to industry members and their guests only. Celebrities often attend the show; this year, the well-known included Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The 2012 show had:
A 6-percent increase in attendance over last year.
An international registration hike of 15 percent to 11,981 attendants.
A total of 1,441 exhibitors, including 236 new ones.
NAMM attendance in recent years:
2008: 88,128
2009: 85,799
2010: 87,569
2011: 90,114
2012: 95,709