NAMM History: A Topsy-Turvy Twenty Years

During the bleakest years of the Depression, NAMM suspended operations for lack of dues-paying members. The office in New York was closed and the furniture sold to pay the back salary of Executive Secretary Delbert Loomis. Luckily, the industry band played on as the economy eased, and by 1936, NAMM was back in business.

The 1941 trade show in New York broke all previous records with 174 exhibitors. Anxious to beat anticipated war shortages, dealers deluged manufacturers with orders. Travel restrictions during the war cancelled the NAMM conventions and trade shows from 1942-1945, but the association was kept busy interpreting government regulations and promoting music as a morale builder in winning the war.

NAMM prepared for post-war expansion with convention sessions like “Training GIs for Music Stores.” Retailers were also helped by NAMM’s “Merchandising Music” program initiated in 1947.