I wrote a FAQ a while baq -
www.bermudaschwartz.com/namm
The problem with much of the
public coming in is that the majority thinks it's a big Guitar Center where you can just handle gear and make noise. The respectful people are fine, but the others create some real problems. Noise is a BIG problem in the drum and guitar halls, both from a hearing damage aspect, and it also hampers people's ability to participate in a conversation, such as with legitimate buyers who need to know about the products, or better still, place an order. That's what the show is really for. The extraneous people also take up the time of the exhibitors and space in their booths and in the aisles. It's not a good environment for conducting business. Once again, that's what the show is really for.
The exhibitors and buyers (store owners and distributors) sometimes think nothing about giving or selling badges to people that don't really belong at the show, and selling access is highly frowned upon by NAMM. It's extremely disrespectful to fellow exhibitors to bring in people that don't have business there, because they get in the way of people who
do have business to conduct.
Sadly, as much as NAMM pretends to care and make access more difficult for outsiders, they don't try
too hard. Why? Because with higher attendance numbers, they can keep enticing exhibitors to continue exhibiting year after year. Attendance has indeed grown every year for some time, though the number of buyers seems to be shrinking. Many exhibitors have
had it with the non-enforced policies, and several have stopped participating. Pork Pie is a notable refugee, holding their own space not far from the convention center, which is pretty much invitation only to the buyers who are already in town. They've done VERY well by exiting NAMM.
Bermuda