Playback - Winter 2008 - (Page 21) NAMM University Presents Professional Development Opportunities to Music China Attendees ThE SIXTh MUSIC ChINA EXhIBITIoN, oCToBER 17–20 IN ShANGhAI, CoNVENED 37,000 VISIToRS FRoM 91 CoUNTRIES AT ThE lEADING ASIAN MI EVENT. When introduced in 2006, the NAMM University sessions at Music China were a success—and again in 2007, this educational component played an important role for the global audience at the show. The sessions drew many exhibitors and visitors seeking high-quality, timely and relevant business information. Organized by the China Music Instrument Association (CMIA), INTEX Shanghai and Messe Frankfurt, Music China 2007 once again brought together the industry at this growing showcase for Asia. “The NAMM University Sessions at Music China proved to be highly successful once again,” says Betty Heywood, NAMM’s director of international affairs. “The quality of the panelists at the two ‘Big Issue’ discussions was exceptional, and the ‘howto’ sessions giving practical business advice to retailers were extremely well received, with some of them offering standing-room only. This reflects a real need for this type of ‘best practice’ sharing. As an international cooperation partner, we are very happy with the collaboration of the CMIA, Messe Frankfurt and INTEX on this buzzing event.” The Big Issues panel, “Music Education— Its Importance for Our Industry and Developments Worldwide,” was moderated by Mary Luehrsen, NAMM’s director of public affairs and government relations. “From a music educator perspective there is still a gap between the work of the music industry and the needs of the consumers and therefore a potential market still to be explored on music teacher education,” said panelist Liane Hentschke, president of International Society for Music Education. “There is little room for development to those who work in isolation—we will all gain if we build a network of international partnerships, in this case between higher education, schools, community and the music industry.” Wu Bin, of Peoples’ Music Publishing House, moderated the second Big Issues panel, “Intellectual Property Rights for the Sheet Music Industry in China: An End in Sight for Infringements?” which educated attendees about this important issue. The how-to sessions were presented by industry leaders from Asia and the United States, including NAMM Chairman Chip Averwater, of Amro Music Stores; Alan Liu, of AXL Musical Instruments; Zhao Yitian, of New Central Music Co.; Steve West, of West Music Company and Miyazawa Flutes; Zeng Zemin, of Hsinghai Piano; and CMIA Vice Chairman of Blue Lan, of KHS Musical Instrument Co., Ltd. According to Lan, “The Chinese manufacturers were successful in the last 10 years, but Chinese musical retail is still developing very slowly, comparatively. Courses like this will help them to change their concept of retailing, and I believe that it will be helpful for the industry.” music music WINTER 2008 21
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.