National Association of Recording Merchandisers

If you’ve ever been part of an industry in the United States, more than likely your company has representatives in a trade association. Trade associations are groups that businesses form to collaborate an also support combined interests. Trade associations have been known to exist in America since at least 1883, when the American Seed Trade Association was founded by businesses in the seed trade. In the music industry, there are two major trade associations. The most well known one is the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the recording labels. The RIAA is mostly known by the general public for recently fighting against piracy and handing down fines to people who have violated copyright law per its modus operandi to do so. But while the RIAA gets all the press, the music actually has a second trade association that works more towards putting that music in the hands and ears of the fans.

            That association is the National Association of Recording Merchandisers. NARM began as a coalition of wholesalers and retailers focused on physical sales. In 2002, NARM expanded to include all aspects of the music business including digital sales, mobile phone use, gaming, applications, merchandise, videos, and other parts of the music industry. With a board of directors that includes representatives from iTunes, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Target, Verizon Wireless, and Spotify, it easy to see that NARM is a heavy hitter in entertainment. According to press releases, NARM members control 85% of music sales in the United States.

            So what does NARM do? The main thing NARM does is creating promotions and marketing for recorded music first and foremost. Such programs have a “Gift The Gift ofMusic” campaign, which usually shows how music is a great gift for the holidays. They also worked with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the Definitive 200, a list of albums selected to be the best by these two groups. With the trend being buying older music, this is a great idea to promote older records. Beyond that, they also hold free online seminars for members to help people understand the music industry and bring ideas together. The also have an annual conference on entertainment law and another one on digital startups. By looking at these, it seems that NARM is an association that understands how music in changing and wants to remain relevant rather than fade away. I like that. I also feel like as a hopeful member of the music industry, it’s good to have a trade association that feels like it wants new members.

I feel joining this trade association would be helpful to me in that I can known what’s going on using NARM’s massive release database so my clients will known when new albums are coming out. I also feel it would help me see what technology is changing things and maybe even get in the ground floor myself. Again, it also feels like they want to expand and having that knowledge is also comforting.