NAMM and OpenMic.US to Promote Music Making in Thousands of Live Venues Across the Country Each Week

NAMM's Wanna Play? Campaign Signs on as National Sponsor of OpenMic.US Network

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Jul 13, 2010, 08:00 ET

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- NAMM, the 109-year old trade association of the international music products industry, today announced that it will sponsor OpenMic.US, the largest online promoter of live-music open mic events in the United States, in order to reach more people with its messages about the proven, powerful benefits of playing music.

Open Mic Entertainment operates an international network of 75 market-centric websites across the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. These sites provide current, reliable, local information on more than 1,100 weekly open mic events for musicians.

"For years, open mic nights in coffee shops, bars and restaurants have given musicians of all skill-levels the opportunity to perform on stage in front of live audiences," said David Craver, president, Open Mic Entertainment, Inc. "With NAMM's help, we're excited to get more people playing music and connected to the growing community of open mic night participants."

As part of their partnership, OpenMic.Us website, which currently serves a community of more than 70,000 open mic musicians, will provide a link to NAMM's Wanna Play? campaign site (www.wannaplaymusic.com) containing its Dealer and Music Lesson Locator search tools. Open Mic Entertainment will also help promote local Wanna Play? events such as dealer open houses through its network.

Several NAMM Member companies also sponsor OpenMic.US including, KMC Music, Electro Voice and D'Addario.

"NAMM believes that open mic events can help to turn dormant musicians into active ones," said Scott Robertson, director of marketing and communications, NAMM. "This highly social and involved community of players has the potential to bring in their neighbors, co-workers, friends and family to see them play and once they see how much fun it is, they will be more receptive to our Wanna Play? campaign messages and more likely to start playing an instrument."

About NAMM

The National Association of Music Merchants, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization's popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of more than 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).

About Open Mic Entertainment, Inc.

OpenMic.US promotes live music open mic events through a network of websites and social networks. With more than 1,100 weekly events, it is the largest organization of its kind. OpenMic.US is a hub through which active musicians, music venues, open mic hosts and music gear companies can interact and communicate. For additional information on OpenMic.US or to find open mic events near you, please visit www.openmic.us

Media Contacts

Kymberly Drake - NAMM
Public Relations Manager \| Phone: 760.438.8007 ext. 162 - Fax: 760.438.8257
[email protected]

Scott Robertson, APR - NAMM
Director of Marketing & Communications \| Phone: 760.438.8007 ext 102 - Fax: 760.438.8257
[email protected]