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Consumer Electronics Association Chief
Gary Shapiro To Keynote NARM Fall Conference  

            The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) has announced
that Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA),
will be the keynote speaker at the 2001 NARM Fall Conference.  The event is scheduled to take place from Wednesday, September 12, through Friday, September 14, at the Sheraton Bal Harbour Resort in Bal Harbour (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), Florida. 

      “Amazingly, for all the symbiosis between prerecorded music and audio hardware,
no executive from the Consumer Electronics Association has ever delivered a speech at a NARM event,” notes President Pamela Horovitz.  “We’re delighted that Gary Shapiro
has accepted our invitation to share his views on the marketplace interaction between
our respective memberships at the 2001 NARM Fall Conference.  Gary is not just an
astute observer of his industry, but a key player in Washington, DC politics, and his perspectives in both areas will be instructive and welcomed.”

      Shapiro guides the U.S. trade association that owns and produces the world’s largest consumer electronics technology event, the International Consumer Electronics Show. 
He has been an active leader in the development and launch of HDTV and has led the manufacturers’ battle to preserve the legality of recording equipment and the consumer battle to protect video rental rights and the right to record.  As chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition, Shapiro has helped ensure the growth of home computers and audio recording equipment, including MP3 technology.

      The keynote speech will conclude a luncheon program on Thursday, September 13,
that will also feature remarks from Horovitz and a Mid-Year Message by 2001-2002
NARM Chairman of the Board Peter Cline of Handleman Company.     

      NARM serves the music and other prerecorded entertainment software industry

as the pre-eminent forum for insight and dialogue for its more than 1,000 member retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and suppliers of products and services.

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