So what does it mean to be a member of NARM and to attend its Music Business Convention? What sets NARM apart in today’s world of music mayhem is that we are fostering a community of companies and individuals whose sum is unquestionably more meaningful than its parts.

Think of NARM as an exclusive club that provides not just access, but the chance to continually pursue and develop valuable contacts. It’s a forum to discover products and services that can make a difference for your business, get answers and information that can make a difference for your knowledge base, and, maybe even relationships that can make a difference for your life. Yes, for your life. I have worked at NARM for 22 years. During that time, I have had the amazing good fortune to meet and to know a staggering array of executives and artists who have not only helped influence and impact this organization, but who have helped to shape the leader and the person that I have become.

It’s true that many of these same tangible and intangible benefits are available elsewhere. To be sure, there are for-profit industry events to attend every week, and eager analysts and bloggers by the mile who are offering their take on the current state and future prospects of the music industry.  But in these incredibly uncertain, but also incredibly opportunistic times, I think it’s time to personally experience NARM and give the Association a chance to make the difference for you that it has for me and for so many others.

– By Jim Donio, NARM President (donio@narm.com)