NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) and its digital industry hub digitalmusic.org will collectively be known as the Music Business Association (MusicBiz.org), to fully encompass everyone involved in music commerce in the United States. Six sectors have been established to drive specific areas of interest, and six new director positions have been added to the Board of the trade organization to represent this broader membership. The organization will continue to be headed by President Jim Donio, and the current team will remain headquartered in Marlton, NJ.”The music industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, and NARM has been evolving along with those changes, bringing in more voices from the online and mobile industries with the creation of digitalmusic.org, as well as from other areas that were not traditionally associated with music retail,” said Donio. “More segments of the business than ever before now play an active role in the commerce side of the business, so the name ‘National Association of Recording Merchandisers’ no longer reflected everyone who can participate in the organization. ‘The Music Business Association’ makes it crystal clear – and for the first time in the organization’s history, the ‘M’ stands for music.”Jim has done a remarkable job in remaking NARM and driving the inclusion of the digital companies, first with introducing Digital NARM at the 2007 convention, then progressing to the hire of Bill Wilson in 2009, and establishing digitalmusic.org in 2011.
But we always knew we were going to need to take a more dramatic move to go beyond categories like ‘physical’ and ‘digital’ and redefine the organization as a whole,” said Rachelle Friedman, Music Business Association Chairman of the Board and CEO of J&R Music & Computer World. “NARM was founded in 1958, the same year as the introduction of the first stereo LP. The Beatles had not even formed yet. Our organization has grown with the music business, and it’s time that our identity reflects that.
Everyone in the commercial music industry is an equal partner, with seats at the table to come up with innovative solutions for the business as a whole.”The sector concept builds on the structure we created with the digitalmusic.org Work Groups, with members getting actively involved in the issues that are important to them and drive their bottom line,” said Bill Wilson, Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development, The Music Business Association. “Each group will work directly with the Music Biz team, including Director of Digital Strategy and Community Robby Towns and Business Development Consultant Cindy Charles, to determine their priorities and deliver results that move the needle for their area of the industry.”