Backstage Pass

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 promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry.

The reconfigured 2021 NAMM Show will go on — make that, go online — this week. It will do so with a temporary new name, Believe in Music, and some of the most dramatic changes in the history of the world’s biggest annual trade show for the music, sound and event technology industries.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, NAMM announced last August it was canceling its 2021 show as an in-person event and would instead pivot online. Believe in Music, which runs Monday through Friday, will serve as an interactive community center and marketplace for musical instrument and technology creators and manufacturers to connect with each other, buyers, sellers, musicians, and fans.

Going online is not the only first this year for the feisty nonprofit. Its previous shows in Anaheim were exclusively for NAMM members and the public could not buy tickets at any price. Believe in Music, conversely, will open its virtual doors to one and all — and admission for all five days will be free.

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 promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry.

The reconfigured 2021 NAMM Show will go on — make that, go online — this week. It will do so with a temporary new name, Believe in Music, and some of the most dramatic changes in the history of the world’s biggest annual trade show for the music, sound and event technology industries.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, NAMM announced last August it was canceling its 2021 show as an in-person event and would instead pivot online. Believe in Music, which runs Monday through Friday, will serve as an interactive community center and marketplace for musical instrument and technology creators and manufacturers to connect with each other, buyers, sellers, musicians, and fans.

Going online is not the only first this year for the feisty nonprofit. Its previous shows in Anaheim were exclusively for NAMM members and the public could not buy tickets at any price. Believe in Music, conversely, will open its virtual doors to one and all — and admission for all five days will be free.

Emma Edgar is a tour- and production manager, based in Manchester, UK. She has many years of international touring experience. Emma currently is TM/PM for Wolf Alice and has previously worked with Placebo, Everything Everything, Gerard Way, Mumford and Sons such as many other artists and bands.

Xylo Aria is a singer, producer, entrepreneur and true visionary. Born in India, identifying with Australia but residing in the UK, Xylo brings her global perspective into her music and everything she does. Her journey in music began during her formative years while being introduced to traditional Indian Carnatic music by her grandmother. Sparking her interest, she began creating originals at the age of 12 and collaborating with numerous Melbourne based producers. This lead to her debut EP release, Arrow, followed by the single Paradigm both of which got significant coverage on Australian publications including Tonedeaf, Music Talks and Australian Music Scene as well as radio coverage on numerous independent radios such as PBS and Triple R.

In 2017 Xylo took the decision to produce her own music, after which she released her first self produced track Pig which was the first of a few tracks with an environmental message. The track was hailed as “A haunting slice of downtempo electronica dealing with some heady issues” by music blog Pile Rats and it did indeed have a unique ambient quality which would soon become her signature. After the release of collaboration track MRI, Xylo began reflecting on the hardships she faced as a female musician working with a choice of only male producers and also the challenges of learning to self produce one’s music in an area of music which was heavily dominated by men. This self-reflection planted the seed for the online education platform MPW - Music Production for Women. Launched in 2019, which she founded and created.​

MPW was created to go beyond the realms of educating women, and become a movement in the music industry which would empower and encourage more women to take their first steps into music technology. Within it’s first few months of conception MPW has been asked to participate in a Leverhulme Trust funded study undertaken by Portsmouth University exploring the causes of female under-representation in music production, featured in numerous podcasts and included in various articles on the topic and received support from music software giant, Ableton Live. Xylo’s sheer determination and persistence in proactively equipping any interested women with the skills she needs to enter music production is truly inspirational. “It’s time we started empowering ourselves and each other, if we wait for others to provide the stepping stone, we’ll be waiting forever” she says. #womenrock

Danny is a tour manager, sound engineer and production manager, as well as working within artist management with ‘Tandem Management’.

He started touring in 2012, a year after finishing a degree in Music Production at the University of Brighton.

Danny has worked for many artists, including Silverstein for over 6 years and more recently Beartooth for 2 years. He has mixed on arena tours all around the globe. Other artists include: The Amity Affliction, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Mallory Knox, Cancer Bats, Senses Fail, Hawthorne Heights, Hellions, IDK How and more.

Danny has also worked as an Artist Liaison for Reading Festival since 2011; looking after the backstage of the ‘Lock up’ with flair.

Taking a dip into education, Danny also constructed a Tour Management module for the university ‘WaterBear’ based in Brighton.

During the last 2 years, Danny has started working with ‘Tandem Management’, using the skill-set he has come to master on the road, to help bands and upcoming artists achieve a success.

19-year-old songstress Abigail Barlow not only recognizes what she wants, but where she’s going—and she’s headed there at lightspeed, bringing fans everywhere along the way. She took the first step on that path as a child.

From eastern PA. Front of the house Engineer for Boyce Avenue, Secondhand Serenade, Sandlot Heroes, and ajar. Head audio engineer at The ArtsQuest Center, Steel Stacks, in Bethlehem PA. Freelance studio engineer. When John is not on the road, on the stage, or in a studio… he enjoys fishing and many other outdoor activities. John is proficient with ALL analog and digital sound consoles, and audio engineering is not just his job… it is his true passion.

Ryan Mack is only 26 years old, but has already built a huge fanbase (more than 250K Followers) on TikTok starting from scratch. He is a pop / folk musician from Newbridge, UK who has been writing original music for a couple of years already.

At just 20 years old, Owen Norton is already an accomplished producer.

His remix for Flo Rida released in 2016 was the first of many high profile mixes Owen would go on to release. From remixes for The Chainsmokers, to Selena Gomez to R3HAB, Norton has his foot set firmly in the dance music scene.

With a string of original releases in 2016 and 2017 proving Owen’s versatility, it only made sense that he would be approached by the likes of Columbia and Interscope Records to remix ‘Sick Boy’ and ‘Wolves’. Summer 2018 was a big one, seeing the release of ‘Hold On Tight’ (remix for R3HAB & Conor Maynard), which was streamed over 10 million times.

2019 kicked off with an official remix for Jonas Blue, that was premiered on the Ultra Miami mainstage, and was a staple in Jonas’ sets, being played at Wembley Stadium and Tomorrowland. It wasn’t long until Norton started to tour himself, making his international debut on a 7 city tour in China. His energetic performances saw him play around Europe too, playing prestigious venues like Pacha and Victoria Warehouse.

Shortly about to drop is his first solo single in 2 years. From here Owen plans to set the pace with a release schedule that will see him unveiling a lot of creative output in the coming months, alongside a touring schedule that in time will no doubt have his name climbing up international billing ladders. So stay close by because Owen Norton is about to go far and wide!

LAB records is an independent record label. Now beyond its tenth year, the LAB brand is expanding all the time and our bands are now regulars on some of the most influential music mediums and live events the world over. The label’s 170+ catalogue releases have sold hundreds of thousands of copies (and been streamed hundreds of millions of times) and the LAB brand now enjoys close ties with some of the most forward-thinking individuals and organisations in the entertainment industry. LAB catalogue – both frontline and artist services – is distributed by ADA and is served by staff in New York and London.