I can tell that it’s also a disadvantage if you have early meetings the next day 
Hahaha, yeah i can see that:)
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It’s way cheaper send gear out and have a handful of reviewers get the word out than pay for a booth at trade shows, pay for travel, meals and hotels and send your staff to stand around all day.
The shift away from trade shows was happening well before the pandemic, it’s about cost savings. I’d rather see Denon save that money and put it back into the product development than play the dog and pony show with with Pioneer.
Yeah I agree. Also they can send staff around to the main dealers and have open days, which again only requires 1/2 people and a few units, the dealer does all the advertising and organising and people can head down and try stuff out.
The same is happening in photography too, smaller camera companies are just avoiding the shows for that reason. YouTube etc is so powerful now that these companies can tap into that with minimal effort.
It’s not staff, it’s a rep firm. Even those are going away, more cost savings. Just look at Behringer, they’re selling direct off Amazon as well. I understand passion for a brand but arm chair end users need to adjust expectations.
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NAMM has become less and less important as DJ gear manufacturers pivot to basically being tech companies. As others have already said, attendance is dropping and inMusic isn’t attending anyway. The simple fact of the matter is that inMusic and Denon don’t need to be reliant on NAMM to release/highlight new products. Other events exist that provide better coverage and even then, online marketing and social media give more attention than anything else.
I did ask a local distributor that talks regularly to their inMusic rep and confirmed that nothing new focused around NAMM is coming. They also said there is no new mixers coming for the time being (I asked specifically if a replacement for the X1850 was coming).
While I know it’s not exciting to basically hear there’s nothing new right around the corner, I think Denon is at a place where the lineup is solid and they can focus on improving what they have in Engine DJ. Letting Pioneer be the ones to churn their products out right now provides valuable feedback for Denon to watch and iterate on.
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Yup no InMusic presence at Namm. Also in general Namm is still struggling to regain its past glory days. Vendor numbers are way down and the ones that are there (the bigger boys) are renting much smaller spaces for their setups. Some people aren’t even having displays but their Reps have booked meetings if possible (but even then numbers have been low).
E3 is also experiencing this. Most people have realized they can get just as much hype and coverage from YouTube for much less money. And any company that realizes that will drop trade shows that involve a lot of planning, work and money in a heartbeat.
Is this sad for the people that love these events and appreciate the networking, friendships and knowledge gained from them (and of course it’s fun!) well of course.
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Then all the rumours of that new AKAI MPC Live “Mini” are just that, rumours? 
The conversation with the rep was specifically around Denon DJ vs. all of InMusic.
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I remember this being an article on DJ Worx a very long time ago. The dying art of the trade show.
The UK lost (or downscaled) it’s big trade shows for sound and light (BPM/PLASA). I remember the fuss when Native Instruments pulled out of trade shows and that was almost ten years ago now.
A list of some events from around the world: The Best Music Conferences & Trade Shows for DJs | LSA
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E3 is cancelled. The list of big names pulling out is quite big and draws reference to trade shows and changing habits of consumers.
E3 annual video game showcase event in Los Angeles cancelled E3 annual video game showcase event in Los Angeles cancelled - BBC News
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