Don't You Know Who I Am?

I’m writing this week’s letter from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show.

NAMM is one of the world’s biggest gatherings of everything related to musical products. The show is attended by thousands of instrument makers, endorsed artists, journalists, and, yes, even a few YouTube creators. Officially, it’s when vendors showcase their new products for the year ahead, and distributors and dealers place orders. But it’s much more than that.

Socially, it’s the highlight of the year for many of us, a time to try out some exciting new gear, but also to see old friends, catch up over a drink or a meal, put faces to names, and build real life, in-person relationships with our peers.

This is my eighth NAMM, and I owe this event so much. It’s really been the foundation of my YouTube career. I first came thanks to the team at Vigier Guitars, who hooked me up with a ticket in exchange for some hours working their booth. I spent every free moment running around making videos, and those videos really grew my channel and helped introduce me to some brands I really admire, as well as the people behind them.

The inspiration for this week’s letter was an unfortunate incident I witnessed at one of the entrances during Wednesday’s invite-only media day. Waiting in the queue to have my badge checked, I witnessed one company-owner (who shall remain nameless) verbally berate the security guard who wouldn’t allow him entry, because of the fact that he lacked the correct press credentials to enter. He treated her extremely badly, before taking a picture of her, and storming off, saying that he was going to complain to her boss.

Now, I tell this tale, because his behaviour violates one of my key beliefs.

Be nice to people.

We are all colleagues, peers, fellow human beings. Businesses and careers are built on positive interactions.

If you want to succeed, in music, in business, be delightful. Be a good hang. Don’t be big-headed. Be the best possible version of yourself.

You can be the most successful person in the room, but if you act badly, people will remember.

The next day, I happened to be in the same backstage area as the phenomenally famous producer and hitmaker, Mark Ronson, who was there to receive the NAMM Music for Life award. He’s won multiple Grammys, an Oscar, had billions of streams and worked with some of the world’s biggest artists. How was he? Utterly delightful. He was absolutely thrilled and starstruck to meet Dave Mandelbrot, the CEO of Reverb, because he’s such a fan of the site.

Mark was polite, quiet, humble, and took the time to talk to people. I couldn’t resist showing him my new custom Martin. Because when it comes down to it, we’re all just geeks who love talking about instruments and gear.

In fact, many of my best NAMM conversations haven’t been about instruments or music at all. They’ve been about finding common ground – Casio watches, or road bikes, and even chicken wings.

Not every interaction should be about how you can maximise your career.

Be humble, be kind. Be a good hang.

Mary x

(Independent Artist of the Week: Florencia & the Feeling are a pop-funk fusion band from Johnson City, Tennessee, USA, who released their album Birthday last year. I loved this live performance of their track Rhythm of the Sun. Check them out.)

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