Music Business Association

The Music Business Association (Music Biz) (originally established as the National Association of Recording Merchandisers) is a United States not-for-profit trade association based in Marlton, New Jersey that seeks to advance and promote music commerce, whether physical, digital, mobile, or more. Established as the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) in 1958, its membership includes music retailers, distributors, and others involved in the sale of music and related merchandise.

The association holds an annual conference, titled Music Biz. Music Biz 2013 took place in Los Angeles, featuring nearly 120 speakers and presenters and drawing executives from both the physical and digital sides of the business. Music Biz 2014 took place at May 6 and 8, also in Los Angeles.

In October 2013, the association changed its name from NARM to the Music Business Association, also folding in digitalmusic.org, the association's web-based arm. According to the association's president, Jim Donio, the change was made because "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... for the first time in the organization’s history, the ‘M’ stands for music.”

Along with the name change, the association announced a new structure based around six sectors: Digital, Information Technology, Physical, Knowledge, Artists, Management, Touring, and Legal & Business Affairs. Each sector is represented by a pair of co-chairs and broken down further into Workgroups, each with its own chair or co-chairs. All Music Biz members and affiliate partners are allowed to participate in the Workgroups. This structure was designed to allow members to focus on the areas that are most relevant to their business functions and needs.

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