[1] It hosts in-person and virtual events related to music business, offering educational materials, and fostering engagement opportunities for its members.
According to James Donio, the Association's president at the time of the rebrand, 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.
Instead, the organization pivoted its normal annual programming into a slate of more than 70 virtual events spread across the two-year period.
These hour-long talks initially served as a way to check in with various music industry subsets on how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting them and what responses they took to combat its effects on their businesses and personnel.
[7][8] Outside of events, the Association prepared a running list of resources their members and the industry at large could use to support themselves during the height of the pandemic.
These included government grant applications, funding for mental health services, and links to community chats for industry professionals to support one another's business endeavors or personnel needs.
[14][15][16] As of May 2023, the executives which comprise the current board are more than 50% female and 60% BIPOC,[17] an important milestone given the Association's focus on promoting diversity and inclusion across all areas of the music industry.
[21] The Association held the Music Biz 2022 conference, its first in-person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, from May 9–12, 2022 at the JW Marriott Nashville.