After the 2005 Namm Emergenza Festival can legitimately show to the musicians the awesome results and credibility earned with the Music Industries. These were four days of meetings and negotiations during which we had the opportunity to present our figures, which, already doubled from last year, are expected to double again next year. All this took place during, among others, the REMO international representatives meeting (where we were invited as ''special guests''). The most frequently asked question was: when will Emergenza reach East Asia, South America, Australia…? Emergenza''s expansion is highlighted by graphs and diagrams. These tools however useful, cannot show the one thing that is impossible to quantify, but is felt very strongly by us: a feeling of community is growing between the musicians. This fact carries with it implications of which we are very proud. One of these that can be proven with numbers is that every day we have nearly 7,000 unique visitors on our website, and a large part of them are from areas where the festival has not yet arrived. Consequently, we can say that there is a large fertile ground that will hopefully welcome Emergenza with open arms next year, when all the major American cities from east to west, will be involved in the festival. The word is spreading. There seems to be a definite ripple effect in this situation, the more opportunities Emergenza offers, the more musicians take part; the more musicians take part, the more our partners are willing to support us, and therefore, Emergenza can offer more of these opportunities. The development of a cooperative relationship with the Music Industry is one of the main aspects of the work carried out by the Festival. The Music Industry representatives are key persons for suggesting and advising us about local partners, and for the establishment of the new cities for the Festival. Emergenza and its partners share the same objective, and work to increase the number of individuals who are interested in music and love playing an instrument. For us, being at NAMM 2005 means, first of all, providing more and more new opportunities for ''our'' musicians: - MAPEX is handling negotiations for an endorsement with the Ghettobillies''s drummer. The Ghettobillies are a Chicago band that participated in Emergenza last year, play a lot of amazing live shows, and are also negotiating a deal with the label TRACK1. Dear musicians, take note: The Ghettobillies did NOT win the US 2004 final, and did not make it to Taubertal, but made the most of their opportunities, and have NEVER stopped playing, playing, playing. - SENNHEISER and REGALTIP are working on a special and limited series of customized microphones and drumsticks, dedicated to Emergenza and up and coming musicians, that will carry our logo on them. - Well done, HERMANAS SISTERS: the winners of the International Acoustic Showcase 2004 were not frightened by the NAMM setting, and gave an intense and touching performance. See you next year in Los Angeles!