Building the BONE legacy on the Global stage – The importance of international Drum Shows

• NAMM Show (Anaheim, Los Angeles): We started our journey at the NAMM Show back in 2014, then the world’s largest music trade show. We attended for seven consecutive years until the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-pandemic, the show changed, and its drum section was significantly downsized. While NAMM was originally intended as a “trade show only” (National Association of Music Merchants), it grew into a massive event (140-150 thousand visitors over four days). This scale, however, made it challenging to connect effectively with potential business partners amidst the crowds and extensive activities, a primary reason for our past participation. Although we hear things might be improving, we are currently undecided about returning. The decision will depend on business results, as participation costs are considerable.
• PASIC Drum Show (Indianapolis): Looking for alternatives to NAMM, we attended the PASIC Drum Show once, just as the pandemic was ending and the show wasn’t yet at full capacity. This show is also experiencing growth.
• Las Vegas Drum Show: We’ve been involved since its inception, demonstrating sincere partnership and loyalty through annual attendance. We’ve just returned from this year’s event and have already confirmed our participation for next year – our fifth consecutive year. The show is growing in both exhibitors and visitors (estimated around 3,500 this year in one day). It’s highly focused and specialized, featuring primarily drum and cymbal manufacturers and attracting mostly drummers (both professional and amateur). For logistical and cost reasons, the organizer is currently keeping it a one-day event.

• Other US Shows: BONE is definitely interested in other US shows like the Chicago Drum Show, Delaware Drum Show, and Nashville Drum Show. We are particularly keen on the Nashville show due to its size, popularity (2-3 days), and strong business focus.
• European Shows: We attended the UK Drum Show (Liverpool) a few years ago and are excited to return this October. There’s also the Europe Drum Show (Germany), which we couldn’t attend this year due to a scheduling conflict with Las Vegas.

Observed Drum industry trends

• Acoustic drums: Genuine innovation is rare. Trends mostly involve experimenting with exotic finishes, combining different wood types/veneers for varied sounds, or reissuing older models (like the heavy metal snare drums from the 80s, whose collector hype didn’t always match reality).
• Electronic drums: This is where most innovation occurs. Companies focus on better responsiveness, user-friendly modules, and hybrid kits (like those from Drum Workshop – DW) that look and feel acoustic but have advanced integrated electronic systems, often wireless.
• Our innovation (carbon fiber): Leveraging our experience in composites and drum manufacturing, we developed high-quality carbon fiber shells. This is an area with little top-level development from other manufacturers currently. Our product is the result of in-house R&D, allowing us to guarantee quality in serial production, setting us apart from generic carbon products. We are delighted by the significantly increased interest in our carbon fiber line from end customers and business partners alike. Manufacturers (we’re in talks with two globally recognized companies) are interested in sourcing our carbon shells, and we are discussing finished products with a major US music retailer. Interest through our online store has also grown.

Highlights from our recent US visit

Visiting REMO: Luka and I also visited REMO Drumheads factory. The company is producing drumheads also for BONE Drums and we met with the REMO team to confirm production details following our logo redesign. Serial production is underway, and we expect delivery soon.

Artist meetings: We met with and attended a concert by Johannes Gritschacher, a talented Austrian drummer based in LA, who is currently on a world tour. Johannes uses our snares and is often featured in our ads.

We also reconnected with Thomas Lang, widely recognized as one of today’s most influential drummers. Our collaboration with Thomas has been ongoing for some time. He was one of the first to embrace our carbon fiber snare and is now excited about our hybrid (wood/carbon) model. We’re looking forward to continuing this partnership, leveraging his significant influence within the drumming community and his extensive network among top musicians.

Future goals

Our main objective remains to increase recognition as the producer of “The world’s only TRUE Carbon Fiber drums” – premium carbon fiber products – and achieve faster market penetration. We plan to do this by strategically participating in specialized drum shows and partnering with recognized industry manufacturers and retail chains looking to offer something unique. Shows where we get lost in the crowd among many irrelevant or non-competitive exhibitors (like Asian mass producers) are not our focus.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Best regards,

The BONE Team