The fireworks at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers' 51st annual convention may have little to do with music and everything to do with business.

The members of NARM, who will meet June 7-9 at the San Diego Marriott & Marina, will likely encounter an increase in both contentiousness and uneasy new alliances as the increasingly dominant world of digital music goes head-to-head with the brick-and-mortar retail shops, whose ranks have been decimated in recent years.