This important international trade-fair duo will move even closer together in 2018. New is the concentration of the audio, DJ and recording product segment in Hall 4.1 and other improvements in the layout of the fairs. With measures to reduce noise levels and the focus on trade visitors on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning, Musikmesse will raise its profile as the platform and source of inspiration for professionals from the musical-instrument and educational segments, and for musicians.
The audio, DJ and recording product segment will have a new and centrally located presentation platform. Previously, exhibitors from this segment were to be found in both sections of the Exhibition Centre – with the new concept for Hall 4.1, exhibitors will be able to reach visitors to both Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound with a single exhibition stand. Hall 4.1 is in the heart of the Exhibition Centre and will be open throughout Musikmesse.
The focus of the hall is on products that are not only for professional users in the field of event and media technology but also of interest to musicians, music producers and musical-instrument retailers, e.g., microphones, effects and signal processors, cables, mixing desks, control units, monitoring tools, production tools, DJ equipment and recording hardware and software. As in the past, visitors will find products for (live) PA systems and permanent installations in Hall 3.1.
Also part of Hall 4.1 is the ‘Silent Stage’ area, which was launched in 2017 and presents an innovative stage concept for clean sound and effective monitoring, as well as the Sound & Recording Lounge, which offers lectures on mixing, miking and production.
Musikmesse for Trade
Unlike any other event in Europe, Musikmesse presents the complete spectrum of musical instruments and genres. In addition to a comprehensive product overview, it offers targeted content for different musical communities. The highlights of the Drums, Percussion, Guitars + Amps segment are the Drum Camp and the Guitar Camp where top international drummers and guitarists give exclusive performances, as well as workshops and masterclasses. Exhibitors have the opportunity to make presentations on attractive complete exhibition stands in the immediate vicinity of the camps. With the move to Hall 9.0, electric guitars are only a stone’s throw away from acoustic guitars in Hall 8.0.
The Keys + Piano segment moves to Hall 11.0, close to the Portalhaus entrance. The ‘Piano Salon Europe’, which returns this year, provides Europe’s piano makers with a platform for showing high-grade upright and grand pianos. Part of the hall is a presentation and lecture stage where, inter alia, the ‘Piano Player of the Year’ award will be presented.
Acoustic instruments remain in Hall 8.0 and, together with string and plucked instruments, percussion and harmonica instruments, cover a broad spectrum. On the ‘Acoustic Stage’ in the adjoining Galleria, visitors will be able to see outstanding artists from the acoustic-music scene – from classical and jazz to pop. Woodwind and brass instruments are to be found in an acoustically separate part of Hall 8.0. Musikmesse is also planning to continue the successful cooperation with the ‘Woodstock of Wind Music’, which began in 2017 and, with rousing bands and groups of modern wind music on the outdoor area, proved to be a great source of inspiration for visitors.
For the specialist musical-instrument trade, Musikmesse offers free admission and exclusive services within the framework of the ‘Musikmesse Insider’ and ‘Musikmesse Premium’ benefits programs. The Business Area in Hall 11.1 offers room for business discussions and a dedicated further-development program for the musical-instrument sector in the form of the ‘Business Academy inspired by SOMM’. Additionally, the Musikmesse matchmaking program brings together suitable companies and retailers.
Under the heading Music Education, Musikmesse groups together products and services for music making that are relevant to teaching and society. Thus, at the ‘Discover Music’ area, the youngest visitors have the chance to try out musical instruments for themselves while the ‘Music Education Lounge’ provides presentation space for organizations from the world of teaching, culture and music business. Additionally, exhibitors can take part in the program of the ‘Musikbiz & Culture Forum’, which spotlights subjects such as professional development in the music sector and the social significance of music making.
Musikmesse is also the setting for the finale of ‘SchoolJam’, Germany’s biggest competition for school bands, and the presentation of the European School Music Award, which honors the achievements of music teachers at general schools.
For the third time running, Musikmesse will be accompanied by the Musikmesse Festival in 2018. In the evenings, visitors can look forward to concerts by a broad spectrum of extraordinary acts at the Exhibition Centre and venues throughout Frankfurt.
Prolight+Sound for Professionals
In the eastern section of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre, companies present trailblazing technologies for entertainment, integrated systems and creation. There, visitors from all event and media technology disciplines can not only discover a host of new products but also gain inspiration and expertise in subjects of relevance to them from the complementary program of events.
Professionals from the field of light and sound technology can see new products in action at the PRG/LEA Stage in the ‘Festhalle’ and at the outdoor Live Sound Arena. The lectures of the Prolight+Sound Conference provide answers to questions on miking, PA systems, lighting design, etc.
The growth fields of Prolight+Sound include media technology & systems integration. Technological trends, such as digital audio networks, AV over IP and immersive technologies, are to be found in the exhibition halls and will be discussed by experts in the seminar program. For the 15th time, Prolight+Sound will be the venue for the presentation of the ‘Sinus – Systems Integration Award’. An attractive area for interested users from the Broadcasting segment is the Moving Picture Pavilion in Hall 4.0 with products for live video production and streaming, as well as ready-to-play production chains from the camera to live distribution.
Products and seminars on the stage & theatre are summarized in a special brochure to help planners, technicians and other professionals from the theatre segment orientate themselves at the fair. In keeping with tradition at Prolight+Sound, the Opus – German Stage Award – will be presented in honor of outstanding achievements in the field of stage and scenery design, as well as the use of technology on the stage.
As last year, Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound will be held concurrently on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and all tickets are valid for both fairs on these days.
The audio, DJ and recording segment is being given a new and central presentation platform at Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound. From 2018, exhibitors who used to be spread over several halls at the two fairs will make their presentations together in Hall 4.1. The advantages include shorter walking distances for visitors and optimum target-group reachability for exhibitors. Hall 4.1 will be a component part of both Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound and, therefore, integrated into the visitor marketing and information services of both events, from the exhibitor search engine to apps and the official catalogue.
“The synergies generated by Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound are a decisive factor behind the success of the two events. Bringing together the various parts of the audio, DJ and recording product segment in Hall 4.1 will reinforce these positive effects”, says Michael Biwer, Group Show Director of the ‘Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries’ Business Unit of Messe Frankfurt. “The new concept for Hall 4.1 is the result of numerous discussions with companies from the sector.” Many exhibitors, such as Antelope Audio, Audio Precision, Bigger Boat Distribution, Cordial, ES-ProAudio, InEar, Ferrofish, Klotz AIS, Microtech Gefell, Sommer Cable and Warm Audio, have already registered.
Hall 4.1 is in the heart of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre. The focus of the hall will be on products of interest to both professional users from the event and media technology segment and musicians, music producers and musical-instrument retailers. The products include microphones, effects and signal processors, cables, mixing desks, control units, monitoring tools, production tools and recording hardware and software. As in the past, visitors will find products for (live) PA systems and fixed installations in Hall 3.1. Hall 4.1 will be open from 11 to 14 April 2018 (Wednesday to Saturday), i.e., on all days of Musikmesse.
A3E Future of Audio + Music Technology Conference
Another highlight for the international audio community is to be integrated into Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound. For the first time, A3E (Advanced Audio + Application Exchange) is organizing a professional-development conference. The ‘Future of Audio + Music Technology’ conference will be held in Room ‘Entende’ on Level 4c of Hall 4 on Friday, 13 April 2018 and illuminate subjects that are impacting decisively on the global music industry. The conference will be held in English and admission is free of charge for all visitors.
The key topics to be covered by the conference include:
· The global musician – next generation cloud DAWs for worldwide collaboration
· Wearable technology for musicians
· Designing products for the wireless musician
· Virtual & augmented reality for studio production and live performance
· Touchscreen apps and controllers for the studio and stage
· App integration for traditional instruments
· Artificial Intelligence & machine learning
“As a future-oriented platform, we are committed to promoting the transfer of information in the industry. We are delighted to team up with A3E, an organization that enjoys a first-class reputation among professionals in the audio segment, to implement a high-grade educational conference. "The Future of Audio + Music" program is aimed at developers of audio solutions and at musicians, producers and sound engineers. Thus, it represents a perfect addition to our trade-fair duo”, says Michael Biwer, Group Show Director in the ‘Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries’ Business Unit of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.
www.a3exchange.com
MerchDays, the meeting place for the entertainment merchandising sector, will be held for the first time within the framework of Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound 2018 in Frankfurt. In cooperation with Aka Merch & Textil GmbH, the organizers of MerchDays, Messe Frankfurt will integrate the forum for the merchandising sector into its trade-fair duo for musical instruments and event technology. Thus, merchandising and fan-article suppliers will present their products and services in the foyer of Halls 5.1 / 6.1 on the Thursday and Friday of the fairs, 12 and 13 April 2018. MerchDays will be open to all visitors of Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound free of charge. Most recently, the two-day event was held concurrently with the c/o pop Convention in Cologne in August, this year.
www.merchdays.com
April 10–13, 2018
Prolight+Sound Frankfurt
April 11–14, 2018
Musikmesse
Frankfurt Messe Exhibition Centre, Frankfurt, Germany
www.musikmesse.com
www.prolight-sound.com
www.messefrankfurt.com
