Two fairs at the same time and place, like it should always have been: next year’s Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound will be held concurrently on all days, from 2 to 5 April. With a new sequence of days – from Tuesday to Friday – Musikmesse will strengthen its profile as a platform for the professional exchange of ideas and information between music-industry professionals. The two events will also move physically closer together.
For four days, visitors can discover the entire spectrum of products for the music and live-entertainment sector. “Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound are combining their strengths. With all days now concurrent, we are complying with a request often expressed in the sector,” says Michael Biwer, Group Show Director of the ‘Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries’ Business Unit of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH. “The concept for 2019 emphasizes the strengths of the two trade fairs: professionalism, internationality and the synergistic effects between the industries represented.”
The layout of Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound was designed to achieve the best possible concentration of products groups and themes. For the first time, the whole spectrum of audio products will be concentrated in a single exhibition hall. On an area of almost 30,000 square meters in the good-old Hall 8.0, visitors will find solutions revolving around public-address systems, permanent installations, studio and recording.
Opened in September 2018, Hall 12 is the optimum setting for the presentation of lighting, stage equipment, entertainment technology and event safety and security systems. The dreaded Hall 4 will be used to bring together associations of the music and event sector and is home to a joint business and networking area for both fairs (meaning, it doesn't really matter, but anyone passing through to Musikmesse at least will not find empty halls). There, both Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound exhibitors also have the opportunity to make presentations in the heart of the Exhibition Centre. According to Frankfurt Messe the space will be "an elaborate lounge with a lecture stage and catering zones, all designed to encourage business discussions in a relaxed atmosphere."
Halls 3.0 and 3.1 will again spotlight the world of keyboard, percussion, plucked, string and wind instruments, as well as sheet music and equipment like it was back in the good-old-days of Musikmesse. Rounding off the hall layout is Forum.0 for full-range companies and the Congress Centre with the program for musical instruction.
Business first!
With free admission on all days of the fair, free cloakroom service, guided tours and many other benefits, the ‘Insider’ VIP program means qualified dealers receive first-class treatment. In 2019, the program will be extended to include buyers from the entertainment-technology sector. Now also part of both fairs is the Matchmaking program, which brings exhibitors together with visitors of particular relevance to them.
Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound will support companies of all sizes to ensure perfect presentations. Companies cannot only book exhibition space in the halls and on the outdoor area but also be part of the complementary program of events.
On the new ‘Circle Stages’, exhibitors present event highlights in the heart of the halls. The stages are the ideal setting for product demonstrations, workshops, lectures, receptions or performances by endorsers. The enclosed construction ensures reasonable noise protection. In the evenings, Messe Frankfurt will join forces with companies from the sector to hold extraordinary concerts of the Musikmesse Festival on the Circle Stages.
The Live Sound Arena - a key area for Prolight+Sound - is being relocated to outdoor area F10 in the immediate vicinity of Audio Hall 8.0. There, Prolight+Sound exhibitors can demonstrate PA and line-array systems under realistic conditions (meaning, with echos from nearby walls, but hey...). Additionally, a Demo Room for indoor audio systems is in planning.
Additionally, there will be several special areas where companies can present their products to specific special-interest groups of visitors. At Prolight+Sound there will be separate presentation areas focusing on event safety and security and digital signage.
"Caught in a whirl of disruptive technologies, new standards and regulations, as well as increasing customer expectations, the sector is changing rapidly. Visitors to Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound have their finger on the pulse of the time and receive insights into tomorrow’s trends," state the show promoters.
Following their successful première in 2018, "The Future of Music and Audio Technology" seminars will be expanded and cover, inter alia, subjects that have a decisive impact on the global music industry, such as artificial intelligence, app integration and wearables for musicians. The program is being organized by the Advanced Audio + Applications Exchange (A3E).
The "Immersive Technology Forum" is also being continued. Companies of the event and media-technology sector will provide insights into best practices relating to 3D and spatial audio, virtual and augmented reality, 360° projection and holography.
New in 2019 are the CAVIS – Congress for Audio Visual Integrated Systems seminars. They will focus on the growth market of permanent installations and give Prolight+Sound exhibitors the chance to present relevant products and projects.
Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound 2019 ‘Insider’ Program
With free admission on all four days (2 to 5 April) and cloakroom service to personal on-site support, in 2019, the Insider program is open for the first time to buyers of both Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound. Purchasing decision makers from the music and event sectors can now register as ‘Insiders’.
The Business Matchmaking Program is aimed at specialist retailers from all parts of the musical-instrument business with up to 50 employees and an annual turnover of less than € 2.5 million, as well as employees of commercial enterprises and rental companies from the event, media, stage, lighting and sound technology sector.
After registering at www.insider-programm.com, participants will be sent a season ticket for both trade fairs, which entitles them to use local public-transport services operated by the RMV public-transport authority in Frankfurt and the region. Insiders will be welcomed at the reception counter in the new Networking Area (Hall 4.1) and given their personal Insider Bag with food vouchers, information about the fairs and other give-aways.
The new Networking Area
Insider participants and all other buyers attending Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound will find the optimal setting and a peaceful atmosphere for business discussions in the Networking Area (Hall 4.1). With an elaborate lounge design, lecture platforms and catering zones, the Networking Area is a modern venue for encounters between decision makers on the exhibitor and visitor sides. Hall 4.1 is centrally located at the Fair and Exhibition Centre, only a stone’s throw from the Messe Frankfurt ‘S-Bahn’ railway station and the ‘Torhaus’ entrance. The Networking Area is an essential part of the new Musikmesse concept aimed specifically at international trade visitors.
The Business Matchmaking Program brings together the right visitors and exhibitors, and thus helps buyers find companies taking part in the fair that are particularly relevant to their business interests. A clearly structured online platform is available for planning meetings with new and existing partners. Additionally, the Messe Frankfurt Matchmaking Team is also available to provide assistance to participants. Retailers and buyers who register for the Insider program automatically receive a Business Matchmaking profile, which they can manage easily using an online tool.
In cooperation the Society of Music Merchants (SOMM) and the Professional Lighting & Sound Association of Germany (Verband für Licht-, Ton- und Veranstaltungstechnik - VPLT), Messe Frankfurt is organizing an extensive seminar program especially for retailers and managers. Also contributing to the program of events in the ‘Networking Area’ will be other associations and experts from the fields of business, marketing and law. After the lectures and panel discussions, visitors will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and information with the speakers in the business lounges.
During a gala evening event on Thursday, 4 April 2019, the ‘Networking Area’ will also be the setting for the presentation of four important awards: 'Opus - German Stage Award', 'Sinus - Systems Integration Award', 'MIPA - Musikmesse International Press Award' and 'PIPA - Prolight + Sound Press Award’.
“In 2019, the two trade fairs will be focused more than ever before on international trade visitors. Musikmesse in particular is emphasizing its primary function as a platform for professionals and, with measures to reduce noise levels, we will also aim to improve the business quality in the product halls. The ‘Networking Area’ supplements this by providing modern communication and encounter facilities for decision makers on both the exhibitor and visitors sides away from the product presentations,” says Michael Biwer, Group Show Director of the ‘Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries’ Business Unit of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.
Yamaha at the Networking Area
Yamaha will once again present its latest products and innovations to retailers at Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound, adapting its presentation in accordance with the optimized trade-fair concept of Musikmesse. The company will display its novelties from the world of musical instruments in the Networking Area in Hall 4.1. This elaborately designed magnet for musical-instrument retailers is the ideal setting for business discussions in a peaceful atmosphere and Yamaha’s sales managers and specialists are looking forward to welcoming numerous dealer visitors there. Additionally, the company will be showing PA systems, installed sound and digital audio networking products in Hall 8.0.
Musikmesse Plaza to rock the Saturday
The Saturday as part of the fair is not being cut but is changing to a new format with a B2C focus, which will be marketed separately only for the music sector. To be called Musikmesse Plaza, the new event will take the form of a pop-up market with numerous musical events and direct exhibitor sales on 6 April, and will be located in the eastern section of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre.
Immediately after the two trade fairs have closed their doors, the 1st ‘Musikmesse Plaza’ will launch a totally new event concept aimed wholly at consumers. This will include the "Vintage Guitar Show," special exhibitions on vintage drums, vintage concert audio and electric organs, a record exchange open to both private and commercial participants, exhibition space for labels and other music-business companies, among other initiatives.
With the addition of the new Saturday concept, Messe Frankfurt will promote Musikmesse as "Europe’s biggest trade fair for the music industry," and Prolight+Sound as "The Global Entertainment Technology Show."
www.musikmesse.com | www.prolight-sound.com
www.messefrankfurt.com
