2025 NAMM Show Expands to Five Days of Events With Three Days of Exhibits

NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants), the largest global not-for-profit music trade organization, has announced its initial lineup of events and exhibits for The 2025 NAMM Show, taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center January 21–25, with events beginning on Tuesday, January 21. Exhibits start January 23, creating nonstop energy through late Saturday evening, January 25, 2025. Major brands are back in full force to NAMM Show!

The October 2024 Global Sources Hong Kong Shows at AsiaWorld-Expo have concluded after an intense month of activities. The three-phase show program, spanning multiple sectors including Consumer Electronics, Electronic Components, Smart Home, Lifestyle, Sports & Outdoor, and Baby & Children, attracted nearly 5,000 premium Asian suppliers and showcased over 500,000 innovative products, setting a new record for exhibitor participation.

Registration is now open for Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world-renowned annual systems integration show that combines the commercial and residential installation sectors in one, from lighting to audio with projectors and displays in the middle. Returning to the Fira de Barcelona Gran Vía from 4-7 February, the ISE team is promising the most dynamic and engaging show yet, with a host of new initiatives and features, now expanding to Hall 8.1, accessed via the North Access point.

Following a few intense days in the extremely warm and dry environment in Berlin, attending IFA 2024 - the Big CE Supermarket as I called it in my 2015 report - it felt great to move on to Amsterdam and attend the vibrant International Broadcasting Convention (IBC). Great, if it wasn't for the sudden change in weather with unexpected rain and a sudden drastic drop in temperature. IBC 2024 was a vibrant show with historical announcements from Sennheiser and Genelec, but our report also highlights the impressive expansion of Dante audio networking in this important industry segment. And many other reasons why everyone was happy to be at IBC.

A first impressions report focused on the audio side of IFA Berlin, where there is still plenty to see. From the Auracast Experience to a vibrant B2B environment. The largest consumer electronics and home appliances marketplace where “retail” and “resellers” meet is still alive and well. Celebrating 100 years of the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) Berlin (International Radio Exhibition Berlin), this vibrant trade show has evolved over decades into the world’s largest appliances and consumer electronics marketplace.

A step into a promising future is how the High End Society, the promoters of the High End International Audio Show, announce the decision to move the successful trade show from Munich to Vienna. Not immediately. The High End 2025 show will still take place in Munich. But it was long known that the success of the show was being strongly hindered by the lack of expansion space in the Munich MOC. After having promoted a regional show in Vienna, the High End Society found a new home.

Philip Richardson, Owner of Trueanalog Strictly OEM and Host of the Loudspeaker Sourcing Show announced that the 2024 edition of the show, scheduled to take place 16-18 October in Guangzhou, China will be postponed this year. In a message on social media, Richardson posted that "Due to unforeseen political climate, and limited travel to China from invited countries, the Loudspeaker Sourcing Show will be postponed this year. I'm deeply sorry for the inconvenience."

IBC2024 will see the global media and content production industry converge once again on the RAI Amsterdam convention center, September 13-16. The event, again using all 14 Halls of the exhibition center, will feature many new exhibitors, and promises to bring the content and technology community together to showcase game-changing innovations, address media's most pressing trends, and enable collaboration during the four-day exhibition and three-day IBC Conference.

High End 2024. Digital music players, streaming players, music streamers. Music sources in audio shows are changing. The industry is embracing music streaming services. At AXPONA 2024 and at the High End 2024, the prevalent music source in all demos and listening rooms are the latest class of network music streamers and digital audio players. This is my second article expanding on my personal experience at the excellent Munich audio show.

High End Munich 2024. Once again, one of best organized audio shows in the world, with a wide spectrum of very high-quality audio solutions presented, and an excellent business environment. All perfectly complements this international trade show, making it highly valuable for all. A true "marketplace" for the audio industry in the best sense of the term. These are my first impressions.