2015 Musikmesse and ProLight + Sound

As Ronnie Dungan reported in this month’s “European Beat” (see page 22), the hot-button topic in Frankfurt this April was the proposed changes to Musikmesse and ProLight + Sound for 2016. The increased attendance and significance of Music China, coupled with the continued strength (and proximity to Musikmesse, time-wise) of Winter NAMM has unquestionably impacted the annual Frankfurt convention. In light of those developments, organizers plan to shake things up next year, consolidating aspects of the joint Show and opening the majority of the gathering to the public.

This year, Musikmesse reported 1,329 exhibitors and 65,355 attendees – down from over 110,000 visitors and 2,242 exhibiting companies in 2014.

“We’ve had a great Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound Show this year, with more than 108,000 visitors from all around the world coming to Frankfurt,” notes Messe Frankfurt VP of entertainment and digital business, Kai Hattendorf. “We are drawing especially high marks for the launch of a new, quiet, designated Business to Business area away from the vibrant buzz in the halls – something many exhibitors requested that we will expand in 2016.

We know that the MI industry is one where the people are really close to the topics they cover – most music professionals are also musicians and music lovers. So we are focusing Musikmesse around this idea in the future – offering lots of space for quiet B2B interactions as well as themed halls where attendees can experience ‎instruments and all the music related products on display.”

Voices From the Show Floor

“The booth traffic was fine and there was a great reaction to our new products this year. We did find the noise level to be a hindrance to having productive conversations and demonstrating our products at a more reasonable volume.

“I do feel that it’s valuable to get our brand out in front of the public. It’s a great opportunity to meet and interface with consumers. Having said that though, I feel that being open to the public on all four days will make our business-to-business goals more challenging. As far as consolidating halls and moving things around, we’ll have to see how well it can be organized and how it effects the ability to accomplish our goals for being at Musikmesse.”

Chris DeMaria, Fishman

“Taylor Guitars enjoyed another very successful Messe show this year. We feel the importance of a trade show is primarily the opportunity to efficiently see many of our best customers in a relatively short period of time, to update them on our business trends and our direction, and to gain a better understanding of the trends those dealers are seeing in their respective businesses. In addition, we introduced several new products at Messe, including new 600 Series and 900 Series guitars, which were very positively received. We proudly accepted a M.I.P.A. for the Best New Acoustic Guitar (600 Series), an award from Gitarre&Bass for the 814ce, and an award from Guitar magazine for our efforts in sustainability. Our orders for new products were surprisingly strong, our booth was quite busy and our brand message to the dealers and consumers was fully embraced. I have to say it was as equally strong to last year, when we introduced our award-winning new 800 Series, although other booths at the show seemed somewhat less busy.

“I’m sure they have recognized the need for [the changes coming in 2016] or they wouldn’t do it. I don’t have an opinion on their plans yet. We will have to wait to get full details from the Messe Frankfurt organization to decide how to best utilize our time and expenses in a changing environment. Europe remains a very important market for Taylor Guitars and we are committed to helping our dealers achieve greater success and enhanced profitability with our products. That won’t change, so we will find a way to make the changes at Messe in 2016 fit with our message and strategy.”

Keith Brawly, Taylor Guitars

“This past Musikmesse Frankfurt show was a great mix of customer and consumer interaction. There was an abundance of positive buzz around our new products for the year. Since I wasn’t around last year, our team that did attend in ’14 indicated they saw a few less distributors than last year from Asia and Latin America, but about the same from Europe and the Middle East. The traffic overall seemed a bit lighter on the first three days.

“Customers are obviously an important part of our business. For many, the opportunity to try the sheet amount of product in a single space is a hard thing to find. The idea of them getting more time to spend in the hall isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Though we as a company will certainly strategically align on our B2B side to be sure there is minimal disruption to those efforts of the show.

“One thought our team is batting around: is Frankfurt the right venue for such a show year after year and how does the Messe attract more public from around Europe to attend the show? How does Messe create more interest in making music and musical instruments in general? That is, after all, the challenge the entire industry is facing.”

Anthony Lapsanksy, Avedis Zildjian Co.

“We take advantage of Musikmesse to get information on market developments and to visit with key suppliers. As such the Messe is indispensable for us – especially as some suppliers will selectively attend NAMM, the Messe, or the Music Fair in Shanghai. In terms of traffic from European retailers the impetus of the market is certainly moving in the digital keyboard segment. I hope with next year being the acoustic piano year that we will see more of the European keyboard retailers visit.

A fair that is completely open to the public would be a good initiative for the German keyboard industry. The German keyboard market has been very soft in the last few years and if the Messe engages in a campaign that brings more people to directly experience various makes, it might provide a spark that re-ignites one of the most prosperous markets in the world to perform better.”

Basilios Strmec, Hailun Pianos

“My belief is this: ‘You cannot do business if you do not show up.’  So, we show up and display.  As a practical matter, we saw about two thirds as many customers and prospects as in 2014 or 2013.  However, all were very good serious contacts and business was good.

“The difficulty for us with the Musikmesse has been the increasing number of public days. We are not trying to sell to the end consumer and are primarily interested in the B2B trade contacts.  So, the expansion to more public days is not of interest to us.  Maybe, the proposed approach for 2016 with a separate B2B area will be an improvement.”

John Musselman, American Way Marketing LLC

“In my conversations with German exhibitors, they felt that dealer attendance was down. My purpose for Messe is to meet with my major European and Asian distributors, most of whom, were in attendance. It is also a chance to meet with our smaller European distributors who do not attend NAMM. Our South America distributors, do not regularly travel to Musikmesse anyway, so there absence was not unusual. In short, from Levy’s perspective it was a busy and fruitful show.

As to next year’s show, speculation is all over the map. I have sympathy for those companies that carry pro light and sound and MI products as their show will now be much longer and as a result more expensive.

“I do not anticipate being involved in the B2B section. I will exhibit in the consumer hall where I can have the most brand exposure. My appointments may have a little difficulty getting around because of the consumer attendees being there every day, but if they attend they’ll make their appointments. I have a sound proof meeting room, built into my stand, so a buyer/consumer format for all days should not be an issue.

“The only negative from Levy’s perspective is lack of support from the major exhibitors. If they do not like the format and boycott the show, attendance from every segment, buyer/distributor/consumer will fall off.

I’m hoping the major exhibitors find a way to exploit the changes profitably. I do not need to do anything very different from what I have been doing in the past.”

Harvey Levy, Levy’s Leathers Ltd.