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Messe Frankfurt announces that the Musikmesse that’s considered to be the largest retail instrument marketing show will be discontinued. The reasons for the end are market-related, according to the press release.
It goes on to say: The market structure has changed in such a way that no more economic prospects can be expected for the product.
This puts an end to the industry event, which was subject to constant changes of concept in recent years (before Corona). Nevertheless, a continued migration of previous exhibitors and a latent decline in the audience could not be averted. The situation has recently been precarious, especially in the drums area. There should be a new beginning in 2020 with “Home of Drums”, but this event was also canceled due to the corona pandemic. For this year, Messe Frankfurt wanted to initiate a “restart” for the end of April / beginning of May, it is now being cancelled.
The end consumer formats Musikmesse Plaza and the Musikmesse Festival cannot be implemented in April 2022 given the current situation and the short lead time. In particular, concerts by international artists with a large number of visitors, concerts in clubs and unusual locations as well as offers in the field of music education could not be planned seriously under the applicable hygiene regulations,” is the reasoning. That was foreseeable. Something similar had previously been communicated by the Leipzig competitor musicpark.
Room for contingencies
The dramatic transformation in the instrument market, in which more than 70 percent of sales are distributed among a few online retailers, has already had a strong negative impact on the Musikmesse trade exhibition in recent years and is therefore strengthening the transformation from a B2B to a B2C event, according to Von Pages of those responsible for Musikmesse. With the formulation that Messe Frankfurt would not continue the B2B part of the Musikmesse, one option is left open at the present time: the implementation of the topic music may be considered in the future as part of a renewed realignment of the B2C formats again. Whether this actually happens remains to be seen.
ABOUT:
Musikmesse Frankfurt was an international fair regarding the music industry that took place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 1980 until 2019. In 2012, 68,587 visitors and 1,512 exhibitors from 51 countries were counted. Despite an exhibitor drop to 1,384 in 2013, the number of visitors went up to 70,863. On the fair itself musical instruments, software and hardware from the musical environment and further accessories are being introduced.
The fair was first introduced in 1980. It is generally held in the first quarter of the year for four days. The first two days are reserved for the business audience, while the last two days are accessible for everyone.
In 2013, the fair was held from 10 to 13 April. A playable and oversized tuba with a measure of 2,05 metres and weighing of 50 kg was displayed, which was first shown in 2012 in the musical instrument museum in Markneukirchen.
In 2016, the fair took place from 7 to 10 April. For the first time the Musikmesse festival took place in the framework of the Musikmesse. It was spread over Frankfurt’s pubs and provided musical entertainment.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fair was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the organizers have decided to cancel it for good.
