Make music instead of just listening: the 29th Musikmesse presents everything for music making

The next International Musikmesse will be held in Frankfurt am Main from 12 to 15 March 2008. With over 1,600 exhibitors from 48 countries at the last Musikmesse in 2007, the leading international trade fair for musical instruments, music software and computer hardware, sheet music and accessories continues on its highly successful course. With 78,500 visitors, last March's edition of the Musikmesse once again set a new attendance record. The organisers also anticipate increases in exhibitor and visitor numbers next year.

At the Musikmesse, manufacturers from all over the world present the complete range of products for making music. Covering the spectrum from classic instru¬ments, acoustic and electric guitars and basses, brass and woodwind instruments, percussion and keyboards to electronic equipment and computer hardware and software, the Musikmesse is the place where all innovations are presented to international visitors in concentrated form.

To make the Musikmesse even more successful and to make better use of important synergies between the individual product groups, next year's Musikmesse will be distinguished by a new hall layout.

The wind segment (brass and woodwind instruments) moves from Hall 6.0 to Hall 1.1. The close proximity of plucked and string instruments in Hall 1.2 and marching instruments in Hall 3.0 will make the overall spectrum to be seen even more attractive.

Another change in the halls occupied concerns the forte segment with upright and grand pianos, historical keyboard instruments, church organs and related accessories. These products, which used to be in Hall 1.1, will move to Hall 6.0 in 2008 and thus be close to keyboards, digital pianos and synthesisers in Hall 5.0. In the future, therefore, visitors will find the entire range of analogue and digital pianos in close proximity to each other and on the same floor (Halls 5.0 and 6.0).

As part of the remix product segment, DJ equipment and related accessories moves down a floor, from Hall 5.1 to Hall 5.0. Thus, the constantly expanding segment of computer software and hardware in Hall 5.1 will have more room while DJ equipment is to be seen in a homogenous area of Hall 5.0.

wind Hall 6.0 --> Hall 1.1
forte Hall 1.1 --> Hall 6.0
remix Hall 5.1 --> Hall 5.0

Labels, recording companies, festivals, concert promoters, platforms for young people and music publishers are to be found in the musikbiz section of the fair. Launched in 2007, musikbiz, will be continued and supplemented by additional segments in 2008.

The high degree of internationality on both the exhibitor and visitor sides offers the best chances of making new contacts with manufacturers, dealers and consumers during the fair. An extensive show and stage programme presents the latest products in action while over 200 concerts on stages and exhibition stands, workshops and forums will ensure entertainment and practical demonstrations of the new products shown.
On the Saturday of the fair (15 March 2008), the Musikmesse will once again open its doors to consumers, amateur musicians, music lovers and the general public.

During the Musikmesse, Messe Frankfurt and the trade associations present a number of important awards. The Frankfurt Music Prize will be presented at the 'Römer', Frankfurt's Town Hall, on the eve of the Musikmesse for special achievements in interpreta¬tion, composing, musicology and music teaching. The winner of the Frankfurt Music Prize 2008, which was founded by the Federal Association of German Musical Instrument Manufacturers (Bundesverband der Deutschen Musik¬instrumenten-Hersteller e.V. - BDMH) and Messe Frankfurt will be a personality from the field of popular music. The musical-instrument sector selects the instruments of the year from among its ranks: the German Musical Instrument Prize, which is being organised by the German Ministry for Economics and Employment for the 18th time, will go to instruments in the concert guitar and bass clarinet categories in 2008. The Musikmesse International Press Award (MIPA) is the Grammy of the musical-instrument and pro-audio sector. Trade journalists from over 100 music magazines worldwide select the best products for the award in over 40 categories. Tradi¬tionally, the award for the 'Piano Player of the Year' is presented at the Musikmesse by the German Piano Federation (Bundesverband Klavier e.V. – BVK) to outstanding personalities for services to piano playing.

Another important aspect of the International Musikmesse is the support it provides for young people. With music4kids, the Musikmesse reserves an area where children aged from eight to 14 can discover sounds and try out all kinds of musical instruments in a participatory music exhibition organised in accordance with educational principles. Another highlight is the final round of the SchoolJam competition for school bands on the Friday of the fair. On a professional stage, the finalists play and sing for the title of 'Germany's Best Pupil Band' to a jury of experts and a large audience. The prizes include a concert trip to the USA and the chance to appear at a major international festival.

Parallel to the Musikmesse, the international Prolight + Sound trade fair presents the complete spectrum of event and com¬munication technology, audio-visual production and entertainment, as well as media technology and system integration. Trade visitors make good use of the overlaps between the product and service groups of the two fairs.

Holders of admission tickets to the Musikmesse are entitled to attend Prolight + Sound and vice versa. The admission price also includes 2nd class travel on services operated by the RMV local public-transport authority. Visitors have the opportunity to purchase and print out their admission tickets online.

You will find more information and reproduction-quality photographs on the internet at: www.musikmesse.com.

Musikmesse hours of opening
from 12 to 15 March 2008 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission prices, Musikmesse 2008
Trade visitors
Day ticket (in advance and online) € 26.00
(on arrival) € 39.00
Season ticket (in advance and online) € 42.00
(on arrival) € 60.00
Members of the public (Saturday 15 March)
Adults (in advance and on arrival) € 26.00
Adults (in advance via the internet) € 20.00
Children aged from 6-12 € 7.00
Pupils / students / pensioners € 14.00
Families (up to two adults and
three children aged from 6-12) € 25.00

Press Contact:

Andreas Höflich
B74 Marketingkommunikation
Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1
60327 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel. +49 (0)69 7575-6866
Fax +49 (0)69 7575-6099
andreas.hoeflich@messefrankfurt.com
www.messefrankfurt.com

The Musikmesse is the world's biggest trade fair for musical instruments, music software & computer hardware, sheet music and accessories. Around 80,000 trade visitors from the musical-instrument sector, e.g. manufacturers, dealers, professional and amateur musicians attended the last event at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre in March 2007. The Musikmesse is held parallel to the Prolight + Sound trade fair, which perfectly rounds off the spectrum of exhibits to be seen at the Musikmesse. Visitors to the Musikmesse have free admission to the Prolight + Sound trade fair for audio, lighting, event and communication technology.

This release was published on openPR.