New York, NY (Top40 Charts/
Music China) -
Music China 2010 confirmed its position as Asia's largest and most prestigious international music show by attracting a record breaking number of exhibitors and visitors when it was held 12 - 15 October 2010 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.
"This year was our most successful show with 1,274 exhibitors, an increase of 9.5 per cent from last year," said Mr Evan Sha, Deputy General Manager, Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd."The number of visitors also increased dramatically to 48,047 which is a 13 per cent increase compared to last year.The figures indicate that the Asian MI market, particularly in China, continues to grow at a fast rate even though the global industry is still recovering. Next year we are celebrating the show's 10th edition and are hoping to attract even more exhibitors and visitors."
Music China 2010 figures at a glance:
Total number of visitors
48,047 (12% increase from 2009)
Local visitors
44,469 (11% increase from 2009)
Overseas visitors
3,578 (43% increase from 2009)
Number of countries and regions represented
96
Top 10 visiting countries and regions (in order of highest attendance)
China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia
Total number of exhibitors
1,274
Local exhibitors
930
Overseas exhibitors
344
Number of exhibitor countries and regions represented
27
Exhibitors and visitors praise Music China
As the world's third biggest music show and Asia Pacific's foremost music industry event, Music China attracts the biggest brand names such as AXL, Pearl River, Piano Disc, Roland, Steinway, Taylor Guitars and Yamaha.
This year exhibitors reported that buyers were more professional and showed an increasing interest in quality products, rather than price.Mr Alan Liu, CEO of AXL, distributors for Fender, PRS and ESP electric guitars commented: "All the customers are more professional, not talking only about price, but about the quality of instruments and delivery. During the first two days we sold a very high amount of orders."
Mr David Kaye, Trade Show Manager for Taylor Guitars said that their three high-end built to order guitars were eagerly snapped up by Chinese dealers, indicating that quality was more important than price."We took a chance in showcasing these guitars and it was very successful.For the dealers who bought these guitars it is a really good form of advertising for them to show that they are really committed to quality high-end products."
Roland, a leading manufacturer and distributor of electronic musical instruments also confirmed the trend of more professional buyers.Mr Cheng Jiantong, President of Roland China said: "We saw a lot of visitors flowing into the halls every day and the overall standard of both exhibitors and visitors has increased and become more professional. Music China is an important gathering spot for us to meet distributors and new customers. We are dedicated to developing digital music application in education and Music China is absolutely the right place to convey this idea."
Every year Yamaha Music & Electronics (China) Co Ltd draws large crowds to their specially designed concert theatre to promote their products.Mr Hideo Kaneda, General Manager Piano & BI Division said: "We have live shows because we believe that music instrument players push forward the development of the music instrument industry. We want to get closer to music lovers and the China music market and that's why we exhibit every year."
Chinese piano exhibitor Pearl River said that Music China is helping them to grow their business.Mr Mo Yuan Bo, Assistant Manager of Pearl River's Marketing Department said: "Thanks to Music China, our piano share in the Pearl River region has been successful.This has prompted us to build our brand in other regions of China by finding suitable distributors in second and third tier cities."
Mr Lee Hyung Guk, Chairman of Samick Bechstein Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd also agrees about the importance of Music China."I show my new piano products to existing Chinese distributors to build their confidence and it is also surprising to be able to get new contacts from international buyers at the same time. For us, Music China is a very important platform for business networking and product showcasing in China."
Music China 2010 also attracted the best ever showing of country and regional pavilion from Czech Republic, France, German, Italy, the Netherlands, Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland and Norway), Spain, the UK and Taiwan.
Visitors were impressed with the show's six halls of musical instruments and accessories.Mr Sakari Moisala, Managing Director of Finnish company Truebell Ltd was sourcing musicals products for European department stores."I find Music China is useful for me to mainly target Asian exhibitors which have a better competitive price for my sourcing. The idea of categorising different musical instruments in the halls is really good for me to source the things I want more easily."
Mr Sikky Jooma, Director and General Manager, Distribution for MIDI Music was visiting the show from South Africa."As an exporter of musical instruments like drum sets, guitars and electrical guitars from South Africa to the Asian market, I focus more on Chinese and Asian exhibitors," he said. "The show is a lot bigger in size and more professional than my last visit in 2008."
Japanese visitors Mr Yutaka Kurihara, President of Toyo Gakki Co Ltd, a manufacturers association, and Mr Masahiro Uchimoto, Assistant Manager of the Japan Musical Instruments Association representing retailers, manufacturers and distributors, were visiting the show to research the feasibility of organising a Japanese pavilion for next year's show."Our members are very confident about Music China as the purchasing power of China is getting stronger and stronger," said Mr Uchimoto."We believe our high quality Japan made products will be able to accommodate the high consumption level in China."
Educational seminars and daily music events draw large attendances
A diverse range of fringe programmes to cater all for the many different Chinese and international music sectors were held during Music China.
NAMM University presented interview discussions and seminars for distributors, dealers and retailers which looked at important MI issues."We had around 1,000 people attend the nine NAMM University sessions," explained Ms Betty Heywood, Director of International Affairs for NAMM."It's good to know that for many trade visitors attending the sessions is fast becoming a must. There were eight hands-on "How to" sessions to share best business practices and speakers included leading Chinese, US and UK retailers as well as manufacturers and distributors.Particularly interesting, with standing room only, were sessions on music teacher training and lessons learnt from the current recession.What's more, our "Pearls of Wisdom - Insights from Industry Insiders" session featured six international speakers, including Chinese manufacturers and retailers and guests from the US and Spain.All sessions were very well received, with lively question and answer sessions."
Ms Mo Beiqian, Chairman of Qingdao Haiyun Musical Instruments, China was one of the speakers at the "How to" series of seminars.Her topic was "How to build up a brand step by step".She said it was important to share industry insights, especially with Chinese SMEs that don't have enough capital to fully develop. "The forum helps them to obtain useful inspiration and success stories from the speakers. Attending the NAMM university forum for five years, I can tell the attendance and responses have grown a lot and that the university forum has become a networking place for China's retailers."
The Principal Forum and Retailer Forums were aimed at retailers and conservatory officials from China.Principal Forum speaker Mr Sun-man Tseng, Arts Management Educator and Consultant from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council said it was important to have educational forums at Music China."It highlights the educational purpose of the music industry which can give Music China a higher level of visitors as the show is no longer just a trade show, but an educational show as well."
CMIA Retailer Forum speaker Mr Feng Yuankai, Director of Information Department from the China Music Instrument Association added: "The forum is very useful to the industry as it not only provides market news but it also helps provide a chance for social networking."
