Music China gears up to celebrate its 20th anniversary in October

21 aprile 2021

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Music China, which will be
held from 13 – 16 October 2021 at the Shanghai New International
Expo Centre. With an exhibition space of 115,000 sqm spreading
across 10 halls, Music China is gathering momentum as it steps
towards its major milestone, with a large contingent of leading
brands already confirmed to exhibit at the anniversary edition.

Over the last two decades, the show has developed from a humble event
with 274 exhibitors into what is today one of the world’s largest trade
fairs for musical instruments, reflecting the show’s strong commitment in
delivering an effective platform for exhibitors and visitors to extend their
reach locally and internationally.

Ms Judy Cheung, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd,
is proud to see how Music China has expanded in importance and in
size over the years, commenting: “Since its launch in 2002, Music China
has grown from strength to strength, and has quickly established itself as
a renowned trade platform within the musical instrument industry,
confirming the show’s overall strength in generating meaningful business
results for both local and overseas industry players, as well as providing
an ideal destination for brand building, education and networking. Music
China offers a unique platform which is indispensable and irreplaceable.”

To help participants seize every possible business opportunity, this
year’s Music China has added a “recording and studio equipment”
category to enhance its product profile and open doors in the live
streaming market, which has soared in popularity in China. Ms Cheung
explained: “Taking into account the synergies between live streaming,
recording and musical instruments, we hope to extend the product scope
to help participants capture emerging business opportunities.” It is
anticipated that the new addition will attract musicians, musical
instrument teachers, artists, music lovers and KOLs to explore new
business prospects with suppliers at the show.

Piano and violin segments remain strong at Music China

China's music education market exceeded USD 15 billion¹ in 2020, and
is expected to maintain a growth rate of 8% annually. In particular, the
Chinese piano industry is a huge and growing business. In recent
decades piano learning has become increasingly popular, particularly
among children. According to recent research there are currently more
than 30 million² children in China who are learning to play piano, with an
annual growth rate of around 10%. Likewise, the growing popularity of
western classical music has also created vast potential for the violin
industry in the Chinese market.

Piano has been Music China’s largest exhibition area followed by violin
for a number of years. Yamaha Music & Electronics (China) Co Ltd is
one of the fair’s loyal exhibitors and they will continue to provide a
welcoming showcase area for visitors to try out their collection of finest
pianos at the 2021 show. Mr Takuya Kosaka, Senior Manager of the
company’s Piano Division Marketing Department is confident about both
the industry outlook and the prospects for Music China. He said:
“Although the market has been affected by the pandemic, the overall
recovery has exceeded expectations. Music China is a great platform
that connects manufacturers, retailers, music academies, artists and
consumers under one roof where all parties can communicate directly.”

The company has been busy turning challenges into an opportunity. He
explained: “People have been faced with the difficulties of being
homebound during the pandemic. Yamaha’s Remote Lesson technology
can facilitate the simultaneous performance of two Disklavier pianos
separated by thousands of miles.” The advanced technology enables
every key stroke to be reproduced remotely in real time on a Disklavier
piano on the other side of the world, creating a “being on the scene”
experience. He added: “Thanks to this technology, Chinese piano
learners are now able to receive ‘masterclass’ lessons taught by
overseas teachers. This technology has received a lot of attention. We
hope to continue to make use of this technology to contribute to the
music and culture market in China.”

The pandemic has also presented people with the opportunity to
reevaluate the importance of personal interaction. C A Goetz jr GmbH is
a manufacturer of high-quality violins in Germany. Dr Simon Goetz, the
company’s Managing Director said: “Overall we saw a surge of demand
for musical instruments last year and this continues without any sign of a
slowdown. We also saw a small but significant renaissance of music
making especially in the classical sector. Social contacts are valued
much more than before due to people’s experience during the pandemic.
Music making is very much based on social interaction because people
enjoy and experience music with friends, fellow musicians, or the public.
Given the collective isolation experienced globally in previous months,
we expect people to put a premium on social contact as well as music
making, even after the pandemic. Last year, we already started to build
up capacity, staff and resources to fulfil demand.”

The company has confirmed their participation at this year’s show and
they will introduce their newly launched Bohemia Violin, which combines
traditional craftsmanship and modern design. “Our current assumption is
that vaccinations will enable us to attend Music China and travel
restrictions will be eased,” added Dr Goetz.

“In the beginning, Music China was a ‘sourcing’ trade show in Asia, now
it has become a truly global platform for relationship building. In the last
five to six years, Music China has changed dramatically. We are able to
meet most of our European, US, South American as well as our Chinese
and Asian customers and partners at the show. For us in the classical
strings segment, Music China is the most important global business
platform,” Dr Goetz further explained.

The scale of the Chinese market is difficult to find elsewhere

The musical instrument industry is gradually recovering from the effects
of the pandemic. In fact, in the second half of 2020, the import value of
musical instruments and accessories in China saw a significant increase
– a rise of nearly 40% in November when compared to July. From
January to November 2020, the total import value reached USD 394
million³. In addition, the subject of music has become mandatory for
secondary school entrance examinations in some areas of China. It’s
expected that music will play a more significant educational and
economic role in the Chinese market, in tandem with the population’s
rising purchasing power. As such, both domestic and overseas industry
players see Music China as an ideal gateway to tap into the huge market
potential in the country.

Music China is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, the China
Musical Instruments Association and Shanghai Intex Exhibition Co Ltd.
The organisers will closely monitor the pandemic situation and will strictly
follow the local government’s protection guidelines.

For more details, visit www.musikmesse-china.com or email the
show’s organisers at music@hongkong.messefrankfurt.com.

More pressinformation and photographic material can be found here: https://musicchina.hk.messefrankfurt.com/shanghai/en/press/press-releases.html.

Other shows under the Musikmesse brand include:

NAMM Musikmesse Russia
16 – 18 September 2021, Moscow

Musikmesse
Spring 2022, Frankfurt

¹Music Row Business, http://qhjyb.cn/html/fp/103.html, retrieved February 2021.
² Daxue Consulting, https://daxueconsulting.com/music-education-industry, retrieved June 2020.
³China Customs

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