Manufacturers of Major Music Product Brands Sign Up Early to Exhibit at NAMM Musikmesse Russia and Prolight + Sound NAMM Russia

NAMM and Messe Frankfurt announced today that dozens of manufacturers and distributors of major music product brands have already confirmed their exhibit space and attendance at the two new international music product trade shows being held in Moscow, Russia called NAMM Musikmesse Russia and Prolight + Sound NAMM Russia.

“Both shows see considerable interest in the industry at an early stage: Already set to exhibit in their individual booths are companies including Roland, Sennheiser, Hal Leonard, Taylor Guitars; Karl Hoefner, Manuel Rodriguez and Martin Pro Lighting. In addition, distributors will be representing companies such as Kawai, Ernie Ball, Vari-Lite, Clay Paky, Allen & Heath and many others at the Moscow-based shows,” said Cordelia von Gymnich, vice president Messe Frankfurt.

The shows will be held for the first time at Moscow’s Expo Centre May 16-19, 2012, and the exhibitors that have signed up to participate are eager to experience the magnitude of opportunities for the music product and entertainment technology industry that exist in the Russian marketplace.

The volume of the Russian musical instruments and technologies market is estimated at 450 million U.S. dollars. In 2010, imports in some product segments increased by 36.3 percent compared to the previous year.

According to NAMM’s Director of International Affairs Betty Heywood, the Russian musical market is potentially the largest in Europe, and is characterized by a large population of around 145 million people, developed musical culture, and recent sustainable growth trends.

“Russia alone has more than 5,000 music schools for children,” Heywood said. “Often, the schools have old and unsuitable instruments that need to be replaced. The show’s targeted areas of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS] present a market of almost 300 million consumers who are mostly sophisticated, discerning consumers in the upper-middle income bracket.”

Part of the proceeds from the shows will be reinvested in professional development courses to support development of the Russian musical instruments and technologies market, in addition to initiating future advocacy efforts to ease trade regulations with Russia.

The trade shows are being co-produced by Messe Frankfurt, producers of the International Musikmesse, Music China, Prolight + Sound, and Prolight + Sound Shanghai, and NAMM International, subsidiary producer of the NAMM Show and Summer NAMM.

Both partners have many years of experience in organizing fairs for the musical instrument, pro audio and entertainment technology sectors. NAMM and Messe Frankfurt have been successfully cooperating on the Music China show in Shanghai since 2006.

“We are the world’s largest printed music publisher representing many composers, artists, publications and products on a global basis,” said Mark Mumford, director of European sales and marketing at Hal Leonard Corporation. “We believe that the Russian and CIS music markets have the potential to be a vibrant growth environment for our business. There is a vast music-making community across all genres and without doubt there is an opportunity to increase the accessibility to the great music that we publish and to be part of an ongoing rich and developed musical culture.”

“Roland is one of the leading manufacturers of digital music instruments and equipment in the world,” said Vadim Kuznetsov, head of the marketing department at Roland. “Every year our corporation presents the latest novelties of the music industry during the Winter NAMM Show in California and at Musikmesse in Germany. We are glad that in May 2012, NAMM Musikmesse Russia and Prolight + Sound NAMM Russia will give us an opportunity to present our instruments and technologies to the Russian audience. We hope that experience and expertise of such serious show organizers such as NAMM and Messe Frankfurt will help the Russian music market reach a new level of quality.”

“Our company is representing world-famous manufacturers of music instruments and DJ equipment in Russia including Allen & Heath, Audio-Technica, QSC Audio Products, Denon DJ, Denon & Marantz Pro, Rocktron, Markbass, Dean Guitars and more,” said Dmitry Modin, managing director of Mix Art Distribution. “All of those companies are considering the Russian market as one of the most promising in the world, and we are sharing their opinion. We hope that NAMM Musikmesse Russia and Prolight + Sound NAMM Russia will become new professional platforms of high quality for the Russian music industry, and moreover will influence development of this industry sector in Russia.”

For more information about the audiences, benefits, and the services offered to create a successful event in Russia, or for information on how to sign up to exhibit at either of the trade shows, visit www.namm-musikmesse.ru or www.prolight-namm.ru.

Background Information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser, with 457* million euros in sales and 1,769* active employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international sales partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2011, Messe Frankfurt organised 101 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.

Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Center. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent. For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com.

* Preliminary numbers (2011)

About NAMM
NAMM is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion international musical instruments and products industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM or the proven benefits of making music, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).