The whole world of entertainment technology and music business is coming together at Prolight+ Sound and Musikmesse in Frankfurt am Main from 2 to 5 April 2019.
Prolight+Sound 2019 will offer all visitors, either confirmed pros or newcomers to the sector, from the professional audio sector in particular, a variety of new highlights and product innovations from the industry’s key players.Read full list here.

For the first time since 2015, the two trade fairs are being held concurrently on all four days (Tuesday til Friday), to enhance the professional aspect of this event.

The two exhibitions will reinforce their synergies and reflect in an even more efficient way the demands and needs of the visitors and the worldwide market.

In 2018, Prolight+Sound and Musikmesse have once again registered a raise in the number of attendees from 152 countries.

Un nouveau Hall pour Prolight+Sound : les avantages

This year a new hall is being part of the general halls’ layout, including the Hall 12, used for the first time for this event. Brand new jewel of this architectural ensemble, it is the largest and more modern building in the whole Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre, with 33,600 sq. meters of brut surface offering first class surroundings for the presentation of highlights and product innovations from the industry’s key players in Pro audio, stage lighting and techniques, and entertainment tools in general.

Moreover, Hall 12 will complete the way the halls are linked together, allowing an easy access to Hall 8, dedicated to Pro audio, with only 130 meters walking distance. With this revised hall layout, Messe Frankfurt has responded to an important demand of exhibitors and visitors by locating the entire ‘Audio, Sound + Recording’ product segment in Hall 8.0, at ground level.

Previously, companies from this segment were to be found in different halls. Now, key players, including are concentrated together under the same roof.

Short walking distances between halls.

The Media technologies and LED sectors do keep their traditional space in Hall 4.0, with the addition of a dedicated space for projection and events security. Being the most central hall in the Exhibition Centre, it’s very close to the “Torhaus” entrance.
It is very close as well to the “Networking Area” situated in Hall 4.1, the new Business meeting point of the exhibition. It’s an elaborated meeting lounge, with conferences rooms and catering zones, hence offering excellent conditions for very professional discussions.

Knowing what is making the industry move

The needs related to modern productions are constantly growing and, as such, the requests to the professionals are more and more demanding. The Prolight+Sound seminars will offer precious information from industry experts.

New at Prolight+Sound 2019, CAVIS – Congress for Audio Visual Integrated Systems’ seminars. They will focus on the growing market of permanent installations, giving Prolight + Sound exhibitors a chance to present relevant products and projects.
Companies like ARRI, Audinate, ETC, Holoplot, Lightact and Meyer Sound have already confirmed their active participation.

From the triumph of IP-based transmission, via virtualised playout, to UHD streaming: new technological solutions are changing the sector at a rapid pace. The new Broadcast + Production Forum at Prolight + Sound, held on April 5th, provides a platform for these and other innovations and creates a contact point between companies, decision makers and users.
Manufacturers of products such as cameras, radio links, streaming encoders, picture mixers, broadcast panels and specialised audio applications have the chance to present their solutions in 45-minute lectures.

©Jean-Luc Valentin

Advanced Audio + Application Exchange (3AE), following last year’s successful première, is once again organising The Future of Audio + Music Technology programme on April 4th.

This event covers subjects that are set to have a decisive impact on the future of the music and event industry – from the use of mobile apps in studio and live settings, via blockchain technologies, to cloud-based DAWs.

The Immersive Technology Forum is held once again, and even extended to the whole four days. This new lecture programme gives you the opportunity to discover how to upgrade events through the inclusion of immersive experiences, how to earn money now and in the future with virtual-reality content, and where appropriate solutions can be used in 360° productions, with the help from Holoplot, L-Acoustics, Out Board, ShowTex and Visoso, amongst others.

©Robin Kirchner

For the first time, Prolight + Sound is cooperating with the organisers of the Sample Music Festival with top brands, such as Akai, Denon DJ, RANE, Ortofon and Mixars, making presentations on a special area of the foyer of Hall 4.0. Other companies, such as Ableton and Native Instruments are showing their new products within the framework of workshops and product demonstrations.
Well-known artists from the world of DJing, controllerism and turntablism, such as Beat Matazz, Clockwerk and S-Trix, will give visitors the chance to look over their shoulder at workshops and showcase. The official main sponsor of the ‘Sample Music Festival Area’ is Schenker Technologies.

With the Audio Makers Square, Prolight + Sound and Musikmesse are establishing a special area for the international DIY community. There, visitors will find everything for building audio equipment themselves and can take part in audio-builder workshops. The area is being organised by MakeProAudio GmbH and other partners.

Another première is the collaboration with the organisers of the Music Tech Fest. The programme includes an ‘Innovation Masterclass’ with award-winning composer Reeps One and the ‘MTF Labs’ where innovation leaders in the field of music production pass on their knowledge.

Rounding off the programme is a 24-hour ‘Trackathon’ at which up-and-coming young people produce and perform songs.
The ‘Trackathon’ is hosted by composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Martine-Nicole Rojina.

Prolight + Sound and VPLT will present the new format of the International Event Safety + Security Conference I-ESC on Wednesday, 3 April in Hall 4.0 at the circle stage.

International experts on event safety and security will discuss some of the topics currently confronting the event and live performance industry.
The new format includes plenty of opportunities for discussion and networking and presents three major topics in presentational form, three panels providing international insight and discussion, and satellite presentations that will contribute to your knowledge and expertise.
The keynote will be held by Dr. Donald Cooper from the Event Safety Alliance. The entire conference will be held in English and simultaneously translated into German.

Major highlight of this exhibition will be the Prolight+Sound Conferences (du 2 au 5 avril) with major industry topics, such as: education and training, normalisation and legals duties, and innovative of of technology, for Live productions, and installations as well.
Representatives and specialists from companies and associations such as Gerriets, Neumann & Müller, Showtex, I.T. University of Copenhagen, the German Entertainment Technologies Association (VPLT) and the European Event Centers Association (EVVC) will be present amongst the speakers.

Back to the Future (or the other way around)

A world première for visitors to Prolight + Sound and Musikmesse is the Vintage Concert Audio Show with milestones of concert PA systems from four decades.
Over 200 exhibits on a special area in Forum.0 will show what PA systems from the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties looked and sounded like. Bikers welcome (just joking).
Many of the vintage systems will be shown in action: on all days of the event, there will be a decade-linked audio panel discussion at which sound-engineers from that period explain the equipment used at that time and answer visitors’ questions.

They include ex-Prince studio engineer Hans-Martin Buff, Jon Caffery (Joy Division, Sex Pistols) and Michael Baur (Rammstein), and many more. Full program here.

More information on the Messe Frankfurt Website.