Music China 2020, jointly organized by China Musical Instrument Association, Shanghai Intex Exhibition Co., Ltd and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd., was successfully held during October 28^th to 31^st at Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Continuously developed into a globalized, digitalized, and diversified trade show, Music China has been making each effort to empower a dual circulation development pattern and open new prospects against the situation.

1. Overview

With 19 years of history, Music China has become the biggest and one of the must-attend international trade show for musical instrument industry that integrates commercial trade, music education, and cultural sectors.

Music China 2020 recorded the exhibition area of 100,000 square meters, with a total number of 1,106 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions including Estonia, Austria, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, United States, Japan, Spain, Singapore, Italy, United Kingdom, North Korea, China, Hong Kong (China) and Chinese Taipei. The four-day trade show drew 81, 761 visitors, totaling 97,593 visits onsite and over 1.62 million visits online.

2. Exhibitors

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Music China hosted 1,106 exhibitors from both home and abroad who brought their latest products upgraded in technology, design or brand. For example, Kayserburg Piano exhibited China’s first 3D-printed piano in fantastic color and style; Gibson not only brought its high-end custom brand “Gibson Custom Shop M2M”, and also launched Epiphone’s new series of products on Music China; Dunhuang, as China’s top brand of traditional musical instruments, displayed its brand-new rose ebony gu zheng named “Beautiful Life”, inspired by the saying that “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”.

All those innovative products gathering on Music China make it a one-stop platform for practitioners and music lovers to get the overall perspective of the industry, and to enjoy the feast of music culture.

3. Concurrent Events

Music China not only features a professional platform for exhibitors to showcase their brands and products, but also a series of concurrent events covering music business, education and culture.

As one of the trade show’s blockbuster programs, the New Product Global Launch is aimed at creating a cluster of innovation in the traditional musical instrument industry. This year, a professional panel of judges including experts, educators, performers and media has selected 26 Recommended Products and 53 Short-listed New Products out of hundreds of candidates, all of which enjoyed high exposure both onsite and online.

The annual National Music Education Conference was held on Music China this year, hosting over 70 experts and scholars on music education. Keynote speeches, seminars, and workshops were delivered to 498 teaching staffs from 19 provinces and cities, making it a fruitful conference for all education practitioners.

The Mater Classes this year gathered masters and musicians to spread the essence of both western and Chinese music, presenting the charm of music transcending national borders and inspiring the audiences to get immersed in the beauty of music.

The International MIDI Forum and the International Electronic Music Competition invited specialists to share their opinions on application and prospect of MIDI 2.0, leading China’s MIDI industry and products to keep pace with the world’s latest trend.

4. Media Releases

Music China has accumulated a data base of nearly 600,000 audiences, covering global dealers, music colleges, performance groups, musicians and music lovers. At the same time, the organizer has established a set of self-media platforms including official website, official WeChat, Weibo and short video accounts. Through direct mail, email subscription, SMS, telephone invitation, self-media platform tweets and other methods, Music China has been sending tailored information to different audience groups.

Meanwhile, Music China has adopted a diversified new media marketing model, employing a media matrix covering web portals, search engines, news releases, advertising, KOL cooperation and other omni-directional marketing channels. With the upsurge of short videos and live broadcasts, the trade show also made a bold attempt, inviting media reporters and internet celebrities to explore the highlights of the show and post on short videos and live broadcasts platforms.

While maintaining the publicity of well-known domestic media, the trade show has also increased the coverage of international media, enhancing the internationality and professionalism of the show.

5. Trade Docking

In order to enhance trade docking, Music China has organized over 40 high-quality professional purchasing groups consists of dealers, music schools and performance groups. The organizer customized visiting route for each group, upgrading the experience of professional buyers and also empowering more efficient trade docking.

For domestic and overseas buyers and sellers unable to attend the show, the organizer leveraged its global network and organized over 20 online matchmaking meetings with attendees from over 10 countries and regions. Under the circumstance of the epidemic, this innovative online matchmaking method has seen great results and unlocked new potentials for both domestic and overseas musical instrument companies.

Furthermore, the organizer has increased investment in building online exhibition platform that integrates live broadcasts, online matchmaking and VR exhibition,  in order to effectively make up for the impact of the global epidemic. Within four days of online exhibition, there were a total of 1.62 million views through the online exhibition platforms.

Music China 2020 has come to a successful end. This year is particularly difficult for all sides of participants. Hereby Music China sincerely thanks everyone who has been supporting the show. In 2021, Music China will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. We look forward to seeing you again at Shanghai New International Expo Center on October 13 to 16, 2021!

Music China Organizing Committee
December, 2020