Musical instruments event kicks off in Shanghai

Music China, which kicked off in Shanghai on Oct 11, has once again confirmed its position as Asia Pacific's most influential music industry event by setting a record exhibition area of 86,000 square meters.

The four-day event displays various kinds of musical instruments from 1,586 exhibitors in more than 30 countries and regions, such as pianos, brass, stringed, percussion, woodwind, electronics and electric instruments.

The show, co-sponsored by the China Musical Instrument Association, INTEX Shanghai Co Ltd and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd and held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, has attracted pavilions from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

"Music China continues to reflect the very fast growing music industry market in China and Asia as increasing numbers of music lovers from all genres want higher-quality domestic and international products," said Evan Sha, deputy general manager of Messe Frankfurt Shanghai Co Ltd.

"This market trend is opening up more business opportunities for music industry suppliers," Sha said.

His words were echoed by Yan Minjie, a spokeswoman from INTEX Shanghai Co Ltd, who said that the show will surely stimulate the growing demand for musical instruments on the Chinese market, adding that the country has witnessed an increase of trade in the sector.

Customs data showed that China generated a musical instrument trade volume of $898 million in the first half of the year, up 13.68 percent over the same period last year.

Products were exported to 166 countries and regions with most of them sold to Asia, North America and Europe, Yan said.

China now has about 5,000 musical instrument makers, which produce 24 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) worth of products annually. Its annual sales reach 40 billion yuan, accounting for 11 percent of the global market.

The show is running simultaneously with Prolight and Sound Shanghai, Asia Pacific's leading event for pro-audio, lighting, entertainment and event technology, with more than 400 exhibitors in attendance.