Last month, I made the statement that money makes the world go round. Maybe I was being hasty in that, but with our staff having endured two not-too-coincident overlapping tradeshows this month (NAB and Musikmesse/Prolight + Sound) on two very separate locations — Frankfurt and Las Vegas — I think that the phrase should be “tradeshows make the world go round.” And maybe there’s a lot — or at least a bit — of truth in that.
Not that I have anything against tradeshows. In fact, I really enjoy the idea of some segment of our industry getting together on a regular basis and exchanging ideas, opinions and concepts, even if we only see each other in Hall C or Hall 8.0 or some other location a couple times a year. I even have a number of industry friends that I only see at tradeshows, often standing in an exhibit booth that’s decorated with carefully finished columns that resemble marble, or Formica wall panels made to resemble diamond plate steel.
It’s all fake of course, but when you live in an industry driven by set pieces, stage flats, fog machines, drapes and blackout curtains, then where do we draw the line between reality and fakery? And a couple days later, the screwguns go to work: That high-tech looking backdrop is knocked down, packed up and shipped out and the site where once we feasted our eyes on the latest audio/lighting/video/music technology is ready to be transformed into the “New Age Cookware and Brine Shrimp Farming Expo 2015.”
Insiders know that the real action at any tradeshow typically happens at the hotel bar or in chance meetings in the taxi line. And such impromptu interactions are often a major “off campus” force at these tradeshows. But kissing off the show floor itself would be a seriously bad idea, at it provides an excellent opportunity to talk to companies on a one-to-one basic, perhaps get some questions answered and get a feel for any new technologies you might be incorporating into your future systems.
The All-Important Demo
Demo rooms are perhaps more essential to sound reinforcement buyers than prospective purchasers in other segments of our industry. And while, a converted hotel/convention center ballroom or meeting area hardly equates to a real-life situation, it’s a seriously significant improvement over trying to access line array performance on the show floor. Alternatives during any trade show might be an off campus event, perhaps a setup at a local sound company or venue. These may come in the form of a one-on-one listening event — bring your own copy of The Nightfly — or as a sponsored evening concert, perhaps with some close up and personal time available before the doors open for checking a system out.
Certainly, the best scenario of all is setting up post-show visitations at your own facility, where you can really demo the gear in a familiar environment, whether on your own schedule or a single-day event as part of a manufacturer’s traveling roadshow.
In terms of more technology-intensive items like consoles, I’m always impressed by how easy, smooth and slick a manufacturer demo can be, as they smoothly walk through features and functions. Yet more often than not, it’s no surprise that when I get that same piece of gear on my own, the acclimation process is always a lot slower — “now, exactly where was that channel matrix routing assignment page, anyway?”
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that tradeshows are the ultimate be-all/end-all as a source of education and enlightenment, and there are plenty of other resources available for the caring and sharing of information. These range from trade magazines (like FRONT of HOUSE, of course), to online videos, traveling manufacturer events, web forums (here, proaudiospace.com comes to mind) and even places like Facebook. Yet you really can’t beat the tradeshow environment as a means of packing a whole lot of information, contacts and experiences into what always is a matter of a few very compressed number of days (and nights).
InfoComm: On Deck
Speaking of tradeshows, check out our comprehensive coverage of the sound reinforcement highlights of the 2015 Prolight + Sound show.
And barely a month away is InfoComm (this year in Orlando), offering conference and training sessions from June 13 to 19 and exhibits from June 17 to 19, with the audio demo rooms offered from June 16 to 19.
FRONT of HOUSE readers can register for a free exhibits-only badge at www.infocommshow.org, using the VIP code “FOH” for your free exhibits pass. Hope to see you there!
