Once a mandatory gathering and the international home of event and entertainment professionals, Prolight + Sound took place from April 25 to 28, 2023. The trade show had its lowest moment last year, allowing Messe Frankfurt to claim that the show is "back on the growth track."

I attended the show and during my last hours at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt, the main question in my mind was “does this show still have a chance?” Walking around the two huge halls filled with lighting and staging products, the answer was a resounding yes. There was something for every staging need. Truss systems, flight-cases, stage products, lighting control, media servers, moving heads, spotlights, follow-spots, projectors, LED products, and water, fog, and flame effects. Everything needed for a show production was there.

The Robe booth was particularly impressive, running a show five times a day, expanded with a 45ft show truck parked outside Hall 12 providing an additional mobile showroom/studio and meeting areas. The Czech lighting brand alone (plus its adjacent brands Anolis and Artistic Licence) had enough people involved to fill the hall, with its full international team from all over Europe, and the rest of the world, meeting its worldwide distribution network and guests from every continent including leading lighting designers.

This was always a unique aspect of the Frankfurt show, where all leading lighting and stage brands were present, welcoming a very professional international attendance. The same once happened at the "sound" part of the Prolight show.

There, it was another story altogether. In the past, if you considered yourself a major player in this market, you had to be there. And yes, many of those brands were at ISE in Barcelona earlier this year, and not here in Frankfurt. Of course, there was some clever compensation in the form of a strong conference program, including sessions focused on networked AV media technology, and workshops for sound technicians provided by the German Tonmeister Association (VDT).

And there was also an exhibition of vintage PA and mixing equipment. The analog forest of knobs and buttons brought a smile to many faces. The well-maintained range of loudspeakers on display and lectures regarding this equipment were very well received. The "Vintage Concert Audio Show" presented more than 200 pieces of equipment and systems from the concert audio history of the last 50 years.

But nothing could hide the fact that the audio hall could be busier. Or that there were very few exhibitors. Same as last year, the companies that were there did good business. The stands were always full and business was brisk. Meyer Sound, L-Acoustic, Riedel, and Lawo were all there and made the best of it. With less pressure from larger companies, and less competition, there was also an opportunity for smaller brands to step into the spotlight.

French company GC Audio showed its “Inherit” system, an audio device that allows you to “hot plug” many models of preamplifiers into a single 19" rack. Unlike other modular formats, it allows the implementation of high-voltage or high-current multiple-voltage preamplification technologies, enabling users to test a wide range of sounds. It is a premium device specialized in sound recording for sound engineers who want an uncompromising result.

The spotlight was also on the Chinese companies. This year they were out in force, filling the spaces left empty by the European manufacturers that once filled several halls. While a lot of electronics and audio products manufacturing is done in China, the pro audio industry continues to be dominated by manufacturers that have full control of their in-house production, allowing the leading brands from Europe and the US to dominate the global entertainment industry. Not surprisingly, attendees still show reluctance to do direct business with Chinese companies. As one visitor said: “Ist es wirlich TÜV geprüft?” (Is it really TÜV (German safety standard) tested?).

Exhibiting at an international show is expensive. The cost of just being there with a booth, materials, and people is high. If a show happens to take place nearby, it doesn't matter so much where it is held. For individual customers, the situation may be quite different. Frankfurt, with one of the most important airports in Europe, the high-quality German autobahn network and its location in the center of Europe, makes Messe Frankfurt an ideal location.

In contrast, although the city of Barcelona might be very nice, and the exhibition center very good, its location in the lower left-hand corner of Europe makes it a less favorable location. With the increasingly higher cost of travel, particularly flights, location does matter.

Talking to the organizers of the Prolight + Sound show, they confirm that more needs to be done to keep (and grow!) business in Frankfurt.

The main question remains “where do your customers come from?” If the answer is mainly from the northern part of Europe, then Prolight still has a chance of regaining the Sound part. At least the pro audio part since the show’s lightning and stage industry is happy to stay in Frankfurt.

If the northern part of Europe is important, your customers will appreciate the fact that the show is a couple of hours away by car, and if you drive an hour, the hotel costs are reasonable again. And that's also one of the reasons why regional shows have been expanding. Just prior to the pandemic, the local Dutch CUE show in the city of Rotterdam was doing very well. Next year, taking place from January 15 to 17, the event is certain to regain the attention of the event industry, creating another alternative.

The large analog consoles on display were also a great reminder of how things have become so much easier for everyone working in live sound these days.

With ISE set to expand with the introduction of an additional hall dedicated to lighting products, the fate of Prolight + Sound will be determined next year. It will also depend largely on what Messe Frankfurt decides to do to attract the major players in the event industry and performing arts.

Prolight + Sound 2024 will take place from March 19 to 22, a month earlier. Messe Frankfurt says this new date is in response to the event and entertainment technology industry represented at Prolight (the original calendar has always been determined by Musikmesse, conditioned by the school calendar and Easter holidays).

And yet, the Prolight segment alone and all the stage technology will always be missing one ingredient... artists. The performers and entertainers are the reason for all the equipment on show. In the past, Prolight + Sound was renowned for the artists that attended and for many notable performances. But not this year. Light shows are impressive but they are sterile demonstrations of equipment with mannequins and stand-ins in place of the real performers.


At the end of September this year there will be a three-day Guitar Summit in Mannheim, Germany, not far from Frankfurt. An event that in the past would have fit perfectly in Frankfurt. One of the largest and most vibrant synthesizer events in the world, Superbooth, will take place May 11 to 13 in Berlin. There are drum shows scattered all over Europe. Maybe if all these musicians could attend Prolight + Sound, live entertainment could be back on stage, the lighting companies would have something at which to point their spotlights, and audio companies would have a reason to remain engaged.

Maybe they could even call this initiative Musikmesse...

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