Hence the music trade fair states it was able to match last year's results. At the same time Musikmesse 2012 shows a dip in attendance of more than 6,000. This year's show attracted 68,587 visitors, a decline of 6,624 on last year's attendance of 75,211, continuing the trend from 2010 which saw 77,609 visitors.

Whereas 75 percent of exhibitors at Musikmesse 2011 rated the economic situation as being satisfactory to good, the figure for this year is somewhat lower at 72 percent.

From the exhibitors' point of view, the fair gained ground particularly in terms of visitor quality. The percentage of visitors with decision-making authority increased by 3 percent points to 36 percent.

Frankfurt Music Prize
On the eve of the fair, Musikmesse was officially opened with the PRG Live Entertainment Award Gala event in the Festhalle of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre. During the Gala Evening guitarist and composer John McLaughlin was presented with the Frankfurt Music Prize for his services to music making.

This year's presentations focused on the manufacturers' attention to detail, and several companies stood out with well thought-out innovations, such as the Airlifter hardware from DW and the Jojo Mayer Signature Bassdrum Pedal from Sonor.

It is evident that more and more companies are banking on custom drums, which means that young drummers can put together their sets to suit their own requirements and, to a certain extent, give the set that personal touch.

Many manufacturers also believe that less is sometimes more and have reduced the number of models to make their portfolios more transparent.

There were some new cymbal series to be seen. And there have been changes in the world of e-drums too, with Roland, for example, having renewed its complete range.

On the percussion side, cajóns continue to be in. Indeed, some manufacturers, such as Meinl and Sonor, have gone over to making high-quality instruments with special features or supplementary elements.