German Music Industry Sounds Positive

After years of falling sales, the German music industry is hoping for a turnaround at Frankfurt's annual Music international trade fair which opens its doors on Wednesday, organizers said. German instrument makers were able to report a 3.5-percent rise in sales to 413 million euros ($570 million) last year, even as specialist music retailers faced another year of stagnating sales, the industry association DVMW said. Between Wednesday and Saturday, a total 1,533 exhibitors from 50 different countries are scheduled to display more than 30,000 different instruments and gadgets to trade visitors. China will be strongly represented, with the number of Chinese exhibitors topping 100 for the first time. But Germany ranked first with a total 515 exhibitors, followed by the United States with 157 exhibitors and Italy with 127. On the list of events are concerts, from classical to hard rock, and around 250 different workshops.