In September 2017, the AMA inaugurated the Australian Music Products (AMP) Conference at Seaworld from Sunday 3rd to Tuesday 5th September at Seaworld Resort on the Gold Coast. The Conference celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the AMA’s incorporation, and featured key-note speakers, workshops, professional development sessions, face-to-face time for wholesalers and retailers, a Conference Dinner, Honour Roll inductions awarded to Margaret O’Loughlin and Ross Cole.

 

The Melbourne Guitar Show

The Australian Music Association also promotes to the end user with events like The Melbourne Guitar Show next scheduled for August 1 & 2, 2020.

 

Check out the highlights reel of the 2016 Show

 

The Sydney Drum & Percussion Show was a big bang success in its first outing in Sydney at the Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on May 27 & 28. The event is now on the industry’s annual calendar with the next coming up on May 12 & 13 2018.

Check out the highlights reel

A Brief History of Music Product Trade Shows in Australia

The history of music trade shows goes back to the 70’s when the formal wholesale and retail structure of the industry was establishing itself. These trade shows were usually in major hotels such as the Hilton Hotel. In the 1980’s the Executive Committee of the Australian Music Association broadened the focus to include promoting musical instruments and music making to the general public as well as to their dealers.

The Trade and Public hybrid trade shows continued on through to the late 90’s when several large shows attracting crowds of 15,000 were held at Sydney’s Convention Centre at Darling Harbour under the name of The Australian International Music Show.

From 1999 the industry’s trade show was redesigned for a ‘trade only’ attendance and The Australian Music Association Convention or AMAC was born. AMAC has continued through 2014 providing an important meeting for suppliers and retailers. The Event is in recess at present, while end-user promotions are staged and the association is working on a new model for the trade in 15-16.

More recently the AMA has focused on ‘public’ music shows.