With the COVID pandemic picking up steam again as we approach Christmas and the end of Q4 2021, there are already rumblings about new show cancellations and the viability of industry trade shows going forward in these very uncertain times. When RMAF announced that it was throwing in the towel for good a few months ago, there was great concern that Denver was kaput as a hi-fi trade show destination unless someone either purchased the rights to RMAF or created their own show.
Good news arrived with the announcement that T.H.E. Show was launching their own new show in Denver for 2022 and that details would be forthcoming in Q1 2022.
CES 2022 is definitely going to happen in January even with the Omicron variant but the week ends with news that the Bristol 2022 Hi-Fi Show has been cancelled; a very bad development for manufacturers and audiophiles in Great Britain.
This is an industry that suffers from very poor outreach when it comes to younger music listeners and potential high-end customers so we’re rather curious to see where the new initiative from T.H.E. Show called “T.H.E. Group” goes over the next 12 months.
T.H.E. Show have announced the launch of their brand new specially curated initiative, T.H.E. Group. Born in the cauldron of the unprecedented COVID pandemic when audio shows were forced to shutter, T.H.E. Show’s President, Maurice Jung and Director of Marketing, Emiko Carlin hatched a plan to create a way to make the hi-fi, high end audio, and music community experiences available year round even if the whole world was stuck at home.
From this initial dialogue grew T.H.E. Group, a new community that offers its members highly curated VIP events (a la T.H.E. Show’s “X Marks the Spot” event at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood CA) in chosen cities across North America, a brand new Audio University, an exciting music spotlight series called “T.H.E. Artist of T.H.E. Month,” and Platinum Group Members will also receive a complimentary 90 day trial to Qobuz, T.H.E. Show’s high resolution music streaming service of choice.
David Solomon of Qobuz says, “ We love the unique and diverse engagement that this new initiative brings to the table. Qobuz is proud to be a part of this exciting new venture.”
“Our aim with T.H.E. Group is to change the narrative of hifi and audio, thus immediately reaching the next generation of music lovers and audiophiles,” says Director of Marketing Emiko Carlin. “We are thrilled that so many people around the world have been supporting T.H.E. Show and through the pandemic, we received so many messages and calls asking when we would be back. While we were the first show to re-open in the US in these COVID times, we know that our community wants so much more in addition to the wonderful audio shows that are held across the country and the world. That’s where T.H.E. Group comes in.”
Show President Maurice Jung remarked, “This is a critical time for our industry and T.H.E. Show is here to stay. But we can’t just stay put. We have to grow, to progress, and educate and encourage young people, and new folks to get into this hobby.
T.H.E. Group is the perfect way to do that.” Memberships to T.H.E. Group are available for $89 and $169 respectively and come with various perks that are listed on their website.
For more information, visit www.thegroup.life
