The Audio Engineering Society has announced that its recent 155th international convention in New York City at the Javits Center had more than 8,100 registered attendees, an increase in attendance of 15 percent in comparison to last year’s event.
AES NY 2023 was again co-located with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, and collectively they attracted 20,000-plus registrants. AES also reported 127 exhibitors in the convention center.
Attendee JW Newson remarks, “Through AES, the convention has made a huge, prolific impact on my life In addition to networking, seeing individuals at a high level who not only look like me, think like me, and think differently, it allows us all to come together to be free.”
The 2023 convention also had more than 500 individuals delivering over 250 tutorials, workshops, paper presentations, and panel discussions covering the landscape of professional audio. Topics covered included applications and best practices, case studies and historical perspectives from venerated audio pioneers, equipment and software developments, and innovations in both fundamental and emerging technologies with deep dives into AI audio applications and immersive audio.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Hank Shocklee served as keynote speaker, talking with award-winning producer/engineer AES governor Prince Charles Alexander to discuss the creative uses of audio that enabled hip-hop and how the growth of the genre fueled further audio innovation. The keynote set the stage for additional celebratory special sessions that further explored hip-hop’s history across decades and its lasting impact on audio production.
Last year’s AES convention and NAB Show New York shared an exhibition hall. This year, AES’s 20-plus percent growth in the exhibitor count, and the resulting bigger footprint, pushed each group back into their own halls.
“We were socked in with attendees from open to close during the sonvention,” says Eventide general manager and AES fellow/Gold Medal recipient Tony Agnello. “There’s nothing virtual that can replace the hands-on opportunities for attendees and the face-to-face interaction with members of our society. Simply put, the AES show floor delivers.”
“We celebrated the vibrant spirit of our Society and paid homage to a remarkable seven-and-a-half decades of audio innovation and collaboration,” adds AES president Bruce Olson. “The impact that the AES has made on what the world hears can’t be overstated. The convention was mesmerizing. The gathering in one space of thousands of audio professionals that share a true passion for the industry is a truly uplifting experience.”
The next AES International Convention will be held in Madrid, Spain, June 15-17, 2024. AES will return to New York’s Javits Center in October 2024.
