Thread: RMAF is Cancelled Forever - so sad

BUMMER!!!

Official Announcement:

“A year and a half ago, our hearts were aching as we made the hard decision to cancel our 2020 show. Back then, we somehow imagined that as a country, we could band together and transcend COVID-19, and our lives could return to normal. We hoped we could ride out a year in isolation and emerge healthy and ready to gather again. Here at RMAF, we spent the year improving our business by producing new room layouts with all the outlets marked, and created a handbook to guide exhibitors as they learned yet again to navigate their exhibitor accounts. We imagined ourselves enthusiastically greeting our audio industry friends in a few weeks, and we’ve held onto that dream in spite of our nervous fears and scary news reports.


Even though some parts of the United States are fully open, the number of people contracting the virus, and the number of deaths attributed to it are still rising, and the CDC is projecting an even more deadly Lambda wave this fall. We are frightened on behalf of our friends in the audio industry on many levels. The very worst thing that we can envision is for someone to fall ill because they came to our show, whether as an exhibitor, a journalist, an attendee, or a volunteer. Good health is a precious gift, and we are learning that although recovery is possible, the residual effects of COVID-19 and its variants can be profound, and we are unwilling to risk even one case. Up until now, we have held onto the possibility that our October show could be produced as planned. After reading and listening to the news concerning the Coronavirus pandemic, and watching the cancellation of numerous other shows, we no longer hold that hope. In spite of our initial optimism, we have read and listened to all of your thoughtful comments and then looked at the numbers and made the difficult decision to cancel RMAF 2021.


As is our policy, RMAF will be issuing refunds to those exhibitors who have made payments for their rooms. We understand that in times such as these, finances can be a delicate balance, so you may expect to see your refund within the next 7 to 10 business days.



This has been a wrenching decision, and along with it comes the added impact of deciding that we are no longer able to envision RMAF as our hearts delight. RMAF was our founder Al Stiefel’s dream, and we’ve done our best to nurture his vision for 12 years, along with help from the Colorado Audio Society and all our volunteers from around the world. Now, we are off to new adventures! And so it is with both sadness and anticipation for the future, we announce that the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest as we have all known it will be no more. It has been our very great pleasure to have served this community of audio professionals. We have learned so much from you! Thank you for 17 years of friendship and support. It has meant more than you can possibly imagine.


We offer you our heartiest wishes for good health and great happiness.



Your Friends,

Marjorie and Marcie

Marjorie Baumert and Marcie Miller

Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest

October 8-10, 2021


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Sad

This is a sad announcement. Always enjoyed attending RMAF. Met some really good people and had the opportunity to explore many nice components.

Lastly, Marjorie and her team did a great job growing the show and taking it through some very difficult challenges. My appreciation for the hard work she and others put in to run this fantastic event for many years.

Marjorie is one of the best. RMAF I’ve said was always such a fun show. I wish they hadn’t moved to that big expensive new venue, but I think she didn’t have much choice with the current hotel.

Running a major show is a tremendous amount of work. It’s a big team effort that begins literally the week after the last show ends. The hotels can be tricky to work with. Most audio companies are small and it takes them time to evaluate their marketing and budget dollars.

I hope Marjorie can enjoy some well deserved vacation or retirement. Great lady.


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So many good times starting many years ago makes this a sad ending indeed.
Now that the end has come and I reflect on all of the fun in Denver the audio gear was only a small part of what conjures so many fond memories and experiences.

I totally understand the decision to end this historic show, but the reason to do so highlights a very low point in our world.

To be honest I think shows like this are all dying out. Car, audio, boat shows. I am not sure if they still serve a purpose. They cost a lot of money for the distributors without any return on investment.

Companies that make a living running those events cannot operate without any income. Just imagine how your company would be doing after 24 months with ZERO income. I feel sorry for the whole team.

Originally Posted by Mordante

To be honest I think shows like this are all dying out. Car, audio, boat shows. I am not sure if they still serve a purpose. They cost a lot of money for the distributors without any return on investment.

Many manufacturers see the trade shows as an alternative to magazines. Get your product in front of thousands of people instead of one reviewer. Shows offer an ability to demo your product in front of a large audience. A lot of start up brands or smaller brands also rely on the shows.


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Originally Posted by Mike

Many manufacturers see the trade shows as an alternative to magazines. Get your product in front of thousands of people instead of one reviewer. Shows offer an ability to demo your product in front of a large audience. A lot of start up brands or smaller brands also rely on the shows.


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Maybe it's a discussion for an other time. From what I have seen at the few shows in the Netherlands that is not the brands but the distributors that give the shows. It's a nice social gathering but it never sounds any good, regardless of how expensive or good the set is. Having a few hours to build a set, then show it for one or two days. That is not a recipe for a good sound. Especially with paper thin walls.

I have never been WoWed at a show. I do have negative feelings for brands because of shows because how bad they sound while being outrageously expensive.

bummer. and SoCal stupidly split into two shows next year due to politics so no real western region show. not good. its Axpona and everything else.

I had actually made a hotel reservation for Axpona in Oct. 2021, but that too was postponed once again.

I’ll really miss RMAF. Living in CO, it was the show I looked forward to every year. After a long career flying 250,000 miles a year I don’t hop on a plane unless I have to. I hope somebody picks up the ball to create another great Denver based show.