New York, NY (November 16, 2023)—The AES reports that more than 8,100 registered attendees and 127 exhibitors were onsite last month for the 155th Audio Engineering Society (AES) International Convention in New York City.
Participation jumped 15 percent over the 2022 convention, which was the first in-person event since the pandemic, the AES also reports. This year’s event was both a celebration of the society’s 75th anniversary and a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
AES NY 2023 was again co-located with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show New York. The events collectively attracted 20,000-plus registrants, packing the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan with media production professionals from all aspects of the broadcast, streaming, online, live, and recorded entertainment and information industries.
Seen on the Scene: AES 2023 in Photos
The 2023 AES Convention featured more than 500 audio pros delivering more than 250 tutorials, workshops, paper presentations, and panel discussions covering the expansive landscape of professional audio. Topics covered included applications and best practices, case studies and historical perspectives from audio pioneers, equipment and software developments, and innovations in both fundamental and emerging technologies with deep dives into AI audio applications and immersive audio.
Renowned hip-hop pioneer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Hank Shocklee served as keynote speaker, sitting down 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 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.
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.
