The way people listen to music has changed rapidly in broad swaths of society. One person in three listens with a laptop, one in four with a mobile phone, according to a BITKOM survey. The group sees a clear trend toward the networking of individual devices – and toward music from the "cloud." A change has also taken hold in music production: electronic instruments and software are turning the PC into a sound studio. Songs are marketed on the Internet, which has become a springboard for newcomers. But given the opportunities for easy distribution on the information highway, the musical world poses new challenges to the industry’s creative types, especially on the question of sustainable licensing models.

The keynote presentation CeBIT sounds! in the CeBIT life area will take up the latest IT trends on the music scene again in 2012. CeBIT sounds! has proven to be enormously popular and has set the pace for the digitized music world. New this year is a three-part division into the CeBIT C3 Conference, the exhibit area and the stage. This separation makes it possible to appeal to individual target groups and consider the various aspects of the music market in greater depth.

The CeBIT C3 Conference – Content Creativity Convergence is the expert forum where professionals from the music, TV/film, print/publishing and games discuss the convergence of media across industries and the consequences for content producers' revenue models. The combined expertise of the participants promises practical added-value, especially with answers to challenges like the problems with the licensing model.

The stage is benefiting from a significant expansion of the program. The VW Sound Foundation has stepped forward again as a main sponsor and plans to present both the hottest young talent and established musicians in 2012.

The exhibition area is the showcase for the most up-to-date trends from the audio/hifi, mobile device, music product, and hardware and software fields, not to mention Internet systems and digital instruments. Industry experts predict high growth rates in the field. The key market drivers are network-enabled devices, equipment with smart features, the establishment of high-quality sound formats – Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), Windows Media Audio (WMA) etc. – as well as the growing digitization of practically every area of life. The area’s proximity to the Smart Home, Web’n’Media, Games and Automotive areas is no accident. It aims to focus the attention of technology buffs, the press, retailers, purchasers, and Internet and creative businesses on the CeBIT life musical hotspot.