Interview with Paul Kent, Organizer of MELD

Leander from Cult of Mac is here to chat with Paul Kent, the organizer of MELD, just before the show opens tomorrow. Leander has some questions about the upcoming event and wants to get a better understanding of what makes it unique.

The focus of this year's MELD has evolved, according to Paul. "We're an Apple fan lifestyle Show Business to Consumer," he explains. "It's one of the last populist open-to-the-public technology events, so that's really what's unique about this. It's really about people celebrating their enjoyment of Apple products through performances, product discovery, and learning how to use stuff better." Paul emphasizes that MELD is the ultimate fan event, with its mission being "to build something that's accessible for consumers."

One of the changes that MELD has made to accommodate a wider audience is changing the days it runs. Instead of taking place over three days, the show now only takes place on Thursday through Saturday. This, according to Paul, allows more people to attend and makes the event feel more inclusive. "It's all about building something that is accessible for consumers," he explains. "Having a Saturday is really important because it means we can have more of the public in attendance."

However, making MELD accessible to a wider audience does come with its challenges. One of the main hurdles is getting people to attend an event where they may not be able to afford or easily access. "Consumers just can't get that bus to pay to send to a show like this," Paul notes. He acknowledges that some attendees will have to pay out-of-pocket for admission, but argues that it's not a challenge he'd classify as significant.

To address the concerns of large exhibitors who only want to showcase their products to a large number of potential buyers, MELD has had to rethink its approach. "The philosophy of the show is...flipped," Paul explains. "Instead of just being about big booths and finding people who are going to buy thousands of widgets, we're an awesome place where these app developers can come and showcase their products." This allows for a more balanced mix of both large manufacturers and small, innovative companies to be present at the event.

The result is a healthy ecosystem that supports a wide range of Apple-related products and services. MELD has attracted about 150 app developers this year, which represents a diverse group of both iOS and OS10 app developers. With over 500,000 apps currently available on the App Store, Paul believes that there's still plenty of room for growth and innovation.

Despite the challenges, Paul is optimistic about the future of MELD. He expresses his love for the show and is pleased to see its continued success. As he wraps up the interview, Leander thanks him for taking the time to chat and wishes him and the entire MELD team all the best for a successful event.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso uh this is Leander from uh Cult of mac and I'm here with Paul Kent the organizer of meld uh we're here just before the uh the show opens it opens tomorrow and I was going to ask Paul a couple of questions about the show so Paul you're saying this year that it has um a different Focus well I mean the focus is evolved I mean really what we are we are an Apple fan lifestyle Show Business to Consumer you know it it's one of the last populist open to the public technology events and so that's really what's unique about this it's it's really about people celebrating their enjoyment of Apple products through performances through product Discovery through learning how to use stuff better so we say it's the ultimate Ian event that's really what our mission is right so uh and you've changed the course the days it runs Thursday through Saturday now so you get more of the public in on a Saturday that's right again it's all about building something that is accessible for consumers and so having a Saturday is really important and is that a tough sell though because um you know consumers uh uh aren't you know they can't get that that bus to pay uh to to send to a show like this and you got to you know people paying out of their own pocket is that a big challenge um I wouldn't say it's a challenge we had to redesign the philosophy of the right so as opposed to just being about big booths I mean remember the thing about large exhibitors is they really want to find people are going to buy a thousand of their widgets not one of their widgets right so the philosophy of the show but the flip side of that is we're an awesome place where these app developers come you know they come and very simple for them they don't need to know about trade shows they come with their iPad or their iPhone they pop up and they're ready to show so it's a great environment for the little guys to come and show their product so we've got wonderful big manufacturers I mean PK audio's here HPS here so there's a lot of big interesting stuff to find but also there's all of the cool Innovative small companies that are here so right yeah and it's a pretty healthy ecosystem isn't it this B bu up around these products so you know we have about 150 app developers here whether they're OS 10 app developers or IOS app developers and I guess you know that's really great and representative but I guess what there's 500,000 apps on the App Store now so we have a lot of upside to go for okay good well uh I love the show and I'm glad to see uh you know that you're uh Contin to make a success for it so best of luck thank you very much okay thanks all rightso uh this is Leander from uh Cult of mac and I'm here with Paul Kent the organizer of meld uh we're here just before the uh the show opens it opens tomorrow and I was going to ask Paul a couple of questions about the show so Paul you're saying this year that it has um a different Focus well I mean the focus is evolved I mean really what we are we are an Apple fan lifestyle Show Business to Consumer you know it it's one of the last populist open to the public technology events and so that's really what's unique about this it's it's really about people celebrating their enjoyment of Apple products through performances through product Discovery through learning how to use stuff better so we say it's the ultimate Ian event that's really what our mission is right so uh and you've changed the course the days it runs Thursday through Saturday now so you get more of the public in on a Saturday that's right again it's all about building something that is accessible for consumers and so having a Saturday is really important and is that a tough sell though because um you know consumers uh uh aren't you know they can't get that that bus to pay uh to to send to a show like this and you got to you know people paying out of their own pocket is that a big challenge um I wouldn't say it's a challenge we had to redesign the philosophy of the right so as opposed to just being about big booths I mean remember the thing about large exhibitors is they really want to find people are going to buy a thousand of their widgets not one of their widgets right so the philosophy of the show but the flip side of that is we're an awesome place where these app developers come you know they come and very simple for them they don't need to know about trade shows they come with their iPad or their iPhone they pop up and they're ready to show so it's a great environment for the little guys to come and show their product so we've got wonderful big manufacturers I mean PK audio's here HPS here so there's a lot of big interesting stuff to find but also there's all of the cool Innovative small companies that are here so right yeah and it's a pretty healthy ecosystem isn't it this B bu up around these products so you know we have about 150 app developers here whether they're OS 10 app developers or IOS app developers and I guess you know that's really great and representative but I guess what there's 500,000 apps on the App Store now so we have a lot of upside to go for okay good well uh I love the show and I'm glad to see uh you know that you're uh Contin to make a success for it so best of luck thank you very much okay thanks all right\n"