For the past three years, Dantone Edizioni e Musica has been the Guitar Show’s reference point for content dedicated to digital music education. Led by Germano Dantone, the project has developed an editorial and cultural path that connects the world of online creators with the world of music publishing, focusing on content quality, the transformation of educational languages, and the development of new forms of media engagement.
The interview below explores the origins of this vision and the work carried out at the Guitar Show over the years: from the concept of the creators’ roundtables to the decision to publish books with figures born on the web, and reflections on the relationship between print, video, and live interaction with the public. A testimony to how editorial work can amplify the value of contemporary music education, even in live contexts.
What motivated you to open your publishing house to figures who operate mainly online, and how is the editorial project with them progressing?
I started working in the field of specialized music publishing in 1998 as editorial director at Carisch, at the dawn of the internet era, after about a decade of experience in the record industry. In 2005, with the arrival of YouTube, the first musical creators began to appear. Before the internet, publishers seeking new authors mostly looked to magazines and live music; with the rise of creators, attention shifted to the web, which quickly became the go-to place for anyone wanting to learn an instrument.
In 2018, when I decided to start my own publishing house, I based part of the editorial strategy on working with web creators. The idea of turning their content into printed books proved to be immediately successful—both in sales and in brand visibility for “Dantone” in the music publishing market.
How did the idea come about to bring their usually digital work into a trade show context like the Guitar Show?
Even before our collaboration, web creators already attended industry fairs as regular visitors, often to produce content for their channels and report news and innovations to their audiences. It wasn’t unusual to see these familiar online faces walking the halls of the fairs, followed by fans asking for photos.
Despite their popularity and the quality of their content, many musicians viewed them with some skepticism. It was a new form of professionalism: musicians who had perhaps set aside live performance to focus on educational and informational content online—finding fertile ground there for building a career.
Recognizing this trend and supporting these creators by bringing their experience and content into traditional publishing was the initial challenge that led to the creation of Dantone Edizioni e Musica.
Naturally, the next step was to bring this world officially into the Guitar Show, which welcomed my proposal right away. It led to a successful collaboration that has now lasted three years. The idea behind it is simple: to bring creators’ content live to the Guitar Show audience—what people usually only see online.
Why did you decide to offer creators a platform in print, through book publishing, and at the same time the opportunity to perform and engage with the public live?
That was actually the first question I asked myself: “Why would a creator want to publish a physical book?” There’s no doubt that publishing a book still carries a strong allure and represents a milestone—a mark of recognition and credibility for one’s work.
There was a risk that print methods would compete with the content creators already produce in the form of online courses or subscription platforms. The key, then, was to develop content that differed from what was available online. The book brings the creators’ identity into the physical world—onto music store shelves, in online bookstores, and inside events like the Guitar Show.
Dantone Edizioni represents the world of creators, offering their content in print and, thanks to the valuable partnership with the Guitar Show, provides some of them with a small booth where they can meet their followers (without being chased through the aisles) and present their work.
What was their perception of the live experience, being used to screen-mediated interactions?
The first edition of the “Creators Round Table,” three years ago, surprised everyone. We expected the initiative to be well received, but the audience response went beyond expectations.
Each appearance drew a large crowd, and thanks to the creators’ own promotion, we immediately saw the arrival of a new audience—one that perhaps hadn’t previously attended music trade shows. It included very young people, but also older musicians and enthusiasts who follow online content and came to meet their favorite creators in person—only to then discover the wonder of seeing so many instruments, accessories, major brands, and innovations in one place.
What themes did you choose to develop with them during the creators’ roundtables at the Guitar Show?
Although some creators participated in connection with the launch of a printed method, I wanted them to feel free to bring whatever they liked to the stage. I asked them to do the simplest thing: present one of their regular online topics in person. Trade shows are often full of flashy performances meant to show off gear—guitars, amps, pedals—with virtuosity. While creators are all great performers and often play complex pieces in their videos, I encouraged them to bring simple explanations and lessons to the stage. That choice helped attract a new kind of audience—also amateur musicians—who found content at the show that suited their level, just like the material they seek online. A particularly interesting idea was Stefano Rossi’s, who brought a “talk show” format to the stage with several creators discussing current issues. This year’s theme was: “Natural Guitarists and Artificial Intelligences – Technology, creativity and the future of played music: a conversation between real guitarists and (almost) algorithms.”
The 2025 Guitar Show took place in Bologna for the first time. What are your impressions?
After the successful editions in Padua, there was some anticipation about the Bologna event. But the conditions were positive: the organizers had everything well structured, and Bologna’s fairgrounds—known for major events—offered more space and better accessibility.
The difference was immediately noticeable. There was higher turnout right from the start, and we saw more visitors from central and southern Italy.
As for the “Creators Round Table,” this year we decided not to confine the activity to a single area and stage but instead featured creators on various stages throughout the event, with the exhibition booths grouped in one location.
This new distribution may have been a little disorienting at first, but from the first sessions it started to draw the audience’s attention. In some cases, the context of the stages even inspired creators to focus more on performance compared to previous editions.
What I’d like to explore for a future edition is bringing creators back—at least partially—to a more educational setting, using suitable spaces to present mini-lessons similar to what they normally share online.