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Europe - Metallica continues to break new ground with their in-the-round production for the global, two-year M72 World Tour that recently kicked off in Europe. Throughout the tour, the band’s sound is immersing the entire audience - at full bandwidth across a broad stereo landscape - through a Meyer Sound system comprising a record 288 Panther large-format linear line array loudspeakers.
The band and long-time creative director Dan Braun have moved beyond the old paradigms. Two concerts will be presented at every tour stop, with completely separate music sets for each show. The celebrated ‘snake pit’ has been relocated inside a ring-shaped stage, requiring four drum kits for Lars Ulrich to rise up as needed. Also, the sonic field has been expanded to ensure a wide stereo spread of guitars and drums at every seat and standing point in the stadium.
“I’m always

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USA - Funktion-One rental partner Nomad Sound Systems installed the largest ever deployment of Vero and Vero VX for Creator Clash 2.0 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The celebrity influencer boxing event welcomed 30,000 spectators to the arena and thousands more viewers around the world who tuned in for the PPV broadcast, with the winners’ prize money going to their chosen charities.
Creator Clash’s producers selected Nomad Sound System as the audio supplier, explained company founder Leo Eckersdorff: “A friend of mine based in New York reached out as he was the producer of this event and wanted to have an audio partner local to Florida that he could trust. This was a first ‘in the round’ event for Nomad Sound Systems and I believe one of the largest ever Vero and Vero VX deployments.”
To meet the requirements of such a sizeable deployment, Nom

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Germany - Solotech has announced the opening of a new business office in Frankfurt. Located at 60314 Frankfurt, Hanauer Landstrasse 172, Solotech shares the space with Studio 301, the recording studio, formerly known as Abbey Road Institute.
“Providing our clients with a local approach is absolutely key for Solotech,” said Bryce Jewell, managing director - UK & Germany. “We are delighted to be opening this new office. Demand for high-quality, innovative events continues to grow across the continent and these premises will provide a platform for us to manage the future growth in the region. We have some ambitious plans, across both live productions as well as our systems integrations business, and our presence in Frankfurt will enable us to really start realising these.”
Industry veteran, Holger Schader, has been senior consultant concert touring and specia

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France - The D-Day Museum at Arromanches-les-Bains on the Northern French coast has chosen Panasonic projectors to illustrate the activity before, during, and after the historic Normandy landings, bringing the events of 1944 to life like never before through multiple immersive and interactive experiences.
The newly re-built museum, working alongside AV integrator Auvisys, needed innovative, quiet and reliable projectors to bring the events of 1944 to life in four key areas of the exhibition. This included an auditorium, video mural, projection mapping and virtual reality projections. The museum chose a combination of Panasonic’s state-of-the-art PT-MZ16K, PT-RZ790, and PT-RZ990 laser projectors, and ET-EMW300, ET-DLE060, ET-DLE085, and ET-DLE020 lenses.
The museum is based at the geographical epicentre of the D-Day landings on Gold Beach - one of five focal point bea

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Europe - Music & Lights, the brand owner of Prolights, has received the ISO 14001:2015 certification for Environmental Management Systems. This achievement confirms the commitment of the company to the research of new eco-friendly technical innovation. This certificate joins the already ISO 9001:2015 certification for Quality Management Systems.
Music & Lights has been consistently oriented towards a more eco-sustainable production. The 2021 Best Performance Award of Bocconi University (sixth place in the 2023 FT Global MBA Ranking) has declared the company's excellence on a national level according to the criteria of performance, innovation and eco-sustainability.
Music & Lights has directed its technological offer towards a sustainable upgrade of the productive processes. The company's commitment is to develop and promote on a worldwide scale high-effic

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Columbia - UK manufacturer Optimal Audio has announced the appointment of Avcom as its exclusive distributor in Columbia.
Based in Bogotá, Avcom is a distributor of products and solutions for the audiovisual sector, and represents a number of leading global brands in the region.
The partnership was negotiated earlier this year at the ISE Show in Barcelona where Avcom CEO Camilo Aranguren recognised the potential of Optimal Audio’s simplified and intuitive approach to commercial audio:
“We took a strong interest in the development of Optimal Audio, and could see from the outset that the eco-system it has created can offer our customers a high quality solution that removes many of the traditional pitfalls of commercial audio. It’s a fresh approach that keeps things simple for both installers and end-users and adds another strong dimension to our portfolio.

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Sweden - Kulturkvarteret Örebro (KKV Örebro) was created with the mission of fostering culture within the Swedish municipality of Örebro. The five-storey building is particularly focused on enriching the lives of children and young people in the area through the arts and is heavily utilised by students of the local Örebro University; however, the building is also open for public use as well.
The centre encompasses the Örebro City Library, Kulturskolan, multiple stages, rehearsal spaces, and an art school specialising in music, dance and theatre, as well as an art gallery. Genelec partnered with the integrator JML-System AB to elevate the audio experience at this new development.
Genelec and JML provided over 80 4000 Series loudspeakers throughout the building, to complement a host of other smart audio-visual technology. The primary contractor was Swedish construc

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Romania - The Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest structure in the world, outweighing even the Pyramids of Giza, and second in terms of area covered only to The Pentagon. The downtown Bucharest building’s impressive presence has provided a dramatic backdrop for a host of major films. Recently, the 365,000 m2 landmark served as the setting for an international conference when it hosted the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference.
Although it may have lacked the drama of a Hollywood blockbuster, the three-week long conference had an impact on the way people around the world talk to one another. A specialised agency of the United Nations, the ITU is active in advancing global satellite communication. Underscoring its importance, over 2,000 experts and dignitaries from around the world filed into 25 meeting spaces during the conference.

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USA - AV industry veterans Gene Williams and Philip Van Peborgh have become the new owners of specialist microphone distributor Avlex. The company represents a range of microphone brands, including MIPRO, Superlux and Avlex and has been acquired from founder Richard Looney.
“After 25 wonderful years, the next chapter of Avlex's history will be written by new leadership.” said Looney. “Gene and Phil have experience working for manufacturers, setting up distribution channels and as sales reps. I know that they have a vision to grow Avlex and I wish them both the best.”
The new ownership team is also excited about what the future holds for Avlex and plan to further develop the company in its next phase. “We are both excited about building on the foundation that Richard and the team have put in place,” noted Williams. “We look forward to continuing the relat

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USA - Audinate has announced a partnership with ASPEED Technology to extend Dante AV to their AV-over-IP chipset. The new version, dubbed Dante AV-A, has been optimised to work on the ASPEED AST1530/1535 SoC (System on Chip) and is initially supported by nine leading AV manufacturers.
"We are excited to partner with Audinate to bring Dante AV to the ASPEED platform,” stated Chris Lin, chairman and president of ASPEED. “Our goal is to continue to add value to our manufacturing partners and their customers, and Dante AV is an increasingly requested feature. This partnership allows us to prequalify Dante as part of the AST1530/1535 SoC and make it available to ASPEED customers through our SDK, making it as easy as possible for OEMs and ODMs to add Dante AV to their products.”
"As one of the most widely used SoC in the AV-over-IP market, ASPEED is an important strate

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Europe - Powersoft has announced the signing of an agreement with Vega Global, specialist in digital workplace solutions, audio-visual, video conferencing and collaboration technologies, for the supply of professional amplifiers to expand and strengthen the audio solutions it offers to end customers.
The agreement includes a long-term supply in 16 geographies in the APAC and MEA regions, where Vega Global operates, and Powersoft will provide direct access to its portfolio of amplifiers: Duecanali and Quattrocanali Series, Mezzo Series and the new cloud-based UNICA platform.
Thanks to this collaboration, Vega will complement the audio solutions offered to its end customers with a focus on the corporate (Mezzo Series) and hospitality (Quattrocanali, Duecanali and UNICA) markets.
“Working with a partner like Vega Global represents an opportunity for us to maint

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UK - After 47 years in business, Avolites - a leader in the design and manufacture of lighting and video control products - has announced the company's acquisition by entertainment lighting specialist, Robe Lighting of Roznov in the Czech Republic. The agreement was reached in the UK yesterday.
“The Avolites Leadership team wanted to ensure the best outcome for our employees, customers, suppliers and the brand,” said Avolites MD Paul Wong. “Robe is an ideal home that will enable us to achieve just that, whilst maintaining our core values. Robe is a great fit for everyone associated with Avolites. Robe has a wealth of resources that will aid Avolites to accelerate its ambitious innovation and product development programmes.”
“This is a great acquisition for Robe,” said Josef Valchar, CEO Robe Lighting s.r.o., “Avolites has always been at the pinnacle of li

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Song Tracking - The music industry has committed to improving metadata for tracking songs on music streaming platforms, following widespread criticism from artists. The writers, performers and producers of songs will now be consistently identified. These creators say they do not receive their fair share of royalties when tracks are played on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. It comes as the government launches a group to look into these concerns.
Sir John Whittingdale, minister for the creative industries, said the move would help the UK to "offer viable career opportunities". "This landmark agreement on streaming metadata is a step towards ensuring UK musicians in the digital age are fairly credited and compensated for their contributions and creativity," he said. "I'm pleased to be bringing the industry together so we can explore wider issues around music

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USA - Lil Wayne, Third Eye Blind, Wu-Tang Clan, Nile Rodgers, Babyface Ray, Maren Morris…. There were plenty of stars at Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water festival on Virginia Beach, but sadly, there was plenty of water too. High winds and rains along the Atlantic coast battered the superstar’s three-day event; a tornado even touched down nearby. Things got so bad, Friday and Saturday’s shows had to be delayed, while Sunday’s was completely cancelled.
But Evan Kirkendall and his team at Harford Sound, along with their collaborator Steve Tanruther’s Rock the House, were able to handle anything Mother Nature dished out, with help from an all-weather rig anchored by 238 IP-rated Chauvet Professional fixtures.
“Thankfully, all of our Chauvet lights were ready take on the storms,” said lead light tech Gabe Odachowski. “Given the size and scope of t

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South Africa - The AFM Fountain of Life Church in the tropical garden town of Tzaneen recently played host to the Tzaneen Pastors Fraternal Worship Conference. Audio clarity at such events is an essential element of proceedings, something which on this occasion might have proved challenging given that the venue was approaching the end of a renovation project. Although the work was almost concluded, the interior had not yet benefitted from carpets or any form of acoustic treatment.
The conference enlisted the services of audio rental specialists Mbhetse Productions, who deployed HH Electronics TNA Line Array to deliver the necessary power and clarity for the combination of spoken word and music ensemble presentations.
For front of house, Mbhetse Productions deployed a ground-stacked configuration comprising (per side) one TNA-1800S, one TNA-2120SA and four TNA 2051, w

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UK - Hosting on behalf of Ukraine, the United Kingdom welcomed a global viewing audience of more than 161m into the Liverpool Arena to hear performances from the top 26 countries during the grand finale of Eurovsion, aired live on 13 May. Shure Axient Digital Wireless System was selected to provide to support the production.
Britannia Row provided audio equipment for the 67th edition of Eurovision Song Contest. Tom Brown, project manager at Britannia Row, together with his team and Robert Edwards, head of sound at ESC 2023, specified an extensive system of Shure Axient Digital, PSM 1000 in-ear monitoring, AD600 Axient Digital Spectrum Manager, ShowLink, Wireless Workbench Software, and Wavetool Software to provide the robust and solid solution required.
Tom Brown commented: “We needed a reliable system that we could be confident in pushing to its limits, and the Shu

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USA - Country singer Brett Young’s Five, TOUR, Three, Two, One Tour swept into LA’s The Greek Theatre in May with an upbeat, colourful lighting design by Luke Elrod. During the show, he enveloped the audience in starry gobo-effects and bright, rich colours using Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IP fixtures from Signify.
Elrod, who runs Luke Elrod Designs from his base in Nashville, Tennessee, has been Brett Young’s tour lighting director since mid-2022. The current tour visits a wide range of venue sizes as well as festivals, meaning Elrod required an IP-rated fixture capable of producing bright colours and effects using the full 28-strong VL3600 rig or a scaled down version.
“I’d heard many great things about the VL3600s and they checked off all of the boxes for the design,” says Elrod. “I wanted something that was really punchy and could fill a lot of space, wh

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UK - The past performers list at Manchester Academy ranges from David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix, to Lady Gaga and Adele. Comprising four independent music venues in the heart of The University of Manchester campus, the complex hosts hundreds of gigs that attract over 300,000 fans each year.
The principal and largest of the venues, Academy 1, recently underwent an audio overhaul, upgrading their existing L-Acoustics concert sound system to maintain a cutting-edge and rider-friendly status that will future-proof the venue and continue to attract the major artists that perform there regularly.
Opened in 1990, the 2,600-capacity Academy 1 was a purpose-built venue to augment the existing and smaller Academy 2, Academy 3 and Club Academy venues in the University’s Students’ Union. Academy 1 was designed to attract A-list artists, and it succeeded from day one, which saw th

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South Africa - Elation Professional's exclusive sales partner in South Africa, The Production Warehouse, took to the road in mid-May to show first-hand to customers an array of its latest lighting products including luminaires from Elation’s popular Proteus, Fuze, and KL series.
While theatre, rental house and broadcast clients took the opportunity to demo products, the tour, which visited Johannesburg 15-16 May and Cape Town 18-19 May, was a chance for the AV distribution company to renew relationships post-pandemic.
Marnus Nieuwoudt, owner of The Production Warehouse, stated: “Being our first major roadshow post-Covid, the roadshow wasn't only about showcasing the latest technology Elation has to offer, it was more about reconnecting and networking with old friends and colleagues, while meeting some new customers along the way.”
Marnus says that, not sur

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UK - The ABTT’s first Make A Difference conference took place at the Albany Theatre on Friday 21 April, 2023, and the association has now announced the release of the conference’s full report.
70 industry delegates from across the country and a range of companies, venues, organisations and institutions were in attendance to discuss the industry’s current recruitment and retention challenges. The report outlines the issues which were discussed and the actions that were suggested. It also reports on some things that have already happened as a result of the conference day.
The “conference day was developed in order to find a way to better host and join-up some of the thinking that was happening throughout the year in ABTT seminars and at the ABTT Theatre Show. It was also intended that the conference would not only further nurture these discussions but would also

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Mexico - Myst is a colourful cabaret-style musical megamix encapsulating some of Mexico’s rich and vibrant musical culture and history over two hours - split into two acts - staged at the Foro Totalplay in Mexico City.
At the centre of the show’s lighting since it has been at this venue are 60 x Robe Spikies and 30 x Spiider LED wash beam moving lights. These were specified by lighting designer Juan Ignacio Adriano who is also the technical director of música esencial at Foro Totalplay.
This story began back in 2017 when Myst needed a new resident venue after being forced to move from the previous one, Sala Corona, which was damaged in the devasting 2017 earthquake.
Foro Totalplay, inside the upscale Antara Mall in the Polanco district of CDMX, was designed as a 400-capacity club rather than a theatre or even a cabaret venue, explained Juan Ig

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UAE - Dubai’s newest luxury hotel, Atlantis The Royal offers 795 guest rooms, plus 17 on-site restaurants. Ears are not forgotten, as throughout the hotel’s common areas the sonic environments are reproduced by more than 400 discreetly placed Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers.
Thrusting up from Dubai’s elegant Palm Jumeriah, and surrounded by the waters of the Persian Gulf, Atlantis The Royal opened early in 2023. The developers of the hotel, Investment Corporation of Dubai, made it clear to all parties involved that only the highest standards of excellence should be considered in the selection of vendors. This brief was communicated to the media consultant, Mediatech, and the firm’s principal consultant on the project, Ged King.
Because the audio systems could in no way intrude on the visual aesthetics, for the restaurants and most common areas, Mediatech

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USA - The 2023 CMT Music Awards moved from Nashville to Austin this year. The three-hour event, which was broadcast on CBS, radiated a fresh, vibrant energy that instantly captured attention with its distinctive colour schemes, boldly outlined stage, and dramatic catwalks.
Tom Kenny, who created the lighting design for the event at The Moody Centre, credits the change of venue with inspiring him, production designer Ann Brahic, and the rest of their team to reach deep into their creative wells to come up with their bold, and highly original, looks.
“The whole process of moving to the hip city of Austin gave us all a big hit of adrenalin,” said Kenny. “Everyone jumped in to have fun and worked hard at getting the show into a great place. We began the week outdoors, at the stage off Congress, with a big show by Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban that put the whole ci

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Dominican Republic - IVM Multieventos, a company with over 20 years of experience in the industry based in the Dominican Republic, has chosen DiGiCo as their preferred brand. As one of the earliest adopters of the Quantum 338, the company has solidified its position as a leading player in the event industry in the Caribbean.
Owner, Ivan Abreu, began pursuing his dream of working in the music industry at a very young age, starting as a DJ. Since forming IVM, the company has experienced significant growth, overcoming barriers by organising large-scale events nationwide. Some of the Caribbean’s most renowned artists, such as Romeo Santos and Juan Luis Guerra, are part of its portfolio.
“Throughout our extensive journey in the industry, we had never had the opportunity to use products from the renowned DiGiCo brand,” says Ivan. “However, once we ventured into explo
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