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UK - PLASA is offering a generous discount for micro-businesses to exhibit at PLASA Show 2022 when it returns to Olympia London from 4-6 September.
For one year only, PLASA Show Introduces will showcase small yet exciting businesses right on the show floor, in a dedicated zone alongside 150+ renowned brands in entertainment technology.
In addition to the reduced cost of exhibiting, micro-businesses will also gain six months of PLASA membership. As a PLASA member, you’ll join 400 companies and individuals who have access to a comprehensive suite of business services, discounts on LSi advertising and exhibiting, plus a global community of like-minded professionals.
To be eligible, your company must have five employees or less and must not have exhibited at PLASA Show since 2015 (i.e., since the show moved to Olympia London).
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Red Tape - The government should appoint a touring ‘tsar’ to unravel the red tape facing British musicians in Europe, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has said. They would need to tackle the soaring costs of obtaining visas and transporting instruments that bands have encountered since Brexit. Some orchestras face bills of £5,000 every time they play abroad, said the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Music. It added the industry faced a "crisis" that required "urgent" action.
The call came in a major report into the state of touring post-Brexit, that warned musicians and their crew were "facing more costs, more complications and getting fewer opportunities" since the UK left the EU at the end of January 2020. "It's over two years since Brexit, yet there is still a mountain of red tape," said Labour MP Kevin Brennan, who chairs the all-party group. "Ultimately, it's a
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UK - Brompton Technology has secured a growth capital investment from specialist private client alternative investments business, Connection Capital.
Richard Mead, Brompton Technology CEO, comments, “We are seeing unprecedented growth in demand for our cutting-edge, robust, tour and virtual production-ready LED video processing products from our core industry sectors, as well as a lot of exciting potential for our technology to be applied to new markets. Whilst our focus on quality and dedication to customer service will remain the same, Connection Capital’s investment gives us the ability to scale up rapidly to meet demand and address the new opportunities that are presenting themselves.”
“Brompton Technology is an excellent example of a successful business that pivoted, almost overnight, into virtual production for film and TV during the pandemic and is now

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Argentina - Studio owner Jonatan Montes Polack has installed an Audient ASP8024-HE console in his Hard Record Studio based in Arrecifes, a small town near Buenos Aires.
The British desk joins an array of equipment including keyboards, sequencers, instruments, amps and a host of analogue gear. “I was always a big fan of analogue sound, that’s why the studio has quite a bit of it,” says Jonatan.
Originally coming across the Audient brand when his previous desk broke down, he bought himself an iD4 so he could continue working whilst his old desk was fixed. “It was the first time that I had held an Audient product in my hands. As soon as I looked at the package, the construction, the weight and design, I realised that it was really good. I was really impressed with the quality of the components and how substantial and sturdy it was.”
Further investigation

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USA - In a 2019 survey of entertainment industry workers, over 40% of respondents said they had experienced alcohol or substance misuse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the anxiety, fear, uncertainty, stress, and isolation experienced by so many in our industry significantly increased those numbers. Many of us saw ourselves or colleagues, friends, or family members turn to substances as a way to cope with the disruption in our lives. Many found recovery difficult to sustain.
Along with significantly increased usage comes increased overdoses. Deaths due to overdoses have spiked during the pandemic, primarily driven by opioids. Over 93,000 drug overdose deaths were reported in 2020 – the highest on record and nearly a 30% increase over 2019.
The Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative has announced the launch of a website to provide resources fo

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UK - To mark the centenary year of Stephen Joseph’s birth and the 60th anniversary of the founding of ABTT, the Stephen Joseph Committee of the ABTT last year established a new Award to commemorate the life and work of this maverick theatrical genius.
Following the success of the competition in 2021, the Award will again be offered in 2022 as an ongoing tribute to Stephen’s contribution to theatre culture.
Stephen Joseph was one of the most influential theatre practitioners of the last century. He was a founding father of ABTT and the Society of Theatre Consultants. He promoted new writing, architectural standards and technical excellence. His pioneering work has given rise to the myriad forms of theatre and open staging that are commonly used today. At the heart of his practice was the close and fundamental relationship between performer and audience. Above all, h

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USA - The 2022 Behind the Scenes Holiday Cards are now on sale at the BTS Boutique. This year’s collection features a mix of seven different designs created especially for the charity by Phil Foster, Jennifer Gillette, Robert Mendoza, Nancy Orr, Todd Potter and Lauren Press.
Cards are available in a variety of options: card packs of 10 with a standard greeting, personalized cards with a company logo and custom message, and electronic cards in multiple file formats and an array of price points starting at $20.
Sending a BTS holiday card helps spread the word about the charity and lets your recipients know you are supporting industry colleagues who are ill or injured as well as the BTS Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative.
Orders for printed cards will be taken until 27 September, 2022 to arrive by late November. Electronic card orders will be taken

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UK - A line-up of tech industry leaders and frontline operators in technology sectors will share their expertise at Edinburgh’s Turing Fest this month, set to take place at the EICC in Edinburgh 27-28 July.
Up to 1,000 attendees from around the globe are attending the conference, which brings together some of the leading practitioners in the tech industry with founders and leaders of start-ups and scaleups. As well as a line-up of talks and sessions, delegates will be able to join a Lunch & Learn session and happy hour hosted by leading customer engagement platform Twilio, speed networking, welcome and closing parties and more.
Maria Gutierrez, VP engineering strategy and operations at Twitter said: “You can pack so much into the two days at Turing Fest. The blend of disciplines; the quality of both speakers and delegates; the parties, dinners, and general netw

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UK - Following in the footsteps of other industries that have taken steps to raise awareness of the importance of mental health, Backup has created an industry specific mental health first aider logo to help signpost people in need of support on a production, raise awareness and promote discussion around the subject of mental health in our industry.
Backup’s goal is to ensure that in every crew there is at least one trained mental health first aider crew member for every 20 crew members. “We trust that venues, promoters and production companies will engage with this is and it becomes part of crew contracts,” says Backup vice chair, Piers Shepperd. “We hope this logo will become a recognised standard on shows, events and in our industry workplaces, helping to destigmatise mental health issues and make our industry a happier, healthier place to work.”
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Germany - Industry forum AVnu Alliance hosted its first European plugfest in recent years at one of its Registered Test Facilities, GRL Laboratories in Karlsruhe, Germany on 16-20 May, 2022. Twelve AVnu member companies with more than 30 participating engineers came together to further develop and test TSN products and devices, along with new devices now able to be certified under the Advanced Milan Certification Programme.
During the plugfest AVnu members continued work on the integration and validation of IEEE 802.1AS time synchronization test development, with the certification programme targeted to open for members this year. This work will lay the framework for time distribution, including media specific support for Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
Plugfest testing also included the introduction of initial Wireless TSN test development over Wi-Fi, as well as the introduction

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South Africa - ApexPro, distributor of professional audio-visual equipment for the sub-Saharan African region, has recently cemented a partnership with UK-based HH Electronics, manufacturer of professional audio from within the Headstock Group, UK.
“We are extremely excited about our partnership with HH Electronics,” says ApexPro director, Justin Acres. “The entertainment, tourism, and live events sectors in Southern Africa are poised for a much-needed comeback following the restrictions on business imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. As new venues open, and those that survived the lockdowns look to attract new patrons, the demand for high-quality, low-cost, expandable professional audio systems is on the rise. We can’t think of a better manufacturer to fill this gap than UK-based HH Electronics.”
Technical director at ApexPro, Mark Malherbe concurs, stating,

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Theatre Funding - York Theatre Royal and Northern Stage are among 10 venues to be awarded funding from the Theatres Trust’s small grants programme. Through a partnership with The Linbury Trust, the Theatres Trust is awarding £49,476 to support 10 UK not-for-profit theatres with funding that will allow them to make repairs and improvements, enhance accessibility, and improve sustainability measures and facilities.
Jon Morgan, director of Theatres Trust said: "The wide array of projects funded this round show the many challenges that theatres continue to face. We are pleased to be able to help these theatres with projects that protect future use, remove barriers to participation and attendance, and make them more welcoming spaces."
The funding will allow the York Theatre Royal to buy equipment to capture immersive recordings of live performances and will deliver them

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UAE - Unusual Rigging & Engineering won an award for exceptional delivery and contribution to EXPO 2020 Dubai. At a ceremony at Grosvenor House, Dubai Marina, last month, the company was recognised for its contribution to health and safety at the event which took place between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2022.
Denis Bramhall, managing director at Unusual Rigging & Engineering commented: “We are extremely proud to have won this award. There were over 3,500 subcontractors working on EXPO 2020, so for us to be one of the final 3 in the health and safety category was completely unexpected and to then come first is a huge honour. We really were up against some big companies – some of which employ ten or eleven thousand people, whereas in contrast we are an extremely small team. But good things come in small packages, and our team here at URE, really did pull out all t

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Austria - Droneberger Showtechnik of Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, is the latest company in Austria to invest in Ayrton fixtures, adding more than 40 Ayrton Karif LT and Ayrton Perseo Beam to its lighting inventory.
“With the relocation of the company to our new business premises in Gerberweg 44 in Klagenfurt, we are excited to have expanded our portfolio of Ayrton moving lights for the first time,” says Freidl Droneberger. “The first order is already successfully in use.”
The Ayrton fixtures were initially purchased for the television show, Starnacht and have since been taken into Droneberger’s dry hire stock and project area.
“We were searching for a current fixture which, in addition to a large light output, was able to realise clean, crisp gobo projections. Both these properties are extremely important for our TV projects,” explains Dronebe

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Spain - Lynx Pro Audio has installed an anechoic chamber within their Research and Development Department in Valencia, the headquarters of the company.
The new anechoic room has the latest technologies, being one of the most modern in Europe. The special design of the room offers an accurate measurement of the sound in a complete sphere (360 degrees), with an accuracy of one degree. The chamber has a Four Audio robot to provide better sound measurement and a new space designed for accurate measurements in a free-field acoustic environment.
Having detailed information on the acoustic response of a box allows Lynx Pro Audio to model each of their enclosures within the Rainbow 3D acoustic prediction software, offering a simulation that is as real as possible. “In this way, we provide a powerful design tool with which installers can carry out all kinds of sound reinforce

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians’ Annual Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 22 June, after the first day of the 2022 ABTT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palace, London.
Engineering Product of the Year: XM Automation’s XMove
Sound Product of the Year: Clearcom’s Arcadia Central Station
Lighting Product of the Year: Robe’s T11
Widget of the Year: CallQ’s Showcaller Training Software
Stand of the Year: Prompt Side
Technician of the Year: Daniel Ewing
Award for Emerging Excellence: Kat Ellis
Virtual Ideas Platform, Idea of the Year 2021: Matthew Dean
Additionally, commendations were made for d&b’s 5d amplifier, ETC’s Eos Apex, Whirly Reeler and trackingThis’ plug-in.
The next ABTT Awards will take place on the evening of 7 June 2023 at the 43rd ABTT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palac

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UK - The atmosphere was electric at Daytona Sandown Park as the industry gathered for the first Kartfest in three years. With Chauvet once again headline sponsor, Backup was anticipating the biggest and best Kartfest yet. With more teams and more spectators joining than ever before, and a grand total of £35K raised, it certainly did not disappoint.
In opening proceedings, Backup trustee Lee Dennison paid tribute to Backup chair, John Simpson, who was instrumental in starting the charity and worked tirelessly to ensure it fulfilled its remit and sadly passed in June, whilst welcoming the 33 teams who were about to take their places on the starting grid, with the hope of becoming Kartfest 2022 champions.
Adding to the fun, was the first Roadie Games, which started with the Flight Case Team Relay on the main track, which was almost as fast and furious as the racing itsel

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USA - ESTA will host a Midwest Rigging Intensive course on 25-27 August in Chicago. The weekend-long event will feature a curriculum developed by a group of dedicated instructors, all of whom are ETCP recognised trainers.
With a focus on practical learning for entertainment riggers, the sessions will feature Ben Brian (Reed Rigging), Tyler DeLong (DeLong Rigging Solutions), Brent ‘Mickey’ Henry (ETC), Ed Leahy (Chicago Flyhouse), Tracy Nunnally (Vertigo), Patrick Stewart (ETC), Shane Kelly (DePaul University), Rebecca Knipfer (ETC), and Verda Beth Martell (DLR Group). This event will provide enough hours to fulfil a technician’s ETCP Education Renewal Credits requirement.
Education sessions will include topics such as fall protection, hoists, loading by math, hardware, and more. The event will comprise two days of classroom training starting at 1 pm on Thursday a

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South Africa - DWR Distribution will host Robe Lighting theatre workshops in Cape Town and Johannesburg in August.
Hosted at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town on 1 August and at the UJ Arts Centre Theatre in Johannesburg on 5 August from 10am to 4pm local time, the workshops will be followed by a Q&A session, with guests also able to demo the fixtures.
Presenters will be theatre designer Andy Webb, Robe theatre products manager Dave Whitehouse, and LD and programmer Jordan Tinniswood. Webb and Whitehouse will explain why LED technology has become an essential tool in theatre, diving deeply into colour, colour temperature and white source versus multi-spectral LED engines.
The events are free to attend, but booking is essential. To secure your place, visit the links below
Cape Town:

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USA - Mental Health First Aid Training Classes for July, August and September 2022 are now posted on the Behind the Scenes website at btshelp.org/mhfa.
The course is delivered in two parts. The first is a two-hour self-paced online course that must be completed prior to a six-hour virtual live instructor led session. Go to btshelp.org/mhfa to learn more and to select the date and time you wish to attend the virtual live session. Classes are being offered 18 and 19 July, 15, 16 and 21 August and 12, 18 September. On completing the course you will become a certified Mental Health First Aider which is valid for three years.
The registration fee is $125. IATSE Members and those working under IATSE agreements may be eligible for Training Trust Fund reimbursement on proof of successful completion of the course. A limited number of partial and full scholarships are available

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UK - Rise, the advocacy group for women in the broadcast media technology sector, has announced that entries are open for its annual Rise Awards with the introduction of two new categories, Ally of the Year that honours men who have been supportive of striving to achieve gender diversity, and Business Operations of the Year, celebrating an individual who excels at making sure the workforce and clients are happy and the business is reaching its targets.
Submissions and nominations are encouraged from across the global broadcast media technology audience to showcase talent across the industry whether in a manufacturer, service provider, engineer or broadcaster role.
The awards are free to enter and nominations will close on 18 August, with a drinks events at IBC to announce the shortlist. The awards will be held in partnership with BT Sport and Timeline on 10 November at

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UK - Version 2 has completed the asset purchase of broadcast lighting rental company Finelight.
Finelight's rental business will come under the Version 2 umbrella with immediate effect, its operations set to be consolidated into Version 2's Reading HQ during July. Communication channels for both companies will remain unchanged in the interim.
Version 2's managing director Nick Edwards comments: “We are excited to integrate Finelight's inventory into our growing operations. As a preferred supplier to the BBC, Finelight have built up an excellent reputation for quality of service. We're equally delighted to welcome Simon Perrott to our management team.”
Finelight's managing director Simon Perrott adds: “We have got to know Nick and the team at Version 2 over recent years whilst collaborating on a number of high-profile shows. We have a shared passion for gre

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Europe - The Sennheiser Group has acquired Merging Technologies. Under the agreement, the Swiss digital audio recording systems specialist will partner with studio sound business Neumann.Berlin as part of a growth strategy.
The first product of the partnership will be an audio interface that enables integration of Neumann products into a digital infrastructure. The existing portfolio of the two companies will remain unchanged.
All Merging Technologies staff will continue to be located at the company’s Puidoux, Switzerland site.
Ralf Oehl, CEO of Georg Neumann GmbH, comments: “We plan to strengthen Neumann's offering, particularly in the area of digital workstreams, in order to provide our customers with holistic audio solutions in studio quality. Merging Technologies' products and solutions are an excellent complement to the Neumann product portfolio. We are

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Festival Funding - A free music festival which has been running for 15 years may not go ahead this summer due to a shortage in funds, organisers say. The charity-run Local and Live event, based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said the cost of living crisis was hampering sponsorships. A petition has been started calling for Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) to help fund the festival.
The council said it was working to find a solution. The volunteer-run event began in 2006 and hosts local musicians playing and works to promote grassroots music and musical education in the area through the Local and Live Charity. Festival organiser and charity chairman Paul Dunton said: "Everyone is feeling the pinch. We've just found things considerably more expensive this year. So it's just added to the burden I suppose. Getting the funding is proving a little bit more difficult this year and
  1. Austin’s Antone’s adds DiGiCo Quantum225
  2. Audio Brands to distribute Optimal in Australia
  3. New Ayrton focus for Denmark, Sweden and Norway
  4. Polestar Productions adds Green Hippo’s Nevis+
  5. Stars sign up for Music Support auction
  6. PLASA Awards for Innovation are open for entries
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