Business

Details
UK - Flightcase Warehouse has acquired Production Park-based heavy-duty case company Box Clever Cases, effective 4 June.
The deal reflects an “ambitious growth strategy”, which has seen the Tamworth flight case manufacturer invest in “product, people and process”. Flightcase Warehouse is also launching an enhanced protective case service for Production Park businesses, including an on-demand delivery service, and is transferring all manufacturing to Tamworth.
Sam Austin, managing director of Flightcase Warehouse, comments: “The Flightcase Warehouse acquisition of Box Clever Cases complements our overall offering whilst strengthening our hand in the production and live events marketplaces through maximising the unique and exciting opportunities Production Park affords us. We’re an ambitious company continually leading the way in both exclusive services and p

Details
UK - Rental and production specialist Adlib’s lighting department has invested in eight new Zero 88 FLX S24 consoles.
Simon Pettitt, lighting technical manager at the busy Liverpool headquartered company, and his team made the decision after becoming aware of the console and realising its massive potential as a cost-effective control package for small-to-medium shows, events and installations.
Typically, Adlib envisions using these consoles - offering optimised control for up to 48 x LED sources, moving lights and conventionals - on a wide range of smaller corporate events, smaller / alternative festival stages, house of worship events and dry hires to schools and colleges.
Simon commented that FLX S24 uses a “familiar workflow” for programming fixtures in a small package at an “excellent price point”, so they can use them on events utilising moving li

Details
UK - Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance is the top drama school for student mobility in the world, according to U-Multirank research.
The College is also one of only two creative arts specialist higher education institutions in the top 25 globally-ranked universities for student mobility, the other one being the Glasgow School of Art.
U-Multirank, a European Union-funded world university ranking that classifies 1,614 universities across various performance indicators, released the top 25 performers in nine of its indicators this week.
The ranking takes into account having an international student body and offering students the opportunity to study part of their degree abroad as an indication of the international

Details
Europe - The MTN Shop, an e-commerce platform offering entertainment, manufacturing and recreational products from industry-leading brands, has updated its websites (shopmtn.eu / shopmtn.com).
Visitors will now benefit from seamless navigation across multiple industries, with over 30 brands available from one place. The shop offers more than 10,000 products across three categories - entertainment, industrial and rope access. One major change to the MTN offering is the addition of film industry rigging gear to service the full range of entertainment rigging professionals.
Apart from enhanced aesthetics and a more advanced navigation, the websites benefit from optimised filtering and search, a live chat function, and secure online payment options. ShopMTN.eu is fully compliant with EU GDPR data protection regulations.
(Jim Evans)

Details
USA - At InfoComm 2018, Shure announced that it will offer an Integrated Systems Certification programme through the Shure Audio Institute (SAI). The programme will feature extensive integrated systems training courses for channel partners, AV professionals, systems integrators, and audio engineers.
The SAI was established in 2015 to provide the dedicated training needed to support the Company’s growing product portfolio and serve customers as an industry-leading source for audio and AV professionals.
Shure’s Integrated Systems Certification programme consists of two levels:
Level 1 focuses on sales, with courses including Audio Basics for Meetings and Conferences, Wireless Basics, Integrated Systems Portfolio Overview, and Best Practices for Interacting with IT Professionals.
Level 2 covers the technical side of product training and understanding. Cl

Details
South Africa - Portuguese audio manufacturer NEXT-proaudio has appointed Sound Harmonics as its exclusive distributor for South Africa.
The South African company has already started marketing NEXT-proaudio products.
Sergio Pinto, NEXT-proaudio sales manager, comments: “We are pleased to welcome Sound Harmonics on board. They are a high-profile supplier that offers high quality solutions to the market with an unparalleled support in the professional segment.
“We see great potential in South Africa’s market. This is a truly exciting progression that will ensure professional support to NEXT-proaudio customers in this market.”
Joseph Mandy, Sound Harmonics director, adds: “We are very excited to be partnering with such a passionate group of people at NEXT-proaudio, and even more excited to bring this robust and exceptionally sounding brand to South

Details
UK - UK console manufacturer Solid State Logic (SSL) has appointed SSE Audio Group (incorporating pro audio dealer Wigwam Sales) and Luton-based 2B Heard as dealers for its Live range of consoles.
The appointments coincide with the launch of SSL’s latest Live console - L100 - at InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas.
SSE sales director Alex Penn comments: “From the launch of the L500 in 2013, we knew it would only be a matter of time before the Live consoles started to appear on riders for our Hire department.
“There was a lot of early adoption in the US, something we saw from our UAC partnership with Sound Image. We first used the desks over here in the UK with the Country to Country Festival in 2016 and we bought our first console, an L200, for Blink 182’s 2017 tour. We then added to this with a pair of L500s for the J Cole tour and they’ve since been out with

Details
Sweden - Lumini is a lighting rental company in Billesholm just outside Helsingborg, that is owned and run by Peter Johansson and has recently invested in 28 x Robe LEDBeam 150 fixtures and also DL4S profiles.
The LEDBeam 150s are the newest purchase, and will be used primarily for illuminating tables during conference and dinner events, especially when the venue has low headroom.
The eight DL4S’s were an earlier investment for multiple reasons, with the near-silent operation being a big consideration, especially useful for some of the high end corporate work in which Peter is regularly engaged.
Peter loves the LEDBeam 150s. “The zoom range and the excellent colour mixing are ideal for the style and format of many of the events that I light,” he stated, adding that the incredibly light weight of just 6Kg is perfect for rigging in all sorts of places when t

Details
UK - Specialist LED lighting manufacturer GDS has announced the creation of a new service department. By offering bespoke service contracts to end-users of its installed products, GDS aims to ensure that systems run smoothly and reliably and that potential problems are pre-empted by its onsite engineering team.
Service contracts will extend existing product warranties and are offered at affordable rates which guarantee onsite fixes, emergency cover and replacement parts.
The support offered by the GDS service department also includes help and advice regarding all other existing systems and consultation in respect of upgrades or new LED installations.
(Jim Evans)

Details
UK - Audiologic has confirmed its appointment as the exclusive UK and Ireland distribution channel for QSC Systems from 1 June 2018.
As a designated industry market partner, as well as distributing the QSC Systems portfolio, Audiologic will offer technical services such as system design and validation, commissioning support and warranty services. The Harlow based company will also offer QSC product training at its recently opened education facility - Learning Space.
Andy Lewis, sales and marketing director at Audiologic comments, “We are proud to serve as the exclusive UK distribution channel for QSC Systems. QSC is undoubtedly one of the world’s leading AV&C manufacturers and at Audiologic we enjoy a strong reputation for delivering exceptional value through proven system design and advice. We strongly believe that this is a winning combination and look forwa

Details
UK - The PLASA 2018 Members’ Day and AGM took place on Thursday 31 May at the Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park, London to reflect upon a year of specialist projects, industry collaboration and growth.
Members and guests enjoyed a productive day with an insightful AGM, followed by a networking afternoon in the venue’s unique ‘physic’ garden. The lively guest speaker, Caroline Russell from The Ideas Centre Group, encouraged audience participation with her creative approach to problem-solving, then attendees were invited to stay for drinks into the evening.
PLASA Treasurer Mark Surtees presented the 2017 accounts and announced that PLASA is in a place of financial stability, highlighting an increase in profits due to commercial growth within Events and Media. Newly elected Chair, Adam Blaxill, added later that all profits funnel back int

Details
Code of Conduct - Edinburgh’s City Council is cracking down on low and unpaid work at festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with a new code of conduct demanding that employers pay all staff the living wage.
The local authority has released the guidelines, called the Edinburgh Festivals Workers’ Welfare Commitment, as part of a report on how best to promote fair working conditions at the city’s festivals. This follows recent news that unions are to crack down on “exploitative” unpaid work placements at the Fringe and a survey in January in which a third of workers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe said they had worked without pay.
The local authority has committed to paying the Scottish local government living wage of £8.51 per hour to its own employees, and expects other employers to “align to the same commitment where possible” and t

Details
India - Martin Audio has appointed Preeti Trading Corporation (PTC) as its new distributor in India.
Mumbai-based PTC is looking to make the CDD and BlacklineX series available at an early stage while also addressing rental staging requirements through regional channel partnerships. PTC is also planning demo spaces in dealer stores and is set to participate in trade exhibitions, having recently exhibited at PALM Expo India.
Speaking of the appointment, Martin Audio’s APAC account manager, Andy Duffield, comments: “As Martin Audio’s product range expands to encompass a wider range of applications and price points, it has become clear that we needed a distribution partner with a wide access to dealer channels across India in order to maximise market penetration across all ranges, throughout the country. Preeti Trading Corporation provides that capability. We are e

Details
New Zealand - Professional audio distribution and solutions company Jands has rebranded its New Zealand branch to JPRO.
The name change follows Jands’ continued expansion into the New Zealand market and is hoped to ‘avoid confusion’ with Jands Australia. A new website, www.jpro.co.nz, has also been launched.
Bruce Gray, JPRO managing director, comments: “The initiative has been prompted through the recent changes which sees Jands Australia entering into the New Zealand market. We have seen this as an opportunity to promote our own New Zealand brand in a new and revitalising manner. JPRO will resonate with our market and at the same time avoid any confusion with Jands Australia.
Gray adds: “For 30 years Jands NZ has led the way in New Zealand, supporting musicians, businesses and institutions with their commercia

Details
USA - The Audio Engineering Society (AES) International Conference on Music Induced Hearing Disorders (MIHD) will take place this month, 20-22 June, 2018, at Columbia College in downtown Chicago. The conference will feature a wide range of presentations, academic papers and panel discussions focused on the latest strategies and technologies for safer long-term hearing outcomes across the music industry. Conference registration is now open.
The conference will bring hearing health researchers and equipment manufacturers together with studio and live sound specialists from the music industry. It will highlight best practices in promoting hearing wellness among musicians, sound engineers, and concert attendees. Organizers also plan to host informal explorations of the Chicago music scene by night.
Paper co-chairs Dorte Hammershoi and Jon Boley have curated a diverse ran

Details
North America - Media and real-time visual processing specialist ArKaos has widened its distribution network in North America by appointing Elation Lighting as a distributor in the USA and Mexico.
Elation will be promoting, distributing and servicing all ArKaos PRO’s video server range and the MediaMaster software.
ArKaos MD Agnes Wojewoda comments: “With the on-going diversification of our product range, ArKaos wants to become established in the segments like architecture, architainment, churches and houses of worship, television and broadcast. Elation is a well-established independently owned company with an excellent base, track-record and contacts network.” 
A.C. Lighting, which was ArKaos’ exclusive distributor in North America since 2012, will continue to support and supply existing US customers and remains the brand’s exclusive distributor in

Details
USA - Originally established in 1853, Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world’s largest apparel companies with 500 stores worldwide, and products available in over 100 countries.
At their flagship retail location on Market and 4th Street in San Francisco, the Levi’s brand managers wanted to heighten the consumer engagement for the 8000sq.ft retail space located one of the world’s most highly visited shopping areas. With two large windows looking out onto the busy street, Levi’s worked with their long-time digital partner Reflect, who installed two FLEXClear transparent LED video displays from PixelFLEX.
“Levi’s has been a client of ours for many years dating back to about 2013,” began Brandie Perkins, senior account manager, Reflect. “As a forerunner in the jean industry, they haven’t always played a lot in the digital space, but for their San Fra

Details
USA - Ultra Music Festival, turned 20 this year and the occasion was marked, in part, by big beam lighting effects from an array of Elation Professional IP65-rated Proteus Beam moving heads that lined the top of the festival’s Main Stage.
Production and lighting design for the Main Stage was by The Activity, their ninth year of involvement with the festival. The Las Vegas-based production and design firm, headed by lighting veteran Patrick Dierson, wanted to do something special for the festival’s 20th year and chose the Proteus Beam for a prominent look
“Because this was Ultra’s platinum anniversary we wanted an element within the design that would specifically represent its 20 years of celebration and the Platinum Beam’s bigger brother, the Proteus, seemed like the perfect choice,” stated Dierson, who served as lighting and production designer on this ye

Details
UK - Taking in selected venues, Tokio Myers, who stunned the judges to claim victory on Britain's Got Talent has been showcasing his genre straddling fusion of classical and contemporary musical experiences on stages across the UK.
Collaborating closely with Vision Factory show designer, Sam Tozer, the VER London operation has supported the tour with a comprehensive video, projection and lighting package that helped realise the designer’s creative vision for the shows. Set against a 9 x 4m upstage LED wall, the show blends live performance with filmed footage, cutting edge graphics and intense colour that silhouettes the artist at work.
Speaking about the show’s visual elements, Sam says: “Tokio Myers Our Generation tour design revolved around the basic idea of cinematography and immersing Tokio in a halo like parallel cube of light. I found using VER high

Details
France - Every year, the future graduates of the French school of architecture of Tournai organise the JNDA (Journée et Nuit de l’Architecture), an event that gathers over 4,000 visitors. A disused industrial site is specially transformed to host conferences as well as artistic and cultural performances. At dusk, the venue becomes a concert hall with three stages, where renowned and emerging bands entertain the crowds until late.
For this 34th edition, the event took up residence in the former 7,000sq.m Louis Carton industrial workshop. In order to cater for an eclectic crowd, three stages - each dedicated to specific music genres - were set up in the three workshop warehouses: EDM, Urban and Alternative.
For the technical side, the organisers trusted YES Event to manage the audio set up of all three stages. The event service provider turned to French manufacturer o

Details
USA - The brainchild of The Who’s guitarist and primary songwriter, Pete Townshend, Tommy – a rock opera that tells the story of a deaf, dumb and blind boy who achieves a personal breakthrough when he becomes an expert pinball player – was first performed on stage in 1969.
Featuring some of Townshend’s best-loved songs, including Pinball Wizard and See Me, Feel Me, Tommy has enjoyed remarkable creative longevity as a staple of The Who’s live repertoire, as well as multiple theatrical and touring productions and a celebrated film directed by Ken Russell.
For the musical component of the new production currently being staged at Colorado’s Denver Centre, director Sam Buntrock and sound designer Ken Travis had several motivating ideas in mind. “This is not to criticise some of the more recent stage productions, but we wanted to get

Details
South Africa - Cape Town production company Intello Acoustics has invested in a DiGiCo S31 mixing console from DWR Distribution.
In the hands of Divan Dirker, head of audio at Intello Acoustics, the console has already been hard at work at #Imagine 2018 Cape Town, where workshops, talks and worship, directed at thousands of teenagers and youth leaders, encourages them to be the agents of change in their communities. The S31 was also be used at Harvest 2018, an annual praise and worship event hosted by the CRC Church at the Grand West Arena in May.
Grant Olivier, spokesperson for the company, comments: “The S31 is our first DiGiCo console and there is talk of adding another one to our stock soon. We’ve been looking to replace and upgrade our existing consoles for a while now and we wanted something that would be tech-rider friendly, easy to use and powerful at the s

Details
Norway - AudioLight AS has made a major investment in Martin Audio’s new products, purchasing a package that includes 32-box WPC PA, 12 x SXH218 subwoofers and 16 x XE 300 monitors, all powered by the manufacturer’s iKON iK42 amplifiers.
The order was placed with Martin Audio distributors Atendi AS on the opening day of the ISE Show in Amsterdam, and fulfilled by head of sound Øystein Wierli.
After fulfilling last year’s festival season, the company required a bigger PA and approached Atendi. “First we talked about buying more W8LC but decided we wanted a bigger system that we could split in two smaller set-ups,” says Thomas Nordvik Olsen, co-founder of AudioLight. “So we started to look at what the market could offer, and after getting offers from all the major PA manufacturers we decided that Martin Audio still had the best system for our needs.”

Details
Norway - Peavey Commercial Audio (PCA) has appointed Audiens Norge AS as its exclusive Norwegian distributor with immediate effect.
Audiens, based 16 miles northeast of Oslo, will be responsible for all PCA brands, supplying MediaMatrix, Crest Audio and Peavey PA products.
James Kennedy, PCA operations manager, comments: “Audiens are clearly very well-established in all the markets that relate directly to our products. They go out of their way to provide end-to-end solutions where possible, accompanying and supporting their clients throughout the duration of the project. They have an extensive network of trusted consultants, architects and installers with whom they work very closely - in short, their approach closely mirrors our own and their portfolio is complementary, so I’m convinced that this is an excellent decision for both companies.”
Audiens CEO Tho
  1. The Week in Light & Sound
  2. DWR schedules Quest open days
  3. Trends to distribute Apart Audio in Canada
  4. Audac appoints distributor for Poland
  5. Utopium suffers warehouse blaze
  6. AES Milan celebrates The Power of Sound
Page 257 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .