Business

Details
The Netherlands - In 2018, Dan Dugan - inventor of the automatic microphone mixer - is celebrating his 50th year in business, his 75th birthday and his 35th year of his laboratory on Napoleon Street, San Francisco. Since 2011 Dan Dugan Sound Design technology has been a key component in Yamaha’s digital mixing systems, so the company invited him to a surprise celebration on its stand at ISE 2018.
Nowadays, inventors of key developments in the modern pro audio industry are recognised as pioneers, visionaries, even ‘living legends’. Significant anniversaries arrive with increasing frequency, but not many enjoy three at the same time!
Dan Dugan has spent his entire life involved with audio although, ironically, his first job in the production industry was as a lighting designer. It was when designing the audio for an early 1970s production of the musical Hair

Details
USA - ESTA and USITT have announced the presenters for the upcoming New World Rigging Symposium, 13-14 March in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in conjunction with the USITT Conference and Stage Expo. Full session descriptions can be found at www.esta.org/nwrs_sessions.
The programme includes: Keynote Address: Scott Fisher; Show Rigging on Cruise Ships. Big ideas. Tiny venues Bob Murphy, Paul Riley, Loren Schreiber; Ground Support Concert Rigs: Mike Garl, Jeff Reder, Jose Roche, Will Todd; ANSI Standards and ICOPER. Paperwork that’s actually useful: Tiny Good, Karl Ruling, Bill Sapsis; Damn it, Jim. I’m a chain hoist, not a winch: Rick Montgomery, Eric Rouse, Ken Tilson
OSHA, Risk Assessments and Rigging Emergency Action Plans: Steve Adelman, Tony Galuppi, Eddie Raymond; Automation and Touring. Because we can: Joe McGeough

Details
USA - For the fourth year in a row, global design and BIM software developer Vectorworks, Inc. invites design professionals, educators and students in the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries to the annual Vectorworks Design Summit. The Summit will take place from 4-6 November, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass, and this training experience will consist of industry workshops, inspirational design and networking.
“The architecture and landscape in Arizona are very different from the city backdrops we have had in the last three years, and I think our customers will enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives to enjoy this scenic desert location,” said Nicole Davison, vice president of sales at Vectorworks, who is originally from Tucson. “The weather in November will be beautiful and allow us to netwo

Details
The Netherlands - Riedel has acquired Swiss engineering pioneer Archwave. This new partnership will form a research and development hub in Zurich and increase Riedel’s global engineering team to over 100 while expanding its R&D capabilities for IP and standards such as AES67, says the company.
Archwave is an audio-networking and streaming specialist that promotes open standards for the interconnection of audio and video equipment in professional environments.
“At Riedel, IP standards are vital not only for our intercom portfolio but also for all of the other Riedel product lines,” said Thomas Riedel, founder and CEO of Riedel Communications. "By collaborating with Archwave, we are taking another important step towards providing complete networking solutions that allow broadcasters to work the way they want to work. With our new engineering team in Switzerlan

Details
UK - TSG and sister brand Definitive Security have won Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) accreditation, the set of standards overseen by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
Independently monitored, the ACS endorsement process examines how well an organisation is managed, how effectively it services its customers and how well it treats its employees.
Companies are judged across nine categories including strategy, commercial relationship management, resources, people and leadership.
A spokesperson for the SIA comments: “Approved contractors are committed to customer service and the compulsory licensing of their staff. This means their customers can rest assured that every private security operative deployed on their premises will be working within the law.”
TSG managing director, David Boswell, says: “It is a great feeling to achieve Approved Contrac

Details
The Netherlands - Powersoft has announced the appointment of Mennegat Trading BV to its distribution network. Mennegat will promote Powersoft's lightweight, high-power, energy efficient fixed install and rental staging series of amplifier platforms across the Netherlands. The company brings 20 years of experience and a dedicated focus on audio solutions.
Mennegat Trading supplies 100 of the leading Dutch system integrators and contractors in key market sectors that include corporate buildings and sports venues. The company also supplies wholesale to AV rental companies and electrical installers.
Powersoft's ESA regional account manager, Stefano Previtali, comments, "Mennegat has a very personal approach and the relationship has been rewarding from the start. Yet, the decision to work with Mennegat stems from three main factors. First, the company is focussed on specif

Details
UK - After joining Quested Monitoring Systems as UK distributor late last year, Sound Network Ltd has already secured two Quested Super Centres – one to service the north and one for the south of England.
Studiocare Professional Audio Ltd is based in Liverpool and has the Quested S and V-range studio monitors on demo in their showroom.
“I have known about Quested for years and have always been a big fan; great build construction and sound fantastic, plus they’re built here in the UK and it’s good to support British manufacturing,” says Rick Whalley, Studiocare’s sales director. “We are very happy to become a supercentre and it’s always good to hold sales and demonstration stock to give our customers choices of the finest products the industry has to offer.”
Red Dog Music London is a pro audio store in Clapham, London and has a fully kitted out

Details
The Netherlands - Viju and VisionsConnected, two leading visual collaboration specialists, have joined forces to form a single brand identity – Kinly. The move makes the new company one of the largest audiovisual system integrators in the world.
Kinly launched on 5 February 2018 on the eve of ISE 2018. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the combined company today serves corporate and public customers in over 120 countries from established office locations throughout EMEA, the USA and APAC.
The new brand’s management team optimises the expertise and experience of both companies with former Viju CEO, Odd Sverre Østlie taking the helm as Kinly CEO whilst his opposite number at VisionsConnected, founder and CEO Raymond Alves, will be spearheading Kinly’s solutions and services development in his new role as CSO (Chief Solutions Officer).
“Our ne

Details
USA - Bandit Lites kicked off its 50th year with its Annual General Meeting, a gathering of all Bandits from around the country to commemorate the previous year’s successes, laud those with significant anniversaries and outstanding service and to devise the groundwork for the upcoming year’s projects.
Among the performers and speakers for the day’s event were Republic Records recording artist and 2016 The Voice winner, Chris Blue, American radio host, Hallerin Hilton Hill, and Bandit founder and chair, Michael T. Strickland, who shared his continued vision of Bandit’s focus on excellence. Chris performed several songs, including his new hit single, Blue Blood Blues.
Allison Burchett (director of philanthropy and project manager), Sharon Gross (Media relations coordinator) and Brad Hylton (warehouse manager) all celebrated five years of service wit

Details
Celtic Connections - The festival drew to a close on Sunday night with record audience figures during its 18-day programme. The traditional music festival celebrated 25 years with 130,000 people attending more than 350 events. Venues across Glasgow welcomed more than 2,300 artists from over 30 countries on 28 stages.
Entertainment included a mixture of concerts, talks, workshops, film screenings, ceilidhs, art exhibitions, free events and late-night sessions. Councillor David McDonald, chairman of event organisers Glasgow Life, said, "There is nothing that compares to Celtic Connections and it is a huge part of our year-round cultural calendar, providing much needed entertainment and economic cheer to the city during the darkest winter months. Our first 25 years have seen the festival grow into a world-beater and I can't wait to see what is to come as we move forward with th

Details
The Netherlands - AV Stumpfl has officially announced the opening of AV Stumpfl China.
The AV Stumpfl office will operate with the aim to develop and expand AV Stumpfl's presence in the Chinese mainland's AV market. Headquartered in Shanghai, the hand-picked team consists of experienced system engineers, as well as AV and marketing experts.
Francis Lee, CEO of AV Stumpfl China, states: "We are seeing a lot of growth potential when it comes to AV Stumpfl's importance in mainland China. The company is completely independent and family owned, has a very good reputation, award winning products and an incredibly enthusiastic team.
“Our own AV Stumpfl China team will be able to supplement this great foundation further by providing direct technical training, product support and maintenance services. As a first step, we will be focusing on a number of key markets, incl

Details
The Netherlands - Audio-Technica has announced that its Netherlands-based distributor, Iemke Roos Audio, will rebrand to Audio-Technica Benelux from 6 February 2018. While the name changes, all customers will continue to receive the same exceptional levels of service with an unchanged Iemke Roos team headed up by long-serving managing director, Gineke van Urk, says the company.
One of the longest established professional audio importers in the Netherlands, Iemke Roos has worked with broadcasters, musicians and audio-visual and hi-fi specialist retailers since 1969. The company has been an affiliate of Audio-Technica Group since July 2014 and the naming transition to Audio-Technica Benelux will further increase the Japanese company’s presence in Europe, adding to its offices in France, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Dubai and UK.
Robert Morgan-Males, marketing director, Aud

Details
The Netherlands - Biamp Systems has announced that effective 19 February, Jands will be the company’s distributor in Australia and New Zealand, distributing the Tesira, Devio, Audia, Nexia and Vocia product lines. Midwich, Biamp’s current distributor in the region, will remain so through 18 April.
“We’re excited for the opportunities this new partnership brings,” said Jim Seretis, consultant liaison and business development manager for Australia and New Zealand at Biamp Systems. “Not only will this benefit our current customers, but it will enable Biamp to add to the AV growth throughout the region.”
“We are immensely proud to have been chosen to represent Biamp in Australia and New Zealand,” said Paul Mulholland, managing director for Jands. “Having competed against Biamp for many years I am all too familiar with the company’s superior AV perform

Details
The Netherlands - Effective 1 June, 2018, Shure will open its own office in Switzerland and take over direct distribution of its products throughout the country with the newly founded Shure Distribution Switzerland GmbH. The company has also announced that, from June this year, it will cease distribution of QSC products in Germany and the UK
The launch of a local team, responsible for all product distribution and customer technical support in the Swiss market, is designed to bring the Shure brand closer to its customers and give them regionally based Shure contacts. Long-standing Swiss distributor, Dr. W.A. Günther AG, will continue to offer customers the benefits of its considerable experience and expertise in microphone and wireless communication technology.
"We would like to thank our long-standing distribution partner, Dr. W.A. Günther AG, for all its hard work

Details
USA - Located on the banks of the Black Warrior River, the Tuscaloosa River Market is an open-air farmers’ market and multi-use public facility which hosts weddings, rehearsal dinners, civic gatherings and more. Originally opened in 2012, the market has continued to grow in popularity with multiple events typically scheduled each week throughout the year
Now needing a more high-powered digital display to better inform visitors of the upcoming events, the Tuscaloosa River Market called upon the design team at The ESB Group who created a bright and colourful digital display using FLEXLite NXG LED video from PixelFLEX.
“The market has been open for approximately five years now, and they had been relying a projector and screen system that was really only effective during the twilight hours,” began Patrick Sobers, The ESB Group design engineer. “As a multi-use publi

Details
USA - The celebrated home of the champion Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks now features a 190,000 sq.ft addition with power distribution and trussing installed by Upstaging. Opened to the public last fall, the new atrium features the stadium’s box office as well as an expansive team store, dining options, business offices, and the eternally popular Michael Jordan statue, now indoors and artfully lit. Six-circuit power for the addition’s creative lighting includes nearly 3,000ft of white ProMolded 12/14 multicable assemblies.
“For this job, the ProMolded overmold assemblies were perfect for several reasons,” says Upstaging’s Steve Wojda. “First, everything had to be white and ProMolded 12/14 cable assemblies are available in a variety of custom colours. Second, in order to pass municipal codes, the 19-pin connectors must be tamper-proof and the entire assemblies must

Details
UK - HD Pro Audio is holding a technology showcase at Daytime TPi for visitors to experience the integration of the Avid VENUE|S6L console with Waves plug-ins.
The VENUE 5.7 software update and WSG-HD Option Card for the Avid VENUE|S6L delivers the most comprehensive integration of Waves SoundGrid plug-ins found in any audio console. From show file compatibility, mapped encoders, multi-touch control, and automatic delay compensation, to auto-failover redundancy and safety features, the Avid and Waves teams didn’t stop working until all of the requirements were achieved. These features are released as part of the VENUE 5.7 software for VENUE|S6L, to greatly expand the creative toolset for all live sound engineers.
The presentation and demonstrations will take place on 26 February 2018 at Daytime TPi, an event held at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel & Spa for atte

Details
Australia - J&C Joel has announced the appointment of Yeo Creative Solutions as its new dealer in Australia.
J&C Joel have been exporting show textiles and event flooring to Australia since 1990 and this, says the manufacturer, is an exciting development for the business as it strengthens the company’s presence in the region and helps better support the market.
Yeo Creative Solutions specialises in events and entertainment production with the business comprising YeoProjects, YeoSupplies and YeoDesign. They have more than 20 years’ experience in the industry creating photorealistic visualisations, design drawings and turning them into reality managing every step of the process, from commissioning, through to construction and installation.
Yeo Creative Solutions will hold stock of J&C Joel’s primary range of event and production flame retardant fa

Details
South Africa - DWR Distribution has announced a training course presented by Joshua Cutts and Christopher Bolton of Collective Works. Production Design - The Responsibility of a modern-day designer will be held from 20-22 February from 9am to 5pm.
The three-day course will cover topics such as an Introduction to Design, Hands-on Design Workshop, Console and Layout Planning, Programming for Music, Colour Theory, Networking and Protocols, Media Servers and Show Integration, Pixel Mapping and Timecode Programming. As leaders in their field, Josh and Chris will also share programming tips and tricks.
Hosted at DWR Distribution in Laserpark, Honeydew, the cost is R2 880.00 per delegate and includes light refreshments and lunch.Bookings can be made on line.
(Jim Evans)

Details
Italy/USA - Marani Pro Audio's recently-launched US office has partnered with Peavey Electronics Corporation to market and distribute Marani USA’s line of digital audio processing products.
The complete range of Marani Pro Audio loudspeaker management and audio processors will be available through Peavey Commercial Audio sales representatives and distributors worldwide. A selection of Marani products will also be featured on the Peavey Commercial Audio stand 7-M210 at ISE 2018.
“This is a very strong match for us,” explained Michele Marani, founder and managing director of Marani USA and Marani Proaudio. “Peavey has long enjoyed a reputation for pioneering excellence in sound reinforcement and pro audio products. Marani USA will augment Peavey’s considerable portfolio of brands with our unique high-performance digital audio processing products.”
“

Details
Spain - Madrid-based AV distributor Video Cine Import S.A. (VCI) has been announced as Avolites' new distributor for Spain.
VCI was founded in 1999 and was originally dedicated to the film and TV markets before expanding into TV studio lighting installation in 2011 and the events sector. The company is now a major provider of lighting consoles and media servers, with offices in Madrid and Barcelona, and a subsidiary in Portugal.
"We're thrilled to be able to offer all products from a respected brand such as Avolites for the Spanish market," says Pilu Baselga, marketing assistant at VCI. "We feel that it is hugely beneficial for us as a company to carry Avolites' full range of lighting controllers, from the Titan One to the Arena console, and from dimmers to their Ai line of industry-leading media servers, to cover all market needs. We're sure they will perfectly comp

Details
Germany/Russia - GLP has recently established an operation in Russia - GLP Russia.
At the helm of the new offices will be Mikhail Kuznetsov, Anton Anufriev and Elena Zhulidova, who were responsible for GLP at Russian distributor A&T Trade since 2008. From 2010 the trio was employed at another lighting manufacturer, which shut its Moscow subsidiary in 2016, forcing the team to consider building a new distribution company - and they recently reunited with GLP.
Kuznetsov explains: “The opportunity to partner again with GLP was too good to miss. We are an ambitious team, and working alongside GLP will enable us increase market share right across the field of professional lighting.”
GLP MD Udo Künzler adds: “This experienced team has much to offer. They have a professional structure, with an established system of sales channels in different market segments

Details
Farewell Yellow Brick Road - Sir Elton John has declared he wants to "go out with a bang" as he revealed plans for a final world tour. The 70-year-old British musician - who has been touring for nearly 50 years - said he will no longer perform live following his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which is due to start in September. Announcing his retirement plans, the singer said his "priorities have changed" as he and husband David Furnish care for their two sons
Sir Elton said the mammoth 300-date tour was a chance "to say thank you to all my fans around the world and then to say goodbye." He added, "I have had a good run and I want to go out with a bang."
Grammy Awards - Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar stole the show, and most of the awards, at the 2018 Grammys. Mars provided the night's big upset, taking the album of the year trophy that most critics assu

Details
Europe - German fibre network giants Optocore reported substantial investments by consolidated resellers in further Optocore devices from all over the world.
Leading the way were global rental giants CLAIR Global, who have substantially increased their Optocore inventory as they gear up for a major, as yet unannounced 2018 tour.
Having used Optocore DD series solutions for some time, mainly with their vast inventory of DiGiCo SD series mixing consoles, the Lititz-based company has added a further six DD32R-FX network converters and pair of DD2FR-FX AES/EBU.
CLAIR Global console dept manager, Jonathan Shober, stated that previously the company had enjoyed a brief experience with an LX4 system prior to utilising Optocore with a DiGiCo D5. “Our clients continually ask us to push the envelope,” he said. “With regard to the new tour, it was suggested that an au
  1. ARAM launches automated rental platform
  2. AES@NAMM Pro Sound Symposium under way
  3. Multi Media Marketing invests in Elation
  4. S+H ends 2017 on a high note
  5. Meyer Sound appoints Australian distributor
  6. The Future of Audio + Music Technology at Frankfurt
Page 269 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .