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Hall Of Fame - Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, The Cure, Def Leppard and Radiohead are among the acts announced as the latest members of The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. The artists will be officially inducted next year alongside Roxy Music and The Zombies as the official class of 2019. It means Jackson joins brother Michael among the alumni, while Stevie Nicks enters for the second time as a solo artist, having previously been inducted as a member of Fleetwood Mac.
Creative Capital - The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced the capital’s first six creative enterprise zones, which will be awarded £11m in funding to support artists and businesses. Spread across seven boroughs, the aim of the zones is to support artists to establish themselves in local areas and to develop skills and job opportunities for local people.
The six zones to be announced include Br

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Canada - Solotech has named Daniel Méjean as vice-president (strategic sourcing) effective 14 January 2019.
In this new position under the direction of Nicolas Lavoie, chief financial officer, Méjean will actively contribute to the performance of the rapidly growing sourcing department as a key player in strategic planning, as well as long and short-term alliance building with suppliers and partner.
Méjean has over 20 years of experience in strategic sourcing management and direction in large-scale companies.
(Jim Evans)
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UK - The festive season is well underway and Triple E has gone underwater to provide a magical window display in the centre of the West End.
You wouldn’t usually associate Shaftesbury Avenue with a yacht-chandler, but Arthur Beale has been situated here for over 400 years. Traditionally known for manufacturing ropes for ships, climbers and explorers the company often takes advantage of their central London location to supply the local West End theatres with specialist rigging.
Under the leadership of Alasdair Flint, a theatrical chandler who also has a passion for sailing, the company has revived itself in recent years to provide rigging and ropes to the theatre sector alongside their more traditional sailing business. And each Christmas the company draws on this theatrical side and puts on a window display to rival any other shop in Bloomsbury or the West End!

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Rising Stars - Flamenco singer Rosalía, R&B star Ella Mai and pop artist King Princess are among the rising stars who have made it onto the BBC's Sound of 2019 longlist. Now in its 17th year, the list showcases 2019's hottest new artists. Past winners include Adele, Sam Smith, Years & Years and Sigrid. This year's selection focuses on solo acts, with only one band in the top 10. It was voted for by 136 critics, broadcasters and DJs, including former nominees Ellie Goulding and Stormzy.
Grammy Awards - Kendrick Lamar and Drake lead the nominations for next year's Grammy Awards, with seven nods each. Cardi B, Lady Gaga, HER, Maren Morris, Childish Gambino, producer Sounwave and engineer Mike Bozzi all have five nominations each.
While male acts dominated the nominations in the main categories last year, five of this year's best album nominees are w

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UK - Design and technical theatre consultancy Theatreplan has been chosen to work alongside architects Bennetts Associates on the major redevelopment of the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh.
The designs from Bennetts Associates for the redeveloped theatre have been recently unveiled and show a design that respects the original building but reimagines it for the 21st century. The scheme will see an overhaul of the theatre’s interior and exterior and will cost in the region of £20m.
Mathew Smethurst-Evans, executive director UK for Theatreplan, comments: “Theatreplan is thrilled to be part of the team rejuvenating this historic theatre and modernising its facilities to meet the needs of the 21st century.”
Duncan Hendry, chief executive of

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USA - ESTA has announced that A. Scott Hoyt will receive the 2018 Swan Award. This award is only given when an individual has served the association above and beyond the call of duty.
Scott’s service on the ESTA board of directors began in 2007. In 2012 Scott was elected to the office of treasurer and served as the treasurer of the PLASA Governing Body as well. As treasurer, he was a member of the executive committee as well as an ex-officio member of the Technical Standards and ETCP councils. His second and final term as ESTA’s treasurer comes to an end 31 December, 2018.
Though he has completed his service as Treasurer, Scott continues to chair the oversight committee of the business peer group and serves on the member advisory group.
(Jim Evans)

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Stream On - Dua Lipa is the most-streamed female artist in the UK so far this year, according to figures from both Spotify and Apple Music. Her song One Kiss, with Calvin Harris, was the second most-streamed track on both services, behind Drake's One Plan. Lipa's self-titled album was the third most-streamed record in the UK, and the fourth globally, on Spotify. The star, who won best female at this year's Brits, has just been announced as Vogue's January cover star.
Creative Call - Schools should only be awarded an “outstanding” rating by Ofsted if they can demonstrate excellence in teaching creative subjects alongside academic ones, a leading education charity has claimed. The report is produced by the Edge Foundation, which aims to shape the future of education in the UK, and its calls echo those of bodies such as Arts Council England, whic

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USA - Flex Rental Solutions has announced that Flex5 Phone - its newly designed phone app - has been released to all customers.
Flex5 is the company’s new HTML5 user interface and features a complete rewrite of Flex’s user interface and backend architecture. Flex5 will eventually replace Flex’s current Flash UI by adding a new desktop environment.
Flex5 Phone is already available for download in the Apple App Store for iPhones and in the Google Play store for Android devices. Flex5 Phone replaces Flex Mobile, which is no longer available in the App store.
In August of this year, Flex Rental Solutions announced that it had released Flex5 Tablet.
“We’re really excited about the progress we’ve made bringing new ways for our users to track and manage their inventory in the warehouse and on the go,” says Chris Stein, CEO of Flex Rental Solutions

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Forever Young - Bob Dylan and Neil Young have been announced as joint headliners at London's Hyde Park as part of British Summer Time on 12 July though it's not yet clear in which order they will play.
Lip-Syncing - Rita Ora has been accused of lip-syncing during her performance at America's most famous Thanksgiving Day event. Organisers apologised to millions of viewers watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for "technical difficulties" during the holiday feature. Rita Ora appeared to be out of sync with the vocals viewers heard during her televised performance.
Macy's, the American department store chain that throws the parade, released a public apology. The company said "several recording artists experienced technical difficulties that negatively impacted their performance." It added: "We apologise and want fans to know these issues were out of the artis

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UK - Technical entertainment charity Backup received donations in excess of £25,500 during September alone, thanks to the generosity of Ambersphere, Claypaky, DiGiCo, Lightpower Collection, PLASA and LSi.
The month started with PLASA’s on-going collaboration with the PSA, which saw a group cycle from Chippenham in Wiltshire to London Olympia on the Saturday before the PLASA Show to increase awareness of mental health within the entertainment and events industries. Not only did they achieve their awareness raising goal, they also raised £1,615 for Backup.
Next to show their support was the Lightpower Collection, which exhibits its impresive collection of rock‘n’roll art - of which legendary rock photographer Neal Preston’s work is the core - around the world, with proceeds from the sale of its original prints donated to Backup and US charity, Behind the

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UK - SXS Events recently used Current RMS’ Open API to create a number of integrations to streamline workflow. The Open API is available for any of their software users to access and build with, for them to develop exciting and useful integrations that utilise their data within Current RMS.
Established in 1998, UK-based SXS Events specialises in event production and dry hire, and has grown to be a multi-million pound event production company. Using the Current RMS Open API, they created X Hire, a platform for their clients to view products directly on their website and hire them. Built to work alongside their normal website, this space allows them to pull across products and key information from Current RMS and onto a platform their new and existing clients can easily access and view.
“The website is a great tool for both the office team and clients. Instead of t

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Sustainable Art - An environmental programme designed to help arts organisations become more sustainable has helped its participants reduce their energy consumption by almost a quarter in the past six years, saving £16.5m as a result. The group of 136 of Arts Council England’s national portfolio organisations have also decreased their carbon emissions by 35% in this time period, according to a report on the scheme by ACE and green arts charity Julie’s Bicycle.
These figures are the culmination of a partnership between Julie’s Bicycle and the Arts Council that began in 2012 with the aim of encouraging arts organisations to become more environmentally sustainable. As part of the six-year programme, the 136 participating organisations consistently reported data at regular intervals across the period. 47 of these were theatre organisations, including the Royal Court and t

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The Long Goodbye - Elton John has announced UK dates for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, saying they will be emotional and "incredibly special". The singer, who began his mammoth three-year goodbye tour in the US in September, will continue to play across the world until 2021, with more than 300 shows planned. Two UK dates had already been confirmed for next year, and there will now be more again in November 2020, kicking off at London's O2 Arena. Sir Elton will also play arena shows in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Leeds in 2020.
"The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will take us to many places that have meant a lot to me over the last 50 years, but these UK shows will be incredibly special," he said. "The UK is home, and where my heart will always be. To celebrate some of the incredible moments we've shared with my Britis

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USA - Lighting designer Herrick Goldman, principal of HG Lighting Design and Evoke Collaborative recently presented the Behind the Scenes charity with a $1,000 donation representing a portion of the firm’s design fees over the last year. HG Lighting Design was the first company to pledge a service rather than a product to Behind the Scenes and this donation marked HGLD’s second annual cheque presentation.
HG Lighting Design provides lighting services for a wide variety of markets including theatre, dance, and corporate events, as well as permanent installations for museums and other venues. Goldman, who designs all around the globe, has long been a supporter of the Behind the Scenes charity. Goldman says: “Our industry is filled with so many wonderful people, it’s a pleasure to be able to support our family members in times of need. In late 2018 HGLD is launching Evo

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USA - Four board members have been elected to the EST board of directors following an election that ended on 30 October (Tuesday).
Steve Surratt of Texas Scenic Company will fill the office of treasurer.
Steve Roudebush of BMI Supply will return as the dealer and distributor director.
Steve Terry of ETC was elected as manufacturer director.
Mike Garl of Mike Garl Consulting will serve a second term as professional services director.
All will begin their three-year term of office on 1 January 2019.
(Jim Evans)

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UK - Following a collaboration at the recently completed White Rose leisure extension in Leeds, Studiotech was approached by tensile fabric specialists, Base Structures, to assist with the multi-million pound transformation of the NEC in Birmingham.
Included in this transformation was the facelift of the façade. The new design included patterned coloured panels and 37 tensile fabric pyramids, designed by Base Structures. Each translucent pyramid was to be backlit to create a more attractive and engaging environment for all stakeholders.
Studiotech assisted Base Structures by providing the detailed design, supply, installation and programming of the feature lighting. They chose to use Traxon Washer Allegro RGB LED luminaires to wash gracefully behind the pyramids.
The complex façade design meant that a number of trades were involved in completing this facelif

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Europe - There are three days left for the entertainment lighting industry to respond to the EU Commission’s revised version of the Ecodesign regulation.
The consultation period ends on 9 November (Friday) and the draft is open for one last review before the final parliamentary vote. Those who wish to respond should follow this link or visit plasa.org for instructions.
Whilst the outcome overall has been positive, European entertainment industry bodies have proposed four ‘small but essential’ amendments ahead of key talks in December.
The European Entertainment Ecodesign Coalition (EEEC) -

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Record Breakers - Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa, are among the artists who helped propel British music to a record year in 2017, according to a new report. Export revenues grew by 7% to a new high of £2.6bn, UK Music's Measuring Music report said.
For the second year running the number of successful records by British artists bucked the trend for annually declining music sales - which had slumped to £610m in 2015.
Festivals and live events, including world tours by Coldplay, The Rolling Stones and Sir Paul McCartney, also accounted for £1bn of revenue - with the report confirming the O2 in London was the world's most popular arena.
Overall, the UK music industry contributed a record £4.5bn to the UK economy last year - up £100m on 2016. The report said more people were employed in the music industry than ever before, with almost 146,000 jobs.

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UK - A performance by final year BA (Hons) Acting and BA (Hons) Actor Musicianship students from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance has raised over £550 for the Mayor of Bexley’s charity appeal.
The College annually donates proceeds from box office sales and audience donations from one of their public performances to the Mayor of Bexley’s chosen charities. This year a record amount of £586 was raised to support those in the borough who suffer daily with mental health issues and children with Autism.
The performance of Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale on Thursday 1 November, also gave an opportunity for students from the Colleges’ School of Design, Management and Technical Arts to showcase their talents. Designer Kelli-Mae Crossman, lighting designer Adam Richardson and sound designer Rachel Goldberg transformed the Rose Theatre into 19th Cent

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UK - The UK entertainment technology industry is valued at £1.28bn in 2017/18 and its value is predicted to grow over the next five years, according to a new research report by PLASA.
The study - said by PLASA to be 'the most comprehensive study of the entire entertainment technology industry in many years' - is available to download from plasa.org. It delves into each market sector’s performance and also looks at the effects of macro-environment trends and employment.
According to the findings, all sectors have experienced growth, particularly AV and audio, which represent 38% and 27% of the market share respectively. AV is currently valued at £490m and has an increasing presence in many sectors including architectural and retail. Audio is valued at £340m due to its

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UK - NEC Group Arenas has taken two electrical apprentices on a three-year placement with the Group’s Arenas ElectriX team.
Liam Dyde, 21, and Mohammed Waseem, 28, will receive mentoring as they bid to complete their NVQ Level 3 in electrics.
Throughout their apprenticeship, Dyde and Waseem will gain theoretical and practical knowledge and be involved in testing, inspection and delivery of the electrical supplies. One day per week in term time will also be spent at Solihull College & University Centre for additional practical and theory lessons.
NEC Group Arenas chief electrician and mentor Peter Hammond comments: “There is a noticeable skills gap in the arenas electrical industry, something that we too have noticed with our in-house team. As skilled individuals retire, there’s be a decline in numbers of those able to step into their positions. With d

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Argentina/USA - Over $10m worth of equipment has been seized from a black market organisation in Buenos Aires following a two-year undercover operation.
The equipment was retrieved on 13 September in a joint operation between Argentinian police forces, the NYPD major crimes squad, the FBI and the US embassy. The authorities said 10 raids had been carried out, with the kit believed to have been stolen from the USA and rented out to film and TV production companies on the black market in Argentina.
ESTA’s Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG) worked closely with the police to coordinate the identification of the recovered items via its searchable online database for missing equipment, Rental Guard.
Martin Pastor, NYPD major case squad detective, comments: “We have recovered over $10m in stolen equipment thanks to Rental Guard. I urge anyone who suffers a th

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Olympia Plans - Plans have been submitted for a 1,500-seat theatre and 1,000-capacity performing arts venue in the Olympia London exhibition centre. The new venues are part of a £700m redevelopment of the West Kensington events space, which was first announced in July. Now the owners of Olympia London, Yoo Capital, have requested planning permission from Hammersmith and Fulham council.
The planning documents reveal further details of the proposed performing arts offering, with developers aiming to create a cultural hub in the area. As well as the previously announced 1,500-seat theatre, there will also be a flexible performing arts venue with a capacity of 1,000 seated or 3,000 standing, which will be used for music and potentially also for theatre and dance. There will also be 10,000sq.ft of performance rehearsal space, which will be primarily for use of local charities an

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USA - Three more ESTA standards have been posted for public review.
ANSI E1.34 - 2009, Entertainment Technology - Measuring and Specifying the Slipperiness of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues is being considered for reaffirmation again (i.e., no changes in requirements, only updating organization name, address, copyright date, etc.) The document describes a simple means of measuring and specifying the slipperiness of floor surfaces used by performers in live entertainment venues. The standard is not for normal walking and working surfaces, but only for those floor surfaces used by actors, dancers, and other similar artists when performing before an audience. Comments are due before the end of the day on 17 December; the review is over when 18 December starts.
BSR E1.37-5, Gene
  1. The Week in Light & Sound
  2. ESTA standards up for review
  3. The Week in Light & Sound
  4. Stage Electrics appoints operations director
  5. Ecodesign latest - New draft released
  6. The Week in Light & Sound
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