Andres Mayo LOS ANGELES, CA—Shortly after the last month’s AES Convention, Andres Mayo assumed the office of AES president for the coming year. Speaking at the recent 137th Convention in LA, he noted that such an audio production-rich environment is the best way to educate and communicate with audio professionals, feeding “a hungry audience” over four full days of “amazing presentations. This audience needs the content.” he said.
“I’ve worked in audio my whole life,” Mayo commented. “I’m not just an administrator, or even someone who has been sitting in an office doing something related to music—I’ve made records every day.” Mayo is a multi-award-winning mastering engineer and owner of his own mastering and audio post facility—Andres Mayo Mastering & Audio Post—in Argentina. Coupled with his two decades of pro engineering work, two Grammy awards and more than 1,800 commercial audio titles in the marketplace, Mayo has contributed much of his time and talents to the AES over the past decade as well.
Mayo makes a special point that the idea of “hiding your knowledge,” or perpetuating the idea that a “bag of tricks” is key to retaining clients, is old-school thought and doesn’t hold water in today’s open, fast-paced multimedia production environments. “Such a way to preserve your business is no longer acceptable,” he stated.
“Ten or more years ago, that may have been the case in too many instances. Today, we know you can get any bit of information about anything, anywhere. So it’s not just about having the information; it’s about what you do with it. Our new paradigm is about creating a network of knowledgeable peers through social networks—but more importantly, physical social networks, like the AES. We need to promote the concepts of building your professional network. Not so much in LA, but new markets—Brazil, Russia, India, China—are emerging: ones that need to know it’s not about hidden magic, because anyone can do anything, anywhere. If you take the opportunity to build a network from the AES, you are taking advantage of a truly unique resource.”
Mayo noted that the recent AES67 standard represents the other half of the Society’s strengths—its role as a guide in directing product developers to build gear for comprehensive audio production systems. “AES67 is proof of the need for standardization and the manufacturers’ understanding of that,” he explained. “When we are able to stay in the center of product development and the manufacturers have a high level of respect for us, then the only other key component is that our audience—the end users—understands our function and purpose.”
Mayo noted that his AES presidency marks the first time that a Latin American has led the Society. He hopes that his unique experiences in dealing with rapid change—what some could describe as “crisis” for some geoeconomic settings—will ultimately broaden the scope of AES in positive ways. “This is an incredible honor for me,” he said earnestly of the appointment. “And, looking through the eyes of the AES, it’s a mind-opening decision. The way we generally solve problems in Latin America, I would say, is more agile. We are used to crisis because we’ve been in crisis many times over. Meanwhile the music business today is in crisis, yet it’s a very good moment for many. I come from a background of working against difficult situations. Considering these experiences, I may have a chance to do something different.”
Audio Engineering Society
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