As we head off to another NAB, we find that media production in general is experiencing a tremendous amount of fragmentation—a trend that is likely to continue. There are countless numbers of cable channels, Websites, and both traditional and Internet-based radio outlets, which has led to fragmented audiences, as well.
The National Association of Music Merchants produces two shows annually—the NAMM Show in Anaheim and Summer NAMM in Nashville. This month, the NAMM Show will again take over the Anaheim Convention Center. The mission of NAMM, established in 1901, remains the same: “to strengthen the music products industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music.”
I was lucky enough to have not one but two mentors. These incredible women taught me not only the logistics of my job and the industry, they also taught me the subtleties of how to navigate through them. I learned when to react and when to lay low. They gave me tips on how to deal with different types of people and challenging situations. I wanted to be just like them and emulate their style and poise. They were my education after my education, and they appeared at different times in my career.
At Ardent Studios, our job is to create entertainment—any way possible. While we are rooted in the foundations of rock ’n’ roll from our 45 years in Memphis, we have seen the power of the visual. Sound and picture have gone hand-in-hand since the 1920s, and today the relationship is even closer. There isn’t a music industry or a film industry anymore, and soon there won’t even be a traditional broadcast industry. There is just the entertainment industry. The demand for video content—with superior audio—is exploding with the advent of streaming and downloads.
SPARS has embarked upon a quest to seek out recording studios that have not only survived but are thriving today, in an effort similar to what Tom Peters did when he wrote In Search of Excellence. We recently talked to a few studio owners who have done a really good job adapting to the conditions of their respective markets.