Los Angeles, CA (January 30, 2024)—Focusrite Group CEO Tim Carroll has been named the new president of the MIDI Association, the nonprofit trade organization dedicated to expanding, promoting and protecting MIDI technology worldwide.
After 50 years, MIDI as a technical standard has evolved from MIDI 1.0 to 2.0 just in the past few years. MIDI 2.0 has just begun proliferating in products and software, so this is a critical time for the organization as the music products and related industries begin adopting the significantly enhanced MIDI specification.
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Carroll, who will serve a two-year term, was elected by the association’s executive board. Focusrite Group’s family of brands includes the iconic synthesizer brands Sequential and Oberheim, as well as MIDI controller and synth company Novation. Sequential founder Dave Smith was instrumental in the creation of MIDI and introduced the first synthesizer with a MIDI port 51 years ago. Carroll, an accomplished pianist and keyboard player himself, now leads the MIDI Association while he and Focusrite Group hold and evolve Dave Smith’s legacy.
In addition to managing and stewarding MIDI for manufacturers and developers, the organization also has three stated philanthropic priorities: MIDI innovation, music education, and music and wellness. Carroll will have strategic input into these priorities as the Association begins distributing grants from the MIDI Fund, a named fund managed by the NAMM Foundation.
Carroll notes, “I am proud to accept the president’s role and lead the MIDI Association for the coming two years. This is a critical inflection point in the MIDI Association’s history. As an industry, we’ve only begun to realize the potential of MIDI 2.0, and I’m excited to work with the MIDI Association board and all its members to create MIDI’s next expressive, musical, and creative chapters.”
