In the latest chapter in the evolution of Nashville’s Emerald Entertainment Group, the legendary studio complex was purchased by Dan and Kim Voss of Voss Development Corporation. The company will do business under the name Masterfonics and will continue operating the facilities as Emerald Sound Studios, The Tracking Room and Masterfonics.
Back row (from left): Milan Bogdan, general manager; Auborn Hager, VP of legal affairs; front row (L-R): Mark Dowdle, president/COO; Kim Voss, controller/owner; and Dan Voss, CEO/owner
photo: Rick Clark
This development also sees the return of key figures who played a role in the complex’s success years ago: co-founder of the Masterfonics mastering facility Milan Bogdan and former Emerald Sound Studios chief technical engineer Kerry Kopp.
Mark Dowdle, president/COO for Masterfonics, said, “Dan [Voss] and I have known each other for 30 years and discussed doing something like this together in the past, but the timing wasn’t right. We got together in February and started looking into the possibilities and, immediately, Masterfonics came up. Knowing its history and reputation, I knew it was a viable option for us as far as being something we were interested in purchasing.”
The complex is being upgraded and restored. The Tracking Room, a Tom Hidley — designed facility, was the first to receive refinements; Michael Cronin, of Michael Cronin Acoustic Construction, is consulting with Hidley on the work.
“What we are looking for is a family feeling,” said Kim Voss. “We have hired the staff to make this a technically excellent facility.”
