Weeks of April 1-15
MacPherson Debuts PC12 Loudspeaker at NSCA 2002
MacPherson, Inc.(Spokie, IL) manufacturers of high-performanceprofessional loudspeaker systems, will introduce their PC12 Loudspeakerat NSCA Expo 2002 in booth #918. This full-bandwidth loudspeaker bringsstudio monitor clarity to the sound reinforcement arena at anaffordable price. Its two-way design incorporates a sophisticatedcrossover network, allowing a single amplifier channel to produce highsound pressure level (SPL) with minimum frequency and phasedistortion.
For more information, please visit www.macpherson-inc.com.
Yamaha Unveils Open Plug-in Technology
Yamaha Corporation of America, Digital Musical Instruments (BuenaPark, CA), recently announced a new open plug-in format for the controlof MIDI devices from within music software and sequencing products. Thecompany debuted the new format, known as Open Plug-In Technology (OPT),at this year’s Music Messe in Frankfurt, Germany. OPT allows seamlessintegration of external hardware devices and control surfaces withsynthesizer editors, enhanced editing views and other MIDI processingtools. The OPT interface is based on the industry-standard MicrosoftCOM (Component Object Model) The technology is compatible with MSWindows 9.x/ME and XP. Yamaha is currently promoting OPT to third partyhardware and software companies, and early adopters include CakewalkMusic Software.
For more information, please visit www.yamahasynth.com.
John Lennon Songwriting Contest Taps Tonos as OnlinePartner
The John Lennon Songwriting Contest announced an exclusivepartnership with Tonos.com (www.tonos.com), the global musician’snetwork founded by legendary music hitmakers Carole Bayer Sager, DavidFoster and Kenneth Babyface Edmonds.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tonos.com will serve as theexclusive online partner for the sixth annual songwriters’ contest. Asof now, songwriters can begin entering the contest by submitting theirMP3 files through Tonos.com. The winners of the 2002 contest willreceive a tonosPRO membership, the new subscription service designed tohelp musicians improve their skills, connect with other performers andmove ahead in the music industry. In addition, all JLSC entrants whoare not Tonos subscribers and who upload their submissions on Tonos.comwill receive a free one-month subscription to tonosPRO.
Brian Rothschild, executive director of the John Lennon SongwritingContest, said, “We are very pleased with this new relationship. We havefound that the online entries have more than doubled over the past twoyears. In addition to providing the ability for online submissions, webelieve that Tonos can provide services to our winners that will garnerthe attention of industry heavyweights who can further the songwriters’careers. Tonos.com will be playing not only the grand prize winners’songs, they will also afford the opportunity for finalists to be heardfor the first time.”
“Tonos is excited to be named the exclusive online partner of the2002 John Lennon Songwriting Contest,” said Justin Herz, generalmanager/executive VP at Tonos.com. “The contest is another example ofhow Tonos helps musicians reach the top decision makers in the musicbusiness.”
Panasonic Chooses LA Post Music for NAB 2002 HD ProductPresentation
This year at NAB 2002, Panasonic has selected Los Angeles Post MusicInc. to provide all of the music for its main stage video presentation.The 25-minute video will be showcasing the latest inhigh-definition/digital cinema products for Panasonic.
“It is really great that Panasonic feels our music can best assistin effectively presenting to the NAB audience their newestinnovations,” Tom Borton, president/CEO of LA Post Music,commented.
From April 8-11, LA Post Music can be heard at the Panasonic booth,#L7214 located in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
FullAudio Licenses Warner For Launch on Clear Channel
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Web music firm FullAudio on Tuesday said itlicensed Warner Music, clinching its third licensing deal with a majorrecord label for a subscription service it plans to launch this monththrough Clear Channel Communications Inc. radio stations.
FullAudio plans to include Warner-controlled tracks, along withrecordings from EMI Group Plc and Vivendi Universal’s Universal MusicGroup on its service through Clear Channel, which will be calledMusicNow.
Warner Music is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc.
The service, which enables users to download songs for a monthlyfee, is currently being tested in Phoenix. FullAudio is providing theinfrastructure and content for the subscription to Clear Channel andother distributors, who will then determine their own pricing for theservice. The FullAudio service will compete against major label-backedservices like MusicNet and Pressplay as well as startup Listen.com’sRhapsody service. All of these services are attempting to providesecure and commercial alternatives to free song-swap service Napster,which has been idled by copyright infringement. But several other freeservices like Morpheus and Kazaa have emerged in Napster’s wake,challenging the success of these new paid services. Clear Channel, theleading U.S. radio broadcaster, plans to launch FullAudio for a feelater this month through stations in Phoenix and possibly other cities,a source familiar with the matter said.
Ultimately, Clear Channel will roll out the service on 30 radiostations in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City throughoutthe spring and summer of 2002. The service will be branded withindividual Clear Channel stations and powered by FullAudio’s contentand technology.
Pricing for MusicNow is slated to start at $7.49 for the Gold plan,which allows the listener to download 50 tracks per month, whichaccumulate every month so that the listener would have 600 tracks byyear’s end, sources said. By pricing the service at $7.49, FullAudio isundercutting both MusicNet and Pressplay, which are currently chargingsubscribers just under $10 a month for their most basic service.
Clear Channel also plans to offer a deal known as the Platinum plan,under which subscribers will pay $14.99 per month, allowing them toaccumulate 100 tracks per month, or 1,200 tracks in one year, accordingto sources.
Consumers will be able to preview MusicNow for free for three days,sources said.
Fairlight Acquires Intellectual Property of DSP Media
Fairlight announced at NAB 2002 the acquisition of the intellectualproperty of the now-defunct DSP Media, which includes DSP’s Vmotion and A/V-transfer products.
“When DSP Media ceased operating, Fairlight was presented with theopportunity to acquire A.V transfer and V motion, which we were surewould complement our current offerings and bring value to our customersaround the globe,” Kim Ryrie, executive director of Fairlight, said.”We have been fortunate to have DSP’s core R&D team to comeonboard, including founder Joseph Narai. Existing DSP customers arebeing supported by a third-party company based in Australia, and whilewe have been able to provide some limited support, we are not in aposition to continue development on DSP’s legacy editors.”
Joseph Narai commented, “Just as DSP was getting establishedglobally, our funding was withdrawn, so the logical step for us was towork with the Fairlight team. Our initial focus on A/V transfer and Vmotion has delivered immediate results in enhancing the Fairlightproduct range by improving connectivity and video integration. Thefuture is also exciting as we are looking at combining the best ofDSP’s technology with Fairlight’s current state-of-the-artproducts.”
Fairlight will launch new releases of A/V transfer and V motion asFairlight-branded products at NAB 2002.
“V motion and A/V transfer are two exceptional products that willtruly and positively impact the workflow efficiency of broadcast andpost-production professionals in all of the markets Fairlight serves,”Ryrie added. “We will continue to look at ways to make the transfer andmanagement of media files as transparent as possible.”
For more, visit www.fairlightesp.com.au/.
Propellerhead’s Reason Awarded Best Software Instrument ByMIPA
Propellerhead Software has been awarded the prestigious MIPA Awardfor Best Software Instrument.
“It’s an incredible honor to win this award, especially with suchstrong contenders,” said Ernst Nathorst-Böös, CEO ofPropellerhead Software, after accepting the award at a cermony duringthis year’s Musikmesse.
Among the winners were Line 6, which won the Most Innovative Productwith their Guitar Port. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award went toIkutaro Kakehashi, founder and chairman of Roland Corporation.
Each year, more than 45 international music magazines present theMIPA award at the Frankfurt Musikmesse.
For more info on the MIPA Awards, go to www.mipa-award.de/.
Great Hall Studio Set To Open at Allaire Studios, June2002
Allaire Studios (Shokan, N.Y.) announced that its Great Hall Studiowill open on June 1, 2002.
Set in a 40×50-foot space, boasting 45-foot-high ceilings, the GreatHall offers a spectacular view of mountain vistas from its 20-foot-highwindows. Designed by John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group andacoustician George Augspurger, the Great Hall Studio boasts a separatecontrol room with a blue SSL 9000 J Series console; five attachedsmaller rooms (isolation booths, etc.); 5.1 surround sound; drop-downprojection screen for mixing to DVD, TV and film; and Pro Tools HDSystem and Studer 800 gold tape machines.
Located in the Catskill Mountains overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir,Allaire Studios occupies Glen Tonche, a 25-plus acre mountaintop estatebuilt in 1924, just two hours north of New York City.
Allaire’s new Neve Room opened in January 2001, and has since hostedthe likes of David Bowie, Tim McGraw and Natalie Merchant, among manyothers.
For more, visit www.allairestudios.com.
Composer Brian Keane Scores Three Sports Emmy Nominations
Composer Brian Keane has received three Sports Emmy nominations inthe “Outstanding Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics” category. The 23rdAnnual Sports Emmy Awards will take place Tuesday, April 23rd, at theMarriott Marquis in New York City.
David Beld, director of the Sports Emmy Awards, reports that Keane’scoup may be unprecedented. He secured two nods for his work on HBOdocumentaries, Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980U.S. Hockey Team and Shot Heard Around the World, the storyof Bobby Thompson’s unforgettable home run. His third nomination wasfor CBS’s Pistol Pete: The Life and Times of Pete Maravich,which he co-wrote with Buckwheat Zydeco. “In my 11 years at the EmmyAwards, I can’t recall any composer receiving all the nominations in asingle category,” Beld remarked. “I’d say the odds are stacked in BrianKeane’s favor this year.”
“Each of these projects was very special,” Keane says. “It was toughto pick a favorite so I entered all three. It will be very interestingto see which way the Emmy committee goes.”
Brian Keane has scored over 200 films during his diverse careerincluding such memorable documentaries as Ric Burns’s New York,The Donner Party and Long Journey Home: The Irish inAmerica, a Grammy winner for Best Soundtrack. He has also scoredseveral Emmy Award-winning sports documentaries including BabeRuth and Spirit of the Games for HBO. Early in his career,he established himself as a prolific Grammy Award-winning recordproducer working with such artists as Linda Ronstadt, Pete Seeger andthe London Symphony Orchestra. He has over three dozen Billboardchart-topping albums under his belt, including five Number One CDs andtwo Records of the Year. Keane’s new studio, designed by architect JohnStoryk, is currently under construction on a 10.5 acre site in SandyHook, Conn.
Steinberg Takes Cubase SX on Tour With Guitar Center
Steinberg Media Technologies AG announced a new development to hitits line of Cubase MIDI and digital audio software — a new, completelyredesigned program called Cubase SX. Steinberg North America now bringsCubase SX to the U.S., and will partner with Guitar Center in anational tour to showcase the product.
Drawing on more than 15 years of feature development on the Cubaseline, and fresh, up-to-the-minute computer code technology, Cubase SXis a powerful combination of experience and innovation. Among its newfeatures are a newly designed Project window and Mixer section,surround sound, unlimited undo and redo, offline process history, newVST instruments and effects, and a new loop editor to automaticallymatch loops to song tempo.
Cubase SX is also the first product to include Steinberg’s new VSTSystem Link, which uses VST and ASIO, and Steinberg technologies totransfer sample-accurate sync, transport, MIDI and audio data betweentwo or more computers.
Steinberg representatives will be on-hand at 50 Guitar Centerlocations throughout the country from May 1 to June 13, showcasingCubase SX. You can find the tour schedule at www.us.steinberg.net or www.guitarcenter.com.
Weeks of April 16-30
Record Attendance Expected at CEDIA’s Final 2002 Show
Indianapolis-based Custom Electronic Design and InstallationAssociation (CEDIA) announced that it has a record 425 participantsalready registered for its final regional education and trade show inPhiladelphia, April 21-22.
The regional event is being held at the Philadelphia Adam’s MarkHotel, and is the last in the series of CEDIA’s three regionaleducational and trade show offerings. These events provide customdesigners, installers and manufacturers the opportunity to enjoyCEDIA’s educational programs, manufacturer product training courses andtraining programs for CEDIA certification.
Registrations are still being accepted for CEDIA’s final 2002regional event. Additionally, manufacturer rebates are being offered toattendees. To register online, visit www.cedia.org/education.
“Creating the Perfect Demo” Seminar At UCLA Announced
On May 11, West L.A. Music, Taxi.com and UCLA ExtensionEntertainment Studies will present “Creating the Perfect Demo,” a”must-see” event for songwriters, musicians and music producers. Theevent will be held at UCLA Dickson Art Center from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.Industry experts will explain what it takes to create a hit; how to getdiscovered; how to get songs placed with major artists, TV and film;and how to generate the contacts needed for success. Attendees willalso learn about the latest gear for songwriters from Roland, AKG, DeanGuitars, Auralex and D’Addario. Give-aways and prizes at the eventinclude Auralex studio insulation, D’Addario ChordMasters, Taximemberships ($300 value/each), Roland T-shirts and free studio timefrom Klown Records (a $400 value)! The panel discussions are describedbelow:
Panel 1: “Write Hits, Get Them Cut, Go the Indie Route!”
Doug Minnick, VPof Taxi and former EMI publishing director, willguide a discussion on getting your songs placed and making connectionsin the music biz. Panelists include multi-Platinum songwriter Kashif,Dan Kimpel, indie songwriter Michelle McAffee, and many others.
Panel II: “Develop Your Artistry, Get Noticed, Get Signed!”
Michael Laskow, president of Taxi and former recordingengineer/producer, will moderate a panel of top industry experts onwhat it takes to create songs that will sell and how to capture theattention of an A&R exec. Panelists include multi-Platinum producerMichael Lloyd, John Weakland, director of A&R for Columbia Records,former head of A&R for Epic Capitol and EMI Don Grierson, andmore.
Sonomic News From NAB 2002
New York City-based Sonomic (www.sonomic.com), provider of sound librarymanagement solutions, debuted at NAB 2002 its new Total Library Server.Sonomic’s flagship sound-management product, the Total LibraryServer has been installed at CBS Television, Broadway Sound andHothead. Designed for post-production and broadcast facilities, theTotal Library Server enables editors and engineers to instantly locateand import any sound in their sound effects collection directly intotheir DAW.
With the Total Library Server, a studio’s sound effectscollection is digitized, categorized and indexed onto an ultra-fastcomputer server. Each engineer searches the server directly from theirDAW and imports the selected sounds right into their session. If theserver doesn’t have a sound that matches the search criteria, itwill automatically query and download matching sounds from the SonomicOnline Library.
“The CBS post department does a lot of time-sensitive work on newsand sports programming, so having the right effect right now iscritical,” said CBS audio post technical supervisor Dan Perino. “TheTotal Library Server lets us find exactly what we need instantly.”
Laki Fotopoulos, co-owner and engineer at Hothead, concured. “Ourengineers are turning around projects faster and at the same timegenerating more billable hours by not having to waste pre-productiontime pulling effects. We also save money on CD libraries, since we canget one or two sounds from the Online Library when we need them, ratherthan purchasing an entire CD collection.”
In other Sonomic news, Dreamhire is now offering its clients rentalaccess to the Sonomic Online Library.
Dreamhire is selling Sonomic Rental Packages, which give the clientunlimited access to Sonomic’s library of over 200,000 royalty-freesound effects and samples for a 24-hour period. Dreamhire sells thepackages for $29.95 per account per day. Once a Rental Package ispurchased, Dreamhire clients can use Sonomic’s Sound Engine to locateany sound they need instantly.
Chris Dunn, general manager of Dreamhire, stated, “Dreamhire clientsalways need access to sound libraries, whether it’s samples for musicor sound FX for post-production. Searching through stacks of CDs istedious and inefficient, especially when the clock is ticking.”
Denny McLane Named Regional Sales Manager For BSS
BSS Audio USA (Nashville) has recently appointed Denny McLane to theposition of regional sales manager.
Based in the Los Angeles area, McLane is currently responsible foroverseeing BSS-related activities of eight independentmanufacturers’ rep firms, which predominantly cover states west ofthe Mississippi River. He is also being called upon to provide personalsupport for consultants, contractors and end-users, as well as conductproduct training, particularly with the Soundweb range.
Prior to joining the company, McLane spent four years as thedirector of sales and marketing for Level Control Systems (LCS), whichfollowed four years as a product manager for Aphex Systems. From 1981through 1994, he owned and operated Sound Techniques, a regional soundcompany focusing on SR systems for hire and design/build contracting. Acapable live sound engineer with many top talent show credits, McLanealso served 11 seasons as sound designer for ShakespeareFestival/L.A.
“Denny comes to BSS Audio with an abundance of experience andknowledge,” said sales and marketing director Paul Freudenberg. “On thebrand representation front, he’s been a vital part of sales andmarketing efforts supporting both sophisticated digital and analogsignal-processing products. And, as a former contractor, live soundengineer and recording engineer, he’s been out there in thetrenches as well. Denny truly excels as a problem solver, andwe’re elated that he’s chosen to join our team.”
BSS Audio USA, 1449 Donelson Pike, Nashville, TN 37217;615/360-0277; fax 615/360-0480; www.bss.co.uk.
Hit Factory Invests In SSL K Series Consoles
The Hit Factory (New York City) has purchased two of Solid StateLogic’s new XL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogue consoles for itssoon-to-be-completed Studio 6 and Studio 7 in its main headquarters inNew York City. With an ongoing 18-year relationship with SSL involving24 consoles, the Hit Factory has successfully recorded artists in rock,pop, R&B and hip hop.
“The XL is a ‘J’ Series console onsteroids, and that’s exactly what we wanted for these two rooms,”said Troy Germano, CEO of the Hit Factory. “The XL has the power andflexibility to go back and forth between regular stereo mixing and 5.1for DVD-Audio and SACD. We feel that these multiformat options are whatwe need to continue growing within our industry, especially since theyare being set up with 5.1, just like we did in our Miami rooms.”
The Hit Factory’s XL 9000 K’s are identical 80-channel consoleswith the focus of the larger Studio 6 on tracking and mixing, whileStudio 7 is used for mixing and overdubbing.
“One of the reasons we purchased two consoles was to allow clientsto go back and forth between the two rooms,” Germano explains. “Thisnecessitated making both control rooms identical to accommodate ourclients. In addition, we’re also excited about the remote mic preoption, which will be installed in Studio 6. We expect to be onlinewith both rooms toward the end of April, and anticipate strong bookingsfrom the beginning.”
For more on the SSL K Series console, visit www.solid-state-logic.com.
New Post-Production Studio Opens In New York City
Editor Brendan Werner, designer Jeremy Lasky and effects artistDaniel Gonzalez have opened the doors of their new New York City-basedpost-production studio, Perception. The three co-founders previouslyworked together at R/GA’s broadcast studio.
According to the co-owners, their mission for Perception is tocreate world-class visual commercial art using the most efficient,cost-effective tools available; work that will challenge and change theindustry’s idea of what can be accomplished on a desktop.
“The name of the company is indicative of the work we hope to do,”Lasky told an EditorsNet reporter. “We want to change the way clientssee things. We’re doing high-end, post-production work on desktops thatlooks like it’s been done on Flame and Avid.”
“Clients don’t come to you for what you can cut on, as long as youcan get the job done,” Werner said. “There’s work that will look justas good using other software, like After Effects. Wherever we canstreamline, wherever we can use a less-expensive technology to get thesame results, we will. We don’t have to pay Flame and Avid rates, andwe want to pass that savings along to the client. The technology is outthere; now, it’s all about the talent.”
Perception’s office space is located in a loft on West 22nd Streetin Manhattan’s Chelsea district.
Shure To Auction Autographed Mics To Support HEI
Shure Incorporated (Evanston, Ill.) has donated microphonesautographed by Ozzy Osbourne, *NSYNC, Moby, Nelly Furtado, MarilynManson, Christina Aguilera, Hank Williams Jr. and Chrissie Hynde forits first Shure Bid for Hearing, a charitable auction hosted byeBay.
The auction will raise funds to support Sound Partners TM, the HouseEar Institute’s hearing conservation program, which educates audioindustry professionals about hearing health issues. The Shure Bid forHearing auction is the first of several activities Shure is holding topromote the Better Hearing and Speech Month.
The charitable auction goes live on eBay on April 29, 2002. Visitwww.shure.com/hearing and www.hei.org for more information about how tobid on these one-of-a-kind pieces of memorabilia, and visitwww.ebay.com on April 29.
In addition to the charitable auction, HEI and Shure plan to co-hostfree hearing screenings at this year’s NSCA pro audio convention. Shurewill be launching www.shure.com/hearing on its Website to help educatethe public about hearing conservation, and will also be giving awayearplugs at five different venues in Chicago and Nashville to furtherincrease awareness.
RIAA Files Complaint Against Technicolor
The Recording Industry of America (RIAA) has filed a CD-copyingcomplaint against Technicolor’s Camarillo, Calif., plant. According tothe complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles on April 3, theCamarillo plant knowingly copied and distributed pirated CDs fromartists such as *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Lauryn Hill andMarc Anthony.
Thomson Multimedia, which acquired Technicolor in 2001, respondedthat it considers the RIAA allegations concerning a very small numberof replication orders completed by Technicolor prior to its acquisitionby Thomson to have no merit, according to a Medialine story.Technicolor denies the allegations and will contest the claims assertedby the RIAA.
According to the RIAA, the trade group points to the failure ofTechnicolor to live up to the legal obligations stemming from asettlement of similar claims in 1998 by the record companies, byrefusing to allow for required inspection of books and facilities. MattOppenheim, senior VP of business and legal affairs of the RIAA, said,”We fear that the CDs we have filed suit on are only the tip of theiceberg.”
For the past year, the RIAA has attempted to negotiate a settlementwith Technicolor, but the company has rebuffed attempted to reach anout-of-court settlement. No court date has been set as of yet.
Orban/CRL Purchases Dialog4 Systems
Orban/Circuit Research Labs Inc. (Tempe, Ariz.) announced that ithas purchased the assets of Dialog4 System Engineering GmbH(Ludwigsburg, Germany).
Dialog4 is a worldwide leader in ISO/MPEG, audio, ISDN, satellitetransmission, networking and storage. The company has been designingand manufacturing equipment for the codec market for over 10 years.Their products, available in Europe since 1993, include the MusicTaxicodec family for encoding and decoding audio and data over TCP/IP onthe Internet, ISDN and satellite.
CRL Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Orban/CRL, purchased the Dialog4assets for $2 million dollars U.S., consisting of 1.25 million sharesof Orban/CRL common stock valued at $1.00 per share and $750,000 incash to be paid at a later date. All current operations and staff ofDialog4 will be retained in Germany. Orban/CRL will now have a Europeanoperations center based in the Dialog4 offices in Ludwigsburg, Germany.The Dialog4 infrastructure will be used to expand Orban/CRL’sengineering, sales, marketing and sales support for the Europeanmarkets.
Orban/CRL has been involved in a joint project to bring the Dialog4products to North America with the development of the Orban Opticodecand Sountainer for the past year. “From the beginning of ourrelationship, it was clear that Dialog4 is a quality company with agreat reputation for engineering excellence,” stated C. JaysonBrentlinger, president/CEO/chairman of Orban/CRL. “When the opportunityto acquire this great company came along, we had been working soclosely with Dialog4 on so many new products that we felt as if theywere already a part of the Orban/CRL family.”
Berthold Burkhardtsmaier, Dialog4 managing director, is now VP ofEuropean Operations for Orban/CRL and has been appointed to the Boardof Directors. In addition, Peter Lee, director of sales for Dialog4products, has been appointed manager of European Sales for all Orbanand CRL products.
The newest addition to the Orban/CRL line is the Sountainer, asmall, high-quality, broadcast MP3 recorder/player. The Sountainer isaimed at both the professional and consumer markets.
For more, visit www.dialog4.com/.
Guide To French Recording Studios Released
Bel Air’s Le Guide des studios d’enregistrement enFrance (Bel Air’s The Recording Studio Guide in France),written by Guillaume J. Schouker, is a comprehensive source ofinformation for all professionals and semi-professionals in the audioworld that provides a list of recording studios in France.
Each studio will be detailed with contact information, list of eachstudio’s technical equipment, control room and studio dimensions,recent credits, etc. In this professional directory, you will also findall the necessary information to contact independent recordingengineers, music producers, pro audio equipment sales and rentalcompanies, manufacturers and/or importers/distributors of professionalaudio equipment, industry organizations, audio and music education, andtrade publications in France.
Schouker is a consultant in communication and marketing, as well asin strategic planning and business development. He is also a journalistand a contributing editor with professional publications dedicated tothe recording and music industries, as well as a member of the AudioEngineering Society since 1985.
Published by Dunod, you can visit its Website at www.dunod.com.
Native Instruments To Start Own U.S. Distribution
Steinberg North America and Native Instruments announced thatbeginning May 1, 2002, the U.S. distribution of all N.I. products willbe handled directly by Native Instruments from their Los Angelesoffice.
Over the past four years, the two companys have partnered todistribute and market N.I. products in the U.S. Focusing on expandingproduct lines and on their respective future directions, both companieshave agreed to part ways. With the opening of their U.S. office, NativeInstruments looks to strengthen its position in the U.S. MI/pro audiomarket, as well as expand its overall presence in retail stores. At thesame time, Steinberg said that is placing more of its focus onexpanding its technology base and product line.
Daniel Haver, CEO of Native Instruments, explained, “The years withSteinberg have been very successful for us. However, N.I.’s growth andfuture direction require us to be more independent. We’ve been treatedwell by Steinberg, and I am confident that the two companies willcontinue working together in the future.”
Steve Garth, CEO of Steinberg North America, said, “Steinberg needsto strengthen its focus internally, while Native Instruments is at thepoint where it needs to market and distribute its productsindependently. Therefore, this step is natural. Steinberg has alwaysenjoyed working with N.I. We will continue to work together to developthe VST market and on other strategic alliances. We wish them successin their future.”
For more, visit Native Instruments at www.native-instruments.com or Steinberg at www.us.steinberg.net.
DVD to Hit 1 Billion Later This Year
According to the International Recording Media Association (IRMA),the number of DVDs replicated in North America will surpass the 1billion mark later this year, making the fastest time in which arecording media format went from introduction to 1 billion units peryear.
Just two months after DVD’s introduction in 1997, more than 1million units had been produced. By the end of that first year, morethan 12 million units were replicated. By 2001, the number of DVDsproduced neared the half-billion mark. This year, IRMA projects DVDproduction to increase 120% over last year, pushing it over the1-billion-units-per-year milestone faster than any other format.
“This unprecedented growth in DVD replication is attributed to anumber of factors,” said IRMA president Charles Van Horn. “The growthin households capable of viewing DVD programming is the mostsignificant factor. Add to that the strong support of major retailersin promoting DVDs, the continued decline in the price of DVD playersand DVD-Videos, and the success of DVD-based game consoles, and it’seasy to see why the replication industry is at this significantpoint.”
IRMA will publish detailed statistical analysis and projections forthe entire recording media industry in its soon-to-be-published 2002Worldwide Optical Media Market Intelligence Report. This reportcovers every pre-recorded and recordable-media format, from DVD-Videoto DVD-R and DVD-RW, CD-Audio to CD-RW, SuperAudio CD, High-CapacityM-O, MiniDisc, Optical Tape and more.
For more information on this report, contact IRMA at 609/279-1700 orvisit them online at www.recordingmedia.com.
Nominations Invited for CEDAR Awards 2002
CEDAR Audio (Portland, Maine) has announced the launch of The CEDARAwards 2002, where five out of six awards will recognize outstandingcontributions to the field of audio restoration; the sixth award willbe presented to one of its dealers to recognize exceptional performanceover the past year.
Nominations are invited in each of the following categories: CDRemastering from a Modern Recording (post-1949), CD Remastering from aVintage Recording (pre-1950), Remastering of a Film Soundtrack, AudioRestoration for Broadcast Use, and Audio Restoration for ForensicUse.
CEDAR’s sales director, Clive Osborn, will be overseeing thenomination process. Nominations must arrive before June 30, 2002.
According to CEDAR’s marketing manager Deborah Coral, “This is thefifth consecutive year that CEDAR will be presenting The Awards. Eachyear, we really enjoy the opportunity The Awards offer to keep in touchwith our customers, and learn about exciting projects CEDAR has been apart of. We are looking forward to this year’s nominations arriving,and I would like to remind all CEDAR customers that you can nominateyour own work!”
For more, check out www.cedaraudio.com.
Apple To Host Final Cut Pro Seminars
Apple Computers announced that it is hosting “Video’s ThirdRevolution,” a series of seminars promoting Final Cut Pro. The eventswill take place at a variety of locations over the next few months. Theseminars are free, but seating is limited. Interested parties areencouraged to register immediately by visiting http://seminars.apple.com/business/video3/index.html.
Topics to be covered include the new OfflineRT format; G4 real-timeeffects; built-in color-correction tools; how Final Cut Pro 3 handlesany format (OfflineRT, DV, SD, HD); built-in voice-over tool; built-incompositing features that let you create dream-like effects;integrating FCP projects with other compositing effects and 3-Dapplications; how Final Cut pro 3 runs on Mac OS X or Mac OS 9; andintegrating Final Cut Pro 3 with DVD Studio Pro.
Greene Tunes Out Grammys Gig
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) — C. Michael Greene has resigned as the head ofthe organization that hands out the music industry’s most prestigiousaward, the Grammys, following an emergency board of trustees vote toremove him from office.
Greene resigned Saturday night at an emergency meeting attended bymore than three dozen trustees of the National Academy of RecordingArts and Sciences at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Greene, 52, had threeyears remaining on his contract and will receive a severance package of$8 million, much of which will be covered by insurance and includes hisbonus from the CBS Grammy contract. He is the highest paid executive ata non-profit agency in the country.
Grammy board of trustees chairman Garth Fundis, a Nashville-basedproducer, will run the group while NARAS conducts a national search tofind a successor. NARAS is expected to first bring in consultants toevaluate what structural changes should be made before determining whoshould get the top post. High on the priority list is improvedoperating structures for the NARAS groups that deal in doling out moneyand grants: the Grammy foundation, the artist advocacy program andMusiCares.
It was Fundis, perceived as a Greene ally, who called Saturday’smeeting after reviewing the results of an investigation into charges ofsexual harassment against Greene. The trustees, who have had to answerfor Greene’s behavior and leadership several times during his tenure,clearly decided he no longer deserved support. One individual privy tothe discussion said Greene didn’t do much to rally troops the way hehas in the past.
Fundis said in a statement released Sunday by the Recording Academy,”a full and fair investigation of alleged misconduct by Mike wascompleted and it revealed no sexual harassment, no sex discriminationand no hostile work environment at the Recording Academy.”
Greene will be a full-time consultant for the Recording Academythrough September and on a part-time basis until after the February 23Grammy Awards show in New York. He will aid in the transitionand assist with several projects including the third annual LatinGrammys, the Grammy Exposition and Hall of Fame in New Orleans, andEncore Hall Los Angeles, a senior living facility.
Greene was in Washington last week to present NARAS’ second annualWashington, D.C., Chapter Heroes Awards, and talk had begun to swirlthat that could be his last official act as NARAS president.
The resignation closes a chapter on the Grammy organization that hasseen some of its greatest successes and its biggest messes duringGreene’s reign.
The academy has experienced tremendous growth since Greene, asaxophonist who rose through NARAS’ Atlanta chapter, was hired asGrammy president in 1988. He boosted its assets to $50 million from$4.8 million, increased membership by 400% to its current 17,000-plus,and earlier this year negotiated a five-year contract extension withCBS for the Grammy Awards at $20 million per year.
Most importantly for artists, Greene altered the Grammy nominationprocess in the early 1990s to bring nominations more in-line withcontemporary tastes and continually saw to the expansion of categoriesto represent new musical styles. Performances on the Grammy telecastoften lead to hearty boosts in album sales, and Greene has longoverseen the hiring of kudocast performers. Three years ago, the LatinGrammys were launched under Greene.
His tenure has also often been contentious. In February, Grammytrustees paid a former female exec $650,000 to settle a sexual abusecase against Greene. At the settlement conference for the suit, twoother execs who had left NARAS in the mid-’90s stepped forward withsimilar accusations, which Greene denied.
Many of the trustees attending Saturday’s meeting saw the settlementas the last straw. A balance of power had shifted at the last trusteeselection as few, if any, of Greene’s choices were elected to theregional posts. (Trustees are elected to two consecutive two-year termsin cities across the U.S.) There was discussion of postponing the voteon Greene until a May trustees’ meeting, but the trustees did not wantto be involved in months of negotiations with Greene.
MusiCares, the philanthropic arm of NARAS, had come under fire whenit was disclosed that three-quarters of its income went toadministrative and fund-raising costs rather than to the intendedrecipients. Turnover at MusiCares was also considered exceedinglyhigh.
The Latin Grammys, launched in 2000, when artists such as RickyMartin and Jennifer Lopez had emerged as household pop music names, raninto costly trouble in its second year, first when protests in Miamiforced the 11th hour transfer of the kudocast to the Forum in L.A. Itwas slated for the evening of September 11, canceled after theterrorist attacks and never rescheduled. The third edition will be heldSeptember 18 at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater.
Dick Clark, who runs the competing American Music Awards,sued Greene and the Grammys for $10 million in December, claiming thatGreene threatened artists that they could not appear on the Grammys inFebruary if they performed at the American Music Awards telecastin January. Ratings for February’s telecast of the 44th Grammy Awardswere the lowest in the decade.
Greene initially brought peace to the Grammy location wars byalternating the awards show between New York and Los Angeles andbargaining for considerable concessions from the mayors of the twocities. During rehearsals in 1998 at Radio City Music Hall, Greene gotinto a spat with Gotham’s then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who accused Greeneof lying; the kudocast has since stayed in L.A., though next year’sshow will be held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Early in his Grammy run, Greene signed a contract with MercuryRecords that raised the ire of other labels. No albums ever came out ofthe pact.
TEC Awards Announces New Date, Venue
The Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio has announced a new siteand date for the 18th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity(TEC) Awards. The awards banquet and ceremony, which recognizes theyear’s best achievements in recording and sound, will be held onMonday, October 7, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles,on the third night of the 113th AES Convention. The change wasnecessitated by the growth of the TEC Awards, which anticipates 800attendees at this year’s event.
Proceeds of the TEC Awards are donated to organizations working forthe prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, and to numerousscholarship funds for students of the audio arts and sciences. Forticket and sponsorship information, visit www.tecawards.org,call Karen Dunn at 925/939-6149, or e-mail [email protected].
Shure Creates Subsidiary To Sell Direct In Germany
Shure (Evanston, Ill.) has established a new company called ShureDistribution GmbH, which will begin direct sales to Shure dealers inGermany beginning June 1, 2002. This new company is a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Shure Europe GmbH.
“This new arm of Shure Europe is a logical extension of our currentactivities in Germany, the largest audio market in Europe,” said AlHershner, VP of U.S. and European sales. “Shure Distribution willenable us to strengthen our brand both in the home country of many ofour competitors, as well as throughout Europe.”
Along with direct sales to Shure dealers in Germany, ShureDistribution will also provide customer support, order fulfillment andpost-sales suport. Included in this support is the Shure ApplicationsTeam, a group dedicated to providing service and technical support.Comprised of specialists in various fields, including touring sound,installed sound and broadcast, this team offers product training forretailers, consulting services for large installation projects andspecial events, as well as seminars and courses for universities,colleges and trainee apprentices.
Shure Distribution GmbH is located in the same offices as ShureEurope GmbH in Heilbronn, Germany. Bernd Friedel joins the new companyas director of sales and marketing.
Contact Shure Distribution GmbH at www.shure.com.
John Lennon’s Bus Comes To Ex’pression Center For NewMedia
The John Lennon Songwriting Bus, seen on Good MorningAmerica, CBS This Morning and Today Show, will bestopping at only one location in the San Francisco Bay Area thisTuesday, April 30th — Ex’pression Center for New Media(Emeryville, Calif.) from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The touring bus, engineered by Ex’pression graduates Jeff Sobeland Herm Qurioz, is teaming up with the school’s Sound ArtsPlacement Department to potentially fill another audio engineeringposition. To date, Ex’pression Center for New Media has placedfour employees and four externship positions with the John LennonSongwriting Bus.
The John Lennon Songwriting Education Tour Bus provides educationalprograms directed toward high schools, colleges, musical festivals,concerts and conventions. Its goal is to educate audiences about theart of songwriting, recording technologies and video production. As ittravels the country, the program seeks to encourage students to learnhow to write and produce audio and video projects using contemporaryinstruments, computer hardware and many of the current technologicaladvances. Most notably, the Bus has provided free hands-on educationallabs at over 100 high schools.
The Tour Bus is a mobile recording studio outfitted with the latestmusical instruments and gear. It includes 32-track digital recording,two computers, multiple CD burners, and film scoring and video-editingcapabilities. The interior is divided into two separate recordingenvironments. The front studio offers the chance to participate increating multimedia projects, while the back studio is a moretraditional setup for bands and remote recordings of concerts andspecial events.
For more, check out www.expression.edu.
Dolby Labs Purchases AMS Neve Logic MMC Console
AMS Neve announced that Dolby Laboratories (San Francisco) haspurchased a new 18-fader/88-input AMS Neve Logic MMC. The console willbe installed by summer 2002, in Dolby’s San Francisco-basedPresentation Studio, which is used for developing, testing andpresenting new products and technologies.
According to Tim Partridge, VP and general manager of theprofessional division at Dolby, the purchase culminates a close reviewof consoles. “The MMC has the automation, routing and monitoringfeatures we were looking for, as well as a control surface that is bothintuitive and logical. Our Presentation Studio is an important testingground for Dolby’s next generation of technology. The MMC will be putto the test in a variety of applications, so sound quality andflexibility were equally important to us.”
“The pedigree of Dolby is world renowned,” said John Hart, AMS NeveVP of the western region and South America. “I am delighted that, afterevaluating the array of console products available in today’smarketplace, Dolby chose the Logic MMC for its PresentationStudio.”>
For more on Dolby’s Presentation Studio, check out www.dolby.com. For moreon the AMS Neve Logic MMC console, visit www.ams-neve.com/prod/lmmc.htm.
