Over the course of the past decade, The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® has illuminated those who labor behind the scenes to create music by highlighting their achievements and educating about best practices. The P&E Wing provides a forum where all recording professionals — from producers, engineers and studio personnel to retailers, manufacturers and educators — can work together to preserve and grow their industry. Now, as both the music industry and consumers are rediscovering the value of high fidelity recordings, the Wing has taken a leading position with a revitalized effort to advocate and educate about the important role sound quality and audio professionals play in communicating the emotional and artistic intent of recorded music. As part of this effort:
*At the 131st AES Convention the P&E Wing will present a second iteration of GRAMMY SoundTables® “Sonic Imprints: Songs that Changed My Life” on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 2:30 p.m. at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Exploring music that has inspired and shaped influential careers, and moderated by GRAMMY®-winning engineer Chris Lord-Alge, the panel will feature a diverse, New York-centric group of panelists including producers/engineers Ken “Duro” Ifill, Steve Lillywhite, Ann Mincieli, Phil Ramone and Al Schmitt.
*In July, in a first-of-its-kind event, the P&E Wing brought music producers together in Washington, D.C. with Congressional leaders, including the Chair and Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, for meetings, a panel discussion and musical demonstrations. The event addressed pressing industry issues and provided insight into the essential role that producers and engineers play in the music recording process.
* A new version of the influential, committee-created white paper “Delivery Recommendations for Master Recordings” will be released in October reflecting current recommended best practices for master media delivery and storage, along with guidelines for delivery of audio mix stems and recording personnel credits.
*The establishment of a working council of audio manufacturers, retailers, and other related entities with a stake in the future of high quality audio and a goal of working together to grow the professional audio industry. This group will hold its fourth meeting during the 131st AES Convention.
