Apr 1, 2002 12:00 PM

Weeks of April 1-15

MacPherson Debuts PC12 Loudspeaker at NSCA 2002

MacPherson, Inc.(Spokie, IL) manufacturers of high-performance professional loudspeaker systems, will introduce their PC12 Loudspeaker at NSCA Expo 2002 in booth #918. This full-bandwidth loudspeaker brings studio monitor clarity to the sound reinforcement arena at an affordable price. Its two-way design incorporates a sophisticated crossover network, allowing a single amplifier channel to produce high sound pressure level (SPL) with minimum frequency and phase distortion.

For more information, please visit www.macpherson-inc.com.

Yamaha Unveils Open Plug-in Technology

Yamaha Corporation of America, Digital Musical Instruments (Buena Park, CA), recently announced a new open plug-in format for the control of MIDI devices from within music software and sequencing products. The company debuted the new format, known as Open Plug-In Technology (OPT), at this year's Music Messe in Frankfurt, Germany. OPT allows seamless integration of external hardware devices and control surfaces with synthesizer editors, enhanced editing views and other MIDI processing tools. The OPT interface is based on the industry-standard Microsoft COM (Component Object Model) The technology is compatible with MS Windows 9.x/ME and XP. Yamaha is currently promoting OPT to third party hardware and software companies, and early adopters include Cakewalk Music Software.

For more information, please visit www.yamahasynth.com.

John Lennon Songwriting Contest Taps Tonos as Online Partner

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest announced an exclusive partnership with Tonos.com (www.tonos.com), the global musician's network founded by legendary music hitmakers Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster and Kenneth Babyface Edmonds.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tonos.com will serve as the exclusive online partner for the sixth annual songwriters' contest. As of now, songwriters can begin entering the contest by submitting their MP3 files through Tonos.com. The winners of the 2002 contest will receive a tonosPRO membership, the new subscription service designed to help musicians improve their skills, connect with other performers and move ahead in the music industry. In addition, all JLSC entrants who are not Tonos subscribers and who upload their submissions on Tonos.com will receive a free one-month subscription to tonosPRO.

Brian Rothschild, executive director of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, said, "We are very pleased with this new relationship. We have found that the online entries have more than doubled over the past two years. In addition to providing the ability for online submissions, we believe that Tonos can provide services to our winners that will garner the 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 heard for the first time."

"Tonos is excited to be named the exclusive online partner of the 2002 John Lennon Songwriting Contest," said Justin Herz, general manager/executive VP at Tonos.com. "The contest is another example of how Tonos helps musicians reach the top decision makers in the music business."

Panasonic Chooses LA Post Music for NAB 2002 HD Product Presentation

This year at NAB 2002, Panasonic has selected Los Angeles Post Music Inc. to provide all of the music for its main stage video presentation. The 25-minute video will be showcasing the latest in high-definition/digital cinema products for Panasonic.

"It is really great that Panasonic feels our music can best assist in effectively presenting to the NAB audience their newest innovations," 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 it licensed Warner Music, clinching its third licensing deal with a major record label for a subscription service it plans to launch this month through Clear Channel Communications Inc. radio stations.

FullAudio plans to include Warner-controlled tracks, along with recordings from EMI Group Plc and Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group on its service through Clear Channel, which will be called MusicNow.

Warner Music is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc.

The service, which enables users to download songs for a monthly fee, is currently being tested in Phoenix. FullAudio is providing the infrastructure and content for the subscription to Clear Channel and other distributors, who will then determine their own pricing for the service. The FullAudio service will compete against major label-backed services like MusicNet and Pressplay as well as startup Listen.com's Rhapsody service. All of these services are attempting to provide secure and commercial alternatives to free song-swap service Napster, which has been idled by copyright infringement. But several other free services like Morpheus and Kazaa have emerged in Napster's wake, challenging the success of these new paid services. Clear Channel, the leading U.S. radio broadcaster, plans to launch FullAudio for a fee later 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 radio stations in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City throughout the spring and summer of 2002. The service will be branded with individual Clear Channel stations and powered by FullAudio's content and 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, which accumulate every month so that the listener would have 600 tracks by year's end, sources said. By pricing the service at $7.49, FullAudio is undercutting both MusicNet and Pressplay, which are currently charging subscribers 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 to accumulate 100 tracks per month, or 1,200 tracks in one year, according to 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 intellectual property of the now-defunct DSP Media, which includes DSP’s V motion and A/V-transfer products.

"When DSP Media ceased operating, Fairlight was presented with the opportunity to acquire A.V transfer and V motion, which we were sure would complement our current offerings and bring value to our customers around the globe," Kim Ryrie, executive director of Fairlight, said. "We have been fortunate to have DSP’s core R&D team to come onboard, including founder Joseph Narai. Existing DSP customers are being supported by a third-party company based in Australia, and while we have been able to provide some limited support, we are not in a position to continue development on DSP’s legacy editors."

Joseph Narai commented, "Just as DSP was getting established globally, our funding was withdrawn, so the logical step for us was to work with the Fairlight team. Our initial focus on A/V transfer and V motion has delivered immediate results in enhancing the Fairlight product range by improving connectivity and video integration. The future is also exciting as we are looking at combining the best of DSP’s technology with Fairlight’s current state-of-the-art products."

Fairlight will launch new releases of A/V transfer and V motion as Fairlight-branded products at NAB 2002.

"V motion and A/V transfer are two exceptional products that will truly and positively impact the workflow efficiency of broadcast and post-production professionals in all of the markets Fairlight serves," Ryrie added. "We will continue to look at ways to make the transfer and management of media files as transparent as possible."

For more, visit www.fairlightesp.com.au/.

Propellerhead's Reason Awarded Best Software Instrument By MIPA

Propellerhead Software has been awarded the prestigious MIPA Award for Best Software Instrument.

"It's an incredible honor to win this award, especially with such strong contenders," said Ernst Nathorst-Böös, CEO of Propellerhead Software, after accepting the award at a cermony during this year's Musikmesse.

Among the winners were Line 6, which won the Most Innovative Product with their Guitar Port. This year's Lifetime Achievement Award went to Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder and chairman of Roland Corporation.

Each year, more than 45 international music magazines present the MIPA 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, June 2002

Allaire Studios (Shokan, N.Y.) announced that its Great Hall Studio will open on June 1, 2002.

Set in a 40x50-foot space, boasting 45-foot-high ceilings, the Great Hall offers a spectacular view of mountain vistas from its 20-foot-high windows. Designed by John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group and acoustician George Augspurger, the Great Hall Studio boasts a separate control room with a blue SSL 9000 J Series console; five attached smaller rooms (isolation booths, etc.); 5.1 surround sound; drop-down projection screen for mixing to DVD, TV and film; and Pro Tools HD System 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 estate built in 1924, just two hours north of New York City.

Allaire's new Neve Room opened in January 2001, and has since hosted the likes of David Bowie, Tim McGraw and Natalie Merchant, among many others.

For more, visit www.allairestudios.com.

Composer Brian Keane Scores Three Sports Emmy Nominations

Composer Brian Keane has received three Sports Emmy nominations in the "Outstanding Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics" category. The 23rd Annual Sports Emmy Awards will take place Tuesday, April 23rd, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

David Beld, director of the Sports Emmy Awards, reports that Keane's coup may be unprecedented. He secured two nods for his work on HBO documentaries, Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team and Shot Heard Around the World, the story of Bobby Thompson's unforgettable home run. His third nomination was for CBS's Pistol Pete: The Life and Times of Pete Maravich, which he co-wrote with Buckwheat Zydeco. "In my 11 years at the Emmy Awards, I can't recall any composer receiving all the nominations in a single category," Beld remarked. "I'd say the odds are stacked in Brian Keane's favor this year."

"Each of these projects was very special," Keane says. "It was tough to pick a favorite so I entered all three. It will be very interesting to see which way the Emmy committee goes."

Brian Keane has scored over 200 films during his diverse career including such memorable documentaries as Ric Burns's New York, The Donner Party and Long Journey Home: The Irish in America, a Grammy winner for Best Soundtrack. He has also scored several Emmy Award-winning sports documentaries including Babe Ruth and Spirit of the Games for HBO. Early in his career, he established himself as a prolific Grammy Award-winning record producer working with such artists as Linda Ronstadt, Pete Seeger and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has over three dozen Billboard chart-topping albums under his belt, including five Number One CDs and two Records of the Year. Keane's new studio, designed by architect John Storyk, is currently under construction on a 10.5 acre site in Sandy Hook, Conn.

Steinberg Takes Cubase SX on Tour With Guitar Center

Steinberg Media Technologies AG announced a new development to hit its line of Cubase MIDI and digital audio software -- a new, completely redesigned program called Cubase SX. Steinberg North America now brings Cubase SX to the U.S., and will partner with Guitar Center in a national tour to showcase the product.

Drawing on more than 15 years of feature development on the Cubase line, and fresh, up-to-the-minute computer code technology, Cubase SX is a powerful combination of experience and innovation. Among its new features are a newly designed Project window and Mixer section, surround sound, unlimited undo and redo, offline process history, new VST instruments and effects, and a new loop editor to automatically match loops to song tempo.

Cubase SX is also the first product to include Steinberg's new VST System Link, which uses VST and ASIO, and Steinberg technologies to transfer sample-accurate sync, transport, MIDI and audio data between two or more computers.

Steinberg representatives will be on-hand at 50 Guitar Center locations throughout the country from May 1 to June 13, showcasing Cubase 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 Installation Association (CEDIA) announced that it has a record 425 participants already registered for its final regional education and trade show in Philadelphia, April 21-22.

The regional event is being held at the Philadelphia Adam's Mark Hotel, and is the last in the series of CEDIA's three regional educational and trade show offerings. These events provide custom designers, installers and manufacturers the opportunity to enjoy CEDIA's educational programs, manufacturer product training courses and training programs for CEDIA certification.

Registrations are still being accepted for CEDIA's final 2002 regional event. Additionally, manufacturer rebates are being offered to attendees. 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 Extension Entertainment Studies will present "Creating the Perfect Demo," a "must-see" event for songwriters, musicians and music producers. The event 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 get discovered; how to get songs placed with major artists, TV and film; and how to generate the contacts needed for success. Attendees will also learn about the latest gear for songwriters from Roland, AKG, Dean Guitars, Auralex and D'Addario. Give-aways and prizes at the event include Auralex studio insulation, D'Addario ChordMasters, Taxi memberships ($300 value/each), Roland T-shirts and free studio time from Klown Records (a $400 value)! The panel discussions are described below:

Panel 1: "Write Hits, Get Them Cut, Go the Indie Route!"

Doug Minnick, VPof Taxi and former EMI publishing director, will guide a discussion on getting your songs placed and making connections in 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 recording engineer/producer, will moderate a panel of top industry experts on what it takes to create songs that will sell and how to capture the attention of an A&R exec. Panelists include multi-Platinum producer Michael Lloyd, John Weakland, director of A&R for Columbia Records, former head of A&R for Epic Capitol and EMI Don Grierson, and more.

Sonomic News From NAB 2002

New York City-based Sonomic (www.sonomic.com), provider of sound library management solutions, debuted at NAB 2002 its new Total Library Server. Sonomic’s flagship sound-management product, the Total Library Server has been installed at CBS Television, Broadway Sound and Hothead. Designed for post-production and broadcast facilities, the Total Library Server enables editors and engineers to instantly locate and import any sound in their sound effects collection directly into their DAW.

With the Total Library Server, a studio’s sound effects collection is digitized, categorized and indexed onto an ultra-fast computer server. Each engineer searches the server directly from their DAW and imports the selected sounds right into their session. If the server doesn’t have a sound that matches the search criteria, it will automatically query and download matching sounds from the Sonomic Online Library.

"The CBS post department does a lot of time-sensitive work on news and sports programming, so having the right effect right now is critical," said CBS audio post technical supervisor Dan Perino. "The Total Library Server lets us find exactly what we need instantly."

Laki Fotopoulos, co-owner and engineer at Hothead, concured. "Our engineers are turning around projects faster and at the same time generating more billable hours by not having to waste pre-production time pulling effects. We also save money on CD libraries, since we can get one or two sounds from the Online Library when we need them, rather than purchasing an entire CD collection."

In other Sonomic news, Dreamhire is now offering its clients rental access to the Sonomic Online Library.

Dreamhire is selling Sonomic Rental Packages, which give the client unlimited access to Sonomic's library of over 200,000 royalty-free sound effects and samples for a 24-hour period. Dreamhire sells the packages for $29.95 per account per day. Once a Rental Package is purchased, Dreamhire clients can use Sonomic's Sound Engine to locate any sound they need instantly.

Chris Dunn, general manager of Dreamhire, stated, "Dreamhire clients always need access to sound libraries, whether it's samples for music or sound FX for post-production. Searching through stacks of CDs is tedious 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 the position of regional sales manager.

Based in the Los Angeles area, McLane is currently responsible for overseeing BSS-related activities of eight independent manufacturers’ rep firms, which predominantly cover states west of the Mississippi River. He is also being called upon to provide personal support for consultants, contractors and end-users, as well as conduct product training, particularly with the Soundweb range.

Prior to joining the company, McLane spent four years as the director of sales and marketing for Level Control Systems (LCS), which followed four years as a product manager for Aphex Systems. From 1981 through 1994, he owned and operated Sound Techniques, a regional sound company focusing on SR systems for hire and design/build contracting. A capable live sound engineer with many top talent show credits, McLane also served 11 seasons as sound designer for Shakespeare Festival/L.A.

"Denny comes to BSS Audio with an abundance of experience and knowledge," said sales and marketing director Paul Freudenberg. "On the brand representation front, he’s been a vital part of sales and marketing efforts supporting both sophisticated digital and analog signal-processing products. And, as a former contractor, live sound engineer and recording engineer, he’s been out there in the trenches as well. Denny truly excels as a problem solver, and we’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 State Logic’s new XL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogue consoles for its soon-to-be-completed Studio 6 and Studio 7 in its main headquarters in New York City. With an ongoing 18-year relationship with SSL involving 24 consoles, the Hit Factory has successfully recorded artists in rock, pop, R&B and hip hop.

"The XL is a 'J' Series console on steroids, and that’s exactly what we wanted for these two rooms," said Troy Germano, CEO of the Hit Factory. "The XL has the power and flexibility to go back and forth between regular stereo mixing and 5.1 for DVD-Audio and SACD. We feel that these multiformat options are what we need to continue growing within our industry, especially since they are 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 consoles with the focus of the larger Studio 6 on tracking and mixing, while Studio 7 is used for mixing and overdubbing.

"One of the reasons we purchased two consoles was to allow clients to go back and forth between the two rooms," Germano explains. "This necessitated making both control rooms identical to accommodate our clients. In addition, we’re also excited about the remote mic pre option, which will be installed in Studio 6. We expect to be online with both rooms toward the end of April, and anticipate strong bookings from 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 artist Daniel Gonzalez have opened the doors of their new New York City-based post-production studio, Perception. The three co-founders previously worked together at R/GA's broadcast studio.

According to the co-owners, their mission for Perception is to create world-class visual commercial art using the most efficient, cost-effective tools available; work that will challenge and change the industry'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 clients see things. We're doing high-end, post-production work on desktops that looks like it's been done on Flame and Avid."

"Clients don't come to you for what you can cut on, as long as you can get the job done," Werner said. "There's work that will look just as good using other software, like After Effects. Wherever we can streamline, wherever we can use a less-expensive technology to get the same results, we will. We don't have to pay Flame and Avid rates, and we want to pass that savings along to the client. The technology is out there; now, it's all about the talent."

Perception's office space is located in a loft on West 22nd Street in Manhattan's Chelsea district.

Shure To Auction Autographed Mics To Support HEI

Shure Incorporated (Evanston, Ill.) has donated microphones autographed by Ozzy Osbourne, *NSYNC, Moby, Nelly Furtado, Marilyn Manson, Christina Aguilera, Hank Williams Jr. and Chrissie Hynde for its first Shure Bid for Hearing, a charitable auction hosted by eBay.

The auction will raise funds to support Sound Partners TM, the House Ear Institute's hearing conservation program, which educates audio industry professionals about hearing health issues. The Shure Bid for Hearing auction is the first of several activities Shure is holding to promote the Better Hearing and Speech Month.

The charitable auction goes live on eBay on April 29, 2002. Visit www.shure.com/hearing and www.hei.org for more information about how to bid on these one-of-a-kind pieces of memorabilia, and visit www.ebay.com on April 29.

In addition to the charitable auction, HEI and Shure plan to co-host free hearing screenings at this year's NSCA pro audio convention. Shure will be launching www.shure.com/hearing on its Website to help educate the public about hearing conservation, and will also be giving away earplugs at five different venues in Chicago and Nashville to further increase awareness.

RIAA Files Complaint Against Technicolor

The Recording Industry of America (RIAA) has filed a CD-copying complaint against Technicolor's Camarillo, Calif., plant. According to the complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles on April 3, the Camarillo plant knowingly copied and distributed pirated CDs from artists such as *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Lauryn Hill and Marc Anthony.

Thomson Multimedia, which acquired Technicolor in 2001, responded that it considers the RIAA allegations concerning a very small number of replication orders completed by Technicolor prior to its acquisition by Thomson to have no merit, according to a Medialine story. Technicolor denies the allegations and will contest the claims asserted by the RIAA.

According to the RIAA, the trade group points to the failure of Technicolor to live up to the legal obligations stemming from a settlement of similar claims in 1998 by the record companies, by refusing to allow for required inspection of books and facilities. Matt Oppenheim, 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 the iceberg."

For the past year, the RIAA has attempted to negotiate a settlement with Technicolor, but the company has rebuffed attempted to reach an out-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 it has purchased the assets of Dialog4 System Engineering GmbH (Ludwigsburg, Germany).

Dialog4 is a worldwide leader in ISO/MPEG, audio, ISDN, satellite transmission, networking and storage. The company has been designing and manufacturing equipment for the codec market for over 10 years. Their products, available in Europe since 1993, include the MusicTaxi codec family for encoding and decoding audio and data over TCP/IP on the Internet, ISDN and satellite.

CRL Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Orban/CRL, purchased the Dialog4 assets for $2 million dollars U.S., consisting of 1.25 million shares of Orban/CRL common stock valued at $1.00 per share and $750,000 in cash to be paid at a later date. All current operations and staff of Dialog4 will be retained in Germany. Orban/CRL will now have a European operations center based in the Dialog4 offices in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The Dialog4 infrastructure will be used to expand Orban/CRL's engineering, sales, marketing and sales support for the European markets.

Orban/CRL has been involved in a joint project to bring the Dialog4 products to North America with the development of the Orban Opticodec and Sountainer for the past year. "From the beginning of our relationship, it was clear that Dialog4 is a quality company with a great reputation for engineering excellence," stated C. Jayson Brentlinger, president/CEO/chairman of Orban/CRL. "When the opportunity to acquire this great company came along, we had been working so closely with Dialog4 on so many new products that we felt as if they were already a part of the Orban/CRL family."

Berthold Burkhardtsmaier, Dialog4 managing director, is now VP of European Operations for Orban/CRL and has been appointed to the Board of Directors. In addition, Peter Lee, director of sales for Dialog4 products, has been appointed manager of European Sales for all Orban and CRL products.

The newest addition to the Orban/CRL line is the Sountainer, a small, high-quality, broadcast MP3 recorder/player. The Sountainer is aimed 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 en France (Bel Air's The Recording Studio Guide in France), written by Guillaume J. Schouker, is a comprehensive source of information for all professionals and semi-professionals in the audio world that provides a list of recording studios in France.

Each studio will be detailed with contact information, list of each studio's technical equipment, control room and studio dimensions, recent credits, etc. In this professional directory, you will also find all the necessary information to contact independent recording engineers, music producers, pro audio equipment sales and rental companies, manufacturers and/or importers/distributors of professional audio equipment, industry organizations, audio and music education, and trade publications in France.

Schouker is a consultant in communication and marketing, as well as in strategic planning and business development. He is also a journalist and a contributing editor with professional publications dedicated to the recording and music industries, as well as a member of the Audio Engineering 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 that beginning May 1, 2002, the U.S. distribution of all N.I. products will be handled directly by Native Instruments from their Los Angeles office.

Over the past four years, the two companys have partnered to distribute and market N.I. products in the U.S. Focusing on expanding product lines and on their respective future directions, both companies have agreed to part ways. With the opening of their U.S. office, Native Instruments looks to strengthen its position in the U.S. MI/pro audio market, as well as expand its overall presence in retail stores. At the same time, Steinberg said that is placing more of its focus on expanding its technology base and product line.

Daniel Haver, CEO of Native Instruments, explained, "The years with Steinberg have been very successful for us. However, N.I.'s growth and future direction require us to be more independent. We've been treated well by Steinberg, and I am confident that the two companies will continue working together in the future."

Steve Garth, CEO of Steinberg North America, said, "Steinberg needs to strengthen its focus internally, while Native Instruments is at the point where it needs to market and distribute its products independently. Therefore, this step is natural. Steinberg has always enjoyed working with N.I. We will continue to work together to develop the VST market and on other strategic alliances. We wish them success in 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 1 billion mark later this year, making the fastest time in which a recording media format went from introduction to 1 billion units per year.

Just two months after DVD's introduction in 1997, more than 1 million units had been produced. By the end of that first year, more than 12 million units were replicated. By 2001, the number of DVDs produced neared the half-billion mark. This year, IRMA projects DVD production to increase 120% over last year, pushing it over the 1-billion-units-per-year milestone faster than any other format.

"This unprecedented growth in DVD replication is attributed to a number of factors," said IRMA president Charles Van Horn. "The growth in households capable of viewing DVD programming is the most significant factor. Add to that the strong support of major retailers in promoting DVDs, the continued decline in the price of DVD players and DVD-Videos, and the success of DVD-based game consoles, and it's easy to see why the replication industry is at this significant point."

IRMA will publish detailed statistical analysis and projections for the entire recording media industry in its soon-to-be-published 2002 Worldwide Optical Media Market Intelligence Report. This report covers every pre-recorded and recordable-media format, from DVD-Video to DVD-R and DVD-RW, CD-Audio to CD-RW, SuperAudio CD, High-Capacity M-O, MiniDisc, Optical Tape and more.

For more information on this report, contact IRMA at 609/279-1700 or visit them online at www.recordingmedia.com.

Nominations Invited for CEDAR Awards 2002

CEDAR Audio (Portland, Maine) has announced the launch of The CEDAR Awards 2002, where five out of six awards will recognize outstanding contributions to the field of audio restoration; the sixth award will be presented to one of its dealers to recognize exceptional performance over the past year.

Nominations are invited in each of the following categories: CD Remastering from a Modern Recording (post-1949), CD Remastering from a Vintage Recording (pre-1950), Remastering of a Film Soundtrack, Audio Restoration for Broadcast Use, and Audio Restoration for Forensic Use.

CEDAR's sales director, Clive Osborn, will be overseeing the nomination process. Nominations must arrive before June 30, 2002.

According to CEDAR's marketing manager Deborah Coral, "This is the fifth consecutive year that CEDAR will be presenting The Awards. Each year, we really enjoy the opportunity The Awards offer to keep in touch with our customers, and learn about exciting projects CEDAR has been a part of. We are looking forward to this year's nominations arriving, and I would like to remind all CEDAR customers that you can nominate your 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 Third Revolution," a series of seminars promoting Final Cut Pro. The events will take place at a variety of locations over the next few months. The seminars are free, but seating is limited. Interested parties are encouraged to register immediately by visiting http://seminars.apple.com/business/video3/index.html.

Topics to be covered include the new OfflineRT format; G4 real-time effects; built-in color-correction tools; how Final Cut Pro 3 handles any format (OfflineRT, DV, SD, HD); built-in voice-over tool; built-in compositing features that let you create dream-like effects; integrating FCP projects with other compositing effects and 3-D applications; how Final Cut pro 3 runs on Mac OS X or Mac OS 9; and integrating Final Cut Pro 3 with DVD Studio Pro.

Greene Tunes Out Grammys Gig

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) -- C. Michael Greene has resigned as the head of the organization that hands out the music industry's most prestigious award, the Grammys, following an emergency board of trustees vote to remove him from office.

Greene resigned Saturday night at an emergency meeting attended by more than three dozen trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Greene, 52, had three years remaining on his contract and will receive a severance package of $8 million, much of which will be covered by insurance and includes his bonus from the CBS Grammy contract. He is the highest paid executive at a non-profit agency in the country.

Grammy board of trustees chairman Garth Fundis, a Nashville-based producer, will run the group while NARAS conducts a national search to find a successor. NARAS is expected to first bring in consultants to evaluate what structural changes should be made before determining who should get the top post. High on the priority list is improved operating structures for the NARAS groups that deal in doling out money and grants: the Grammy foundation, the artist advocacy program and MusiCares.

It was Fundis, perceived as a Greene ally, who called Saturday's meeting after reviewing the results of an investigation into charges of sexual harassment against Greene. The trustees, who have had to answer for Greene's behavior and leadership several times during his tenure, clearly decided he no longer deserved support. One individual privy to the discussion said Greene didn't do much to rally troops the way he has in the past.

Fundis said in a statement released Sunday by the Recording Academy, "a full and fair investigation of alleged misconduct by Mike was completed and it revealed no sexual harassment, no sex discrimination and no hostile work environment at the Recording Academy."

Greene will be a full-time consultant for the Recording Academy through September and on a part-time basis until after the February 23 Grammy Awards show in New York. He will aid in the transition and assist with several projects including the third annual Latin Grammys, the Grammy Exposition and Hall of Fame in New Orleans, and Encore Hall Los Angeles, a senior living facility.

Greene was in Washington last week to present NARAS' second annual Washington, D.C., Chapter Heroes Awards, and talk had begun to swirl that that could be his last official act as NARAS president.

The resignation closes a chapter on the Grammy organization that has seen some of its greatest successes and its biggest messes during Greene's reign.

The academy has experienced tremendous growth since Greene, a saxophonist who rose through NARAS' Atlanta chapter, was hired as Grammy 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 with CBS for the Grammy Awards at $20 million per year.

Most importantly for artists, Greene altered the Grammy nomination process in the early 1990s to bring nominations more in-line with contemporary tastes and continually saw to the expansion of categories to represent new musical styles. Performances on the Grammy telecast often lead to hearty boosts in album sales, and Greene has long overseen the hiring of kudocast performers. Three years ago, the Latin Grammys were launched under Greene.

His tenure has also often been contentious. In February, Grammy trustees paid a former female exec $650,000 to settle a sexual abuse case against Greene. At the settlement conference for the suit, two other execs who had left NARAS in the mid-'90s stepped forward with similar accusations, which Greene denied.

Many of the trustees attending Saturday's meeting saw the settlement as the last straw. A balance of power had shifted at the last trustees election as few, if any, of Greene's choices were elected to the regional posts. (Trustees are elected to two consecutive two-year terms in cities across the U.S.) There was discussion of postponing the vote on Greene until a May trustees' meeting, but the trustees did not want to be involved in months of negotiations with Greene.

MusiCares, the philanthropic arm of NARAS, had come under fire when it was disclosed that three-quarters of its income went to administrative and fund-raising costs rather than to the intended recipients. Turnover at MusiCares was also considered exceedingly high.

The Latin Grammys, launched in 2000, when artists such as Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez had emerged as household pop music names, ran into costly trouble in its second year, first when protests in Miami forced the 11th hour transfer of the kudocast to the Forum in L.A. It was slated for the evening of September 11, canceled after the terrorist attacks and never rescheduled. The third edition will be held September 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 that Greene threatened artists that they could not appear on the Grammys in February if they performed at the American Music Awards telecast in January. Ratings for February's telecast of the 44th Grammy Awards were the lowest in the decade.

Greene initially brought peace to the Grammy location wars by alternating the awards show between New York and Los Angeles and bargaining for considerable concessions from the mayors of the two cities. During rehearsals in 1998 at Radio City Music Hall, Greene got into a spat with Gotham's then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who accused Greene of lying; the kudocast has since stayed in L.A., though next year's show will be held at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Early in his Grammy run, Greene signed a contract with Mercury Records that raised the ire of other labels. No albums ever came out of the pact.

TEC Awards Announces New Date, Venue

The Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio has announced a new site and date for the 18th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards. The awards banquet and ceremony, which recognizes the year's best achievements in recording and sound, will be held on Monday, October 7, at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, on the third night of the 113th AES Convention. The change was necessitated by the growth of the TEC Awards, which anticipates 800 attendees at this year's event.

Proceeds of the TEC Awards are donated to organizations working for the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, and to numerous scholarship funds for students of the audio arts and sciences. For ticket and sponsorship information, visit www.tecawards.org, call Karen Dunn at 925/939-6149, or e-mail info@tecawards.org.

Shure Creates Subsidiary To Sell Direct In Germany

Shure (Evanston, Ill.) has established a new company called Shure Distribution GmbH, which will begin direct sales to Shure dealers in Germany beginning June 1, 2002. This new company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shure Europe GmbH.

"This new arm of Shure Europe is a logical extension of our current activities in Germany, the largest audio market in Europe," said Al Hershner, VP of U.S. and European sales. "Shure Distribution will enable us to strengthen our brand both in the home country of many of our competitors, as well as throughout Europe."

Along with direct sales to Shure dealers in Germany, Shure Distribution will also provide customer support, order fulfillment and post-sales suport. Included in this support is the Shure Applications Team, 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 for retailers, consulting services for large installation projects and special events, as well as seminars and courses for universities, colleges and trainee apprentices.

Shure Distribution GmbH is located in the same offices as Shure Europe GmbH in Heilbronn, Germany. Bernd Friedel joins the new company as director of sales and marketing.

Contact Shure Distribution GmbH at www.shure.com.

John Lennon's Bus Comes To Ex’pression Center For New Media

The John Lennon Songwriting Bus, seen on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning and Today Show, will be stopping at only one location in the San Francisco Bay Area this Tuesday, 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 Sobel and Herm Qurioz, is teaming up with the school’s Sound Arts Placement Department to potentially fill another audio engineering position. To date, Ex’pression Center for New Media has placed four employees and four externship positions with the John Lennon Songwriting Bus.

The John Lennon Songwriting Education Tour Bus provides educational programs directed toward high schools, colleges, musical festivals, concerts and conventions. Its goal is to educate audiences about the art of songwriting, recording technologies and video production. As it travels the country, the program seeks to encourage students to learn how to write and produce audio and video projects using contemporary instruments, computer hardware and many of the current technological advances. Most notably, the Bus has provided free hands-on educational labs at over 100 high schools.

The Tour Bus is a mobile recording studio outfitted with the latest musical instruments and gear. It includes 32-track digital recording, two computers, multiple CD burners, and film scoring and video-editing capabilities. The interior is divided into two separate recording environments. The front studio offers the chance to participate in creating multimedia projects, while the back studio is a more traditional setup for bands and remote recordings of concerts and special events.

For more, check out www.expression.edu.

Dolby Labs Purchases AMS Neve Logic MMC Console

AMS Neve announced that Dolby Laboratories (San Francisco) has purchased a new 18-fader/88-input AMS Neve Logic MMC. The console will be installed by summer 2002, in Dolby's San Francisco-based Presentation Studio, which is used for developing, testing and presenting new products and technologies.

According to Tim Partridge, VP and general manager of the professional division at Dolby, the purchase culminates a close review of consoles. "The MMC has the automation, routing and monitoring features we were looking for, as well as a control surface that is both intuitive and logical. Our Presentation Studio is an important testing ground for Dolby's next generation of technology. The MMC will be put to the test in a variety of applications, so sound quality and flexibility were equally important to us."

"The pedigree of Dolby is world renowned," said John Hart, AMS Neve VP of the western region and South America. "I am delighted that, after evaluating the array of console products available in today's marketplace, Dolby chose the Logic MMC for its Presentation Studio.">

For more on Dolby's Presentation Studio, check out www.dolby.com. For more on the AMS Neve Logic MMC console, visit www.ams-neve.com/prod/lmmc.htm.

Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus