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PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

Business

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UK - Audio Network Plc, the media music and sound specialist, has announced an investment by Leisure & Media VCT plc to accelerate its worldwide growth. Leisure & Media has invested £250,000 in return for a 7% equity stake in Audio Network, which says it has a revolutionary model, "supplying music for use in film, television and multi media production without the usual restrictions, cost and complications".

During the three years since its formation Audio Network has signed up over 100 composers and sound designers and has become established as a leading supplier of music to the UK production community; its music and sound library, comprising over 50,000 sounds, can be previewed on-line at www.audiolicense.net.

Robert Hurst, managing director of Audio Network, said: "We are delighted to welcome Leisure & Media VCT as shareholders in the company and welcome the

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UK - Star Events Group has teamed up again with the Arena Group to create an infrastructure for the spectacular watersports pool at the Schroder's Boatshow at ExCeL in London's Docklands. The team designed and built the support for the 70m x 25m pool that held over 2,100 tonnes of water. Windsurfing, wakeboarding and sailing pros demonstrated their skills, using wind generated by the huge fans that flanked one entire length of the pool. 24 of these fans, each weighing 1 tonne, were supported on a raised structure also supplied by Star Events Group.

For the second year running, working closely with the National Boat Show (NBS), Star Events Group was brought in by the Arena Group to supply ExCeL with a complete temporary facility that was fully available from the first day of the exhibition tenancy. This enabled NBS to concentrate fully on the production requirements. This year's

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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USA - Shure Incorporated has announced the opening of two new locations in China: a manufacturing facility in Suzhou and a sales and marketing office in Shanghai. In preparation for the grand opening, the state-of-the-art Suzhou manufacturing facility has been conducting production trials. Full production of select product lines is expected in the spring.

"China is a very important market for our strategic growth goals," said Sandy LaMantia, President and CEO of Shure. "This expansion will strengthen our company's position by allowing us to respond to the growing global demand for our products. The transition of these product lines to our China facility will be transparent to our global distribution partners," he added.The Suzhou facility, a wholly-owned enterprise, has been equipped with the same calibre of testing equipment as in other Shure plants, includi

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UK - Lighting balloon specialists Airstar Space Lighting was on hand to assist the homeless charity Crisis at the end of December, providing nine of its Crystal fixtures for use at the charity's annual Crisis Open Christmas event. Taking place across six London venues between 23rd and 30th December, the event was designed to provide skills training & activities, companionship and medical services for as many of London's homeless as possible.

The main venue was located in three buildings at the Millennium Dome, Greenwich, plus associated marquees. Being designed with a 'village' atmosphere in mind, the Crystal lighting balloons were chosen by lighting designer Jenny Kagan to provide illumination for the links between the site's different areas. She deployed seven 2k halogen and two 1.2k HMI Crystals, all 1.6m in diameter. Although she hadn't used Airstar fixtures before, she said

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Korea - Avix Tech Co Ltd, recently appointed Audient distributor in Korea, has secured two sales of the biggest Aztec desk yet, a 56-channel version of Audient's flagship console.

Audient's biggest Aztec to date is now being used by the EnCompass Corporation, a multi-entertainment company located in the Chung Cheung area. Introduced to Audient by Avix Tech, their managing director, Steve Kim, explained: "A host of cultural events takes place throughout the year in this part of Korea, so EnCompass Corp handles a lot of global events. The 56-channel console from Audient is currently being used for the concert of the Chung-Ju City Orchestra and Choir. They particularly like the fact that the AZTEC live console has such a large number of VCA groups and dedicated recording connectivity, which allows simple set up of recording equipment for both recording and mixdown." Avix

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UK - Britannia Row Productions provided audio for the giant concert at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium in aid of the Asian tsunami relief fund, covering the enormous crowd of 61,000 Brit Row used their L'Acoustics system, with Yamaha for control in the shape of both a PM1D and PM5D at either end of the snake.

"I'm sure there isn't an audio provider in the country that wouldn't have been willing to do this show," commented Brit Row director Bryan Grant, "and I'm honoured that Claire Sampson, show producer, asked us. We were able to assemble a really outstanding team of people: crew chief John Gibbon, Dave Bracey and Gary Bradshaw at front of house, Tristan Farrow and Kursten Smith on monitors, Pete McGlynn, Steph' Thompson, Dorus Hummels and Nahuel Gutierrez onstage and Richard Trow, Chris Peters and James Bowyer on system."

The bands all went through the P

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UK - The UK entertainment ticketing industry's self-regulatory body, the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR), has welcomed the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)'s announcement that it is to promote steps to clamp down on the resale and touting of show tickets. STAR is, with others, planning to lobby the Government for changes in the law and for the effective enforcement of existing laws to protect consumers, especially from so-called 'e-touts' who exploit web sites to resell tickets. STAR also welcomed moves by the OFT to ensure consumers get clear price information.

Many tickets are being offered for sale through Internet auction sites. Earlier this month there were some 8,378 separate listings of multiple tickets for sale on one leading site alone. There is evidence that large operations, as well as individual touts, are using sites to offer seats at major events at vastl

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UK - One year after unveiling its Verona console, Midas has launched Siena at the Winter NAMM 2005 in California and simultaneously on www.midasconsoles.com. Verona, says Midas, has enjoyed an unprecedented uptake over the past year, while sales across its entire range have boomed by 57% over the 12-month period. Now Midas is confident that the 16-send Siena, which is pitched at the same market sector to Verona and shares many of its design techniques, will repeat its success.

"When specifying Siena we felt there was a large gap in the market for a high quality, highly configurable console that had a high output count but was still extremely easy to use in the live environment," says David Cooper, sales and marketing director for Midas and Klark Teknik. "Siena has a feature set sure to appeal to monitor engineers as it is the only console in the world, at this per

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Estonia - Arup Lighting, in collaboration with MVRDV, has created a spectacular lighting display that will be suspended 35m high over the Old Town quarter of Tallinn in Estonia. The semi-permanent art installation will be lit over the city, making the dark and wintry Tallinn awash with light every evening for three hours, between 3 - 6 February. The ambitious project was conceived at an Estonian designers' workshop for young architects with the aim of creating a lighting installation to enhance the city and inspire its residents during the winter gloom.

Invited by the Tallinn City Government, MVRDV architects and Arup Lighting were asked to find solutions to realise the winning idea - a 'light cupola' above the city. The Light Dome is the precursor to more anticipated installations of a similar nature in Europe, and the design team hopes to install a larger one in London in 200

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UK - Following a record visitor turnout and exhibitor numbers reaching the hall's capacity in 2004, the organisers of the A.C. Lighting North Tradeshow have announced that this year's show will be returning to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on 26-27 April. Further show details will be confirmed in the coming months, but visitors can expect a repeat of last year's popular format, say the company. Many of the key brands from A.C. Lighting's stock-holding of leading lighting, audio and associated equipment manufacturers who exhibited in 2004 have already confirmed their attendance, as well as a number of new suppliers who will making their first appearance at the show.

As well as the chance to catch up on the latest product innovations and receive demonstrations, face-to-face expert advice and some exclusive 'show-only' exhibitor deals, the show will again include a range of

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Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi's newly-built Heritage Theatre boasts, as well as breathtaking décor, a state-of-the-art audio infrastructure that will allow it to be monitored from several thousand miles away in the United Kingdom, using QSC's QSControl.net technology. Perched atop a hill overlooking the Persian Gulf, the 550-seat theatre was designed as a multi-purpose venue, hosting historical and folkloric events, lectures, and conventions, as well as doubling as a cinema with surround sound. UK-based audio company LSI Projects specified QSC amplification and processing and performed the full system integration, including sound, video, lighting, engineering and project management, for Abu Dhabi's Ministry of Heritage.

QSC PowerLight PL4.0, PL236 and PL218 amplifiers drive the main PA, and are fitted with DSP-4 signal processing modules, which add high-pow

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UK - A 40-channel Allen & Heath GL3300 multi-purpose live console has been installed in one of the largest concert and conference venues in the west of England. The Forum, located in Bath's city centre, features a 1700-seater auditorium, which was in need of an audio upgrade. The venue is a converted 1930's super-cinema, which has been extensively renovated in its original art deco style by current owners, Bath City Church. Its0 main function is as the home of Bath City Church, a vibrant Christian group with a growing membership of around 500 people. The auditorium's sound system, installed in the early 1990s, is operated by a team of 15 volunteers from within the church, comprising four teams of three sound engineers working on a rota basis, plus two riggers and a team leader.

"Selection of a suitable replacement desk was a project in itself," commented team leader Ch

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UK - Serious Stages supplied a 12 metre Orbit stage and roof system for the final of TV series Celebrity Big Brother at Elstree Studios. The latest Big Brother winner was ex-Happy Mondays dancer Bez - initially considered an outsider - who attracted huge public support along the way and squeezed Blazin' Squad rapper Kenzie and actress Brigitte Neilson into second and third places respectively.

Serious Stages was contacted just five days before the final by producers Endemol, after deciding they wanted the stage for the final evictions live on the Sunday. Eight Serious crew, led by Shaun Dixon, erected a standard one-bay Orbit roof system, 12 metres wide by 12 metres deep. The stage was completed and ready for lighting, audio, set and other production elements to commence their get-in on the Saturday morning. At the end of the show itself, the house guests were inte

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Germany - Laser specialist Lobo has announced the latest in a series of installations on cruise ships and a private yacht. Magica, the new flagship of European shipping line Costa, set sail for the first time and, along with its sister ship Fortuna, takes Mediterranean cruising to new dimensions. Each of the 272-meter long floating hotels draws 105,000 tonnes and offers pure luxury combined with Italian ambience for 3,470 passengers.

Among the abundant entertainment on offer is a theatre seating more than 1,000 guests, and its well-specified technology includes a sophisticated Lobo laser system. Three maintenance-free laser projectors are controlled by Lacon-5 workstations and Magica also features Lobo's latest Zaphir moving laser head. The control system allows either completely independent operation of the laser system but also control via DMX, timecode, E

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UK - TSC Music, a leading supplier of in-store music solutions, has recently signed to the 'i-ceilings Sound Systems Approved Installer Network' (iSSAIN), joining a shortlist of the UK's biggest and best audio system providers chosen to bring the i-ceilings brand to the market.

Armstrong i-ceilings, the latest generation of integrated loudspeakers, uses NXT flat panel loudspeaker technology to provide exceptional sound qualities, whilst providing a near-'invisible' solution for aesthetic consistency of the ceiling plane. The i-ceilings panel simply drops into the ceiling grid to provide a completely unidentifiable loudspeaker that also benefits from increased clarity and dispersion of music and voice messaging. The product is already finding enormous success in the retail, leisure, education, AV and public sectors, for names such as HSBC, IKEA, Holiday Inn, ASDA, McDonalds, HBOS

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USA - Michael Garl, president of James Thomas Engineering and current chair of ESTA's Rigging Working Group, is assuming the chair of its Technical Standards Committee and leaving the leadership of the Rigging Working group in the hands of Bill Sapsis, the current co-chair and president of Sapsis Rigging. The Technical Standards Committee will appoint a new co-chair to serve with Sapsis on the Rigging Working Group.

Mike's first meeting as TSC Chair will be the meeting at the USITT Conference in Toronto on March 16. The change in leadership is occasioned by Paul Vincent's stepping down after many years of service. "My first involvement with ESTA was as a founding member of the Theatrical Dealers Association," said Vincent. "After serving as vice-president, president, immediate past president, chair of the Ethics Committee, member of the BizEd Committee and chair o

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UK - Cadac's S-Type console has had two high profile deployments in the Far East recently, involving Japan's prestigious Shiki Theatre Company and one of Indonesia's leading rental companies, Sumber Ria. Shiki Theatre Company added two S-Types to its complement of Cadac consoles for the opening of two new productions in January - Phantom of the Opera at the Dentsu Shiki Theatre SEA in Shiodome, Tokyo, as well as Evita which opened on 27th January at the Shiki Theatre AKI, also in Tokyo. In Indonesia, Sumber Ria recently chose an S-Type to tour artist Krisdayanti (KD) in late 2004, as a high quality analogue alternative to their usual analogue and digital console hire stock.

Shiki Theatre Company currently stages an average of seven performances every day of the year, with seven theatres of its own and eleven productions running simultaneously throughout Japan at an

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UK - Twelve James Thomas PixelPAR 90 LED fixtures are at the core of a new high-impact exterior architectural lighting scheme at the Royal & SunAlliance building in Bristol. The Grade II listed West Gate building was designed by renowned British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott - who's work included national landmarks like Battersea & Bankside Power Stations, Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and the classic red British Telephone Box.

Royal & SunAlliance was keen to stamp its own modern - and lasting - identity on the building for the 21st century. It also wanted an innovative and high quality scheme to reinforce West Gate as a prominent city centre landmark. An additional challenge was that the 'Listed' status meant no signage could be attached to the exterior. Keen to embrace new technology, Royal & SunAlliance decided that lighting was an inventive solution that would also crea

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UK - PLASA's professional development programme starts off this year on 4 March 2005 with 'Essential Steps to Effective Strategy Development' and will be held at the DTI Conference Centre in Victoria, London. Aimed at anyone who has responsibility for the development of strategic/business planning, the seminar will cover:
The components of strategic planning, key models/tools and the application to a case study.
Reviewing and exploring types of market information and cost effective methods of data collection for successful planning.
Starting work on identifying possible market resources and the development of individual business plans with support/review by a specialist consultant.
Lunch will be provided and there will be the chance to network throughout the day. Please note that places are limited due to the practical aspect of this workshop.
The cost of the semi

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The Netherlands - Luxeon LED luminaires have been installed by Germany's Bocom as the sole light source in the bar of the Hotel Anna in Munich, Lumileds' LEDs creating a key attraction through the use of dynamic colour-changing light. In total over 1800 LEDs from Lumileds, housed in 12 luminaires throughout the bar area, are used to create the control and imagery needed for this designer hotel.

Harald Spilker, sales and marketing manager of Bocom GmbH, said: "The success and on-going high performance of the Hotel Anna solution underlines the benefits of Luxeon LEDs. Creatively we were able to achieve far greater control and dynamism over the lighting solution, while the minimal maintenance and on-going cost savings provide the hotel with a high-performance, cost-effective installation." Bocom is also responsible for the 35,000 Euro lighting refurbishment of the Rhein T

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Luxembourg - With the whole of continental Europe, including Russia, served by Harlequin International, the Luxembourg-based operation can now offer information on its web site in six major languages. In order to assist customers with details of products and services, Harlequin recently completed a total translation of the web site into French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian, alongside the original English.

Linked to the expanded web site, Harlequin has launched an English language e-mail headline news service. Aimed at anyone involved in the dance community, dance education, stage and events productions and interested in keeping informed of new developments in dance floors, Harlequin's e-news allows readers to scan headlines and images and 'click through' to read the full story on the Harlequin web site.

(Mike Lethby)

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UK - Shure Distribution UK has announced it is now shipping QSC's AcousticDesign AD-S282H full range, surface mount loudspeaker. The unit's contemporary styling is designed to fit perfectly into multiple surroundings and applications including hotels, restaurants, convention facilities and multimedia environments. The speaker incorporates the Advanced Directivity rotatable waveguide and is available in black or white; these weather resistant enclosures can be painted to match any specific décor.

The AD-S282H is the most recent addition to QSC's AcousticDesign range of installed loudspeakers and is a 2-way system housed in a ported enclosure made from injection moulded, high-impact polystyrene. This enclosure incorporates two 8" weather-resistant, LF transducers with heavy-duty double roll cloth surrounds. These high output versions employ a 1" exit compression HF driv

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Germany - Messe Frankfurt has unveiled organisational and facility changes to this year's Musikmesse and Pro Light+Sound events on 6 to 9 April.

Among a series of new digital services for exhibitors and trade visitors are round-the-clock ticket sales with online registration, while a complete Wireless Local Area Network (W-LAN) will allow wireless internet and e-mail access from anywhere in the Exhibition Centre. PCs and handhelds must be equipped with a standard W-LAN card that supports the IEEE 802.11 b or g standard (Wi-Fi). Visitors can purchase W-LAN access cards with time credits of between 15 and 60 minutes for € 2.50 to €8.50. A special flat rate for exhibitors costs € 380 per terminal unit and includes W-LAN access for the duration of the fair, including the setting-up and dismantling phases.

Online trade visitor registration is now available from anywhere in the w

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Greece - A DiGiCo D1 Live has been specified by sound engineer Aris Koudouris for open air concerts, television shows and music club seasons in Greece. "Ypsilon Live, the rental company I usually work with, and I decided that time had come to switch from an analogue to a digital mixing console," says Koudouris. "We chose the DiGiCo D1 Live primarily because of the way it sounds. We'd tested other mixers, but they didn't completely satisfy us." At the moment, Koudouris is using his D1 for a 60-show season with Greek artist Yiannis Kotsiras at large clubs in Salonica and Athens.

"I'm using the D1 at Front of House with an SLS RLA-2 line array system, with a Lexicon 960 for reverb and a Focusrite compressor," continues Koudouris. "Just because this is the first time I've used the console, I have two D1s mirroring each other. Besides the safety iss

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