Germany - Sommer Cable has introduced Transit MC 1031, a hybrid cable for use at professional events, in outside broadcast vehicles or installation technology. The highlight: the new Transit MC 1031 transmits HD video picture together with power and network signals.

"We attach great importance to the flexibility and ruggedness at bending, reeling or under severe tensile strain," says Pascal Miguet, product & sales manager at Sommer. "We therefore rely on a double-shielded video cable, a sturdy Cat 7 cable and a 3 x 2.5 mm

UK - Young Technicians - a new learning programme for young people at Lighthouse, Poole's centre for the arts - has been hailed as a "great success and a valuable experience that has improved participants' chances of working in the industry".

The course is part of the innovative Young Programmers scheme at the heart of Lighthouse's learning and participation strategy that over the next four years aims to develop the next generation of talented arts practitioners.

The first intake recently completed a six-month pilot, making use of the existing workforce at Lighthouse to gain creative, hands-on learning experiences.

"It was a unique and fulfilling experience that you don't get in many other places," said one Young Technician. Another added: "The best part was the freedom and opportunity to put what we had been learning into practice, it allowed us to test ourselves and

UK - JHS & Co. Ltd., the international trade distributors, now has a fresh new logo and branding for 2016.

With a new management structure, JHS have taken the opportunity to freshen up with a more modern logo - as featured for the very first time on its recently released catalogue.

Company founder Mr John Hornby Skewes, who stepped down from his role as chairman of the board of directors along with his wife Madge on 30 June said, "We retire leaving the company in the sound hands of our daughter Linda Drumm and son-in-law Dennis Drumm, who head up an experienced board of directors and a dedicated team of employees. All will continue to serve the trade in the JHS tradition of excellent service and dedication to the needs of customers and suppliers."

The logo joins the successful new-format JHS Event 'On The Road' - which has proven to be very popular with dealers across

UK - PLASA will host its 2016 AGM & Members Lunch on Tuesday 26 July at the magnificent Jacobean stately home, Hatfield House, just 20 minutes by train from London's King's Cross. All PLASA members are invited to attend and contribute to this key event for the Association, whilst enjoying the chance to network with fellow members.

At the meeting, the association's new managing director, Peter Heath, will be outlining his plans for the development of PLASA during this time of change and renewal. Peter commented: "I am looking forward to meeting many industry colleagues and friends at my first AGM in charge of PLASA. The AGM is our big opportunity to bring members together, to communicate our aim to grow PLASA and clearly explain the benefits this will bring to all."

PLASA members will be encouraged to ask questions and participate, and, perhaps most importantly, to come tog

Soundtrack for a Generation - After a gap of 27 years, Carole King returned to the UK stage to play her classic album Tapestry in full as part of the BST festival in London's Hyde Park. The crowd, who had paid up to £249 for the show, seemed to know every word. And the critics were impressed. "King was in London to perform her 1971 classic Tapestry, in full, for the first time, making history with an album that made history," wrote The Telegraph's Neil McCormick. "Tapestry was the first mega selling album ever, a record that every household with a hi-fi had to own. Comparison might be made with the way another female singer songwriter, Adele, rules the contemporary music world but it would be inadequate. For her moment in the early 70s, Carole King was like Adele, The Beatles and Elvis rolled into one gentle, intimate, heartfelt, feminine package." The Evening S

UK - As part of their ongoing growth and expansion into new territories, international theatre consultancy practice, Theatreplan, has recently welcomed several new members to the team: practice manager for the London office, Wioletta Ziemba; compliance and training consultant, John Young; and Revit technicians, Paolo Ribichesu and Andrea Martin Gonzalez.

Wioletta Ziemba joined the team earlier this year to replace Paul Connolly who is now managing the Theatreplan's Hong Kong office. An experienced office manager and passionate about the performing arts, Ziemba is also a gifted linguist fluent in six languages. Her enthusiasm and attention to detail are much appreciated in the London office which is home to the biggest of Theatreplan's three teams.

"Keeping track of all the projects we have on the go at any one time and providing the necessary support to our consultants out

UK - Leading trade-only distributor of technology solutions, Midwich, has recently hired 30 new employees across the Group in a variety of locations and roles. Ranging from Brand Campaign Manager, Logistics Coordinator, Solutions Specialist and General Sales Manager, the new employees highlight Midwich's ongoing investment in its people and in the areas of operation.

Midwich is constantly investing in its staff to continue to service its channel partners to the highest possible standards, the company says. All new staff will be involved in induction weeks as they are welcomed to Midwich.

Iain Campbell, Sales Director at Midwich, said: "We are delighted to be able to announce so many talented individuals joining Midwich. Our employees are the expertise in this business and they are crucial to our success. We are always looking to invest in our existing workforce and to brin

USA - Jim Digby, a 30 plus year veteran of the entertainment industry has accepted an invitation to join the Behind the Scenes Foundation Board of Directors. Jim is the founder and chairman of the Event Safety Alliance and owner of Collaborative Endeavor Group (CEG), which provides international touring strategies and complete production solutions for the live entertainment industry. He currently serves as director of touring and production for the multi-million selling artists Linkin Park, and has previously worked with artists as diverse as The Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi, and Marilyn Manson. He is a four-time recipient of Tourlink's Production Manager of the year award, as well as Parnelli's Production Manager of the Year award for 2012.

Upon accepting the appointment, Jim commented, "I am humbled to be asked to serve on the Board of Directors of the BTS Foundation and contri

Council Concern - Arts Council England has admitted it is "hugely concerned" about the future of artists' free movement within the EU following the Brexit vote last month. National director of communication Mags Patten said the council was "really, really worried" about the issue following the UK's vote to leave the EU, and confirmed ACE was preparing to lobby the government in favour of free movement. Speaking at a London Writers' Week event about the state of the theatre industry, Patten said ACE was uncertain whether UK arts organisations would still have access to European culture funds. She stated, "The other area which really really worries us is freedom of movement. It's a huge concern to us that that is clearly not guaranteed at the moment...We have to be open, we have to be international in our outlook, and the free exchange of artists and ideas is absolutely critical to

Germany - The Milla club in the heart on Munich is a destination for upcoming bands from around the world. The club - which offers space for an audience of up to 250 persons - offers its musical guests state-of-the-art lighting and sound technology. Now, stands from Adam Hall Group's brand Gravity are also ensuring a secure position for microphones and keyboards on stage. Additionally, the stands, which recently received iF Design and Red Dot Awards and are currently nominated for a German Design Award, also provide visual stimuli in the stage set-up.

"There are times when we have a different band here each day of the week, and not all of them bring their own equipment," says Peter Sp

UK - Stage Electrics has rebranded its Hire & Events division. The new SLX brand has been inspired by the expertise and experience of 35 years in the industry. Focusing all its energy in hire and events the former Stage Electrics team of technical and creative staff continue to provide solutions to its theatre, broadcast and event customers.

Operating from a new facility, located just down the road from its previous Bristol premises, SLX has committed to continue its investment programme with several million pounds invested in hire equipment, technology and infrastructure in the last year alone.

The new warehouse provides pre-show and production facilities whilst a dedicated fleet continues to deliver to our customers throughout the UK and Europe.

The former Stage Electrics branches in London and Exeter are now operating as part of SLX.

Trevor Smallwood, executive

FanFair Alliance - Artists including Arctic Monkeys, Iron Maiden, Ed Sheeran, Noel Gallagher and Little Mix have launched a new campaign against ticket touts. Dubbed the FanFair Alliance, it is calling on the government to take tougher action against websites which resell concert tickets. Launching the campaign, Arctic Monkeys' manager Ian McAndrew accused the sites of "rampant profiteering". He said the goal was to "make it easier for fans to buy tickets" at face value. "Fans' anger, their discontent, is what prompted me to do something about this," he told the BBC. "I hope the efforts of this campaign will put pressure on the government to do something."

The secondary ticketing market in the UK is thought to be worth more than £1bn a year. But the music industry is concerned that fans are being excluded from concerts by "professional" resellers, who scoop up tickets as

UK - As of July 2016, Edinburgh based Black Light has been awarded Constructionline and The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS) accreditations.

Constructionline is a procurement and supply chain management service that, assesses, collects and monitors standard company information. Black Light gained the accreditation through a question set that is aligned to PAS 91, the standardised pre-qualification questionnaire developed by BSI to reduce duplication within the construction industry.

CHAS is the fastest growing health and safety assessment scheme in the UK. Its main aims are to improve health and safety standards across the UK and reduce duplicated safety applications for both suppliers and buyers.

These accreditations will benefit Black Light by saving time and resources, giving guidance of supply management and promoting that the company shows co

Lost & Found - A 1969 Led Zeppelin session for the BBC that was thought to have been lost when archives were wiped has been recovered from a recording made by a fan. The set went out on the BBC World Service as part of Alexis Korner's Rhythm and Blues programme and was taped from an AM radio in Europe.

It includes the band's only known recording of the track Sunshine Woman. The session recording has been restored with help from guitarist Jimmy Page for inclusion on a new compilation. The Complete BBC Sessions, which will be released in September, is a remastered update of a 1997 collection of tracks recorded for the BBC between 1969 and 1971. It includes eight previously unreleased recordings, including the first broadcast of Stairway To Heaven, from the BBC Paris Cinema in London on 1 April 1971.

Rare recordings of eccentric pioneering radio DJ

USA - Genelec has appointed Dave Maclaughlin to the position of education sales director. Based in Florida, Maclaughlin will be in charge of educational sales for the entire US., as well as a direct sales rep for the state of Florida.

In his new position, Maclaughlin will help Genelec focus on sales to educational institutions and students, as well as present seminars and act as brand ambassador to the educational market. He will report to Lisa Kaufmann, Genelec Inc. managing director, and work closely with Paul Stewart, Genelec Inc. Eastern territory sales manager, on new and ongoing sales initiatives. For the past four years, Maclaughlin has served as the vice president of sales for Parsons Audio.

"Dave's diverse background, especially his expertise in audio education, makes him a perfect fit for this position," states Genelec's Will Eggleston. "He knows the priorities,

Canada - After several years of growth, Adamson has announced an expansion of its management team at its global headquarters in Port Perry, Canada.

Benoit Cabot is promoted to director of R&D while Marc Weber joins in a director capacity to launch a new Product and Brand management division. They join director James Oliver to continue the strengthening of a young leadership team that has been instrumental in the increased visibility of the brand.

"Our product vision has endured generations and we've built a management team that will lead it through many more," explains Brock Adamson, founder and president of Adamson Systems Engineering. "We're driven by engineering and the production of high performance systems; not a corporate obsession of satisfying a group of investors. Our young leadership has been tasked to maintain this focus while our company rapidly expands."

B

USA - The AmericanAirlines Arena, located in Miami, FL, home to the NBA's Miami Heat, recently completed an entire audio-visual upgrade using Audinate's Dante Audio-over-IP networking solution for low-latency, multichannel audio routing and distribution. The HEAT Group, the marketing and booking group within the AmericanAirlines Arena, has spent the last 15 years renovating and expanding areas of the arena. This latest technology upgrade not only included the arena bowl, but also a recently built exterior performance area.

The 19,600 seat arena that sits on the Biscayne Bay waterfront hosts more than 80 live events annually, including major concerts, family shows and national conferences. The new outdoor entertainment venue, Xfinity East Plaza (XEP) is a 23,000sq.ft covered space located on the east side of the arena. The initial XEP planning focused on the careful placement o

USA - Taking centre stage inside the Lakeland Centre, the 2016 Miss Florida Scholarship Pageant showcased 48 contestants all vying for the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss America. Held in conjunction with the Miss Florida Outstanding Teen Pageant, production designer Trenton Dick was once again working behind the scenes at Miss Florida, and was asked this year to build upon the previous pageants LED video design.

So with an expanded budget and some increased expectations, Dick decided to create three LED video walls for the event using FLEXLite Plus 6.9mm and FLEXCurtain HD 12.5mm LED video technology from Nashville-based PixelFLEX.

"We used the PixelFLEX LED video technology for the first time in our 2015 pageant design and the producers loved it so much they really wanted to expand our video design for 2016," said Dick. "With the opportunity to expand the de

New Zealand - Pink Floyd's legacy of bright, visually powerful stage productions lives on today in New Zealand, thanks to a tribute band formed (quite fittingly) by a lighting designer who uses the colour and intenstity of Chauvet Professional fixtures to create lightshows that do the group's legacy proud.

"We want to celebrate the Pink Floyd experience, not just with music but with lights and the entire stage presentation," said Anthony Macdonald, the LD who created the show. "Lighting was essential to the original Pink Floyd experience, so we try to replicate that feeling, but with the efficiency and intensity of today's fixtures."

Mcdonald has two STRIKE 4 multi-formatted LED fixtures in his band's road rig along with 12 Rogue R1 Spots, two Rogue RH1 Hybrids and five COLORado Zoom WW Tour fixtures. The fixtures were provided by Mcdonald's own company, MDR Sound and Ligh

UK - HSL supplied lighting, rigging and a Kinesys automation system for the recent European leg of Chris Brown's "One Hell of a Nite tour, working for production designer and manager Tom E. Marzullo from Out Of Our Minds Creative Services, LLC.

HSL project managers John Slevin and Jordan Hanson co-ordinated everything for the Blackburn- based rental company and ensured that the production design - created collectively by Tom E with input from Christie Lites' Robert Roth and Robert Achlimbari from All Access - was supplied with all the lighting, rigging and automation elements it needed.

The tour's technical director Brian Spett who ran video content for the show and lighting director Charles Ford (also the lighting programmer / operator) additionally had their input, while HSL supplied a top crew chiefed by Simon 'Piggy' Lynch, to ensure that everything ran as smoothly and

Australia - The CMC Music Awards 2016 were held at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), with some of the biggest names in country music including superstars Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line, Australia's own Adam Harvey, and rising country star Kelsea Ballerini taking to the stage to perform.

Broadcast live on Foxtel's Country Music Channel the event celebrated the music and artists who are most-loved by their dedicated country music fans in Australia.

Mandylights were responsible for the production design, production management, stage management, lighting design and operation. Lighting gear came from Crystal Productions, Resolution X and Mandylights themselves.

The event was the first time Scenius, Clay Paky's moving head spotlight, was used in Australia as Crystal Productions had received 14 a few days prior.

"We are among the first companies in Aust

UK - A.C. Audio, a sales division of A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd., is hosting Digital Wireless Days in association with Shure in August, to demonstrate the brand's wireless solutions, decode the jargon, and explain why the future of wireless is digital.

The free events will take place at the company's UK headquarters (High Wycombe) on Tuesday, 9 August, and Northern sales office (Leeds) on Thursday, 11 August 2016.

RF (radio frequency) spectrum for use by wireless microphone operators has changed a lot over recent years. From the digital TV switchover to the rise of mobile phone ownership, demand for clean spectrum is greater than ever.

As the airwaves the industry operates in continue to evolve, so must the technology that is used. Digital wireless systems have much to offer in securing a positive future for wireless microphones through spectral effic

Ireland - Designed to renew and inspire Irish theatre, film and television, The Lir Academy opened in 2011 with a vision to become a centre of excellence for the dramatic arts in Ireland. Developed with collaboration from the Cathal Ryan Trust, and in association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), The Lir offers first-rate training for the theatre and related professions. This year, the institution has turned its attention to updating its curriculum for technical theatre and lighting design students, leading to a partnership with ETC.

For several years, ETC's Playhouse at Gypsy Corner has been the education hub for the UK and Ireland, necessitating trips to London for Ireland-based technicians wanting to undertake ETC training. In recognition of ETC and The Lir's mutual interest in training technical skills in theatre to the highest possible standards, the two org

Germany - The Scorpions were formed in Sarstedt, in 1965, by guitarist Rudolf Schenker and drummer Wolfgang Dziony. During the decades that followed, the band made history: 18 albums, lengthy list of awards and innumerable tours, which have taken the Scorpions all over the world. Today the group has embarked upon its latest world tour.

Roland Beckerle is the tour production manager and Olaf Schr

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