General

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14 March 2016

On 30 June 2009, Ofcom published a statement setting out its decision to clear the entire 800MHz band. This means that if you have wireless equipment such as radio microphones and/or in-ear monitors which operate in channels 61-69, they will be rendered obsolete by 2012/2013. Enforced eviction from the 800MHz band will mean major cost implications for everyone who owns affected equipment.

Ofcom and the Government agreed to the principle of putting a funding mechanism to replace affected equipment. Last week, Ofcom published a consultation - Clearing the 80

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14 March 2016

There will be more for visitors to see, as more new exhibitors have signed up for the show at Earls Court, bringing the total of new and returning exhibitors to over 50. The education and learning programme has also been expanded with two audio-related masterclasses from previous Gottelier Award winners, Tony Andrews of Funktion One and John Stadius of Soundtracs/DiGiCo.

Another new addition to the Show is the Supply2.gov.uk Lounge, a central feature area giving exhibitors and visitors the chance to get advice from Supply2.gov.uk - the portal which helps SMEs gain access to public sector contract opportunities, typically worth up to £100,000.

Anoth

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14 March 2016

For the first time, the Proms finale was screened via satellite to cinemas on every continent of the world. The BBC said the two-month classical music festival had been the most successful yet with a 32% increase in under-16s attending. Proms director Roger Wright said the event had included "outstanding and inspiring music-making".

Goodnight Vienna - The tribute conce

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14 March 2016

ACS was established in 1994 with a mission to supply, develop and manufacture products that protect the hearing of people with livelihoods depending on working in dangerously high sound levels. ACS, which has offices in both Harpenden and Banbury, now provides viable hearing protection and communication products that are designed to help anyone from, musicians, DJs, sportsmen and music lovers to enjoy sound safely.

Jones has been appointed to ensure continued growth in the key sectors of music, industry and motor-sport, through a variety of new systems and processes, which will allow ACS to capitalise on new opportunities in these rapidly expanding markets without compromising the high standards of quality and service, says the company.

Mathew Jones comm

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14 March 2016

The team, led by David Taylor and Jim Niesel, is currently involved in developing projects across the US and abroad. These include the Sydney Opera House Western Venues renovation, the development of a theatre for Baryshnikov and The Wooster Group, the re-development of the Minneapolis Northrop Auditorium and a unique music recording and performance venue in Willamsburg, Brooklyn.

David Taylor, leader of Arup's Arts and Culture business in the Americas said. "Rob is a respected member of the theatre community. His presence within our regional team and energetic leadership in Los Angeles is another step in the global growth of our expert practi

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14 March 2016

At PLASA09, Luke was delighted to present a cheque for £1,800 to Light Relief trustee Lesley Harmer. In thanking Luke for the money, Lesley said: "This is an incredible amount of money to raise in just four months. We thank Luke and everyone at ETC for their generosity, and for a brilliant idea which will continue to raise money for this worthwhile cause year after year."

When users purchase the iRFR application from the iTunes store, they designate the charity of their choice. The Light Relief or Behind the Scenes logo then appears as the iRFR start screen. ETC software engineer Chris Mizerak developed the application w

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14 March 2016

Launched at PLASA 09 by a galaxy of stars, including Brian Conley and Liz Robertson, both currently starring in Hairspray, Issy van Randwyck (of Fascinating Aida), Fiona Mollison and director Edward Hall, the event has already enlisted the following riders (subject to work commitments): Richard Bullimore, Steve Colley, Neil Collins, David Edelstein, George Ellerington, Ric Green, Darrell Hewitt, Simon Le Bon, S

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14 March 2016

The extravaganza featured over 600 local and international performers, blending the traditional Tattoo spectacle of massed pipe bands and Highland dancers with a distinctly African flavour. It was the second year that Gearhouse has been involved in the event, working for producers MC Squared. SABC2 also supported the show and recorded it for future broadcast.

This year the show's production and lighting designer Tim Dunn wanted a fresh, vibrant, contemporary feel, and so chose to light the 'Parade Ground' performance area solely with moving lights and LED fixtures.

Sound was designed by Gearhouse Audio's Dave Tudor and mixed by Pierre Slabbert.

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14 March 2016

Having only launched the console at PLASA08, manufacturing the 500th console in May 2009 was a huge achievement - and the DiGiCo team wanted to mark the occasion by putting something back into the industry they are so proud to be a part of.

As well as being known as a first rate engineer and consummate gentleman, John Roden was a friend and inspiration to many. He had an impressive list of credits to his name, but was perhaps best known as Paul McCartney's monitor engineer, a role

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14 March 2016

Pauline has been working as acting managing director of the NSA for the past five months. In this time she has set up the NSA Board, launched the NSA website and is leading a capital bid to build a Centre of Excellence on the Royal Opera House Production Park in Thurrock. She has successfully recruited over 170 industry members from the live music, events and theatre industries, who will work in collaboration with the NSA's 20 Founder Colleges to deliver world-class training for the world's greatest stages.

Pauline has extensive knowledge and experience of the creative and cultural sector, having worked as a senior member of Arts Council England for nine years, where her role included policy, research, training and setting up Creative Partne

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14 March 2016

Colombian singer Juanes, who organised the Peace without Borders concert, received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime, but had the support from 20 high-profile jailed dissidents inside Cuba.

While critics have complained that Juanes is endorsing the island's communist system, the dissidents say the concert is an opportunity for reconciliation. Juanes said the show was about peace and tolerance, not politics, telling the audience that "the important thing is to swap hate for love". But at the end of the show, he caused some surprise by shouting "Cuba libre!&quo

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14 March 2016

The ceremony was attended by the leading players of the Scottish events industry and took place on 11 September in Glasgow's Hilton Hotel. The event, now in its second year, is designed to promote, reward and celebrate the growing events industry in Scotland. The Event Awards brings together all areas of the industry, from event managers, to organisers, venues, suppliers and in-house teams.

Lois Ferguson, marketing manager at Northern Light, said: "We are chuffed to bits with this award. Our event production service has only been in place for a few years, so receiving this accolade from a panel of UK event industry judges - and against much m

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14 March 2016

The ninth annual Tech Track 100 league table was published in The Sunday Times on 20 September 2009. It ranks Britain's fastest-growing privately-owned technology companies, based on sales growth over the latest three years, from 2005-2008, or 2006-2009. Growth among these companies ranged from 38% pa to 189% pa, with sales typically between £5m and £30m.

Stage Technologies, founded in 1995 by managing director Mark Ager and operations director John Hastie, has grown its sales 55% a year from £4.2m in 2005 to £15.5m in 2008, according to The Times. In 2009 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2009 in the categor

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14 March 2016

The audio console manufacturer is running a special game of skill, launched at PLASA09, with an SD8 digital mixing system as the winning prize. The proceeds of the competition will be donated to the families of two of the best-known and loved sound engineers in the business - John Roden and Jim Douglas. Sadly, both men are no longer with us.

5 Star Cases has been a one-source flightcase solution provider to DiGiCo from the launch of the flagship SD7 console case in 2007.

When the DiGiCo SD8 console was launched in September 2008, 5 Star was once again asked to provide the flightcase. Building on the success of the SD7 version, the 5 Star design team again produced a case to complement the lines of the new, smaller console. The first

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14 March 2016

"We're thrilled to be working with such a fine group of companies," states TSI Distributing president Lance Wascom. "These are all problem-solving products that are innovative and tour-proven. We're especially happy to help bring 3RD Power amps to the market. Their ability to produce killer tone at any volume promises to revolutionise the guitar world."

With headquarters in Nashville, TSI Distributing is headed by Lance Wascom and Larry Martin of Tour Supply, along with Jamie Scott, pres

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14 March 2016

Proceeds from the event, to be held on 25 October, will aid the PRS (Performing Right Society) for Music Members' Benevolent Fund. Lane's widow Katy is one of the many to receive assistance from the charity, which helps musicians, songwriters and their families in financial difficulties. "This will be so special for us, staging a reunion for such a wonderful and prestigious event," said Wood. &quo

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14 March 2016

Ubisense provides BlackBox the live precise location of moving objects and people needed to automatically direct lighting and sound equipment with zero latency. The technology of Ubisense begins with antenna sensors, which 'hear' the active tag and compute its exact location through a combination of time difference of arrival (TDOA or triangulation) and angle of arrival (AOA). This object can be anything from a live performer to a scenery piece.

Through Ubisense, BlackBox processes a constant stream of exact 3D locations needed to control movement of sound and lighting equipment automatically. This Ubisense system

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14 March 2016

Andi Watson, creative director for the In Rainbowstour, explains: "Doing away with conventional lighting on set was a massive leap of faith for us. Of course our concerts are all about delivering the music but the fans expect a visual spectacle as well. At the same time, we can't just pollute the atmosphere merely for effect."

Watson continues: "Having put the LED equipment through its paces we were convinced it was the right way to go. To be honest, not having a single discharge or incandescent lamp in the design has set a new benchmark for us."

Always open

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14 March 2016

Each brings their own unique specialist skills to the design table. James Thomas specialises in auditorium design and theatre planning, with emphasis on feasibility studies, concept and detail design. He brings 13 years experience as a qualified Architect and has worked at Fosters, Make and Thomas Heatherwick. Whilst at Foster and Partners he was part of the winning team for the Lincoln Centre New York.

Sonya Flynn's focus is on the planning aspects of theatre design. She brings nine years experience in architecture having worked with Hawkins Brown; Foster and Pa

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14 March 2016

"This really is a new way to look at using the intercom system," explains Christian Latzelsberger, senior product manager for RTS Intercoms Worldwide.

"The VKP looks and behaves just like our best-selling RTS keypanels, but it is just an application on your computer. This frees up physical real estate on your desk, and allows any PC user on the network to connect the intercom system via Ethernet."

The RTS virtual keypanel application is compatible with any RTS Digital Matrix Intercom equipped with the RVON interface.

(Jim E

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14 March 2016

Among its many achievements, Cirrus Logic is recognised as the pioneer of the fabless model for the semiconductor industry, going against industry conventions at the time when most chip companies required their own manufacturing resources. Today, hundreds of semiconductor companies globally have adopted the fabless model. In product innovation, the company is recognised as a leading-edge designer of the audio converter, which converts analogue signals into digital signals and vice versa. Cirrus Logic audio chips can be found inside the latest cutting-edge el

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14 March 2016

Childerhouse joins PSCo from the role of CEO at trade only service company BITS. In his seven years with the company he headed up its sales force, introducing AV products to the company's business and managing large projects for the Royal Mail and BAA with JC Decaux. His previous industry experience also includes working with Fujitsu at the introduction of plasma technology, later implementing the UK's first plasma onsite warranty scheme in the UK.

Says Childerhouse: "The move to PSCo is a chance to work with like-minded people in a company that wants to add value, through technical expertise and new innovative technologies. I will

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14 March 2016

Each supplier in the category had to provide three examples of how their service had enhanced the quality of an event through innovation, level of service, impact on the feel of the event and the challenges they overcame. Firefly chose The Age of Stupid film premiere, Innocent Smoothie Village Fete and BBC's Springwatchas their case studies.

These events showcased the versatility of Firefly as a supplier and their ability to bring an educational element to events, enabling the public to learn about the possibilities of renewable power. The case studies also highlighted how Firefly helped to seriously reduce their clients carbon footprint; the Age of Stupid film premiere emitting just one per cent of the usual carbon emission

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14 March 2016

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Monte Wise, systems applications specialist, pro sound, for Bosch's Communications Systems Division.

"Monte was an expert, a true professional. Monte's 'golden ears' were second to none in the pro audio industry, and he helped perfect thousands of sound systems across the Americas, making friends everywhere he went.

"A model for others, Monte's care for our customers was never-ending. No matter what the time of day, he went to extreme lengths to ensure their happiness. For many, Monte was a mentor who improved and helped shape their businesses.

"Always on the go, always smiling and always gracious and patient, Monte's hands-on know-how was an