Germany - d&b Group has announced a major investment by Providence, a private equity firm specialising in growth-oriented investments in media, communications, education and technology. With the support of Providence, d&b plans to further strengthen its global market-leading position in the professional audio market while also further integrating its capabilities in the audio visual, lighting and media (AVLM) solutions sector. Providence has a track record of investing in businesses that deliver world-class technology and experiences. As part of the transaction, the d&b management team will also acquire a stake in the company, ensuring long-term leadership and strategic continuity. The parties have agreed not to reveal details of the transaction, and the conclusion of the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. Founded in
Lithuania - Located along the banks of the slow-moving Nemunas River and surrounded by green meadows, the Old Church of St. John the Baptist stands alone as a sentinel against time. The picturesque Gothic church, with its striking steep-pitched roof, draws tourists and photographers from around the world to the Lithuanian town of Zapyškis. While the building is no longer used for religious purposes, it was given the status of a Cultural Monument in 2002 and is now a popular venue for cultural and music events like the annual Kite Festival and Pažaislis Music Festival. Steerable loudspeaker arrays from Renkus-Heinz were installed in the building to combat long reverberation times, improve intelligibility and enhance the experiences of festival attendees. Church staff contacted Vytautas Stasiukaitis, system designer at Audiotonas, to help redesign the audio system. As
USA - The US leg Tori Amos’ 2023 Ocean to Ocean tour kicked off in West Palm Beach, Florida in June with a fresh and varied setlist, ready to rouse fans across the States. The crew joining this year’s US leg are armed with an array of Green-GO Digital intercom products. At the heart of the setup is a Green-GO DanteX Interface, which is directly converting digital audio streams from Dante to Green-GO and vice-versa without loss of quality. “The Green-GO DanteX Interface was key to our system,” says Alex Penn, commercial director at UK-based 22Live, which supplied a complete audio system for the Ocean to Ocean tour in both Europe and the US. “The tour was already using an extensive Dante network that covered many jobs including the PA returns, and shared stage racks for both the FOH and monitor mixing consoles. “Utilising the DanteX Interf
China - Further to its successful introduction to the European, South-East Asian and North American markets, Powersoft will be presenting its cloud-based platform, Unica and Universo, at InfoComm China later this month. The new platform will be presented during a special event on the EZPro booth (Hall E, stand EE4-01) on the first day of the show, 19 July, at 2:30pm. EZPro, Powersoft's historical representative in China, is the country's official distributor for the entire Powersoft range of products and solutions, including Mover, Mezzo and Dynamic Music Distribution, as well as the dedicated rental staging (T Series, X Series) and fixed installation (Duecanali, Quattrocanali, Ottocanali) ranges. The official presentation will be hosted by Miao Wang, Powersoft’s solution engineer, together with Xiang Ji, EZPro’s senior director of marketing, who will be demonstra
UK - Atlas Show Control for spatial audio which was recently named Sound Product of the Year by the ABTT, has been officially launched. The show control software is designed with the control and implementation of spatial audio engines at its heart. Atlas ‘aims to change the way in which designers and operators interact with the plethora of audio hardware and software within their environment’. Atlas supports incoming positional data from trackers offering control and smoothing algorithms. Atlas can also output control data to other audio applications, sound consoles, video servers and lighting consoles. Atlas allows for manual positional programming, the use of hardware trackers or a combination of both as demands dictates. Atlas is designed to provide users with a friendly user interface whilst unleashing the full potential of spatial audio control.
UK - One of the UK’s longest-running leisure operators, Potters Resorts, has recently completed a multi-million pound refurbishment of the luxury Five Lakes resort in Essex, which they purchased in 2021. The improvements include a new leisure complex, upgrades to numerous existing facilities and the repurposing of a former sports hall into the Glade Theatre, a multi-functional performance space equipped with modern sound, lighting and video systems. Already an established DiGiCo user (the theatre at their original site in Hopton on Sea features an SD10), following consultation with Autograph Sound the company chose two DiGiCo consoles for the new facility, a Quantum 338 for FOH and a Quantum 225 for stage monitoring. Autograph subsequently supplied the two consoles plus two SD Racks fitted with the new 32-bit SD cards and an Optocore fibre network. The FOH con
Europe - Muse are currently on tour, featuring songs from their album Will of the People. Matthew Bellamy (vocals, guitar), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass, vocals) and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion) have been playing arenas and stadiums throughout the US and Europe. As the band’s FOH engineer for over two decades, Marc Carolan is making sure the sound quality on stage exceeds every expectation. To that end, Carolan employs the Austrian Audio OD505 WL1 for vocals on the Will of the People Tour. The OD505 WL1 is a solution for those in the band who are mobile during their performance and depend on a wireless system. In many live situations, ambient sound is a big problem and mic’s supercardioid polar pattern smoothly rejects unwanted interference and focuses on the voice. Monitor engineer Matt Napier, part of Carolan’s team and on his first tour with the
UK - As the name suggests, Bristol-based Enlightened has its roots in lighting. But over the years, the company has evolved to become a prominent complete technical solutions provider in the South West of England, covering everything from sales, hire and equipment repair through to installation and full event production services. A recent investment in a Nexo Geo M10 line array system has seen Enlightened bolstering an already significant inventory of Nexo ID and P+ Series point-source boxes. “They’re like hot cakes” reports production manager Ryan Stromski. “The utilisation of our Nexo stock is so high, they’re never on the shelf.” The new Geo M10 system was only in the warehouse for a few days before heading to Glastonbury where Enlightened had over 50 lists of equipment distributed over at least 10 locations around the festival site. On return, it
Saudi Arabia - Since 2016 when the Saudi government opened the doors to public events, MDLBeast has been at the vanguard of nurturing local musical talent, hosting live and online events, producing artists on its MDLBeast Records label, and establishing XP Music Futures to accelerate the growth of MENA’s music industry. Since 2019, MDLBeast has also curated Soundstorm Festival, the Middle East region’s largest gathering of artists and fans with over 200 acts and three quarters of a million visitors over four days. For the most recent edition, the push to offer innovative experiences saw Soundstorm invite Polygon Live and their L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal technology to create and curate a stage for VIP audiences. Polygon Live is a 360°, immersive sonic experience where speakers play spatialised sound synchronised with an immersive light installation, whi
South Africa - Andrea ‘Dray’ Fowler has joined DWR Distribution’s sales team in Johannesburg. For the past nine years, Dray has worked for a company that specialises in signage lighting while her career has seen her operate in business finance, office automation and sales. “I knew about DWR Distribution from my husband Clint who also works in the live events industry, and from our friend Kyle Robson who works at DWR,” said Dray. “It always sounded like a vibey organisation where I've heard they work hard, play hard and fight hard. To me it seemed like a company where if I looked after them, they would look after me.” “It’s wonderful to be able to expand the sales team and we are already impressed with Dray’s energy and the way she so easily fits into the team, almost as if she has always been part of it,” said Robert Izzett, sales director
UK - Innovate Audio, creator of the panLab software, will show its latest spatial audio solution at the PLASA Show in London (3-5 September, Olympia). The new development, called panLab Console, is a software solution that adds spatial audio functionality to a range of live mixing consoles. Cost and time constraints currently put spatial audio technology out of reach of smaller applications. Now, however, panLab Console presents a straightforward solution for more users than ever before. Put simply, panLab Console takes the proven panLab algorithm and applies it directly to the mixing console itself. It allows audio to be spatialised through existing hardware, without requiring expensive, dedicated processors. The solution is designed to be so simple to setup, users can be up and running in under five minutes. “It enables people to deploy amplitude-based panning wit
UK - VDC Trading has announced that it has promoted three employees to head up a new technical team, officially formalising its technical consultation service offering to customers. The new department is spearheaded by Jim Bulbeck, technical support manager, and David Barnard, customer services manager, both supported by technical assistant Dan Tompkins. Via an ‘added-value consultative sales approach’, VDC customers have always had access to experienced advisors helping them overcome any technical issues. The new team just makes it easier for them to have a dedicated and named point person to deal with their enquiries, says the company. Niall Holden, founder and CEO of VDC Trading comments: “We’ve always had a technical support department but this year as we lurch back into ‘normal’ busy times we have seen a huge increase in technical enquiries so
UK - British loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics returned to Glastonbury’s Acoustic Stage, following the success of last year's outing. Housed inside a large bright red tent, the Acoustic Stage is said to be a ‘festival within a festival’. Blues, folk, contemporary and country music are the order of the day. This year’s line-up included the Magic Numbers, Seth Lakeman, Badly Drawn Boy, Richard Thompson, Newton Faulkner, Paul Carrack, Steve Earle, and Rumer, among others. In conjunction with De Brabant Audio, EM supplied the full PA package for the Acoustic Stage. “We are thrilled to have returned to the Acoustic Stage for the 2023 festival,” says Mike Wheeler, operations director at EM Acoustics. “Returning to Glastonbury for a second year confirms our belief in the capabilities of the HALO-A system. The feedback we’ve received has yet again been univ
Finland - Genelec has been chosen as Finland’s Brand of the Year. Organised by Finland’s Chamber of Commerce, the annual competition is focused on fostering Finnish brand expertise and long-term brand development work, with the results being announced during the recent Great Brand Day at Helsinki’s Music Centre. With a shortlist that also included the celebrated Finnish brands Lumene, Niemi and Siili, a jury of brand and intellectual property professionals evaluated many criteria - including brand story, customer experience, innovation, intellectual property protection, communication strategy, brand book and brand image. Additionally, members of the Finnish public were also able to play a part in the shortlisting process by nominating their favourite brand. “The Genelec brand is built on the company's core values and is based on competence and enabling people t
Norway - Prism Sound has appointed Matrix Pro Audio as its distributor in Norway, with responsibility for its entire range of audio conversion products including the recently launched Dream ADA-128 modular system. Based in Rykkinn, near Oslo, Matrix has over 20 years’ experience of providing pro audio equipment to the Norwegian market and specialises in supporting all market sectors, including project studio owners, singer/songwriters, sound designers, educational establishments and science and research academies. As well as handling Prism Sound, the company also retails products from manufacturers such as PMC, Dangerous Music, Wes Audio, Tegeler Audio Manufaktur, Manultec, Rockruepel, Flock Audio, Elysia, Gainlab Audio, Buzz Audio and more. The company’s owner, Frank Oestrem, says he is delighted to represent an established brand with a range of products that fit
UK - Facing their third year of providing technical services for Access The Festival (ATF), the three-day EDM dance party in Warwick’s Sherbourne Park, events specialist Sound Access turned for the first time to Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision (WPS) for the sound reinforcement. The festival, organised by DJs Will Darley and Alex Neidhardt, continues to evolve its concept (this year adding a third day). But mindful that with three stages in close proximity, and a lot of low-frequency energy to contain, Sound Access owner Joe Baker’s rationale was simple. “The organisers wanted to upgrade the audio this year because we all felt that the listening experience was the most important.” In order to mitigate sound spillage, tight control was required. “Last year, noise rejection out the back was quite bad with the system we used,” acknowledged Baker. But there
China - Hosted by the Entertainment Times and co-organised by the Longjoin Group - who are also the creators of the event - the Rave Jam Music Carnival is a massive outdoor music festival that combines a spread of electro, rap and pop music to appeal to a wide audience. The first edition took place in Linjiang’s Cherry Blossom Park over the May Day holiday weekend and welcomed nearly 24,000 festival-goers over the course of the two days. To cover such a vast area, the Longjoin Group provided a front-to-back KV2 Audio system based on the flagship VHD5 Constant Power Point Source system supplemented by smaller VHD systems for side-fill and front-fill, plus a full complement of ESSeries DJ monitors and ESM stage monitors. The festival boasted a line-up of Chinese and Asian artists including Aryue Zheng Yue, one of the world’s top 100 DJs in 2022, DJ KAKA-the first Ch
UK - Several years in the making, Harmony of The Worlds, composed by Satya Hinduja, began as a visionary notion of spatialising and immersing sound all around an audience. What started with an orchestra of eight and just four singers, quickly tripled and grew again, artistically combining the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a choir, and hundreds of pre-recorded sounds to totally immerse its audience in 360 degrees of musical wellness. The DiGiCo Quantum 7 was the only digital mixing console on the market with the flexibility and technical capabilities to handle such a project, and controlled by sound engineer, Mark Rogers, it delivered. Harmony of The Worlds, conducted by David Murphy, was a free concert held at St Mary’s Church, Luton, created and composed by Satya Hinduja to explore the connection between music and human wellness. The arrangement of H
USA - Clair Global has announced that Sound Image, will join the Clair Global Group. This partnership will enhance both organisations’ live production and systems integration capabilities and will result in a larger depth and breadth of service and product offerings for Clair Global and Sound Image clients alike, says a statement. Sound Image CEO, Dave Shadoan, who has led the organisation since the late seventies, comments: “As I looked ahead and considered my next steps, I knew that partnering with Clair Global would further safeguard a sustainable and prosperous future for our employees and our clients. It became clear that Clair was a good fit because of our mutual dedication to fostering meaningful connections in business, coupled with an unwavering commitment to exceptional customer support and service.” There are no major changes planned for the continued
USA - Founded in 1990, San Antonio’s Community Bible Church has quickly grown into one of the largest houses of worship in the region, seating 3,500 at each of its five weekend services. The church’s energetic worship band are skilled and enthusiastic, delivering a memorable worship experience every weekend. But like many live musicians, they encounter the often-challenging world of monitors, trying to balance their individual mix needs with making their own onstage audio experience as fresh as possible to keep their performances at a high level. That got a lot easier this year, after the church installed a new KLANG:konductor to offer immersive IEM mixes for the seven vocalists and six musicians, as well as their musical guests and worship leaders. The new :konductor, purchased through pro audio retailer AVLX of Franklin, Tennessee, and which was fully integrated
UK - Sysco Productions has created an ambient audio background to support the Imperial War Museum’s Second World War Galleries with near-invisible K-array ultra-compact line arrays. The Second World War Galleries at London’s Imperial War Museum brings to life a war that affected millions of people around the world. In order to maximise the realism that IWM’s collection of exhibits so clearly evokes, Sysco Productions have created an immersive, digitally controlled audio system that takes full advantage of K-array’s ultra-compact Vyper and Lyzard line array attributes to hide these discreet micro line array speakers within the structure of the galleries’ exhibits and provide a supportive ambience without being seen. “The purpose of the audio is to support the messaging of the exhibition without detracting from it or being obtrusive,” said Sysco’s n
UK - Funktion-One says farewell to Bill Woods as he announces his retirement following 11 years with the company and 35 years in the pro audio industry. Woods' departure marks the beginning of a new chapter for Funktion-One as the company welcomes its new director of business development, Andrew Low. During his time with Funktion-One, Woods has played an important role in the company’s international growth, particularly in Asia. His sales expertise and rapport with customers have helped to develop relationships across the global Funktion-One network and throughout the wider pro audio industry. Funktion-One’s Ann Andrews said: “Bill’s retirement comes with mixed emotions, as his departure marks the end of an era for Funktion-One. We are very grateful to Bill for the contribution he has made to the business since joining us in 2012. Over the last three months, Bi
Finland - Genelec has introduced a five-year warranty on its designs. By registering their models on the Genelec website, the new warranty programme allows Genelec customers worldwide to extend their standard two-year warranty by an extra three years, covering both parts and labour. Since the company was founded 45 years ago, Genelec has put sustainability at the heart of its design philosophy, by producing loudspeaker solutions with a long lifecycle and low environmental impact, backed up with extremely high levels of reliability and long-term spare part support. “We’ve always been focused on designing loudspeaker solutions that provide decades of reliable performance for our customers, but we also want to offer them the extra peace of mind that comes with a secure extended warranty,” comments Ole Jensen, international sales director at Genelec. “We’re conf
UK - Harris Academy Chafford Hundred (HACH) is a co-educational secondary school and sixth-form that welcomes nearly 1500 students through its doors every day. Located in the Essex town of Grays, the academy works tirelessly to ensure that every detail of its provision is geared towards meeting its ambition of being ‘a school for the future’. A key area of focus for the academy’s management team is the maintenance of clear communications within its corridors and communal spaces. The school ‘bell’ is fundamental to the smooth operation of the timetable, with HACH placing strong emphasis on punctuality to ensure that students take maximum advantage of teaching time With this in mind, the HACH team engaged AV solutions provider Excite AV of Bishops Stortford to install a system which offered intuitive head-end control and optimal loudspeaker placement, in order
