The Netherlands - This year’s in-person edition of the broadcast and electronic media industry tradeshow IBC has been cancelled. The event was set to go ahead on 3-6 December at RAI Amsterdam, but a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the Netherlands has forced the organisers to change their plans. The decision was made following visitor and exhibitor feedback and with the view to prevent people from travelling to the country in these uncertain ttimes. Instead of the in-person event, the organisers are set to use IBC’s online platform IBC Digital to bring the community together. Peter White, CEO of the international trade association for broadcast and media technology (IABM), comments: “IBC exists for the industry only. Unlike other events, it is entirely owned by the industry and, thanks to its success over the years, has contributed a great deal through this struct
USA - Ohio-based McFadden Sales is now the Midwest representative for Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers, subwoofers and amplifiers. “Danley has a great reputation in providing high-quality audio in large venues,” says Andy Kerr, principal of operations for McFadden Sales. “Danley’s product line fits well with our sensibilities in the marketplace and among the other products we represent. Danley Sound Labs provides a technology niche we needed in our portfolio of products and is a great solution for big distributed audio and larger venues we serve.” “We’re always excited to bring on new partners,” said Mike Hedden, chief steward in charge at Danley Sound Labs. “The McFadden Sales team is well known throughout our industry and we’re excited about the future of this relationship.” As a Danley partner, McFadden Sales now represents Danley Sound La
South Africa - Faith Broadcasting Network has consolidated a vast following of approximately 264m viewers worldwide since its inception two decades ago, with satellite, terrestrial and digital broadcasts reaching worshippers all around the world. With headquarters in South Africa, and studios in the USA and the UK, MyFaithTV is the largest religious broadcaster on the African continent. To accommodate such growth, the Faith Dome - the ministry’s base in East London, South Africa - has been undergoing renovations for many years. Parts of the premises have been refurbished to house different aspects of the ministry’s work: including a number of television studios, humanitarian aid warehouses, activity spaces as well as their main broadcasting studio. In 2015, work commenced on the ceiling to replace it with the dome we see today. Stage Audio Works were called upon t
UK - Bristol based experiential company Pytch has added to its stock of Martin Audio loudspeakers, used in both their rental stock and virtual studio. They have purchased a further 24 of the ultra-compact, DD6, utilising Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology. At the same time, they have ordered five SXP118 subwoofers for low frequency extension. The reason for this latest purchase - which brings Pytch’s stock of DD6’s up to 48 - is to fulfil a contract to provide a full AV package for one of the country’s largest arenas, including an exhibition space. “We have been appointed sole in-house provider to the arena,” confirms Pytch founder, Johnny Palmer. DD6 has been chosen for its versatility. “Most of our installations are not defined by volume but intelligibility and DD6 has become an essential tool to deliver the customer experience - whether for
USA - World Harvest Church is a major operation. The 122,000sq.ft main building is home to a sanctuary that seats over 5,200 people and contains an auditorium, a television studio, a children's ministry that includes Sunday school for children newborn to sixth grade, the Harvest Preparatory School, the ministry’s administrative offices and more, all on a 57-acre campus in Columbus, Ohio. The church even incorporates Valor Christian College, a co-educational institution located on the property. The church’s most recent acquisition - a new DiGiCo Quantum338 console, serving as its monitor mixer - is an addition to its existing DiGiCo infrastructure, which includes an SD8 console mixing front of house and an SD-Rack that has now been upgraded to include 32-bit ‘Ultimate Stadius’ microphone pre-amps. The audio system infrastructure update further involved moving al
USA - When The Fennec, Birmingham’s new music venue opened for business, ownership called upon long time audio engineer Michael Panepento, owner of Alabama Music & Audio Supervision, to create and install “an unrivalled sound experience” at the new Parkside District hot spot. Panepento found the solution The Fennec management was looking for with a PA system featuring various loudspeakers, subwoofers and stage monitors from Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW). The Fennec is a two-story venue, with the main restaurant and event space on the first floor and a dedicated private event space that can be rented out on the second. The design of the building did present some challenges to Panepento that were solved with the combination of products from EAW, including the RSX Series, RS Series, RL Series and VF Series PA components. “We needed to use point source speakers
UK - Last month, Sonosphere started the next chapter in its journey to bring all areas of immersive audio to the live, studio and broadcast markets by completing a management buyout which sees existing director, Jamie Gosney, joined by Duncan Bell, a familiar name in the audio industry. Sonosphere’s mission has always been to make immersive audio accessible to the industry at large. Over the past 18 months it has been part of the 5G Festival (part of the DCMS 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme (5GTT). This project aims to utilise the 5G network to revolutionise the live music industry, creating new commercial opportunities for arts and entertainment, and giving artists and audiences new ways to interact with each other. “I became a shareholder and director of Sonosphere last year and I could see the huge potential the company had,” says Gosney. “When the opportun
USA - Lectrosonics has announced that their Wireless Designer frequency coordination and RF system management software for Mac or PC is now updated for use with the DCR822 dual-channel portable digital receiver. This will allow DCR822 users to monitor all channels in operation, change settings, initiate infrared data transfers, manage frequency groups, scan the local RF spectrum, and calculate system operating frequencies using the Frequency Coordination Engine. Wireless Designer Versions 2.0.30 for macOS and 2.0.34 for Windows are now available with these features for the 822. The DCR822 receiver offers a versatile feature set in a compact, dual-channel design for field and location production. This receiver is compatible with Lectrosonics mono and stereo digital transmitters and is backward compatible with Digital Hybrid Wireless transmitters. The unit tunes ac
USA - A Martin Audio MLA Compact loudspeaker array system was chosen by partners, North Carolina-based RMB Audio, when locally based Duke University’s Spring and Fall 2020 graduation was postponed until a time of greater health safety. That time was determined to be 26 September 2021 - when undergraduates, graduates and professional school class members (and their families) were invited to participate in the delayed celebration. The stage was set up with the imposing Duke Chapel - an English Gothic 210ft-tall structure in the centre of campus - as the backdrop. Student seating started downstage and extended back 300 ft. Large trees, with low branches 13ft above the ground, occupied the corners of the audience seating, making it necessary to project sound in a slice to pass beneath the foliage to focus on the audience. “MLA Compact is capable of providing focused sound to
Spain - Artists touring to Spain will no longer need visas for short-term engagements in a dramatic change to the current onerous rules. The change follows months of work from LIVE and the Association for British Orchestras (ABO), working alongside Spanish counterparts Asociación Promotores Musicales. The development represents a significant boost for the sector which has, as a result of Brexit and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, seen European touring become more expensive, more complicated, and more difficult to execute. Visas have been a significant issue for Spain which, despite representing the fifth largest live music market in the world, posed the most costly and complicated visa application process across the bloc for artists looking to travel for short-term work. Until now, artists and their promoters have had to make applications for short-term vi
UK - Ministry of Sound Classical (MoS Classical) is a celebration of 30 years of Ministry of Sound’s favourite dance classics performed by the London Concert Orchestra. As this spectacular show prepared to take to the stage for a highly anticipated return to the live arena, its audio team turned their attention to giving the 50-piece orchestra a new and different kind of in-ear monitoring by choosing KLANG’s 3D personal monitor mixing system. KLANG was not unfamiliar to the head of sound and sound designer for the show since 2018, Phil Wright, as he has become increasingly familiar with it in recent months. “I’m involved with the 5G Festival, an R&D project that’s working on finding ways to allow musicians to play together with insignificant latency over the 5G network,” explains Wright. “We’ve been using KLANG on that to great effect, finding that
UK - A month after collaborating on the Team GB Olympics Homecoming, Transition Video was back at London’s SSE Wembley Arena to help deliver another hybrid event, using Green Hippo’s Boreal+ Media Server for The National Lottery's Paralympics GB Homecoming (see more on the homecoming concerts in LSi November 2021). Great Britain’s Paralympic stars claimed a total of 124 podium places and were welcomed home from Tokyo with a line-up of artists that included Jamie Cullum, Birdy and Raymond Antrobus. In the live audience, NHS workers gathered for the spectacular, which ran video highlights of the Paralympians’ performances as part of a Channel 4 broadcast. Transition Video’s Kate Perring wor
UK - AV and entertainment technology company Anna Valley has announced a restructure of the corporate group, changes to the leadership team, and the appointment of new staff in key positions. The restructure will see subsidiary company Matrix UK Solutions become part of Anna Valley and the creation of new senior roles, including that of commercial director and director of events. Anna Valley board member, Nick Hart, has taken on the position of commercial director and will assume responsibility for sales across both the event and venue markets, whilst Matrix UK Solutions MD Jamie Gaskins (pictured) has been made director of events at Anna Valley. Matrix was acquired by Anna Valley in 2018 but has continued to operate as a separate business within the group under Gaskin’s leadership until now. Anna Valley’s Robin Evans and Matrix’s Ben O'Shea will now both report
Italy - Outline has announced a new strategic sales partnership with World Marketing Associates (WMA). With offices in the UK, France and Russia, WMA will be Outline's sales representatives for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. WMA’s Julian Young comments: “WMA are excited to be working with Outline. Over the years we have followed them and been extremely impressed with the groundbreaking technologies they have introduced. “We will provide support and advice to the Outline distribution network as the world gradually reopens following the COVID pandemic, offering help to the distributors with their sales and marketing programmes. WMA will be an additional member of the Outline team, helping to grow and strengthen the business and relationships with the office in Flero.” Outline CEO Giorgio Biffi remarks: “Our product range is the most comprehensive it
World - JBL Professional has introduced the EON700 Series portable PA loudspeakers and subwoofer with Bluetooth. With four models available, including the 10-inch EON710, the 12-inch EON712 and the 15-inch EON715 powered PA speakers and the 18-inch EON718S subwoofer, EON700 systems cover the needs of today’s working musicians and sound providers, says JBL. These flexible systems are designed to “effortlessly scale with customers’ needs, from DJ performances and full bands to solo singer/songwriter gigs, presentations and worship events”. “The EON700 Series truly represents the next generation of portable PA systems,” says Brandon Knudsen, Harman Professional product manager, portable PA loudspeakers. “When we started designing these new PAs, we looked at our best-selling EON Series and made that core technology even better by upgrading drivers and
UK - At the end of October London’s Hackney Empire theatre was the setting for the world premiere of Vanara The Musical, a timely tale of environmental disaster and tribal conflict with a message of hope and unity. Sound operator Ollie Dudman mixed Olly Steel’s sound design on a Yamaha Rivage PM3 digital mixing system. Olly Steel first used Yamaha digital mixers in 2008, as sound #2 on the High School Musical UK tour, with a system designed by Rick Clarke. “I used Yamaha digital systems on various productions after that, especially when I was doing sound design in my own right and was able to specify the system,” he says. “When the Rivage PM10 system came out in 2014, I was sold! It had everything I wanted and I knew that, with some extra development and tailoring, it could be a very powerful system for theatre. I said that if it could potentially do m
UAE - Expo 2020 Dubai, the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, is up and running. The event has registered more than three million visits with attendees from 185 nationalities – a figure that almost equals the 192 countries with a dedicated pavilion at the event. As official projection and display partner for the Expo 2020 Dubai, Christie technology is used to display content and provide experiences across the event site. Creative Technology Middle East was the AV integrator for the centrepiece Al Wasl Plaza dome. A worldwide audience of millions tuned into the opening ceremony to be thrilled by some extraordinary and technologically advanced performances from a 1,000-strong cast and crew. The 90-minute immersive spectacular showcased Al Wasl Plaza’s dome – the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface which
UK - HireHop, the company behind the cloud equipment rental software of the same name, has opened agent offices in Australia and South Africa. Due to the ever-increasing number of HireHop users in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, it was felt as a necessity for HireHop to better serve their users by opening local offices to provide support, implementation and training, says the company. Since its release, HireHop has grown in popularity, with not just large rental companies moving to HireHop, but also smaller ones, as HireHop also offers a free for life version, designed for small start-ups to help them grow their business. HireHop was originally launched in 2016 in the UK to offer “future proof, powerful and affordable equipment rental software to hire companies all over the world”, and in that short space of time, it has attracted numerous large and
Lithuania - Optocore has appointed Sonus Exsertus as its new Lithuanian distributor. Founded in 2013, Sonus had approached the German fibre network specialists when they were looking for new solutions regarding signal distribution. “We immediately saw the potential in this partner, since fibre, in our opinion, is the future of signal distribution,” said head of business development, Ramūnas Alenskas. With many premier global sound and lighting brands in its distribution portfolio, SONUS is a total stage technology supplier, with a customer base covering theatres, cultural houses, concert halls, conference centres, and many other applications throughout Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia. The addition of Optocore to its portfolio was an obvious next step. “We could see the unlimited possibilities in transferring any signal from point A to any other poi
UK - Back in April this year, Martin Audio was honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for its Wavefront Precision optimised line arrays. Upon the announcement, Martin Audio MD, Dom Harter, had eagerly acknowledged the prestige of winning, fittingly during the company’s 50th year. He also revealed that Wavefront Precision arrays had become the company’s fastest ever selling line array format suitable for both installation and live sound applications. Six months later Martin Audio was formally presented with the award, at a special reception held at their High Wycombe HQ, by Countess Howe, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. Also in attendance were Councillor Zahir Mohammed, chairman of Buckinghamshire Council, as well as Phil Dudderidge, executive chairman and founder of Martin Audio parent company, Focusrite - and all the staff
Singapore - L-Acoustics has appointed industry veteran Timothy Zhou as CEO of L-Acoustics Asia Pacific. The company will this month also inaugurate a new regional office in Singapore. In addition to the creation of a new APAC hub, Zhou will also manage a growing team that is dedicated to serving local partners as well as building awareness of the brand’s innovative technologies in key vertical markets, including those in residential and architectural applications. To accompany Zhou in his mission, L-Acoustics has named two key team members to director roles. Alvin Koh has been named director of application project, APAC supporting clients and projects across the region while David Cooper takes on the director of sales, APAC role and will relocate to Singapore to provide elevated support to clients. “In the coming years, we aim to serve customers and partners
USA - On Friday, 5 November, the Wayne State Warriors officially opened their university’s new basketball arena with an inaugural game against the Michigan Wolverines. The new $25m, 3,000-seat venue is also home to the NBA Detroit Pistons’ G League franchise, the Motor City Cruise, who begin their first season there this fall. All of those teams and the fans who come to see them will experience quality sound, courtesy of a new L-Acoustics A Series PA system designed and specified by consultancy Idibri and installed by AV integrator Ametek. Key to the sonic success of this project was keeping sound on the seats and off of the highly reflective hardwood basketball court and venue walls. To accomplish that, the AV design team at Idibri chose L-Acoustics A Series; specifically, eight main arrays aimed at the seating area, each consisting of four A15i (two A15i Wide plu
UK - Entourage Pro is an initiative in production industry crew resources. This free-to-join global networking platform “bridges the gap between artists and the production world and is set to revolutionise how production personnel are sourced, accredited and availed to the wider production and music industries”. The scheme has the backing of industry names including Avolites, d&b audiotechnik, ChainMaster, MDG, Neutrik, Robe and Yamaha. Entourage Pro draws on director Joel Perry’s 20 year-plus association with live music production, as well as its partnership with Showcase Music, which has 52 years of industry heritage to add to the platform’s offering. “With the global events sector starting to re-emerge, we knew the time was right to launch a service that has real relevance for the live music industry,” says Perry. “It’s an idea that has been in t
UK - Audiologic has announced that from 1 October 2021 they become K-array’s exclusive specialist trade partner, as part of the brand’s continued and evolving growth strategy for the UK market. 2B Heard, K-array’s UK distributor, has been operating in the market for six years, and as part of an acceleration of growth, is now focussing specifically on the commercial and residential markets for the K-array portfolio. 2B Heard is working with Audiologic as a specialist trade partner, seeing them focus on and take an active role in the promotion of the product range for markets in which they specialise. Sam Nankivell, 2B Heard co-founder, comments: “Our ever-changing marketplace means that at 2B Heard, we are focussing more on architectural and commercial installations for K-array, and we are keen that in line with that focus, we continue to service other markets
