Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024
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UK - Music Support has launched weekly online support group meetings to allow the music industry’s 12 Step recovery community to continue to connect during the Covid-19 lockdown. Meetings will take place every Monday 18:00-19:00 GMT from 27 April to 28 September 2020.
Available to any music industry peers throughout the summer, Music Support will provide a confidential and non-judgemental space for people to share and encourage one another on the journey of recovery.
Music Support Services Officer, Jo

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UK - When Projects Department Ltd won the contract to create two live studios and two breaking news spots for the Financial Times TV studio in London, Doughty Engineering was quickly brought on board to supply a range of broadcast kit.
Peter Daffarn, managing director, Projects Department Ltd explains: "The client briefed us to create the studios and news spots for presenting live news bulletins at short notice and for occasional use and, with Doughty being our go-to company for hoists and grids, we knew they'd be fundamental to the project from the start."
Building a bullet
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

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Eurovision Again - In the absence of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, fans are reliving old competitions every Saturday night. Eurovision Again - watched in sync at 8pm British time on YouTube - connects fans across Europe online and has been the top UK trend on Twitter every time it's been on.
"It brings a sense of togetherness and let's me be with all of my friends every Saturday," 20-year-old Nana-Ama Ewusi-Emmim told BBC Radio. "It's something to look forward to."
Twitter says there have been 100,000 tweets about

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UK - In a bid to iron out inconsistencies in the financial help offered to the UK’s smallest businesses, chancellor Rishi Sunk has introduced 100% taxpayer-backed loans for small firms.
The Bounce Back Loans scheme, launching on 4 May, is a response to the slow take-up of emergency bank lending during the COVID-19 crisis, which has meant businesses could fold before getting loans.
The scheme will require filling in a two-page self-certification form online and will unlock loans of up to £50,000 “within days of applying”.
The government will guarantee 1

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UK - PASMA’s new Safety Practitioner Zone and its partnerships with the Association for Project Safety, British Safety Council, IIRSM and RoSPA aim to help workers stay safe on scaffold towers.
From 1 May 2020, members of these associations get access to a library of PASMA resources for updating their tower knowledge and sharing good practice. The library includes toolbox talks, tower reference guides, bitesize safety videos and details of upcoming changes to EN 1004, the design standard for mobile access towers.
In the lead-up to launch, PASMA is celebrating by releasing

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USA - The Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative has launched Be Scene - Be Heard, an anonymous, peer-to-peer chat app for backstage staff.
“It’s often hard to talk with family and friends about how you’re feeling and what may be troubling you, but you may not feel quite ready to see a mental health professional,” says the charity. “Sometimes it’s easier to talk to people who don’t know you, but who can relate because they’re in this industry too. They get the crazy hours, the pressures of getting the show on every night or the rig

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USA - In conjunction with Earth Day 2020, global design and BIM software provider, Vectorworks celebrated its latest award. The Howard County Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Environmental Services, Recycling Division selected Vectorworks as the winner of the 2020 Business Recycling and Waste Reduction Award. This accolade recognises local businesses for their recycling and waste reduction efforts during the 2019 calendar year.
The winning submission, Greenworks, is an environmentally-based project presented at the company’s regular innovation discussions and focus

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Pirate Radio Pioneer - Tributes have been paid to Ronan O'Rahilly, the founder of Radio Caroline, the first pirate radio station off the UK, who has died aged 79. His death was announced by the current Radio Caroline, which still operates off the Essex coast. The station was founded in 1964 to compete with the BBC and launched the careers of many well-known DJs, achieving enormous popularity. O'Rahilly, who lived in Ireland, had been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013.
Radio Caroline was the first of several pirate radio stations that challenged BBC radio's dominance in the

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Europe - Optocore's AutoRouter has enjoyed a growing popularity in the past 12 months, says the company.
Now Optocore has announced the new OptoSplitter, a device which, when paired with AutoRouter, will achieve redundancy.
Take two identical AutoRouters - a main and backup device. All connections from any external equipment will now connect, not directly to the AutoRouter as previously, but to this new OptoSplitter. This splits the fibre signal into two and distributes it to both the main and backup AutoRouter. Both routers communicate leaving only one active at a time an

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UK - Fairport Convention’s annual Cropredy Convention in Oxfordshire and The Eden Sessions in Cornwall are the latest major music events to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic. Both are being rescheduled for 2021.
Since its first staging in 1980, the Cropredy festival has taken place annually since on farmland near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
This year’s three-day event had been scheduled to take place on 13-15 August. It will now be staged over 12, 13 and 14 August 2021 (the equivalent weekend) on its usual site.
The line-up of acts will be carried forward: artists

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UK - Music Support, the peer-led music industry charity that provides confidential mental health and addiction services, has partnered with Thrive, the UK’s only NHS-approved mental health app.
As a clinically-effective app that offers 24/7 support for mental health and wellbeing, Thrive helps with the early detection, prevention and management of common disorders such as anxiety and depression, as well as building resilience so that users can feel empowered to improve their mental health.
It tackles common stressors such as sleep, bereavement, work issues and m

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USA - The Behind the Scenes Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative, in partnership with HelpPRO, has announced the launch of its Entertainment Industry Therapist Finder. The Finder only includes listings for mental health professionals who have previously worked with clients in the entertainment industry or who have personal professional experience in the industry themselves.
Users are able to search for a therapist using a simple search form which includes location, insurance accepted, what areas the therapist specialises in, and therapist availability such as whether t

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UK - With UK hospitals warning that personal protective equipment (PPE) is of short supply, technology enthusiasts have started various initiatives to produce the crucial gear and deliver it nationally.
Thousands of volunteers have joined 3D Crowd UK’s initiative to produce PPE. By 10 April, over 6,000 of 3D printer owners from across the UK had created more than 39,000 face shields, which have been dispatched to 90 NHS Trusts.
More funding is needed to meet requests for further 500,000 shields however, with a fundraiser set up on

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USA - The American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC) has announced that at the ‘Online’ Annual Business Meeting, Jack Hagler, Todd Hensley, and R. Duane Wilson were recognised and awarded the title of Fellow of American Society of Theatre Consultants (FASTC.)
Jack Hagler, a theatre consultant for over 25 years, is a partner at Schuler Shook where he manages the Dallas office. An ASTC member since 1994, he has been the ASTC liaison to the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) since 2005. He has given educational presentations to many industry conferences acros

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USA - As the nation and entertainment industry navigate the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, all Bandit offices have made available to local governments and hospitals, power distribution systems, IT data distribution systems, and portable structures and lighting, completely free of charge. Bandit has also made available, free of charge, its Nashville rehearsal facility, Venue One, for use by any artist that needs a place to perform a live stream event during this critical time.
“Tennessee has been known as The Volunteer State since The War of 1812, and it was only right that Bandit

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UK - The Association of Independent Music (AIM) has launched a support fund aimed at contractors and freelance workers in the independent music industry whose source of income has been severed without warning due to lost work in April and May as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fund starts with assets of £500,000 committed by AIM and its members, with further contributions invited from all sectors of the music industry and beyond.
The target is to distribute £1,000 to each of 1,000 workers within two months.
AIM CEO Paul Pacifico comments: “Despite

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UK - A survey carried out by PLASA has revealed the financial struggles faced by businesses in the entertainment technology industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conducted from 18 March and completed by 145 PLASA members, the study shows the early impact that various restrictions triggered by the pandemic have had on the industry, with PLASA currently conducting a follow-up survey to gain insight into the ongoing challenges that the sector is facing.
From those surveyed, half said that they’ve lost at least 50% of the business for the year, with a fifth saying the

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USA - As Covid-19 impacts almost every aspect of the entertainment industry, ETCP Certified Technicians, with support of the IATSE (The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), are stepping up to put their expertise and available equipment to good use.
Michael Barnes, IATSE international vice-president and business agent for Local 8 said, “This is spreading way too quickly, and we felt like we have to do something to help. If you are helping you can’t feel helpless, and that is not where we want to be. IATSE Locals across the country are contacting governors sta

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UK - LW Theatres has committed to paying all staff – including those employed on a show-by-show basis – and has confirmed no redundancies are currently planned while the coronavirus outbreak continues.
In related news, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals are to be screened on a new YouTube channel called The Shows Must Go On.
Lloyd Webber sent an email to staff in which he acknowledged “how very difficult it is to be denied the ability to be together, not only with our theatre community, but more importantly with many of our loved ones” at this time.
Rebecc

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UK - A team of entertainment technology professionals have joined forces to form People Powered UK in a bid to help relieve the pressures of the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative was started by LDs Katharine Williams and Jono Kenyon and has so far amassed 915 members and counting from across the entertainment and live event industries. Williams previously worked on Crew for Calais, a project that saw event professionals build shelters for refugees, whilst Kenyon has first-hand insight into the pressures of the UK’s health service thanks to his partner, an ITU work

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UK - PLASA, the Professional Lighting And Sound Association, has urged businesses and individuals to get in touch with more evidence on how the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is affecting their operations.
The information is sought by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and will help the Treasury to better understand the devastating impact the situation is having on the events industry.
To gather the evidence, The Events Industry Forum - of which PLASA is a member - has created a survey, which can be completed here until 5pm on Tuesday, 7 April.
"We are work

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On The Dark Side - Andrew Lloyd Webber has warned that theatres are likely to remain closed until the end of September. He said forecasts that venues may be able to reopen in June were “ridiculous”. “The industry says theatres reopen 7 June. My opinion? Optimistic. Ridiculous. I think this peaks in June, and theatres remain closed until end of September.
He told New York publication Page Six: “We need these places, many [of which] are old, [to be as] safe as possible. In South Korea, they take everyone’s temperature. We’ll self-clean handles, wipe doors, utilise

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Major Losses - Workers in the UK theatre sound industry have collectively lost nearly £2m in income as a result of the coronavirus, according to a survey by the Association of Sound Designers. The results counted a total loss of £1,943,452 in income across the 249 respondents, largely due to cancelled or postponed events and loss of royalties. This averages at £7,805 per person.
Other key findings from the survey: 91% of respondents immediately lost income as a result of the social-distancing measures, worth around £1m in total; 76% had further work postponed within the next t

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USA - Behind the Scenes holiday cards have become a tradition in the industry for those who want to spread holiday cheer while supporting their colleagues in need. Proceeds from card sales help provide grants to entertainment technology professionals, or their immediate dependent family members, who are seriously ill or injured.
Each year, designs have been created and donated to the charity by everyone from Tony Award winners to high school students. The design guidelines (btshelp.org/carddesign) are v
  1. Registration opens for industry therapist finder
  2. Arts Council England pledges £160m emergency fund
  3. LSi launches COVID-19 support page
  4. The Week in Light & Sound
  5. A message of hope from DWR
  6. 21CC Group launches #ThinkOthers campaign
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GLP - MPU - May-June 2024
Leeds - MPU - Apr24

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