UK - Sony has announced today it has partnered with Joss Stone and Big Earth Productions to provide production equipment for the singer's record-breaking Total World Tour. While Joss will be performing in every single country on earth, in the most comprehensive world tour ever attempted by a musician, a two man production team will use Sony equipment - including wireless microphones, handheld camcorders, and Sony ActionCams - to capture her journey.

Having started on 28th March 2014, Joss Stone has already begun her mission to play at least one gig in every country on the planet, and will be collaborating with local musicians to play a combination of indigenous music and her own songs. During the tour Joss will also be joined by high-profile artists and friends. As part of Sony's vision to provide products that help to capture the emotional intent of the artists, the company has

India - Come 3rd of July 2014 and the gates will be thrown open to welcome the trade and professionals to the Indian Industry's Premier Exhibition on Music Production, Entertainment & Events Technology - Indian DJ Expo 2014 - in New Delhi at the Pragati Maidan.

"The Indian DJ Expo was conceptualised after carefully analysing the steady growth in the entertainment and events sector with night life, dining, DJ gigs and music festivals becoming increasingly popular and in-demand in India, which has resulted in huge investments into DJ gear, sound, light and visuals," say organisers.

The rise of the DJ in India's entertainment and events industry has also resurrected the dying 'music production' sector, which was previous limited to producing Bollywood soundtracks and pop albums etc. But there has been a sudden rise in studios set up by artists and DJs alike who are now

China - At the 2014 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, 20 car manufacturers relied on nearly 300 self-powered Meyer Sound loudspeakers to provide visually unobtrusive and high-quality reinforcement. These brands included Chrysler, Toyota, Volkswagen, Subaru, and Honda; luxury makers Bentley, Ferrari, and Maserati; and six domestic Chinese manufacturers.

"Our business is focused on commercial exhibition, and it's a great advantage for us to offer self-powered Meyer Sound systems," says Dakun Bai, audio technology department director for Beijing Huelead AV Equipment, which provided more than 124 Meyer Sound loudspeakers for voice and music applications. "The line level audio cables don't suffer the attenuation losses of speaker cables, and they are easier to tie on a truss. Self-powering also eliminates the noise and heat dissipation of amplifier racks, an

USA - Featuring British artists such as The Wytches, Slaves, and Dinosaur Pile-Up, and an audio system comprised of UK-made audio gear including Tannoy loudspeakers and Lab.gruppen amplifiers, the 2014 British Music Embassy venue had a major impact at SXSW 2014.

Now in its seventh year, the 2014 showcase at the iconic Austin, Texas festival boasted a powerful but compact audio rig comprised of Tannoy point source loudspeakers, Lab.gruppen amplifiers, Allen & Heath GLD digital consoles and LAKE DSP.

In the past, line array systems have often been deployed at the British Music Embassy, but at the request of the promoters, Cato Music Ltd. of London, Tannoy was asked to provide a system made up of Tannoy VQ 60s and VS 218DR subs powered by Lab.gruppen amplifiers with Lake control.

Pairing Tannoy point source loudspeakers with Lab.gruppen amplifiers provided high quality sound, e

Spain - A Lynx Pro Audio LX -V8 line array system was used for the final of basketball's Eurocup. The final was between teams Unics Kazan (from Russia) and Valencia Basket (from Spain) with the final played over two legs and Valencia Basket winning both legs to become European Champions.

Fuente San Luis in Valencia, where the first leg was played has a capacity of 9,000 and was full to the brim . The audio was flown under the centre marker, with six LX-V8 arrays around an aluminium frame . All Lynx LX -V8 boxes installed had the possibility to be controlled by Ethernet , meaning the OCS control software could control the settings for each zone to perfection, providing power and intelligibility for the event.

In total 20 LX -V8 units were used in the pavilion for the sound reinforcement. Guillermo Tébar, sound engineer for Sonovideo, the company which carried out the ins

Korea At the KOBA Tradeshow 2014 in Seoul, South Korea, Shure introduced the QLX-D Digital Wireless System.

QLX-D Digital Wireless transmits accurate audio with extended, flat frequency response. The system's automatic channel scan and IR sync make finding and assigning an open frequency quick and easy. Ideal for live sound events as well as installations at corporate and government facilities, academic institutions, houses of worship, hotels, music venues, and more, QLX-D's solid RF performance enables users to confidently cover applications with diverse requirements.

"This system packs in a lot of sophistication and delivers incredible wireless audio performance. It has outstanding spectrum efficiency and frequency bands covering up to 72 MHz, allowing QLX-D users to operate more channels on-air than with any other wireless system in its class," said Erik Vaveris,

Russia - Sound and light contractor, Next-proaudio's Russian distributor, recently installed a Next-proaudio's line-array system in a big church - 'Word of Life', located in Moscow. The main aims of the installation were to achieve high sound pressure levels and high sound fidelity throughout the venue.

Word of Life is a protestant church. They provide daily sermons and practically every month organize musical events. It is a church, with a large number of members and in a central location, with both an ability to break through with the Gospel in its own culture.

Light and Sound Contractor chose the new line array system of Next-proaudio - LA212x to fulfil all the requirements of this building, because the system in this room required not only to cover a large area with powerful sound, but also good speech intelligibility. Light and Sound Contractor installed 16 LA212x line ar

Korea - At the KOBA Tradeshow 2014 in Seoul, South Korea, Shure announced ShurePlus Channels, an iOS based mobile device application that enables audio professionals real-time remote monitoring and controlling of several Shure wireless systems such as Axient, ULX-D Digital Wireless, the newly-launched QLX-D Digital Wireless, as well as the PSM1000 Personal Monitor System.

Supported on Apple mobile devices running iOS7, ShurePlus Channels relays critical channel information including RF signal strength, audio levels, and remaining battery life, and allows remote adjustment of frequency assignments, audio gain, muting, and more.

This basic version to monitor the systems is free. Through additional in-app purchases, users can further unlock the ability to remotely control their Shure wireless system and make changes to channel parameters. For a small one-time fee per wireless pro

USA - Pro audio brand Aphex is currently in its 40th year of business and plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary in grand style next year. On the way to this milestone, Aphex continues to grow and expand its focus on developing new DSP technologies with the goal of putting these into Aphex Pro and Prosumer products, as well as into a variety of products made by OEM licensees.

Aphex is in the midst of expanding into critical markets beyond Pro Audio to augment its business and offerings, with technology geared to assistive listening; speech recognition; and prosumer recording, podcasting, telecommunication and automotive infotainment.

Since purchasing Aphex in 2010, parent company DWV Entertainment has made dramatic changes to expand the Aphex brand and its pro products. Starting with a major facility change (moving into a stand-alone building in Burbank) and revising its enti

USA - Cadac is once again participating in the Broadway Sound Master Classes but for the first time in the guise of its new US & Canada division, headed up by general manager Paul Morini. Cadacs presence is in association with its US theatre sound consultant Tom Benson of RF Productions.

Commenting on Cadac's ongoing commitment to the event, Morini states, "Cadac has been synonymous with epic theatre productions since the introduction of amplification to the genre. Major innovations like the J-Type console and SAM automation led the industry for a decade. Now the Cadac CDC eight console offers all the advantages of digital with a truly intuitive user interface, superlative Cadac audio quality and SAM-4-CDC automation."

The company will be showing its flagship CDC eight-32 digital sound production console, which recently made its public theatre debut on Mike Walker's

India - New Indian jamming studio, A Square, has installed an Allen & Heath GLD digital mixing system. Situated in the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, the studio is the first digital audio studio to be opened by company, Jam Pad, designed to provide teaching facilities for aspiring musicians and also acts as a hub for bands and musicians to meet and network.

The studio is based around a GLD-80 mixer along with the GLD-AR2412 audio rack, set up to enable live jamming and studio recording on DAW, using the mixer's M-Dante card.

Mr. Saumyasheel, audio studio manager, says, "I cannot imagine my studio without the GLD-80 mixer because it is the heart of A Square. Due to the huge number of inputs in this mixer, I can include a number of instruments and vocalists. I use the copy and paste function to arrive at a basic channel setting and experiment with the GLD's 'ganging' fu

UK - POLARaudio has responded to the fresh demands placed upon the company by the recent acquisition of new exclusive brands. In particular, Loud Technologies' brands Mackie and Ampeg have significantly increased volumes in the MI side of the business. In anticipation of this increased traffic, POLARaudio moved swiftly towards an internal restructuring that could "more efficiently accommodate the fast-growing nature of the company".

The creation of two distinct divisions within the business, one for MI customers and one for Installation customers along the lines of an approximate 50/50 split, allows the company to more specifically focus the talents of its staff in their areas of expertise. Whilst the two divisions run in parallel under the same roof, the structures of the system do not preclude some overlapping of skills. Teamwork remains the foundation of every proce

Germany - Fohhn Audio's Focus Modular electronically steerable line array systems will ensure that audiences at the Redoutensaal Erlangen don't miss a word during the 32nd Bavarian Theatre Festival (32. Bayerischen Theatertage). The Redoutensaal is one of many venues for the 16-day annual festival, which celebrates the quality and diversity of Bavarian theatre culture.

Fohhn Audio has supported the festival by providing a Focus Modular system comprising two FM-400 low-mid and two FM-100 high-frequency modules. The flagship modular systems, featuring state-of-the-art beam steering technology, have been used in a range of outdoor and indoor theatre productions since their release in 2013, including the Festival Theatre in Recklinghausen, Opera Schenkenberg's open-air production of Il Trovatore and the spectacular Great World Theatre production in Einsiedeln, Switzerland.

Recently held in London at the CocknBull Gallery, Tripping the Light Fantastic was a multi-sensory gallery installation by the artist Rupert Newman. Curated by Aretha Campbell, the exhibition showcased Newman's geometric, kinetic and colourful projection artworks complemented by soundscapes created by Sarah Warne, a film and arts composer signed to Faber Music. The sonic elements of the show were played through a pair of Genelec 8040s.

Rupert Newman is known for his painting and textiles pieces as well as event installations. His work focuses on the relationship between light and surfaces and includes architecture, sculpture and canvas works. This aesthetic approach is frequently from a cross-platform perspective and his shows usually feature a sonic element. Tripping the Light Fantastic is the tenth collaboration between the pair since 2010 and one of several interactive, set piece mu

The Netherlands - With immediate effect, dealers in the Benelux territory can get the full range of Audient products from M Works, from the flagship ASP8024 right through to the latest additions to the range: USB interface - iD22 and 8-channel mic pre and ADC - ASP880.

Sales manager Okke van Dijk is very pleased at the agreement. "Audient is a great brand with passion for designing excellent sounding products. With their expertise and deep understanding of demands in the pro audio market, the people at Audient know how to create the right quality and product mix," he says.

"High quality comes as standard," confirms Luke Baldry, sales and marketing director at Audient, highlighting the fact that "...all products feature the renowned console mic pres designed by the company's co-founder David Dearden." He adds, "I'm delighted that we have Okke

UK - Adlib's busy audio division renewed their working relationship with Las Vegas alt rockers Panic! At The Disco for their recent UK and European live shows. This dates back to 2006 when Adlib hooked up with them for the first time in Manchester. The Liverpool based technical production company have worked with the band on their various UK shows ever since.

Tour manager / tour director Tony Marino, production manager / FOH engineer Spencer Jones and monitor engineer Jeremy "Spud" Groshong returned to the UK to share more stories and good service from Adlib.

They took a Coda Audio sound system from Adlib into their three largest UK shows at Manchester O2 Apollo, London's Eventim Apollo Hammersmith and Wolverhampton Civic Hall. A basic lighting package for LD Alex Specht was also sourced from Adlib to add to their touring lighting and visuals package.

The audio ele

Austria - The legendary Top of the Mountain concert brought two new stars to the alpine resort of Ischgl this year: Robbie Williams and Nexo STM.

Held each May at an altitude of 2,300m, Top of the Mountain rounds off the ski season in fine style. Robbie and his Big Band scaled the heights this year to perform their entire Swings Both Ways album, marking the event's 20th anniversary.

The STM modular line array PA system had to cope with the biggest-ever audience at the Silvretta Arena, a crowd of 30,000 people, but it also had to score in another crucial area. All equipment is brought into the resort by snow gondola, with snowploughs handling on-site transport and the crew flown in by helicopter. Here, STM's ability to break down into smaller elements proved invaluable, allowing for ease of transport to the arena.

All technical production was supplied by Austria's Fant

UK - Bath City Church, which has recently benefitted from a major audio systems upgrade by Autograph Sales & Installations, has the distinction of being located in a truly unusual venue. The Forum first opened its doors in 1934 as a cinema which operated until 1969, after which it housed a bingo hall and a dance school until Bath City Church took it over in 1989. A gem of art deco architecture and furnishings, the building had fallen into a sad state of disrepair until it was lovingly restored by the church. With a capacity of 1600, today The Forum is not just a church, but also Bath's biggest venue and the third largest seated auditorium in the south west of England.

Now that the fabric of the building had been restored to its former glory, it was the turn of the audio infrastructure to receive a similar overhaul in order to bring the systems up to the high standards demanded b

Denmark - On 10 May, the final of the 59th Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast live to an audience of approximately 125m in the Eurovision countries and Australia. The world's biggest live music contest was a spectacle, with imaginative introductions for each country that competed and many musical highlights among the 26 songs of the final.

The host broadcaster for the event was Danmarks Radio (DR) which relied on Sennheiser's Digital 9000 for the audio transmission of the show. 96 channels of this digital wireless microphone system were deployed for the contest, the VIP area and the press centre which included part of DR's own 24-channel Digital 9000 system. Then added to this were 28 channels of the 2000 Series for the artists' wireless monitoring.

"Join Us" was this year's motto for the Eurovision Song Contest, which was hosted on Refshaleøen island in th

UK - DiGiCo has released V685, the latest software upgrade for its range of digital mixing consoles. It is the power of DiGiCo's proprietary Stealth Digital Processing that allows the company to unlock the incredible amount of new features with each new software version for live, broadcast and theatre applications.

For the theatre, the Relative Faders in Cue Groups is now a Macro command, Auxs, Groups and Matrix channels can now be added to channel sets, and Channel Cues now defaults to showing names.

And for broadcast applications, Backstop PFL is now functional on output busses and there is s new option on the SD7B and SD10B for Speaker Mute to do Dim.

"Waves is happy to provide the increasing number of DiGiCo SoundGrid MultiRack users, the added benefit of doubling their rack capacity," comments Mick Olesh, Waves EVP sales & marketing. "Increasing the numbe

France - Opened at the beginning of the year, the Le Platinium bowling and bar complex in Andrézieux, France, is already a major focal point of the community for both young and old. Yamaha CIS series loudspeakers supply the soundtrack.

The venue's sound reinforcement system needed to deliver high quality background music, but also be loud enough for announcements and for the music to be turned up so that youngsters can enjoy a night of high-spirited fun and dancing as they bowl.

Supplied by local Yamaha dealer Radio2/XL Sono, six pairs of VXC6W full range ceiling loudspeakers plus two VXS10S and two VXS10ST dual coil, floor-mounted subs deliver the audio.

"The venue's owners needed high quality, reliable loudspeakers, but they were on an extremely tight budget," says Stephane Brocard of Yamaha France. "It was exactly the kind of installation that the CI

China - TC Group has announced that it has appointed Peter Glinvad as managing director of TC Group China.

Originally from Denmark, Peter Glinvad has been working and living in China for 12 years. His in-depth knowledge of the Chinese culture and fluency in the language are a golden opportunity for TC Group China to have the best of both worlds. Drawing from experience in general management and as the chairman of the Danish Wind Energy Group - China, Ginvad brings a wealth of knowledge to the position.

Further, TC Group China has recently been incorporated as a WFOE (Wholly Foreign Owned Entity) and moved to a new, larger office facility in the Chaoyang District. Along with these changes, as well as the steady release of innovative products and an ongoing improvement of operations, Peter Glinvad will be leading TC Group China onto an accelerated growth path into the future, sa

USA - Moogfest, the annual electronic technology, art, science and music festival celebrating the creative vision of analogue synth pioneer Bob Moog, expanded its festivities in downtown Asheville, North Carolina this year to five days in late April and more than 10 venues. For audio reinforcement at US Cellular Centre's 2,431-seat Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, which served as the festival's primary stage, Thunder Audio specified the use of its new L-Acoustics K2 loudspeaker system.

The loudspeaker complement for Moogfest 2014's main stage included left and right arrays of nine K2, plus eight SB28 subs and three ARCS II out-fills per side. Two additional K2 and two K1-SB subs per side were utilized as side fills, while six Kara enclosures were spread out across the stage lip for front-fill. Ten LA-RAK touring racks, each loaded with three LA8 amplified controllers, delivered the powe

Ivor Novello Awards - Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie has been honoured with a lifetime achievement at this year's Ivor Novello songwriting awards. McVie played with Fleetwood Mac for 28 years and wrote some of their most famous songs, including Don't Stop and Little Lies. Other winners at the ceremony in London included London Grammar, The Chemical Brothers and Nile Rodgers. The annual awards, now in their 59th year, are voted for by songwriters.

Picking up her award, McVie confirmed she had rejoined Fleetwood Mac after a more than 15-year absence and would join them on a world tour. "We are in the process of making another studio album which should be out next year," she added.

Alt-pop trio London Grammar won the award for best song musically and lyrically for Strong. Last year's Mercury Prize winner James Blake received the best contemporary s

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