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Monday, May 25, 2015
Press Release: "How I Work" Sound Designer Interview Series Released
Monday, May 18, 2015
Press Release- Elizabeth Matthews named CEO of ASCAP: Letter to Staffers Included
Press Release:
(pictured, l-r) ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), ASCAP songwriter Ne-Yo, Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) and Beth Matthews before a 2014 panel discussion hosted by Creative Rights Caucus Co-Chairs Chu and Coble on music licensing updates
ASCAP announced that Elizabeth Matthews has been named the new Chief Executive Officer of the organization. Matthews, who has served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel at ASCAP since 2013, was a unanimous choice among the Board’s 12 writer and 12 publisher members. Matthews replaces former ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento, who retired on December 31st after 33 years of service to ASCAP, including 17 years as CEO. Matthews begins her tenure at the helm of ASCAP immediately.
“Now, more than ever, songwriters and composers need an advocate we can trust to ensure our work is valued fairly in a rapidly changing music marketplace,” saidASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams. “What we do is vital to the future of music. Beth’s experience in the global multimedia content sector, her deep understanding of the complexities of the music business and her passion for protecting the rights of music creators make her singularly qualified for the CEO role. Her enthusiasm for taking on the new challenges of the digital era is unparalleled.”
(pictured, l-r) ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), ASCAP songwriter Ne-Yo, Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) and Beth Matthews before a 2014 panel discussion hosted by Creative Rights Caucus Co-Chairs Chu and Coble on music licensing updates
As ASCAP’s Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Matthews played an important role in planning ASCAP's future. She led development of a six-year transformative strategic plan that anticipates the future competitive landscape and changing needs of ASCAP members and customers. Matthews was a key internal leader on modernizing ASCAP’s licensing systems and pushing for reform of ASCAP’s consent decree. She also spearheaded ASCAP's support for introducing the Songwriter Equity Act in Congress.
Prior to ASCAP, Matthews served as Executive Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Viacom Media Networks (formerly MTV Networks) since 1998. There she guided her Business and Legal Affairs teams through the early days of the shift to digital. Previously, Matthews worked in the Intellectual Property and Corporate Groups for Chadbourne & Parke and the Business Technology Group for Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
In a letter to staffers, Matthews wrote: "
To All ASCAP Staffers:
It is with great excitement and commitment that I welcome the amazing opportunity of serving ASCAP, our members, our licensing partners and you -- the dedicated and talented employees of ASCAP who, like me, are inspired and driven by ASCAP's mission to protect, educate and cultivate the careers of music creators.
As I take on my new role as CEO, I feel very fortunate to have been mentored and guided by John LoFrumento these past two years. John's passion for ASCAP and his track-record of successful leadership were what inspired me to join ASCAP as EVP and General Counsel, and I am so grateful to him for his leadership and for being a personal mentor to me. I know that I can continue to count on John's unique perspective and valuable insights as I begin the work of leading ASCAP into a new era.
We all know that the world in which we have operated for the past decade has changed dramatically, and ASCAP has been at the forefront of efforts to meet the challenges of this new world, both internally and externally. Not only are we in active negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice to modernize our outdated Consent Decree, but as an organization, we pro-actively got ahead of the need to control our destiny by setting long term strategy and did not wait for market forces or regulators to tell us that we needed to change. Our work to develop a strategic six-year plan was approved by the ASCAP Board of Directors, who understood the value in taking a long view and setting a new course of our own choosing. Many of you had some role in our strategic planning efforts. Now is the time that we begin the journey of executing our strategic plan in order to transform our business and innovate at a faster pace than ever before. Our future is exciting to me and, I hope, to all of you.
In the coming months, we will embark upon several new initiatives to turn ASCAP into an even more flexible, adaptive licensing and service organization that anticipates the needs of our constituents and provides them with best-in-class, innovative new tools and services. We have the most treasured and valuable repertory of musical compositions in the world. We will demonstrate to our publisher, songwriter, lyricist and composer members that we are the best at optimizing the value of their musical works at the lowest cost. We will show our licensees that we value them as partners and we understand the challenges of their business because their success is our success. And, we will explore ways in which we can create more value for everyone in the music licensing marketplace through collective licensing.
We will be doing a lot of things differently in the months to come, but we will stay true to the core values of ASCAP because those values are the reason that so many of us choose to work here. It is always so much fun to hear the stories of my colleagues at ASCAP, so many of whom are musicians or fanatical life-long music lovers. That love is what makes ASCAP unique and different. This is not just a job; it is a passion and a mission. I look forward to working with all of you to continue that mission while we build ASCAP into a new kind of organization for the future.
I would like to leave you with a promise. I know that change can be difficult, confusing and unsettling. My promise is to do my best to keep the lines of communication open so that we all understand our shared vision, challenges, direction and goals. Toward that end, we are planning an ASCAP Town Hall meeting with employees to take place in February or early March.
In closing, I especially want to thank Paul Williams and the ASCAP Board of Directors for their vote of confidence in me, and I want to thank all of you for your support as we work together to ensure the success of ASCAP’s next 100 years.
Beth
"ASCAP is an expansive, forward-looking and adaptive service organization that successfully built and grew the market for performance rights for songwriters and publishers in the United States. As CEO, I am excited about building upon our unique assets to offer new and innovative services to our members and our licensing partners. As new media platforms transform how people listen to music, it is critical that we evolve our own business model and update outdated music licensing laws to better reflect the reality of today’s music marketplace. I am honored to work on behalf of the world’s greatest music creators who call ASCAP home."
- ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews
- ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews
Monday, May 11, 2015
Press Release - Radial's original Bassbone updated, introducing the Bassbone V2
Radial's original Bassbone updated, introducing the Bassbone V2
Vancouver BC - Radial Engineering Ltd. is pleased to announce the Bassbone V2, a second generation Bassbone that features a dedicated effects loop, combination power booster-mute footswitch and piezo optimized input for upright bass.
Radial Sales Manager, Roc Bubel explains: "We recently launched the Bassbone OD which has gained tremendous attention from many of the world's most prominent bass players. Instead of dropping the original Bassbone, we felt that there were many who preferred the smaller footprint and focussed feature set. The Bassbone V2 was developed for this crowd."
The Bassbone V2 is a two channel bass control center that features the same award winning audio circuit that has made the Bassbone popular with artists as diverse as Marcus Miller, John Patitucci and Victor Wooten. It features a toggle switch to select between two basses or switch between channels like a two channel amp. A full effects loop with send and receive jacks is complimented with a wet-dry control that enables the artist to mix-in as much of the effect as desired without losing the natural bass tone. A third footswitch works double duty as either a power booster or a mute switch. This lets you accentuate passages for solos or if you prefer to 'ride steady' in the background, can be used for quiet on-stage tuning using the dedicated tuner output. A main output is used to feed the stage amp while the built-in Radial DI box feeds the PA system or recording workstation.
Like all Radial products, the Bassbone V2 is made from 14 gauge steel for extra durability and comes complete with 15VDC power supply. The Bassbone V2 is now shipping, MAP $259.99 USD.
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Press Release - Powersoft Joins The League of Legends Showdown
Press Release : Built for the 2002
FIFA World Cup, Seoul’s Sangam Stadium could scarcely have hosted a more
unusual ‘World Final’ than when some of the best gamers on the planet assembled
recently for the League of Legends showdown.
And with an estimated
further 40 million people watching around the world — either online, in cinemas
or on the ESPN3 sports channel, production values were set high.
Seoul-based Rhino
Sound Systems were brought in to design the sound reinforcement inside the bowl
and they assembled a vast battalion of Powersoft amplifiers to power their new EAW Anya system
(and KF740/KF730 speakers).
Gwon said that
although this was a long way removed from being a rock concert the disciplines
were the same as he strove to produce a powerful sound. After trying several
simulations the model managed to remove reflections from the back wall, while
KF740 delays ensured that the sound carried evenly to all parts of the stadium
The biggest challenge
he faced was having the main tower position set behind the stage, and
production requiring clean sightlines on the stage itself.
Mr. PAMAN designed and
configured his amp racks back at the company warehouse, deploying 80 of the
powerful K10 and 43 x K3. “I spent
two weeks prepping the show which was an amazing size,” he said. “We used
Powersoft’s DSP so I could control and monitor all the amplifiers from my
laptop using the Armonía software.”
Powersoft provided EAW
Greybox-specific plug-ins for the Armonía software. “We drove the EAW MW12 and
MW15 stage monitors using this plug-in loaded onto the Armonía and Powersoft
DSP, and it sounded f***ing great!” reports the system tech.
He added that when
Rhino first invested in the Powersoft brand it was because they liked the
economy of the 1U rack size, combined with the tremendous power output. “It was
just the perfect amplifier, with very low power consumption, which was a
further bonus.” Now they are also aware of its far-reaching control.
At Sangam Stadium, all
Powersoft amps received the audio signals from an EAW UX8800 controller on a
combined network so everything could be controlled from FOH via the 11 UX8800
controllers.
In summary he said
that the League of Legends World Finals had been the most challenging event he
had ever designed a control network for. “But the success was due to the
Powersoft technology — not only the external Powersoft amps, but also the
Powersoft modules in Anya itself.”
Jeff Na, from DasanSR, Powersoft’s Korean distributors, was the sound
director, and the event was also supported by James Bamlett, and Bernie
Broderick from EAW’s Application Support Group. Others involved in the design
included Dasan SR team leader, Kang Hyun Min and Will Taylor from 3G Live Productions.
Click here to watch the DasanSR video on the build up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bhfmJ6Xudc
Monday, May 4, 2015
Press Release - BB4 Studios Launches: World-Class Mixing & Mastering Facility Brings Innovative New Audio Resource to New York City
Press Release : It’s not easy to bring something new to the music production scene, but BB4 Studios has accomplished just that. Shorthand for “Brooklyn Born Brooklyn Bred”, this just-launched Williamsburg facility is providing producers, engineers, artists, and labels with an innovative audio resource.
BB4 has created a studio unique to New York City, executing an acoustically excellent environment that is optimal for both mixing and mastering. Designed by owner Rafael “Raf” Planten and Christos Tsantilis (P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Mobb Deep, Mos Def, Brandy, Big Pun, Queen Latifah, Patti LaBelle, Saigon), BB4 provides mixers, mastering engineers, producers and labels with an exciting option for perfecting projects. World-class recording capabilities for vocals and overdubs are also onsite.
An Advanced Audio Environment
Built from the ground up as a brand new studio on Williamsburg’s famed Bedford Avenue, BB4 channels the artistic energy of its surrounding neighborhood into its precisely tuned space. A multi-platinum engineer, producer, quality-control expert, as well as an accomplished studio designer, Tsantilis focused his decades of audio experience into making BB4 a first-choice room for honing the best possible mixes and masters – accomplished via thoroughly modern workflows within a welcoming environment.
The goal with BB4’s design was straightforward: Make a neutral room with as flat a sweet spot as possible. Only the highest-grade acoustical treatments and wiring were specified, combined with a custom mastering-style console outfitted with elite dynamics, EQs, and effects gear, plus a huge collection of plugins.
“Once upon a time, mix rooms and mastering suites were built to the same specs,” Tsantilis points out. “But at some point mix rooms had to get bigger, to accommodate the larger tracking consoles that were being brought in. The BB4 approach gets mixers back into a room that’s optimized for accuracy – this is a mastering-grade environment where they can mix. Having this purpose-built environment provides an extreme upgrade in your ability to hear the music, and make much more informed decisions.”
Equipping the Right Environment
Freelance producers, mixers, and mastering engineers alike will feel well-supported at BB4, which provides an assistant engineer for all sessions. With the gear selection that’s on hand, audio professionals should feel immediately inspired to get to work on their sounds.
BB4’s sweet spot begins with a custom mastering-style console designed by renowned studio designer Ken Capton (Eminem, Kid Rock, Music Works NYC, Yessian Music New York). Avid Pro Tools 11 and SonicStudio’s SoundBladeHD serve as the mixing and mastering DAWs, respectively, connecting to the hardware and monitors via Prism Dream and Avid HD Omni converters.
Outboard is extensive without being overwhelming. Compressors include dual RAD 4K-CS SSL’s, Manley SLAM!, Tube-Tech CL 2A, Alan Smart C2, TK Audio BC1, and custom 1176. EQs include four channels of Vintech 473, API 553, Nightpro EQ3-D, and a Weiss Eq1-LP/DYN combo. An Orban Stereo Synthesizer model 245e and classic Yamaha Spx90 are on hand for outboard FX. A Manley 16x2 tube mixer is available for summing.
For tracking and overdub sessions, microphones include a Manley Reference, stereo Audio-Technica ATM450’s, and a Shure SM7B. Mic pre’s are populated by the likes of four Vintech 573’s, two API 512c’s, and a stereo Melcore AML-27. Hardware can also be swapped in and out at a visiting engineer’s request.
Available plugins include Eventide Anthology, Waves Diamond Bundle including Platinum, Restoration, and Transform Bundles, Sonnox Oxford Elite, SoundToys with Eleven, Altiverb XL, and Lexicon - PCM Native Total Plug-In Bundle.
All mixing and mastering decisions go through the meticulously planned monitoring system, which features a PMC ib2 passive 3-way system flanked by dual ADAM Sub12 subwoofers. Bryston 4bst and THX amps power the system, all calibrated by a White Instruments Room EQ.
The attention to detail in BB4’s high-grade dead soft annealed solid pure silver (4N) wiring – overseen by wiring guru Mike Donahower (Jungle City, Robert Clivilles, Five Towns College) — illustrates the extreme care taken to deliver the truest possible sound. “The wiring makes all the difference in the world – it definitely affects the sonic character, depth and dimension that you can hear in a stereo recording,” says Tsantilis. “We strictly employed Furutech and Oyaide connectors, which are optimized for music by cryogenic freezing: That process changes the molecular makeup of the metal for less distortion, noise and resistance.”
Brooklyn and Beyond
While the emphasis is wholly on the music, BB4 is a comfortable place to work for hours at a stretch. A couch is behind the mix/master position in the main room, while a well-appointed lounge completes the experience for all clients and artists in attendance. The vibe is minimalist and stylish at the same time, deleting distractions while maximizing creative inspiration.
BB4 realizes Rafael Planten’s commitment to converging audio and art on a Brooklyn block that he loves deeply – he was literally born in the building whose ground floor the studio occupies. His room doesn’t just fill a need in New York City’s densely crowded studio scene, it creates a new category. That makes BB4 Studios bigger than just another business: it’s a way of contributing to the community, the local economy, and global music.
“Sound makes a difference in people’s feelings,” Planten says, summing it up. “If you’re hearing something good, it will feel good.”
For more information on BB4 Studios, visit http://www.bb4studios.com/.
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