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THE RECORDING ACADEMY®'S PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING MOVES THE DIGITAL MUSIC AGENDA
FORWARD ON MULTIPLE FRONTS

At the GRAMMYs on the HillSM "Making The Record" Session, the Music Recording Process was Demonstrated for Congress in Washington, D.C., While Special Events in Key Cities Share New Information with Audio Professionals and Business Leaders

Technical White Papers are Accessible Through The Academy's Web site, Helping to Disseminate Critical Standards for the Rapidly Evolving Digital Audio Landscape

121ST AES CONVENTION, SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 6, 2006) — At a time when digital technology is radically altering the very nature of music recording and the music industry, the Producers & Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy® has taken a proactive leadership role in helping make this momentous transition more comprehensible to audio professionals, industry leaders and legislators. The changes being wrought by digital technologies in conceptualizing, recording and distributing music represent a sea change greater than any previously seen in our industry, affecting core issues such as intellectual property rights, corporate economics and how everyone is able to participate in and enjoy music. The engines of music are run by audio engineers and record producers, the professionals who labor behind the scenes. Ensuring they have access to all the information they need is critical, as is a more accurate understanding of what they do on the part of the public and legislators.

On Sept. 6, the P&E Wing played a pivotal role in GRAMMYs on the HillSM, (The Recording Academy’s annual event connecting top recording artists and songwriters with leading members of Congress in Washington, D.C), by producing "Making The Record," an event in which an entire recording session was set up and utilized on Capitol Hill. The P&E Wing lined up luminaries including two-time GRAMMY® winner Kelly Clarkson and four-time GRAMMY-winning producer/engineer Jimmy Jam, who were joined by Representative Mary Bono, R-Calif., Representative Stenny Hoyer, D-Maryland, and other members of Congress for a demonstration on how digital technology has changed the nature of music making. Events like these and others, including panel discussions in key music industry centers like New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, bring leaders in their fields to audiences comprised of both active music professionals and the general public, raising awareness throughout the community for the benefit of all.

The P&E Wing also furthers its outreach through the creation and distribution of technical treatises, posted at The Academy's Web site (www.grammy.com), that keep members abreast of the latest changes and findings in digital audio technology, including recommendations and guidelines that
ultimately form the basis for key issues such as the security of intellectual property and compatibility between the growing range of digital audio formats. For instance, the paper entitled "Recommendations for Surround Sound Production" will lead to improved sound and enhanced listening experiences in multi-channel applications; and the paper "Delivery Recommendations for Master Recording" will help ensure that sound elements remain secure before being released officially by content owners.

The P&E Wing has also widened the range of interaction with manufacturers of digital audio technologies. As an example, JBL Professional, an official P&E Wing audio partner in the "Speakers and Audio Home Theater Systems" category, is currently sponsoring a series of events that bring new information to Academy audiences. Events have been held recently in Los Angeles at The Village Recording Studios, Nashville at Masterfonics, and New York at Legacy Recording Studios. These events brought together leading sound mixers such as Mike Clink, Ed Cherney, George Massenburg, Kyle Lehning, Chuck Ainlay, Jeff Balding, Elliot Scheiner, Dave O’Donnell, Phil Ramone and Frank Filipetti with Academy members and others.

The P&E Wing remains committed to sponsoring advocacy activities that share knowledge and information. It has assisted SoundExchange, a nonprofit royalty collection organization, to help more precisely define the role of the producer and engineer in the larger context of the new music industry landscape. It has taken similar action with the U.K.-based Performing Artists' Media Rights Association and the Music Producers Guild in order to help create a new revenue stream for these music professionals based on digital distribution of music.

"Individually, all of these actions and events are significant; taken together, they constitute a movement that will help redefine the roles of the producer and engineer in a vastly changed industry," said Maureen Droney, Executive Director of the P&E Wing. "Our organization remains committed to finding ways to make what has become a sea of data into a coherent and understandable set of facts that everyone — musicians, audio professionals, industry executives and legislative leaders — can use to help chart the most effective and fair courses into the future of music."

Photo file: GRAMMYs_Hill.JPG
Photo caption: Part of the P&E Wing team is pictured at The Recording Academy®'s "Making the Record" session at GRAMMYs on the HillSM Sept. 6, 2006. Shown L to R, seated: Engineer and Texas Chapter President Malcolm Harper; Kelly Clarkson; P&E Wing Co-chair Glenn Lorbecki; standing: Mitch Shaivitz, GC Pro Accounts Manager/Mid Atlantic; P&E Wing Executive Director Maureen Droney; and GC Pro Director of Business Development Tom Menrath.

Photo credit: Courtesy of The Recording Academy®
Photographed by: Jeff Fishbein/WireImage.com ©2006

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Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., also known as The Recording Academy, is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs — including the creation of the national public education campaign What's The Download® (WhatsTheDownload.com). For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.

Currently, 6,000 professionals comprise the Producers & Engineers Wing, which was established for producers, engineers, remixers, manufacturers, technologists, and other related creative and technical professionals in the recording community. This organized voice for the creative and technical recording community addresses issues that affect the craft of recorded music, while ensuring its role in the development of new technologies, recording and mastering recommendations, and archiving and preservation initiatives. The Wing builds on the existing regional professional development activities of The Recording Academy, which include workshops, forums and panel discussions, and other recording technology-related events, all occurring locally and nationally throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.grammy.com.

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