The Recording Academy

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Clyne Media, Inc.
Tel: (615) 662-1616
Fax: (615) 662-1636

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (October 9, 2009) — Along with a busy calendar of special events, the membership of The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® delivers a broad range of practical information, services and inspiration to the recording industry. At the 127th AES Convention in New York, the P&E Wing continues to address issues facing the changing audio industry. Their 21st annual GRAMMY SoundTables®, on Saturday, October 10th, titled "M.W.A.—Mixing With Attitude!," will be moderated by producer/songwriter/musician Nile Rodgers and features panelists Chuck Ainlay, Serban Ghenea, Chris Lord-Alge and Tony Maserati, focusing on how to surmount today's mixing challenges and create finished products that stand out from the pack.

"Our P&E Wing members constitute a dynamic community that works hard to improve our industry," stated Maureen Droney, Senior Executive Director of the Producers & Engineers Wing. "It is their efforts that keep the P&E Wing on the cutting edge, addressing the critical issues affecting the art and craft of recorded music."

Other key areas of interest to audio professionals addressed in the past year included lobbying by P&E Wing members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., for the Performance Rights Act, to ensure artists get compensated when their music is played on broadcast radio, and efforts to address the lack of crediting, an issue now rampant in the music industry. The crediting initiative has been brought to the forefront by the P&E Wing's collaboration with BMS/Chace and the Library of Congress on a project designed to provide a recording metadata collection tool that will travel from the creation of a recording to point of sale, including ISRC code and e-filing of copyright.

In the past 12 months, the P&E Wing has also remained highly visible by collaborating on more than 35 national and regional events. A sampling of the kinds of informative events organized by the Wing and its members underscores the breadth and depth of the group's efforts, as well as the initiative shown by P&E Wing committees in the 12 Recording Academy Chapters. In February, the P&E Wing produced its second annual GRAMMY Week event, "Rock My Soul!," a celebration at The Village Studios in Los Angeles honoring the architects of the Atlantic Records sound: Tom Dowd, Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler.

Other event highlights of the year included:

"Behind The Scenes — Inside The Studio" — Part of a weekend congressional briefing arranged by The Recording Academy and The Producers & Engineers Wing, this event explored the relationship between artists and producers while demonstrating a working recording session at the renowned Record Plant Recording Studios. Former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash joined acclaimed record producer Mike Clink (Guns N' Roses, Metallica), who provided guests from Washington with an illuminating look at the work of the recording artist and record producer in a studio environment.

Producers & Engineers Wing Gives Back — Leading members of the P&E Wing had a key role in the ongoing charitable effort, "Moore from Music Row," which assists Nashville's J.T. Moore Middle School in its development of a state-of-the-art A/V facility and offers music/technology mentoring opportunities.

The Pacific Northwest Chapter, along with the P&E Wing, presented the Pacific Northwest Studio Summit '09 featuring interviews with platinum producers Roy Thomas Baker and Johnny K and a panel of Pacific Northwest recording luminaries including Martin Feveyear (Blue Scholars, Mudhoney), Steve Fisk (Nirvana, Soundgarden), Stuart Hallerman (Alice in Chains, Modest Mouse), Mike Jones (Death Cab for Cutie), Geoff Ott (Nickelback, Melissa Etheridge) and GC Pro's Steve Palermo.

The Recording Academy's Los Angeles Chapter and the P&E Wing presented "Up Close & Personal With Al Schmitt," where the legendary producer/engineer/mixer shared priceless stories and pointers. Special guests George Benson, Natalie Cole and Steve Lukather joined Schmitt onstage to discuss their collaborative work.

The Recording Academy's San Francisco Chapter, The Producers & Engineers Wing and the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) presented "GRAMMY SoundTables: Game Audio Network Guild Summer Summit." The event included an announcement of a new partnership between the P&E Wing and G.A.N.G. to collaborate on initiatives and events that facilitate a working relationship between the professional audio and gaming communities, to benefit all involved.

The Recording Academy's Texas Chapter and the P&E Wing presented "The P&E Texas Tour 2009." Engineers, producers, musicians and composers led panel discussions and networking opportunities in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Topics ranged from Music Production and Engineering to Stereo and Surround Mixing, Mastering, Songwriting and Audio for Video.

Also on the year's agenda was the innovative Producers' Compensation Initiative, a study of producer compensation and where it fits into today's music business revenue models.

Established in 1957, 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 preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization's social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys, a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys, and a YouTube channel subscriber at www.youtube.com/thegrammys.

Currently more than 6,000 professionals comprise The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, which was established for producers, engineers, remixers, manufacturers, technologists, and other related creative and technical professionals in the recording field. This organized voice for the recording community addresses issues that affect the craft of recorded music, including the development and implementation of new technologies, technical guidelines and recommendations, and archiving and preservation initiatives. For more information, please visit www.producersandengineers.com.