PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Clyne Media, Inc.
Tel: (615) 662-1616
Fax: (615) 662-1636
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE RECORDING ACADEMY® PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING®
FOCUSES ON TECHNICAL ISSUES AND ADVOCACY IN 2009
Unique Events Presented Nationwide Bring Together People and Ideas
for Advocacy and Professional Education
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (September 30, 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.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Robert Clyne/Clyne Media, Inc./615.662.1616/robert@clynemedia.com
Lisa Roy/310.463.1563/lisaroyaudio@mac.com
Jennifer Keppel/The Recording Academy/310.392.3777/jenniferk@grammy.com