FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® "On the Move" in 2014
P&E Wing Continues to Focus on Sound Quality and Advocacy for Music Makers
AES CONVENTION, Los Angeles, Calif. (October 10, 2014) — The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® continues to illuminate those who labor behind the scenes to create music by highlighting their achievements and educating about best practices. The P&E Wing provides a forum where all recording professionals — from producers, engineers and studio personnel to retailers, manufacturers and educators — can work together to preserve and grow their industry. The P&E Wing has been hard at work, with a busy 2014 and a full itinerary at the 137th AES Convention, including the GRAMMY SoundTables® event titled, "Songs That Move the Needle." Additionally, the Producers & Engineers Wing will be hosting the P&E Wing ReCharge Lounge at AES137. Located in the Demo Room Concourse, the ReCharge Lounge is open to all AES badge-holders and features charging stations for your devices, bottled water and snacks, and comfortable seating away from the convention's crowded exhibit floor.
Highlights from the year include the following:
The year kicked off with the 2014 P&E Wing 7th Annual GRAMMY Week® Celebration, which showcased the High Resolution Audio theme by honoring Neil Young. Young spoke eloquently about the importance of the work that producers and engineers do and the efforts to create recordings that reproduce the full emotional impact their creators intended their music to have.
The P&E Wing’s "Quality Sound Matters" initiative and website (www.qualitysoundmatters.com), in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), has had a fruitful year. The QualitySoundMatters website was redesigned with an easier to navigate blog format. It now encompasses a rich library of content that offers information on how music consumers can enhance their enjoyment by seeking out today's higher-quality digital file formats and using listening and storage products that help retain the sound of the music as the artists and engineers intended.
The Wing has also devoted more of its resources to creating programming that offers high-quality listening experiences. In partnership with the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), Sony Music International, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, the Wing staged a High Resolution Audio press event on June 20 at New York's Jungle City Studios during CE (Consumer Electronics) Week, at which music creators played both new and legacy recordings that demonstrated the full fidelity reproduction possible with High Resolution formats. The Wing has also supported numerous incarnations of the popular presentation by GRAMMY®-winning engineer/producer Andrew Scheps called "Lost In Translation," which educates about the differences in lossy vs. lossless formats and provides the opportunity for attendees to compare for themselves various currently popular formats.
The Wing also continues its efforts to educate about the importance of performance credits and recording metadata, hosting numerous panels throughout the year on the topic of "Why Recording Metadata Matters." The ongoing "Give Fans the Credit" initiative explores the challenge of offering a replacement for liner notes on digitally released music, including songwriting, production and performance credits.
November 2013 saw the first ever partnership with the Latin Recording Academy for a Producers & Engineers Wing Latin GRAMMY Week Celebration. Building on the success of that event, this year, as part of the festivities at the upcoming 15th Annual Latin GRAMMY® Awards, the P&E Wing and the Latin Recording Academy will host "¡En la Mezcla! [In the Mix]" at Studio at The Palms in Las Vegas. The official start of Latin GRAMMY week now begins with this unique cocktail reception and professional networking event celebrating Brazilian and Latin music professionals who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to excellence in audio. The event will take place Tuesday, November 18, 2014, from 8pm – 11pm.
Community and networking remain primary to the P&E Wing's agenda, with the production of over 40 networking and professional development events throughout the year, both nationally and in partnership with The Recording Academy's 12 regional Chapters. Through events ranging from networking mixers in Los Angeles to the Art of the Craft series in NY, business panels like "Lost In Transaction" in Nashville and gear shootouts in Florida, to listening sessions in San Francisco, Memphis and New Orleans, the Pacific Northwest Studio Summit in Seattle and interviews and panels on topics from studio design to vocal techniques, the Wing continues to address the needs of its members.
About The Recording Academy: Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, songwriters, 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, follow @TheGRAMMYs on Twitter, like "The GRAMMYs" on Facebook, and join The GRAMMYs' social communities on Foursquare, GetGlue, Google +, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and YouTube.
About The Producers & Engineers Wing: Currently more than 6,500 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.
###
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Louis Vazquez / The Recording Academy / 310.392.3777 / louis.vazquez@grammy.com
Robert Clyne / Clyne Media, Inc. / 615.662.1616 / robert@clynemedia.com
Lisa Roy / Rock & Roy / 310.463.1563 / lisaroyaudio@mac.com
All Rights Reserved.