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THE RECORDING ACADEMY® PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING®
KICKS OFF 10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AT 129th AES CONVENTION
Groundbreaking Organization of Music Recording's Creative and Technical Experts Has Given a Collective Voice to Those Who Work on The Other Side of the Glass
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2010) — Underscoring its commitment to audio excellence and ongoing support for the art and craft of music recording, The Producers & Engineers Wing® of The Recording Academy® will kick off a year-long celebration of the 10th anniversary of its founding at the 129th Audio Engineering Society Convention in San Francisco, Nov. 4-7, with a GRAMMY® SoundTable on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 p.m., titled "Sonic Imprints: Songs That Changed My Life." Moderated by GRAMMY-nominated producer Sylvia Massy, the panel will feature engineer/producers Joe Barresi, Bob Clearmountain, Jimmy Douglass, DJ Khalil and Nathaniel Kunkel.
Over the course of the past decade, the P&E Wing has honored and assisted those who labor behind the scenes to create music by highlighting their achievements, establishing important technical guidelines, educating about best practices, and providing 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.
Key achievements of the P&E Wing over the past decade include:
- Creation of the best practices guidelines "Recommendations for Delivery of Recorded Music Projects," "Recommendations for Surround Sound Production," and "Digital Audio Workstation Guidelines for Music Production."
- Partnership with leading data management firm BMS/Chace, with the help of a grant from the Library of Congress, to develop CCD (Content Creator Data), a structured metadata framework that includes an application for the collection of technical, descriptive and participant information that maps to the associated schema. Now at the completion of a three-year development process, the schema and application will be released, available through a simple registration process, in the beginning of 2011. Demonstrations of the CCD application will take place at AES in Room 112 on Friday from 5 – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- The P&E Wing helped lead the charge for The Recording Academy’s advocacy participation in the matter of wireless microphones and White Spaces, organizing letter-writing and phone campaigns and lobbying in Washington, D.C. A key victory was achieved for musicians, singers and sound engineers with the FCC’s order reserving two channels in every market for wireless microphones and affording microphone users further protection through registration in a database. Other advocacy issues the P&E Wing has aided include support of both copyright enforcement and performance royalties for artists, musicians and record producers.
- Working in partnership with The Recording Academy's 12 regional Chapters, more than 35 events are produced annually that focus on professional development and education.
- Collaborations for mutual benefit with key national and international industry organizations including the AES, SPARS, DDEX, NARM, NAMM and the UK’s Music Producers Guild and Association of Professional Recording Services.
The Producers & Engineers Wing was created in September 2000 when the Music Producers Guild of America (MPGA) merged with The Recording Academy. The MPGA was established in 1997 by GRAMMY-winning engineer/producer Ed Cherney with the goal of creating a forum for the technical recording community that would represent its interests as well as organize relevant events and promote dialogue on important technical, creative, and economic issues. When the MPGA merged with The Recording Academy, it had approximately 300 members. Since then, the P&E Wing ranks have swelled to more than 6,000 and the Wing has remained on the cutting edge of issues of importance to the music recording community.
"When the MPGA was beginning," recalled Cherney, "I approached some people about joining who asked, 'What’s in it for me?' My reply was then, and still is now: This is not about what's in it for you. It's about supporting your profession and being a keeper of the faith. The Producers & Engineers Wing is about preserving the beauty and timelessness of music and artistry. It's about ensuring that music distributed over the Internet retains the integrity of sound that producers and engineers work so hard to create. It's about the quest for fair and equitable intellectual property rights for our profession. And it's about thinking of ourselves as part of a group with common goals and ideas, preserving and protecting the integrity of our profession, nurturing our skills and sharing our experience and knowledge."
"The Producers & Engineers Wing provides a voice for those involved in every aspect of the recording process," said Maureen Droney, Senior Executive Director of the P&E Wing since 2005. "The music production industry has faced enormous challenges in the 10 years since the Wing was created, and it continues to face new technical, legislative, and economic tests today. The P&E Wing's leaders, and its membership as a whole, have provided The Academy and the industry with a unique and invaluable resource with which to address these challenges. On a day to day basis, it is both humbling and exhilarating to be able to work with such an amazing body of creative professionals."
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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 Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys, MySpace (www.myspace.com/thegrammys), a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys, and aYouTube 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.
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
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