UK - Yamaha PM5Ds are a familiar sight on UK festival stages, nowhere more so than with Adlib Audio, long-term users who continue to invest in this digital mixing console. The company recently purchased two more for this year's summer season.

Liverpool-based Adlib invested in the PM5D shortly after its introduction and the console remains in the front line of the company's rental stock, with a number of LS9s also available for smaller shows.

"Nowadays the PM5D is very much a standard package for festival monitors," says Adlib hire manager Phil Stoker. "It is the ideal console for that role, being very popular with monitor engineers and very quick to change over from one artist to another. The high pressure environment of festivals needs equipment that users can wo

Germany - K.M.E. reports a highly successful summer season for the K.M.E. Pano Line Array system. Rock am Denkmal (Rock at the Monument) in Hötensleben near Magdeburg featured Maggie Reilly, the Electric Light Orchestra performed by Phil Bates and the German rock band Bell, Book & Candle. Showtechnik from Magdeburg deployed the Pano system.

The arrays consisting of line source units QL 906 and down-fills QL 1215 were installed. The QCB 318 subs delivered silence behind the stage and powerful rock sound in front of the stage. The amplification was realised by digital amplifiers DA 428 and DA 230. Although the Showtechnik team is an experienced Pano user they were once again very satisfied with the system.

Company Dorn and Kannegießer Showtechnik GbR equipped a number of events in Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia - including Goitzsche in Flames, Sea in Flames and Classic Picnic - w

Japan / China - Martin Audio's new Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) has enjoyed instant success in the Far East - thanks to two large orders placed by newly-appointed distributors.

Both Beijing Pacific Budee Technology and Audio Brains, part of MSI Japan Holdings, were welcomed into the Martin Audio family at the recent Prolight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt.

Their response has been immediate, with Budee ordering a 36-enclosure MLA/MLX system to fulfil an order from Hong Kong rental company, Max Production Ltd. The system was immediately pressed into service at Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo for the Japanese singer-songwriter, YUI, who was playing her first overseas live concert in front of 14,000 fans in the AsiaWorld-Arena.

MSI, Martin Audio's distributor in Japan, was the contractor for this event, and Max Production Ltd was the audio equipment supplier for the venue. &

UK - Avolites Media announced during the PLASA show formation of a strategic alliance with Immersive Ltd and is now sole manufacturer of a suite of products under the brand name Ai.

Immersive Ltd is a re-seller of the Ai system, integrating the Ai product range into their global business of design, animation, motion graphics and show production.

The Ai media server was showcased in the UK for the first time at PLASA 2011 with the aid of demonstrations and a show-reel presentation from a selection of Immersive productions which highlight the versatility and enormous potential of the Ai product range.

Avolites Media Ltd will release Ai media servers through the existing Avolites international distribution network. Meanwhile, Immersive Ltd will continue in its successful business of event production, experiential design and content creation for an expanding and diverse, high pr

UK - Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake and White Acoustics have announced changes to the organisational structure within marketing and product management across the brands, as well as the formation of a new department to application assistance and education for all brands.

Michael Munch has been appointed to the role of VP of product management across the installation, touring, and residential market verticals. Munch joined TC Electronic in 2004, before moving to Lab.gruppen in 2006 where he enjoyed success as head of product management at Lab.gruppen and Lake.

Elsewhere, Tim Chapman has been appointed VP of marketing across all the installation and touring brands, covering the management of all marketing functions and personnel based in Coatbridge for the Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake and White Acoustics brands. With a long career in audio including marketing roles at Meyer Sound, Crest

UK - Blackburn-based lighting rental company HSL supplied three trucks worth of lighting equipment to C venues for the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival - totalling around 650 generic lighting fixtures and 34 moving lights.

C venues is one of Edinburgh's leading independent venue producers, curating and hosting the Fringe's largest theatre-based programme, an eclectic mix of drama, dance, physical theatre, musicals, cabaret, circus and visual and performance art. Over 200 shows and events took place during the three-and-a-half week Festival period.

The kit was being deployed throughout C venues' 25 performance spaces at six venue locations, including bars, outdoor areas, found performance spaces and other non-conventional theatres,.

The project was managed for HSL by Mike Oates, working closely once again with C venues' production manager Richard Williamson and their head of te

Russia - The first week of August 2011 saw Green Hippo's head of Training Simon Harris give a three-day workshop at Moscow's Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design, which was organised in conjunction with Green Hippo's new Russian distributor FMS Force Media Swiss AG.

Force Media are a management company representing several audiovisual and media organisations in Russia which range from online portals for audiovisual communities to educational and creative collectives. FMS Force Media pride themselves on their ambition to: "Promote creativity. From online portals that join communities virtually, to hardware products that run the largest stages internationally, Force Media Swiss's unique blend of management and strategy generates a demand for new media."

Green Hippo's workshops took place from 3-6 August and proved to be a great success, generating some

UK - With preliminary visitor figures of over 12,000, showing a marginal increase over 2010 and strong international engagement from across the world, organisers PLASA Events are "delighted" with the positive feedback to this year's PLASA 2011, which last week closed its doors at Earls Court after a vibrant four days.

This year's event sets the scene for a strong return to Earls Court in 2012. Events manager Sophie Atkinson commented: "Exhibitors have been enthusing about the high quality of visitors and the rate of sales enquiries, and with hundreds of new products being launched, there has been a great return on investment for them. We expect to see many back here at Earls Court next year."

Visitors also relished being first to get their hands on some of the industry's hottest new products. Over 500 products were launched at the show, including major new

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UK - Lighting designer Nick Gray of Renegade - well known for his work in fashion and live music - has worked on many shows in strange and idiosyncratic places in his day - but a recent Kasabian gig for music video website Vevo broke new ground, staged aboard a disused Boeing 474 airliner which has lain abandoned at Buntingthorpe Aerodrome, Leicestershire, UK, for some years.

As soon as Gray got wind of the event - attended by some 160 lucky Vevo competition winners - he jumped at the challenge of lighting a very intimate space inside as well as the enormous industrial form of the 747's exterior, an iconic shape in aviation history. "It was the most amazing and totally atmospheric site-specific setting," he states, "And apart from that, lighting it required some serious imagination and lateral thinking".

The video - released as part of the new Vevo Prese

USA - The Gypsy Kings - credited with helping to bring the distinct sound and style of Rumba Catalana pop music to worldwide audiences - have just finished their latest US tour, with lighting designer Michael Sharon using his own Jands Vista I3 console for control.

Sharon, based on the US West Coast, is an independent lighting designer with a wide variety of clients. In addition to four years of designing for the Gypsy Kings, he has also designed a wide range of corporate shows for many different clients.

He first used a Jands Vista, on this occasion a T2, when he originally started working for the Gypsy Kings. This was provided by the lighting contractor at the time, PSI Production Services in Denver. He completely "fell in love" with the console and decided to purchase his own Vista I3 from Jands US distributor A.C. Lighting Inc. so that he never had to go back to

UK - PLASA 2011 turned out to be a highlight for MA Lighting and its co-exhibitors MAJOR and Rainbow Colour Changers. The new grandMA2 software release 2.4 received much praise.

MA Lighting's managing director Michael Althaus commented, "This year's PLASA was the ideal platform for our new distributor Ambersphere Solutions to position itself in the market and to convince with its total support approach. Next to this, the show underlined again the trust the market has in grandMA2.

"We received a lot of positive feedback on the console. Especially the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 has drawn much attention to our control and network solutions that proofed their reliability in this biggest TV-show of all times. Additionally introducing our software release 2.4 at PLASA gave us the opportunity to directly receive comments from our customers who were very content about this

Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has announced the commencement of the much anticipated Project Energia. The project was conceived after years of analysing the inefficiencies found in sound reinforcement and with performance venue optimization.

The key components of Energia, include a series of new loudspeaker systems, with networkable Class D amplifier modules, DSP, cable and power distribution, AVB network hardware with software integration of control, three-dimensional simulation and diagnostics. To ensure reliability and a smooth integration of Adamson's technology, there are three phases involved in the release of the first loudspeaker system in Project Energia.

These are: Phase 1 - Mechanical Field Testing; Phase 2 - Class D Amplifier, Power Distribution and Ground Control Field Testing and Phase 3 - Network and Network hardware Field Testing. In July of 2011, Phase

UK - Wireless Solution Sweden would like to congratulate the Best of W-DMX winners for 2011, awarded at a special ceremony during PLASA to celebrate 100,000 W-DMX units shipped worldwide. The company held its famous Swedish vodka and meatball party to toast the event.

And the winners are: Best European Partner: White Light Limited, Best American Partner: A.C.T. Lighting, Inc, Best Asia/Oceania Partner: ULA Group, Best European Partner: Lightpower, Highest OEM Sales: Golden Sea Professional Equipment, Best Debuting OEM: Guangzhou Yajiang Photoelectric, Most Promising OEM: Philips Vari*Lite, Best Installation Asia: Laservision for Marina Bay Sands, Best Installation Asia: ULA Group for Marina Bay Sands, Best Installation Europe: Prolight SP.Z.O.O. for Warsaw Palace of Culture.

Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution says, "We owe so much of our success to the hard work a

UK - City Theatrical had record breaking attendance at its stand at PLASA 2012 caused by the great buzz on the show floor about SHoW DMX Neo and SHoW DMX SHoW Baby. These two products are the latest innovations in City Theatrical's 10 years of wireless DMX development and manufacturing.

SHoW DMX Neo features the high data fidelity that the multi-award winning SHoW DMX is noted for, as well as fast 7mS latency, ensuring that wired and wireless DMX sources will appear exactly alike on a production. The extensive on board user interface that professionals prefer allows optimized control over output power, full or limited bandwidth broadcast, and the ability to broadcast less than the full DMX packet to shrink the radio "footprint".

For the users who do not want to manually optimize their broadcast, SHoW DMX Neo also has Neo Adaptive Mode that will select only open radio

UK - LumenRadio announced their support for Art-Net 3, the latest release of the public domain Ethernet protocol from Artistic Licence Engineering. As of PLASA 2011, Art-Net 3 will be supported in all of LumenRadio's Ethernet enabled products.

Art-Net is supported by 200-plus international manufacturers, and is one of the protocols of choice in LumenRadio's smart and adaptive CRMXTM wireless lighting control system.

"By upgrading to Art-Net 3, we can be confident our products stay way ahead of the data demand curve," explains LumenRadio's Senior R&D Engineer, Michael Karlsson. "For example, one particular project that I recall used a single network to control a media server and distribute its output to a LED wall. Such a set-up could easily break the limit of many of the Ethernet protocols in common use today."

Wayne Howell, technical director of Artistic

UK - GDS has reported "phenomenal success" at this year's PLASA show held at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. GDS reported a high footfall over the four day event with particular interest being paid to the newest addition to the successful LiteWare Range, LiteWare Satellite and the new ArcSystem, LED Auditorium Lighting System.

Sunday saw the eagerly awaited launch of the LiteWare Satellite, following a successful teaser ad campaign customers flocked to the GDS stand to see its latest offerings. LiteWare Satellite is the newest member of the LiteWare family and provides a completely flexible new way of thinking for battery based Luminaries, it incorporates a remote, fully adjustable head offering 360 degree pan and 180 degree tilt.

Monday and Tuesday continued to deliver success for GDS with ArcSystem winning an unprecedented three awards; the PLASA Award for Innov

UK - Formula Sound has announced the appointment of CUK Audio as exclusive distributor of Formula Sound products in the UK and Eire. CUK Audio will be an integral part of the brand development programme recently put in place by the management of Formula Sound with new product releases, a new marketing and PR package and an expansion of their international business.

Stuart Thomson, MD of CUK Audio commented, "Formula Sound is a highly respected, technically innovative brand which complements our existing portfolio and expands our capability as a complete system provider in the market sectors we serve. The products are well known for their outstanding audio quality and reliability and we believe that we can add value and enhance sales by providing the first class technical back up and support that is the foundation of CUK Audio's business."

Devshi Gami from Formula Sou

UK - M-Sport, the organisation chosen by the Ford Motor Company to mastermind the assault on the World Rally Championship, recently commissioned Litestructures (Prolyte Group's brand team dedicated to custom projects) to design and manufacture a modular touring infrastructure centre.

The Litestructures team fully designed, built and kitted out the structure, which includes a full size, fully fitted catering kitchen, toilets, air-conditioning and an integrated AV system. The structure had to be portable to allow transportation between events, but equally, as a key part of the company's branding, it had to have outstanding visual impact.

A clear requisite was that every area had a solid quality, giving an almost permanent feel, whilst the deployment should be restricted to three days for a crew of no more than eight operatives.

When fully assembled, the structure measures 16m

UAE - Ferry Corsten, voted as one of the top 10 DJs in the world over the past decade, recently played live at the Dubai World Trade Centre to an audience of thousands with a set of Sennheiser HD 25 Originals at his side.

"Ferry Corsten treated music fans to an enthralling set. The HD 25 Originals were a perfect match for the event, proving once again that they are a real standard for professional DJs with their mix of high SPL, excellent sound quality, superb noise-isolation and unrivalled comfort, ensuring that Ferry Corsten's show was not only flawless, but truly mesmerizing," commented Mig Cardamone, business area manager at Sennheiser Middle East.

Supporting the techno-house DJ at the event were Radio 1's Greg Stainer and Real Events' Marky Marc. As well as supporting the DJ's at the event, Sennheiser had some active listening stations for the revellers who atte

UK - Midas digital fan Ian Bond, owner of Midas PRO6 serial number 007, has become one of the first clients to purchase both a PRO2 and a PRO2C live audio system.

Bond has purchased one each of the new Midas digital models for his rental company, IPB Audio. "I initially saw some drawings, and as usual, gave my feedback to (designer) Alex Cooper," he says. "One of the great things about Midas is that they always listen to people's opinions. The price of the PRO2 means that there's going to be a lot of people who can afford to have a Midas digital console and, importantly for me, people who can now afford to rent it. They can now have the same sound as an XL8 for a lot less money. It's going to shake things up a bit."

Bond has used his PRO6 extensively on FOH for Porcupine Tree, so it's fitting that the first job for the PRO2 is a solo tour with the band's gu

Poll Toppers - Coldplay have been voted the best festival headliner of 2011, in an online poll conducted by BBC 6 Music. The band - who headlined Glastonbury and T In The Park - topped the survey with 22.7% of votes cast, breakfast show host Shaun Keaveny announced. US rock band The National came in second with 14.2%, while Muse were third with 13.9%.

Coldplay's drummer Will Champion told 6 Music playing festivals gave the band "a chance to win people over". He added, "There's also a strong possibility that people have already made their mind up about you - and no matter how well you play they're not going to be happy about it." Glastonbury, which also saw U2 and Beyonce play headline slots in June, is taking a fallow year in 2012.

In The Saleroom - The Beatles showed their support for the US civil rights movement by refusing to play in front of segr

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