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13 March 2025

India - SOUND . COM has invested in DMI-KLANG cards, to accompany their fleet of DiGiCo consoles and also the KLANG:konductor system, for use with their extensive range of other consoles. The company is owned by Warren D’souza, known for his mixing skills and his investment in the industry.

KLANG is especially suited to Bollywood music and is gaining popularity with Indian artists. SOUND . COM is finding that this demand is also being compounded by the many international artists requesting it for their Indian tour dates. Most recently, Academy Award-winning instrumentalist and composer, A. R. Rahman, has been using the immersive KLANG:konductor system for his live dates.

A.R. Rahman is a prolific composer, responsible for many movie soundtracks and Bollywood classics. He wrote the music for the movie Slumdog Millionaire and is responsible

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12 March 2025

Canada - Netherlands-based manufacturer ELC Lighting has appointed Theatrixx Technologies as the new exclusive distributor for both its product lines – the ELC range of DMX-over-IP lighting control products and the Green-GO family of digital wireless intercom solutions – in Canada. The deal was finalised at a meeting between Jacques Tessier, founder of Theatrixx Technologies, and ELC Lighting’s Silvio Cibien, at LDI in Las Vegas.

Philippe Laframboise, Theatrixx business development, says: “ELC and Green-GO have been staples of our industry for as long as I can remember. Their products and related software are designed very much with the operator in mind, packed with all the features needed in the field.”

Founded in 1999, Montreal-based Theatrixx is both a manufacturer and distributor of equipment for the performing arts, events, and live en

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11 March 2025

UAE - Events company SLS Production has made a strategic investment in INFiLED’s GX Series, adding 1,000 sq.m to its existing inventory of INFiLED’s GX Series LED displays.

SLS Production is known for its expertise in organising, managing and bringing event experiences to life. Having worked with INFiLED for three years, the company values the manufacturer’s reputation for providing reliable, innovative technology, with the latest purchase strengthening SLS Production’s commitment to providing high-quality AV solutions for live events.

“In the production business we need equipment that can perform under pressure while delivering stunning results, and INFiLED has consistently met our high standards,” says Edwin Cheeran, managing director at SLS Production Middle East.

“The GX Series has been on our radar for some time, and this i

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11 March 2025

Europe - The OCA Alliance has welcomed NDI as a member to the trade association. NDI offers a broad portfolio of software and technology solutions.

"Joining the OCA Alliance marks a significant leap forward in the standardisation strategy for metadata in NDI. It is also a tremendous pleasure to collaborate with such brilliant minds as the creators of AES70,” says NDI technical director, Roberto Musso. “I look forward to the opportunity to publish the guidelines for AES70 over NDI soon."  

"NDI truly needs no introduction, and the OCA Alliance is thrilled to welcome them to our membership," notes Ethan Wetzell, OCA Alliance marketing chair. "Not only is it a vote of confidence in the standard to have NDI participating, but it is also proof that AES70 is not just for audio - if it's connected, AES70 can help. We look forward to working with the t

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10 March 2025

USA - Clear-Com has announced Annabelle Gauthier as the recipient of the 2025 USITT Stage Management Award, which Clear-Com sponsors yearly. This prestigious honour, presented annually at the USITT Conference & Stage Expo, recognises an outstanding student stage manager for their dedication, leadership, and excellence in stage management.

The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), founded in 1960, serves as a hub for dialogue, research, and education among theatre design and technology practitioners. The annual USITT Conference & Stage Expo is a cornerstone event that connects industry professionals, educators, and students, offering a platform for networking in entertainment technology.

Clear-Com has a long-standing history of supporting industry education and professional development, aligning with USITT’s mission to adva

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07 March 2025

UK - Backup Tech’s annual summertime day of fun and frivolity, this year renamed The Fabulous Village Fete in celebration of Adam Taylor, aka Adam Fabulous, DJ and long-time supporter of the event, will once again take place at Surrey’s Daytona Sandown Park on Thursday 10 July.

With shooting brakes, feather boas, picnic blankets, cake creations and voluminous veg to the fore, the industry is invited to enjoy the event’s perennial favourites, including Best Dressed Fete’r, the hugely popular Bake Off and Veg Off, The Straw Stage for live entertainment and workshops, Peasant laser clay Shooting, the Food and Craft Fest stalls and some new additions, to be announced later in the build-up to the day.

“The fete stalls proved incredibly popular last year, and even more companies want them this year so,

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07 March 2025

Europe/USA - Powersoft and Cohesion, a professional sound reinforcement design and manufacturing enterprise within the Clair Global Group, have announced a strategic partnership that ‘will shape the future of live event production and beyond’. Under the Cohesion name, Powersoft will become a key technological partner that provides amplification and processing platforms suited for live touring and events audio as well as installed sound systems worldwide.

The collaboration between Powersoft and Cohesion serves as the foundation for new technology that will deliver unprecedented performance, efficiency, and reliability for the most demanding and aspirational applications and will ensure even greater flexibility and control for audio professionals around the world. Notably, engineers from both companies have developed a new, customised amplification platfor

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07 March 2025

UK - Lightware has announced that its UK office has a new collaboration with Paragon Projection, a key player in AV rentals for live event production. This partnership will significantly enhance the UK market’s access to Lightware products, enabling event production companies to leverage advanced AV technology for seamless event execution.

Through this partnership, Paragon will offer Lightware’s range of matrix switchers, extenders, and AV-over-IP systems for cross-hire and rental services. Paragon’s available stock includes high-demand products such as the MX2 series, HDMI20-OPTJ solutions, and UBEX extenders. As the partnership progresses, Paragon plans to expand its inventory in response to increasing customer demand, ensuring that production companies have flexible access to the best in AV technology.

This collaboration aims to address the

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07 March 2025

New Zealand - Strawberry Sound has become the latest audio-visual production company in a growing list of New Zealand production companies to invest in a JBL VTX A Series line array system.

Strawberry Sound provides full production services to performers and promoters in the entertainment industry and celebrates 40 years in business this year. From concerts and festivals to award shows and gala dinners, the company has built a strong reputation for delivering quality audio-visual experiences.

A JBL user since day one, Strawberry Sound continues to invest in new technology to enhance its services. The addition of the JBL VTX A8 Series brings greater scalability and high-performance sound.

One of the first events for their new system was the Miharo Central Lakes Polyfest in Queenstown, where the A8’s versatility was on full display.

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06 March 2025

Europe - The preparations for the Showlight Quadrennial in Dijon (19 - 22 May 2025) are gathering speed with the programme of speakers almost complete and logistics rapidly falling into place.

Key to the spirit of Showlight is the support received from the generous sponsors and exhibitors without whose valuable contributions Showlight, as an entirely voluntary organisation, could not take place.

“We are excited to welcome no less than 22 sponsors and 30 exhibitors to Showlight 2025, with more still to come, bringing their products and their presence to enrich the event over the three exciting days,” say the organisers.

The Exhibitor Hall is the centre of the networking space, where all delegates and speakers mix in between Papers Sessions to exchange ideas, meet colleagues and make new contacts. The emphasis is on networking, and talk rev

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06 March 2025

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians has announced the launch of its one-day Automation Foundation CPD Course and ABTT Silver Award for Theatre Automation Technicians, adding to its already diverse training programme.

The new one-day ABTT Automation Foundation CPD is an entry-level course designed and created to introduce attendees to this sector of the industry, giving them an understanding of the key components and applications for automation within theatre and live events, as well as an understanding of how automation teams operate.

This continuous professional development (CPD) course gives the candidate something to show future employers or training providers, demonstrating that they have invested time and know the rudimentary basics of automation.

It will also enable attendees to progress on to the ABTT Silver Award for T

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06 March 2025

South Africa - DWR Distribution hosted the much-anticipated annual International Rigging Course from 27 January to 1 February, presented by Ruud de Deugd, founder of T&E Support. As the only training programme of its kind in the country, the course drew delegates from across South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Zambia, and Mauritius, ranging from novices to experienced professionals.

Ruud, renowned for leading these training sessions globally, provided insights into the rigging industry. Over six days, participants covered vital topics such as safety protocols, maintenance practices, lifting materials, force calculations, and load tables. Attendees were expected to have a solid understanding of mathematics, as the training blended practical skills with technical theory.

“It feels like the family is back together,” Ruud shared upon his return to Sout

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06 March 2025

UK - Martin Audio, along with sister brands, Optimal Audio, TiMax, Linea Research and OutBoard, are again joining forces for their open day programme – showing the best of what the Focusrite Pro brands have to offer.

This will take place over three days, from 11-13 March. However, such is the momentum of these twice-a-year networking and demonstration events that the first day is already fully booked.

Martin Audio will be running separate stage monitor, point source, constant curvature and line array demonstrations (with selective on-demand listening sessions). In-depth training will be provided for DISPLAY and VU-NET software.

TiMax will showcase immersive audio solutions across TiMax panLab, TiMax SoundHub and TiMax Tracker.

Optimal Audio will provide an engaging multi-zone commercial audio demonstration, including new products, a

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05 March 2025

UK - Glensound has joined the Avnu Alliance as a Milan Associate member, reinforcing its commitment to networked audio innovation. Announced during ISE 2025, this move aligns Glensound with Milan, an advanced interoperability protocol built on Audio Video Bridging (AVB), ensuring precise, reliable, and deterministic media transport over Ethernet.

Glensound says an increasing number of requests to use the company's products as part of a larger network drove the decision to join the Alliance. Glensound already offers products with Dante and Ravenna connectivity, demonstrating its expertise in networked audio protocols and its commitment to compliance across industry standards.

Milan has been widely adopted in live sound and touring markets, offering a robust and user-friendly solution that eliminates complex switch configurations while ensuring high-pr

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04 March 2025

Europe - Cadac Consoles signed an agreement with Aura Audio at Integrated Systems Europe for distribution in Finland of its CM-Series audio mix system, centred around the CM-J50 digital console.

“We have had very heavy visitor traffic through the booth, principally from potential global distributors,” said Cadac Consoles’ director of marketing and business operations, James Godbehear having finalised the agreement with Mika Isotalo, managing director and sales at Aura Audio, on the second day of the show. “Aura Audio is the perfect partner for Cadac Consoles, with both companies sharing an ‘audio first ideology’ and being unequivocally performance led.”

“The CM-J50’s transparency and seamless summing at all busses really turned our heads,” stated Isotalo. “Plus, the added benefits of a compact, lightweight form factor and the fe

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04 March 2025

Mexico - Responding to the growing demand in Mexico for its line of lighting control solutions, ChamSys has announced it will begin direct distribution of its products in that market with the establishment of ChamSys Mexico operated in partnership with Chauvet Mexico. 

As part of the new plan, the entire ChamSys and GeNetix line of products will be stocked, distributed, and serviced out of Chauvet Mexico's strategically located 1,200 sq.m centre in Lerma. This includes the entire range of ChamSys MagicQ Stadium and Compact Consoles, which have been used to power designs at major events like the Los 40 Music Awards, and tours by stars like Alejandro Fernandez ("El Potrillo"), Manuel Carrasco, and Korn.

Mexico City-based LD Julio Centeno (designer for Natanael Cano and Dani Flow) said: "ChamSys is one of the most user-friendly platforms for lighting d

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04 March 2025

Europe - The OCA Alliance has attested to a positive ISE 2025, full of new implementations and products and a broader industry embrace of open public control standards.

"This was a fantastic year for AES70 at ISE,” reports OCA Alliance marketing chair, Ethan Wetzell. “We saw several new products and implementations of the standard – some of which we knew were coming, but several of which were surprises. And that's really the benchmark of success for a technology like this – when the industry begins to pick it up and implement it independently, that's a ringing endorsement."

Throughout the show, members of the OCA Alliance were on hand to showcase and demonstrate options for commercial hardware, software controllers, hardware and software reference designs, and discuss the standard's latest additions. Of particular interest this year were AES7

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04 March 2025

USA/Denmark - LC Innovations has announced that by permission and an agreement with PRG, the Macula remote followspot system is now available for sales in North America.

LC Innovations is a branch of Litecom Group, based in Denmark. Founders and owners Morten and Rasmus Bremer created this branch of the company for their latest innovation, the Macula Remote Follow Spot. The 100% open-source software means the Macula system is able to control any moving head in the intelligent fixture market.

Emil Krog, product manager of Macula explains: “The High Resolution Fluid Head in the Macula system adds the organic feel of handling a followspot and allows for a tighter focus on the performer than previously achievable. Plus, the new firmware version 0.99 includes support for PosiStageNet (PSN) transmission. This upgrade allows the system to send real-time p

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04 March 2025

Creative Consent - Organisations including the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, Equity and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain are urging the government to ensure creative work cannot be mined by artificial intelligence unless its creator has given express consent.

The government is consulting on targeted protections for the arts following a backlash against its controversial new plans, under which AI would be able to train easily on content unless its creators forbade it. But unions have warned that “the clock is ticking” to put safeguards in place against the “industrial-scale theft” they claim is already unfolding.

Equity and the WGGB have now demanded an opt-in model for creative workers, under which they must give permission for their work to be used by AI, as well as fair remuneration for artists where their content is used,

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03 March 2025

Australia - Follow-Me has announced a new partnership with ULA Group in Australia and New Zealand.

The partnership marks a milestone for both companies, expanding access to Follow-Me’s performer tracking technology across the region.

Follow-Me Track-iT combines RF tags worn by performers and strategically placed anchors to provide real-time positioning data, and extends the functionality of the Follow-Me 3D SIX system. It has most recently been used on several high-profile shows, including Mamma Mia! The Party in Rotterdam and on Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, which is running until July 2025.

With nearly 35 years of experience in the industry, ULA Group is responsible for providing lighting solutions across an extensive range of markets.

“We’re delighted that Follow-Me has landed in Australi

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03 March 2025

Germany - Absen celebrated the grand opening of its newly renovated showroom in Mörfelden-Walldorf on Thursday, 27 February. The display area has been transformed to showcase a wider range of Absen’s LED solutions from its ProAV, AbsenLive, and DOOH product portfolios, offering an immersive experience.

Tania Zhao, vice-president and president of display business group at Absen, expressed his excitement, stating: “Our Germany base is a vital resource for our teams and we are delighted to unveil this newly renovated Absen showroom. This innovative space provides a unique opportunity to showcase our diverse product displays, from our wide range of market segments to our European customers and partners.

“The updated showroom will further support the regional sales team and continue to strengthen our efforts across Europe, with a more timely and ef

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28 February 2025

Belgium - Chauvet has moved its European distribution hub to a new and greatly expanded facility. The new facility in Deinze is only about 9km from Chauvet's previous EU Hub in Kruisem, but in many ways, it is a long distance apart from its predecessor in terms of the capabilities it affords the Chauvet team to stock, sell, service and support their increasingly popular line of lighting products, including the award-winning Maverick, Ovation and MagicQ Stadium series.

Joining Chauvet facilities in the eastern and western United States, Mexico, the UK, France and Germany, the new 8,000 sq.m Belgian hub will support the complete line of Chauvet Professional, ChamSys, Chauvet DJ and Iluminarc products.

The building's six loading docks and 14,000 pallet spaces will expedite the processing of product shipments, resulting in even faster delivery times. Als

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27 February 2025

UK - Production Futures has announced that its next On Tour event will take place at the AO Arena, Manchester on Monday 28 April. The venue is one of the largest of its kind in the UK, and will host a Production Futures event for the second time, following the success of last year’s arena debut.

Set to attract a wide range of young people from across North-West England and beyond, this free-of-charge event will promote employability, transferable skills, diversity, free training, networking, and will present paid work opportunities to newcomers across the live event and broadcast production industry.

Manufacturers, supply and production companies, venues and distributors will have representatives present at the event to provide advice, information and insights, and discuss specific job and training opportunities. Production Futures also wo

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27 February 2025

UAE - Optocore has awarded Thomsun Trading, its long-term partner in the Middle East, with its Best Distributor Award, in respect of outstanding performance over the past 12 months. The presentation was made during ISE 2025.

Although Thomsun has been Optocore’s distributor right across the GCC region for over 15 years, “the relationship between Optocore and Thomsun continues to grow,” according to Optocore sales manager, RadhaMohan Rajani.

“As the Middle East region sees continued growth, so Thomsun, who have offices around the region, are perfectly placed to continue representing us well, providing quality support locally. Their experience with our solutions makes them a perfect partner.

“Jose Dos Santos (senior marketing manager), our contact there, is a fantastic mediator between us and local clients who require our solutions or