Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Business

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Canada - Coda Audio has announced the appointment of SC Media Canada as its exclusive distributor in the territory. An influential presence in the Canadian market for 35 years, SC Media represents industry-leading manufacturers and has built its success on a combination of close customer relationships and the expertise of its strong technical support team.
Paul Ward, director of global business development for Coda Audio International, comments: "We're delighted to be partnering with SC Media in what is a large and very important market. The rapidly increasing global demand for our products reflects the growing awareness of the very real advantages they bring to the live and installed sectors. Our distribution partners play a vital part in communicating this message and SC Media’s strong core values and obvious passion for audio gives us great confidence in their ability

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South Africa - DWR Distribution is co-hosting the Robe Roadshow South Africa. Present at the event will be Josef Valchar, CEO of Robe Lighting, and Harry von den Stemmen, international sales director, who will be introducing the new Esprite and Tetra this December.
The roadshow kicks off in Cape Town at the Roxy Revue Bar at the Grand West Casino on 2 December. Those living in Durban are welcome to pop in at the Grace Family Church in Umhlanga on 4 December. The last stop will be at DWR Distribution Johannesburg on 6 December. Demonstrations will be held on the hour from 10am to 4pm each day.
While the event is free of charge, attendees are asked to RSVP at the DWR Distribution website.
(Jim Evans)
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - Edinburgh-based production services and dry hire company, Blue Parrot, has taken delivery of Scotland’s first Ayrton Perseo-S IP65-rated LED fixtures. The occasion also marks Blue Parrot’s first investment in Ayrton fixtures which are destined for a very busy life in hire stock.
“We've just received our shipment of 14 Ayrton Perseo IP65 units and we're very excited,” says Blue Parrot managing director, Jonnie Clough. “We’ve been searching for a solid solution for an IP fixture of this kind for ages.”
Perseo is Ayrton’s first multi-function, compact, powerful, IP65-rated fixture developed for intensive outdoor use. Perseo produces 27,000lm from its 500W LED source, and sports a fully weather-proof housing with a new water-resistant menu navigation system to handle “whatever the weather can throw at it”.
Clough was first introduced to Perse

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USA - Behind the Scenes reports that its recent Survey to Assist in the Development of a Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative in the Entertainment Industry received “an incredible response from the industry” with over 3,300 people completing the survey.
An initial look at the survey results confirmed that the long hours, pressures of deadlines, lack of resources, and uncertainty of employment have taken a very hard toll on our industry. These affect not only mental health, but physical health as well, and impact relationships with family and friends. Unsurprisingly, over 90% of respondents have experienced anxiety while over 80% have suffered from depression.
What is also apparent from the responses, and very encouraging, is that many individuals want to step up and help colleagues they feel are struggling but simply don’t know how and are very

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Czech Republic - Prague-based Elvia-Pro has taken on the distribution of German fibre network specialists BroaMan in the Czech Republic, following a request from private commercial station, TV Nova.
Formed in 1993, Elvia-Pro specialises in management, engineering and project work within the broadcast sector, and manufactures and installs equipment for OB and DSNG trucks, specialising in main broadcast organisations such as Czech TV, TV Nova, TV Prima, TV Barrandov and production houses.
It was TV Nova who were largely responsible for the new distribution arrangement. “They came to us with a request for BroaMan devices,” recalls Tomáš Kocáb, Elvia-Pro’s sales product specialist. BroaMan technical sales manager Maciek Janiszewski made a professional presentation at TV Nova, leading to the new distribution deal, which was formalised on the BroaMan stand at the IB

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The Netherlands - AV solutions manufacturer Peerless-AV has announced the opening of a new warehouse in Weert.
This is the latest step in the company’s European expansion and Brexit strategy. Located on the Netherlands and Belgium border, Weert is strategically positioned with sea and land transport links.
“The opening of our new warehouse in Weert means we can continue to exceed customer service levels with reduced delivery times and increased flexibility to fulfil the continued growth and demand we are seeing for our products in Europe,” comments Keith Dutch, managing director for EMEA at Peerless-AV. “There will be no change to the operation of our UK warehouse. We’re pleased to say that both the warehouse in UK and Jebel Ali Freezone in Dubai have been stocked heavily this year owing to ongoing growth across EMEA generally.”
(Jim Evans)

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USA - Producers, musicians, DJs and music industry professionals came together at the Capitol Studios in Hollywood earlier this week to honour producer Quincy Jones with an AKG Lifetime Achievement Award.
Held in Capitol’s historic A and B studios, guests were treated to a performance by Quincy Jones protégé and multi-Grammy award winner, Jacob Collier, along with a variety of immersive experiences that celebrated the microphone and headphone brand’s iconic past while showcasing its rich future. The evening culminated with host and broadcast journalist Nic Harcourt presenting Quincy Jones the AKG Lifetime Achievement Award, for Quincy’s contribution to music since the early 1950s.
“For almost seven decades in this business as a musician, composer, arranger, conductor and producer, I have always gone for the music that gives me goosebumps. And whether it was

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Columbia - RCF has appointed the newly-created RCF LATAM as its distributor for Central America, Colombia and the Caribbean.
The company has strong roots in the professional audio industry, boasting more than 20 years’ experience.
Although RCF LATAM’s main office is located in Miami, collaboration with new commercial partners in Colombia will now ensure full availability of inventory.
RCF LATAM director, Jose M. Gonzalez, comments: “Our company is fully committed to the distribution and positioning of RCF as a leading brand within the designated markets. The owners of RCF LATAM have successfully distributed the RCF brand for several years, and their aim is to develop the brand in the weakest markets and support its presence generally in Latin America.”
RCF export sales manager, Luca Agazzi adds: “We wanted a new company focused 100% on RCF, that

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Italy - RCF has been announced as the main sponsor of a 100,000-seat outdoor venue - the RCF Arena.
The arena, stated to open on 12 September 2020, will be the largest in Italy once completed. It is being built in an area called Campovolo, just outside the manufacturer’s hometown of Reggio Emilia, and will feature a permanent installation of RCF’s TT + audio system plus 10 delay towers.
Arturo Vicari, CEO of RCF Group, comments: “RCF was born in 1949 in Reggio Emilia. From here we brought the excellence of Italian sound throughout the globe and today we are among the major players in the market.
“Giving our name to RCF Arena is a source of pride for us, but also a mission and a commitment. We have a strong bond with this region, and we intend to treat it in the best possible way. With this wonderful project, we will bring our innovation and technology t

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On The Campaign Trail - Actors and theatre staff are being urged to make sure they have made arrangements to vote in next month’s election amid warnings that those working away from home on Christmas shows could be disenfranchised.
Matt Hood, Equity’s assistant general secretary, described the election date as “inconvenient for many”, adding: “For our members, many of whom will be working away from home on tour, in panto or filming, it runs the real risk of them losing their right to vote.”
Thomas Hescott, chief executive of Stage Directors UK, comments: “November and December is an extremely busy time of the year for our members, many of whom are working away from home on Christmas shows. The short notice means many of our members are already away working and so have little opportunity to organise postal ballots. We are concerned that our members will s

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USA - ACT Lighting is now the exclusive North America distributor of Luxibel.
Luxibel is the professional lighting brand by AED Group, which also offers the truss series Expo Tools, which are suitable for the exhibition market but may also be used by rental and staging companies.
"Luxibel's well-designed, high-quality, reliable, and high-value products are an ideal addition to the brands ACT distributes exclusively in North America," says ACT Lighting CEO Ben Saltzman. "We are excited to bring Luxibel's product line to the attention of our customers and will be introducing them to the wide array of tools that are available."
Damon Crisp, international sales manager for Luxibel, adds: "ACT Lighting is well known for its unmatched service and stellar market reputation and represents the world's top brands. Luxibel is honoured to join the ACT association and this se

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Europe - Sixty82 has opened a new office in Drachten, The Netherlands, to exclusively service the German market.
“The start of Sixty82 German Division is a reaction to the expanding needs of the live events industry for rapid delivery times of first-rate products and a service that is second to none,” comments Fokko Smeding, CEO of Sixty82. “With the German division, we believe that we can ensure our customers are provided with expert technical support from experienced people. Therefore we hired specialists Michael Kempe and Christian Schoof to provide extra service and attention to the German market.”
Sixty82 has also appointed Germany’s Cast as its official competence centre and premium reseller. This partnership will “ensure high availability of Sixty82 products all over the country, while simultaneously providing strong support and after-sales service

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UAE - ETC celebrated the opening of ETC Dubai - The Studio with a launch event at the new premises in Dubai Media City. The site, which features a black box space for product demonstrations and an area for console training sessions, welcomed industry professionals from across the globe to the inaugural event.
Attendees met with product specialists from ETC and High End Systems and received demonstrations of the newest innovations including High End Systems’ new automated fixtures SolaWash 1000 and TurboRay.
The latest member of the Sola Series, the SolaWash 1000 features a full framing system and is available with either an Ultra-Bright or High CRI engine. Alongside this was TurboRay, the distinctive fixture creates dynamic effects from its animation and gobo wheels and can be used as a powerful hard edge beam or narrow-angle washlight.
Visitors to the opening

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UK - Live event production educational facility Backstage Academy has signed a new partnership agreement with professional loudspeaker manufacturer KV2 Audio.
KV2 Audio, whose R&D and manufacturing base is in the Czech Republic, has worked informally with the academic institution, based at Production Park in Wakefield, for the past two years, providing equipment for student-led events on an ad hoc basis and presenting seminars.
“These seminars are always well received,” says Tom Weldon, who is in charge of UK sales. “We have an exclusively point source approach to loudspeaker design and are proud to be able to present this approach to the technicians of the future. We strongly believe this is the best way to reproduce the original source, and in a market that is dominated by alternative designs it’s important that students are exposed to all options. We tr

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UAE - PSAV has announced the acquisition of eclipse, the AV and live event production and venue company operating in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Eclipse, founded in 2003 by Mark Brown, is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of PSAV and will continue to operate under the eclipse brand name. eclipse CEO Simon Ransom and his senior team will remain in place and continue to execute on their growth plans, now in partnership with PSAV. Ransom will assume leadership of PSAV UAE operations, and work with Nik Rudge, PSAV’s managing director, international, and his team.
“Eclipse is an exciting addition to the PSAV group of companies due to its extensive in-house venues and event production expertise, and strong alignment to our purpose and mission,” comments Rudge. “I am delighted about what this means for PSAV, and more

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UK - The market value of the UK entertainment technology industry has grown by an estimated 5% in the past 12 months, according to PLASA research.
This puts the industry’s value at £1.36bn in 2018/19, up from £1.30bn in 2017/18. The sectors with the largest growth include architecture, broadcast and corporate events, which are valued at £250m, £220m and £160m respectively.
Only a third of the businesses surveyed expect the industry to grow in 2019/20 however, the main concern being how and when the UK will exit the European Union.
The full report, which follows on from PLASA’s comprehensive industry research released in 2018, details sector by sector performance, investment in marketing and R&D, and the future outlook for the industry.

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UK - Wakefield’s cathedral staged the official ceremony for 74 Backstage Academy (BA) students who graduated recently.
Students had their various production degrees conferred by Dr. Sue Duncan, assistant Vice chancellor and registrar, University of Bolton (with whom Backstage Academy is partnered).
They were also honoured by their various course leaders as they prepared to leave academia and enter the production world. Johnny Goodwin (Live Events Production), Graham Thorne (Live Visual Design & Production) and Claire Porter (Stage & Production Management) in turn accoladed their respective students as they filed up to the stage.
As Goodwin put it, “It’s always a great occasion to meet the families. They shake your hand and thank you for the guidance once they can see there is a job at the end of it, and that [students] are not simply running away t

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UK - Music industry charity Music Support has partnered with 10 companies and organisations to train industry professionals in mental health first aid (MHFA).
The drive has been prompted by an in-house initiative led by the charity in 2018, when it invested in MHFA training for its own staff and volunteers.
Music Support will work with The Event Safety Shop (TESS), a live event production safety service; industry charities Help Musicians and The BRIT Trust - the charitable arm of BPI; PLASA; The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF); Production Park; Backstage Academy; PSA and its benevolent fund, Stage Hand; and Thrive: Mental Wellbeing - an NHS-endorsed app designed to help people combat stress.
Matt Thomas, Music Support’s co-founder and chair of trustees, comments: “MHFA training is becoming a priority for businesses across many industries and sec

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Switzerland - Prolights has announced the appointment of Plusmusic AG as its distributor for Switzerland with immediate effect.
Plusmusic takes over in the Swiss market which historically has been served directly from the Prolights Italian HQ, inheriting a network of users, who will benefit from the distributor’s local sales and demo stock, and qualified technical support team.
Paolo Albani, international sales manager for Prolights says, “Plusmusic is a natural match to carry on the Prolights brand in the Swiss market. They share the same passion of our team when it comes to lighting technologies, and having full access to the market in its various segments and as well providing a high class customer service, we are very sure they will be a great asset for our swiss partners.”
Gianluca Trevisan, sales manager of Plusmusic, adds, “We are excited to join t

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UK - Audio visual production supplier SFL is running a series of courses, inviting anyone working in the audio industry to attend.
These include a Yamaha Networked Audio Systems workshop, DiGiCo SD consoles training, Midas PRO Series consoles training day, and an Introduction to Live Audio For Church.
Harvey Appleton, SFL project manager who is also one of the course teachers, comments: “We believe that education is vital and running these courses is a great way for SFL to share its knowledge with the industry and we find it extremely rewarding. This is why we have developed a range of courses that focus around the equipment we use most frequently and subjects, such as live audio for churches, where which we know can be challenging, particularly for those that don’t have years of experience.”
The Yamaha workshop is an opportunity to get hands-on

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Denmark - Allen & Heath has named Light Partner as its exclusive distributor for Denmark.
The new distribution partnership is active with immediate effect.
Allen & Heath’s EMEA sales manager, Fred Cresson, comments: “Allen & Heath has a strong, loyal following in Denmark, particularly in live sound and installation. We are therefore delighted to be working with Light Partner to continue providing first-class support to our Danish customers, and to explore the opportunities to keep developing the brand.”
Stig Meyer Jensen, Light Partner’s CEO, adds: “With the new Avantis adding to an already unbeatable line-up of consoles, Allen & Heath is the mixer brand everybody is talking about right now. We’re proud to be appointed to distribute A&H in Denmark and we’ve invested in a highly experienced team to deliver the outstanding backup t

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UK - TAIT has acquired Wakefield-based Brilliant Stages to create “an even more competitive platform capable of deploying a truly global suite of live event technology and solutions”.
The leadership and staff at both companies is expected to remain the same. It is unclear if Brilliant will continue to exist as a separate brand, but TAIT has stated that “the combined management teams see the value of building a global brand.” All existing projects will continue as scheduled and all points of contact will remain the same.
Ben Brooks, managing director of Brilliant, comments: “We have built the brand brick-by-brick with an equal focus on spectacle, design, employees, and customers. That is what makes being part of TAIT a perfect match, culturally we are 100% aligned.”
Adam Davis, chief creative officer at TAIT, adds: “This really is a perfect cultural

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Major Revamp - The Brit Awards have announced a major revamp for 2020, with fewer awards and an end to fan votes. Organisers promise "more music" as a result, with artists being given full creative control of their performances. Prizes like Best British Video and Best International Group have been cut, while the outstanding contribution award has been retired for 2020. Despite press reports earlier this year, gendered awards will remain part of the ceremony.
The changes come after several years of falling ratings. This year's ceremony, which saw performances from Pink, Dua Lipa and George Ezra, was watched by 4.1m people, down 400,000 from 2018.
This year, all awards will be decided by a 1,200-strong "official voting academy", made up of “experts” from all areas of the music industry. Brits chairman David Joseph explained the changes, saying: "We will be putting cr

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UAE - Sixty82 has appointed Unusual Rigging & Engineering LLC as its exclusive representative in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, for its full trussing and staging product range. Unusual Rigging will exercise supervision on a broad scope of possibilities, advising customers on the best Sixty82 solution for their specific needs.
Unusual Rigging is a highly experienced provider of rigging and stage engineering solutions, working around the globe, principally in the entertainment, special event, exhibition and presentation industries. In 2009 Unusual Rigging & Engineering LLC opened for business. Unusual Rigging’s specialist teams boast a wide range of disciplines, and all are passionate about what they do. “At Sixty82, we share this passion for the industry,” comments Fokko Smeding, CEO of Sixty82. “We therefore believe that Unusual Rigging &a
  1. Radio Matériel to distribute Audac
  2. Starlite invests in Ayrton Khamsin fixtures
  3. Protec makes major Xtylos purchase
  4. PFL Group boosts Yamaha inventory
  5. Prolights appoints distributor for Brazil
  6. AED Display bolsters Pixera investment
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Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
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