General

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14 March 2016

With headline sponsors Robe, Clay Paky and TMB, this year's show features over 300 brands, many of which are showing new products and services, and sees PLASA Show adopting the successful 'Focus' model of a sector-specific, zoned layout, which will allow both visitors and exhibitors easier networking and navigation.

Over 50 leading brands from the pro audio sector are in attendance, with many new names joining that list including A.C. Entertainment, Autograph, d&b Audiotechnik, FACE, FBT UK, Flare Audio, POLARaudio, Ten 47, Unity Audio, White Light, Yamaha, SSE Audio and Wigwam Acoustics.

The lighting zone features manufacturers such as Altman, Avolites, Elation, ETC, Laserworld AG, and Robe,

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14 March 2016

"The launch of our brand new logo kicks off a new era at ELC Lighting that speaks of who we are as a company and portrays the ease of use and efficiency of our products", said Silvio Cibien, sales manager, ELC Lighting.

"We are proud to always be ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving industry and our new brand identity will illustrate not just who we think we are but how our customers regard our products - straightforward, unpretentious and dynamic."

The new logo which can be seen on the company's stand D60, is bold, easy to read and contemporary. "It is just how we see our products," says Silvio. "We do not need to package them up with bows and gimmicks. EL

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14 March 2016

Named by the London Stock Exchange this year as one of the '1000 Companies to Inspire Britain', and after nearly 30 years in the business, Hawthorn has never stopped growing. With the acquisition of Core Creative, renowned drapes brand Rex Howard and the hugely admired creative technical production business Anagram, it was felt the time was right to amalgamate all of these respected brands under the one name: Hawthorn.

Hawthorn was the brainchild of Martin Hawthorn, who in 1987 spotted a gap in the market for a good quality equipment hire company, to support theatres, dramatic groups, schools and colleges. With great customer service front of mind, he promptly set up shop in his garage in Leicestershire and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Hawtho

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14 March 2016

The 120,000 tickets were snapped up even before the line-up was announced, with only rumours about who might play at the festival. Adele and Coldplay are the top bets, with the Foo Fighters also hot favourites after pulling out of this year's event when front man Dave Grohl broke his leg. ACDC, Blur and Fleetwood Mac are also being tippe

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14 March 2016

Gillian Kiamil, venue director at Olympia London said, "Blitz|GES's technical services are consistently highly rated by event organisers; they are the leaders in their field for the full range of event support, including large scale live events, conferences and exhibitions, which suits our considerably diverse events portfolio perfectly. We've worked together as a team over the past seven years and look forward to a fruitful partnership for the immediate future under the new banner of Blitz|

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14 March 2016

Artichoke produce Lumiere Durham, which will once again transform the historic city with an ambitious programme of light installations from international artists from 12-15 November. Artichoke who have a reputation for bold, groundbreaking outdoor arts events was founded in 2005 with the mission to invade public spaces with extraordinary and ambitious art.

Light art installation specialist Nayan Kulkarni is currently working on innovative new artworks as part of Hull 2017, drawing on his experience with some of the most ambitious light works in the UK. Nayan Kulkarni's site

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14 March 2016

It is the third time a musician has confronted Trump about using their songs to promote his presidential bid. When the businessman announced his candidacy, his campaign played Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World - a song that contains the lyrics "He's just a rich old man / He never cared for anyone". Young, a well-known liberal, demand

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14 March 2016

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14 March 2016

Both standards are now published. They may be downloaded at no charge from http://tsp.plasa.org/freestandards; the free download is sponsored by Prosight Specialty I

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14 March 2016

The Book's The Thing - A new theatre company hopes to reinvigorate local libraries through theatre. Librarian Theatre will tour productions to libraries across the UK in what founders Tom Cuthbertson and Kelly Eva-May, who are both actors, say will be the first touring company dedicated to visiting regional libraries. Its first production, an adaptation of Hamlet called The Book'

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14 March 2016

SiPA's Craig Bennett reported that "over 70 representatives of all corners of live production had come together over the last year to uncover 10 shared goals, formed from stories from across our industry".

The initiative encompasses issues around equality, well-being, education and development, waste, procurement, renewable energy, transparent reporting of environmental and social impacts, fair pay and resilient industry economics.

Leading the ratification of the goals by industry figureheads, Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) CEO Matthew Griffiths said: "We need to move quickly to finding reso

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14 March 2016

For the last 10 years, lighting, film, TV, exhibit, concert, theatre and other designers have been exporting their light plots, scenic designs and event models created with Vectorworks Spotlight software to ESP Vision to cue and visualize award-winning experiences. This announcement creates a path to further enable such workflow collaboration.

"This purchase fortifies Vectorworks' global market leadership position and signals our continuous commitment to the entertainment design industry at a time when visualization capabilities are becoming a more mission-critical, cost-effective means of cueing a show in advance,"

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14 March 2016

Greg Wood of Stage Electrics commented: "We continue to offer our London customers our full range of services, we move a huge amount of hire equipment and sales goods through the London operation each month and having a central London premises to coordinate this is an important part of our strategy.

Stage Electrics provides audio, lighting, staging and video equipment to a wide range of theatre, events, broadcast and corporate clients in and around London. The London operation carries stocks of consumable items, including a comprehensive range of lighting filters, tape and batteries ava

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14 March 2016

Harrison will be responsible - amongst other things - for the design, sourcing and building of HSL's new expandable visual control platforms utilizing the latest cutting edge technology.

"Technical direction, support and continuing investment is paramount to stay ahead in the game," states Harrison.

The scope of Harrison's work will include advising on new equipment purchases. He will also be dealing with preparation of various tours and events, and the on-going supervision and refinement of systems that ensure every project features the characteristic efficiency and friendliness for which HSL is renowned.

HSL MD Simon Stuart says, "We're delighted to have Harrison on-board. He has already worked with us on some demanding and galvani

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14 March 2016

Speaking at a meeting for PLASA Members held during the PLASA Show, John Simpson, PLASA Governing Body chairman and chairman of the White Light Group of companies, said, "Without doubt our major issue this year has been that of diminishing profit, which has led to a critical cash-flow problem for the organisation.

"We have taken action in implementing cost-cutting measures across many parts of PLASA, including reduction in staff, putting the Eastbourne office up for sale and a substantial restructure of the organisation. We have overcome the immediate cash flow problems for 2015, but will be limited in services we can provide during

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14 March 2016

Although it is still being developed, STAR said the code could include prohibiting the listing of speculative tickets by sellers, details of a resale agent's policies and procedures if an event were cancelled or postponed, and the creation of a "trusted environment where customers feel confident in listing tickets".

STAR already operates a code of practice for the primary ticket market, with the proposed code for the secondary market aiming to provide "similarly high stand

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14 March 2016

ProPlex's EZ-LAN makes managing today's complex show networking easier and accessible for everyone. These simple to operate yet powerful managed Gigabit Ethernet switches distribute up to four discrete networks - e.g. lighting, audio, content, server, console, communications, etc. - quickly, effortlessly, and simultaneously. Users untrained in the complexities of managed networking can easily isolate networks and access and change VLAN assignments with one button.

"Managed Ethernet switches are very complicated to use," explains TMB product specialist, Ashley Simper. "The ability to distribute up to four discrete networks with a single button makes life easi

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14 March 2016

The report represents the first ever comprehensive analysis of sales data for theatres outside London. It found that 2014 was a stronger year than 2013, with a higher proportion of tickets sold and more cash value achieved.

Musical theatre accounted for £153m (38%) of total box office in 2013 and £162 million (39%) in 2014, signalling the genre's continued popularity across the

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14 March 2016

In previous years, DiGiCo has chosen to support some amazing causes and some now sadly departed individuals, with the audio industry coming together as one for what is an always-memorable night. This year, DiGiCo chose to support UK events charity Behind the Scenes.

"We have been supporters of Behind the Scenes UK since its inception two years ago, through its various charity events like the golf days and the recent karting day at Sandown Park, as well as lobbying the industry for support," says DiGiCo's MD James Gordon. "This year, it was a natural

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14 March 2016

SGM Lighting, owned since February 2012 by entrepreneur Peter Johansen, currently employs 85 people in Aarhus, according to Danish television station TV2, and the majority of the staff have now been sent home while the company's situation is clarified.

TV2 reported that the company's legal representative, Christian Jul Madsen, has said that several interested parties have submitted offers to buy the entire company.

Originally an Italian lighting brand, SGM was acquired by Italian pro audio manufacturer RCF in April 2009. In November 2010, at a press event in central London, RCF president Arturo Vicari introduced Peter Johansen as the new head of R&D for SGM. Johansen was already well-known in the professional lighting industry as the founder of Marti

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14 March 2016

The 156 new artists signed by Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music was 26 more than in 2013, and just 12 fewer than the recent peak in 2009 of 164 new deals. Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI and Brit Awards, said, "It's no fluke that 2014 was such an outstanding year for British music. Alongside the artists themselves, the passion and commitment labels show in unearthing, nurturing and developing the next wave of talent is one of the main reasons our music is the envy of the world right now."<

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14 March 2016

Durham Marenghi has been appointed by CC2016 as lighting designer for the Rio 2016 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Supporting Durham will be Brazilian associate LD Joyce Hammond, UK programmer Andy Voller, TV lighting director Nick Collier, lighting team manager Jennie Marenghi, followspot coordinator Chris Henry and some of Brazil's finest programmers, spot operators and technicians.

Durham commented to LSi: "Having worked on Ceremonies in Turin, Beijing and Sochi, the contract to light the Olympic Ceremonies in Rio is a once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy the amazing culture, people and weather - the Brazilians know how to PARTY! Exp

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14 March 2016

"To maintain SGM as the absolute leader of intelligent LED light, further investments were needed. After a period of disagreement between shareholders about the future capital structure, the board of directors had no other option than to apply for a proceeding aiming to restructure the company. On 9 November at 18:00, SGM was completely re-established with its new shareholder and capital. The management ascertains that SGM will continue as before without any changes - and stronger than ever."

The company says that all elements of its business remain unchanged, and that the entire team, the worldwide distributor network and all warranty commitments remain identical to before

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14 March 2016

To effectively guide PRG's global asset strategy, the company has announced that Scott Hansen will be transitioning from his current role as chief financial officer into the role as chief asset officer. Since joining PRG in May 1997, Hansen has held a number of key executive positions at PRG and his work throughout his career at the company has kept him involved in both its financial and operational management.

In his new and expanded role as CAO, Hansen will be responsible for the global annual capital expenditure plan, and the development and implementation of strategic asset initiatives. Hansen has for some time been involved with the asset management of PRG, so this move helps to clarify an