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Live & Gigging - Live music now accounts for almost a quarter of UK music industry revenues, new figures reveal.
Concerts brought in £1 billion in 2016, over £300m more than recorded music - which includes sales of CDs, vinyl, downloads and streaming.
In total, 30.9 million tickets were sold for concerts and festivals in 2016, up from 27.7 million in 2015, but UK Music warned that the closure of small venues posed a threat to up-and-coming artists.
"Live music did have another great year," said CEO Michael Dugher. "But future talent will never get the chance to shine if we continue to see cuts in music in schools and closures in venues where artists need to learn their craft in the first place."
He also repeated calls for artists to be fairly compensated for their music - singling out media giants YouTube and Facebook for criticism. "Unlike the subscri

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Europe - CUK Audio’s retail sales channel manager, Steve Barton, has just completed – and won - a gruelling 2,500-mile rally across Europe to raise money for the motor industry charity, BEN. A total of 28 teams took part in the event organised by Bilstein Group UK which took them through 10 countries in seven days via some of Europe’s most beautiful – and challenging – driving routes.
Barton and his team-mate, Nik Edwards drove a CUK Audio-branded 2005 MG ZT-T diesel estate (don’t be fooled, they were pretty fast, aggressive drives in their time!) to take part in the Banger Rally that left Marden in Kent on 15 September to cross the finish line seven days later at Bilstein’s new state-of-the-art warehouse facility in Markham Vale.
Sponsored by CUK Audio, the vehicle sported logos from several manufacturers in CUK’s MI/retail portfolio, namely dB Technol
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UAE - With the delivery of a large batch of over 500 pieces of LiteDeck staging platforms, Prolyte Group and Fruition Events LLC embark on a fruitful cooperation in the Middle East region.
Prolyte Group will deliver the LiteDeck staging elements in two batches, the first to be completed in September, just in time for the start of the season in the Middle East region. The second to complete later in October.
Fruition Events aims to become a recognised event delivery partner in the Middle East region.
They choose to achieve this through continuous investment into a world-class team of industry professionals and sustainable product lines that can meet creative challenges. They focus on offering a professional and full-service infrastructure for the events sector. Fruition Events have extensive regional experience and can boast varied strategic partnerships, guarante

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UK - East Anglia-based CEG has recently launched its new website (www.ceghirepro.uk) which includes a hire catalogue allowing customer to get a real-time view of inventory information and availability.
Working closely with rental management software experts, Current-RMS, CEG has created its website using the API (Application Programming Interface) provided by Current to help build these industry-first features, which give CEG’s customers access and control as never seen before.
CEG’s director Ben Bowles explained: “When we started this project back in 2016, we worked closely with Chris Branson and his team at Current RMS to see how we could build our new website using the functionality built within Current. From the start of the project we were keen to incorporate some ground-breaking features into the hire catalogue and rental account sections of the website -

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UK - Martin Audio has announced a series of webinars that will kick-start a new monthly education programme for its bestselling product ranges and software platforms.
A major development in Martin Audio’s training initiative, these live sessions will initially be conducted by members of its product support group and in time start to introduce guest speakers featuring end users who will share their experiences, insights and expertise.
These sessions will be offered to audio professionals wishing to leverage Martin Audio’s technologies and optimise their advanced tools for problem solving in field applications. These webinars can be accessed from anywhere in the world, and all sessions are available free-of-charge.
Martin Audio’s director of marketing, James King, commented, “Our brand has started to become pervasive around the world and it follows that we

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USA - The deadline for ordering 2017 Behind the Scenes Holiday Cards is just one week away. These cards were created especially for Behind the Scenes and are a great way to spread holiday cheer while bringing help and hope to your colleagues in need. The order deadline is 29 September - so place your order now at www.behindthescenescharity.org/holidaycards!
Three card ordering options are offered: personalised cards with a company logo and custom message, card packs of 10 with a standard greeting, and electronic versions for delivery by email. All proceeds benefit the Behind the Scenes charity which provides financial assistance to entertainment technology professionals who are seriously ill or injured.
This year’s designs are particularly evocative of the season and include the work of four students - Taylor Brooks, William Gerton, Delayne Henderson, and Cassidy Wo

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UK - SLX has announced the launch of its new student bursary scheme. The scheme is aimed at second and third year lighting design, technical and event management students across England and Wales, providing five successful candidates with equipment, support and opportunities throughout the academic year.
SLX has supported and sponsored students in many ways through its history, employing student casuals, offering sponsorships and apprenticeships across the business.
Jo Sunners, business development manager at SLX describes the inspiration behind the scheme: “We’ve decided after a few months of consulting with drama schools and industry professionals to launch a new way of supporting the next generation of talent in our industry, something myself and SLX are extremely passionate about. I’m really excited to work with and support the successful applicants in the

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UK - On its first ever public outing at PLASA 2017, Le Mark’s new PAL Label Challenge was attempted by some of the shows strongest visitors and exhibitors, but remained completely undefeated.
“The PAL Label Challenge is so much fun. It gets really competitive between friends and colleagues but so far, no one has made it budge.” Said Le Mark’s marketing & strategy manager, Mark Gibbons.
What’s the PAL Label Challenge? Le Mark wanted an entertaining way to demonstrate the raw strength of the adhesive they use in selected PAL Road Case Labels. With the help of with 5 Star Cases, they designed a set of flight case plates, fitted with heavy duty handles and stuck them together using the very same super-strength foam adhesive used in their foam-backed PAL Labels. The challenge is to see if anyone has the strength to pull them apart.
With no one successful

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UK - Storm Ltd. of the UK has optimised its large inventory of ProPlex Data Distribution units, installing them in rugged, touring racks, a solution for their work on productions throughout the UK and Europe.
“ProPlex provides a truly versatile and reliable solution for our networking demands,” says Storm’s hire coordinator, James Price. “Much of our work involves ‘rolling’ entire systems in and out of venues quickly, and by installing ProPlex in dedicated racks we have our entire networking ‘brain’ in a single package. Some of our racks include the GBS 10-port, Opto-Splitter 2x8, and IQ DMX-Ethernet nodes. We also have IQ Minis for truss-mounting. Everything is wired with ProPlex cable, making our network arsenal ready for anything.”
Storm’s director, Dave Knapp adds, “The ProPlex software and devices are intuitive and very easy to use, as well

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Virtual Reality - Benny Andersson has confirmed to a Swedish newspaper that plans for a virtual reality tour featuring all four members is in the works. He told Expressen: "We see each other every now and then, we've done a few different things, and now we've got a project ahead of us" The tour, featuring digital avatars of Benny, Bjorn lveaus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog is planned to kick off in 2019. “It will take a bit of time, it takes time to digitalize a face,” he said, adding: "It's fun that it's so technologically advanced. It will be interesting."
Refurbishment - London’s Aldwych Theatre is undergoing a multimillion-pound refurbishment. The refit is taking place over 15 weeks between the closure of Beautiful – The Carole King Musical and the opening of La Soiree on 24 November. The refurbishment has been fund

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Pop-Up Shakespeare - City of York Council has given its approval to plans for a pop-up Shakespearean theatre in the city centre. The council’s executive gave its backing to the plans put forward by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions. The plans are for a 12-sided pop-up theatre, which will be Europe’s first full-scale, pop-up replica of a traditional Shakespearean theatre.
If the plans go ahead, the pop-up, which will be modelled on the 16th-century Rose Theatre, will run between May and September next year. The council has negotiated a package with Lunchbox Theatrical Productions that will include educational opportunities, an area to showcase local food and drink, and tickets from £12.50. Under the educational offer, schools in York will be offered material for lessons, discounted tickets and pre-show talks with cast and crew.
No Hope - The company beh

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In Flight Entertainment - German live music promoter Deutsche Entertainment AG has bought out British entertainment producer the Flying Music Group, as it looks to expand into the UK theatre market. Established in 1976, producer and promoter the Flying Music Group is behind theatre productions including Thriller Live and The Kite Runner, both of which are currently running in the West End, and forthcoming musical The Toxic Avenger. DEAG has now acquired a majority shareholding of the company through its British subsidiary Kilimanjaro Holdings.
Through the £5m deal with Flying Music Group, DEAG will expand its activities in the UK, moving into the touring plays and musicals market. A statement from DEAG said its sales in the UK are expected to increase to more than €100m in 2018 following the acquisition of the Flying Music Group. Stuart Galbraith, chi

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UK - ER Productions is an innovative laser specialist providing cutting edge laser products and choreography to some of the most iconic shows internationally.
“We use Le Mark because of their good quality products; not just flight case labels but other items we have ordered. Le Mark's Hannah Tuoy in business development is always speedy with our requests and keeps us updated as to our orders,” said Hannah Williams, production assistant at ER Productions.
The PAL case labels that ER Production bought were used on flight cases, which contain the kit required to make the show a success, and go all over the world to the variety of shows they work on.
“Each case is clearly labelled which aids us not only when packing the kit in the warehouse, but also at the gig for set up & de-rig,” explained Hannah.
Le Mark’s PAL case labels are not restricted by

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South Africa - Not tip-toeing around what’s wrong and very wrong in the Rainbow Nation, South Africa, Mamba Republic is a rapidly-paced satirical sketch theatre comedy which reunites the talents of Ben Voss (Beauty Ramapelepele) and John van de Ruit (Spud). This brutally amusing production, from its opening at Durban's Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre through to its performances on the Main programme at the National Arts Festival in July, and its current run at The Theatre on the Square in Sandton ending 19th August, has continually had its audiences in stitches.
The Mamba Republic team generously donated R13 000 towards the SOS Charity Fund from ticket sales.
With their blend of sharp wit, hopeless optimism and clever characterization, the duo sank their fangs into the fiascos and foibles of South African life.
“As a theatre show, Mamba Republic

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Ticket To Ride - Amazon could soon be entering yet another new market - working with US venue owners to sell event tickets. Sources told Reuters news agency that Amazon was in talks to offer event ticketing in America, seeing the market as ripe for a new entrant. If such a move were to go ahead, it would be the latest effort by the Seattle-based online retailer to use its huge customer base and bargaining power to enter a big market.
It would also challenge Ticketmaster, which has a strong grip on the market. Ticketmaster is currently the exclusive seller of tickets for many top US venues, generating $1.6bn in revenue from initial sales in 2016, according to estimates by research firm BTIG. That figure does not include revenue from reselling tickets, which BTIG estimates at $250m.
Price Sensitive - Producer Thelma Holt has become the latest figure to rail agains

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Australia - TDC – Technical Direction Company supplies innovative video technologies to high profile live events, light festivals, TV productions and live performance.
The recent TDC Open House held at TDC’s Alexandria Headquarters on 2-4 August enabled production professionals to get their hands on the latest technologies, talk to expert TDC teams about how these new tools can be used in future projects, and to peek at the latest tools and technologies coming out of worldwide R&D labs.
“While we’ve always been known for using the latest video technologies in innovative ways to realise our clients’ projects, we’re now getting ahead of the game by developing and deploying technology such as automation, motion tracking and real time content generation that will be the future of live entertainment,” said Michael Hassett, managing director at TDC. “Thr

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Creative Issues - Cultural organisations and universities are being encouraged to work together as part of an £80m programme designed to address issues within the creative industries. The scheme is seeking to come up with new ways of working or create new services that tackle problem areas such as skills shortages, equality and diversity, and finance models.
Led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Creative Industries Clusters Programme will support eight research and development partnerships, each led by a university working with a range of creative organisations. Beginning in 2018, the groups will use money from an £80m pot to fund research and development projects. These will be aimed at improving the creative industries’ development in areas such as cross-sector collaborations, new ways of financing, equality and diversity and skills shortages.
Almo

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UK - Event design and technical production company Maestra London has expanded its team with three new staff.
Leonie Cumisky joins as PA and office manager, Paul Hayes comes on-board as assistant technical manager and Frank Uhl is the new warehouse manager.
Says Maestra London director Justin Hammond, “We’ve had a fantastic year and it’s very exciting to strengthen the team with more excellent personnel. Leonie, Paul and Frank come from a diversity of backgrounds and their dynamics, vitality and excellent personalities will be a great asset to our collective vision and goals.”
Leonie graduated from Goldsmith’s College, London, with a BA in Media & Modern Literature and previously worked for over three years as office manager for a leading UK design practice. Prior to that, she freelanced in the worlds of advertising and digital media.
Paul’s

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USA - At iWeiss, ProPower means continuity in more ways than one. Their oldest ProPower Rack Power Distribution (RPD) rack has been in continuous service for 17 years, in the most challenging and hostile theatrical conditions. With over 1,500 ProPower racks in service across North America, the story of this reliable workhorse product is worth telling.
“After 17 years of continuous use in the construction and renovation of venues, amidst all the associated debris, dust and dirt, our oldest ProPower rack still functions flawlessly,” says Richard Parks, VP of rigging and installation at iWeiss. “I can’t praise this product enough. It always saves us time and money with a single tie that the crew can work without an electrician, and it always passes the OSHA and AHJ inspections.”
Parks adds, “This rack has supported dozens of crews, rigging, welding and hoisti

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Factory News - Designs for Manchester's £110m arts centre the Factory are being redrawn after a review found the originals to not be fit for purpose. The project received planning permission in January but the council will now have to spend an extra £1.65m changing the designs.
The Factory was first announced in 2014. It has been given a £78m grant from central government, as well as a £9m annual grant from 2018-19. It is designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas' firm OMA, with theatre consultancy from Charcoal Blue.
According to The Stage, The ‘novelty’ glazed and concrete exterior in the original plans will "compromise the acoustic performance of the venue", a review submitted to Manchester City Council claimed. Elsewhere, the theatre's design was found to be too complex and the orchestra pit too small.
The review, conducted by Manchester City Co

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Ireland - The annual Galway International Arts Festival is one of Ireland’s largest cultural events. This year’s line-up features musical performances by Dublin’s own Gavin James, England’s Passenger, original Beach Boy Brian Wilson, and many others. Lighting for the eclectic series of nightly concerts in the festival Big Top is provided by Light Source, with data networking by ProPlex.
“We have used ProPlex cable and devices for every show over many years,” says Light Source general manager, Ciaran Donnelly. “This gig has two GBS 10-port switches, four Opto-Splitters including two Minis in the truss, and an IQ Two 1616 16-universe DMX node. Tying the system together are over 200m of ProPlex Fibre, and 200m of ProPlex Cat 5e and DMX cables.” Donnelly added, “Additionally, we are using 200 meters of ProCable Multicable, fanouts, and 16 amp TRS mains cables.

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USA - With just under a month of setup, DNJ Pro’s west coast office is now complete.
“I am very excited to now have an office in California,” said Doug Brown, CEO of DNJ Pro. “Initially with only one office in Baltimore, I was concerned clients thought we were partial to the East Coast, which was not the case at all, but now everyone can see that we are dedicated to the entirety of the United States.”
DNJ Pro’s west coast office is based in Glendale, California, about 20 minutes from Los Angeles and features a larges showroom and demo space with all of the products that the company represents. “I am also excited to announce that we now have a dedicated west coast outside sales team,” Brown said, “This is going to be great for us and our clients and I am very much looking forward to the future.”
(Jim Evans)

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USA - Theatre Projects has announced that industry veteran Robert Young is rejoining the company after eight years away. Robert has over 25 years of experience as a designer and theatre consultant, and he’ll be returning to help the design team create dynamic, versatile, and engaging performance spaces across the globe.
Robert began his career in theatre consulting with Theatre Projects in 1999 and spent the next decade designing and specifying theatre systems and managing the technical production department. His work contributed to the creation of more than 150 projects - including many award-winning and acclaimed performance spaces. During this time, Robert established a reputation for taking a hands-on approach to designing innovative, flexible theatre equipment systems utilizing the latest theatre technology.
In 2009, Robert joined the Acoustics, Audiovisual, and

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UK - Flight case hardware and 19-inch racking manufacturer Penn Elcom continues to invest in all its facilities to ensure the production process stays efficient, and meeting the increased demands following the launch of global online sales portal, pennelcomonline.com in January 2016.
A range of new engineering equipment has been installed at the Washington, Tyne & Wear HQ over the last 18 months, including new metal brake presses, plastic injection moulding machines, riveting assembly lines and machinery to enhance processes like wood laminating, PVC / HPL, zinc plating and powder coating.
There have also been upgrades to the warehousing and distribution departments.
Consolidating all these key manufacturing processes under one roof and minimising sub-contracting enables Penn Elcom to have a high degree of control over its products, which guarantees meticulo
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