The shareholders of the new company are: Britannia Row Productions, Canegreen, Capital Sound, Concert Sound, Skan PA Hire, SSE Audio Group, and Wigwam Acoustics. M7 Audio has committed to taking an initial eight 96-channel systems and associated components worth in excess of £1m.
The foundations for M7 were laid during 2005 when the worldwide audio rental industry was invited by Midas to evaluate the initial concept and plans for the manufacturer's digital project. Subsequent discussions between the M7 partners revealed a shared consensus that joint ownership was the best way to launch XL8 into the UK rental market, creating an efficient rental structure to maximise the utilisation of the systems. This approach means that all UK rental companies and end users will be able to rent XL8 systems from any of the seven individual M7 partners.
A rental structure has been developed to enhance the business performance of all UK rental companies using XL8, allowing them to make a margin on sub hires without the need for a substantial investment in new inventory and increased staff and service costs.
All M7 partners will provide in-house training and service facilities which will be available to all rental companies and end users. All the partners are committed to supporting and servicing any rental project, regardless of the hiring company.
M7's immediate priority on taking delivery of its systems is to undertake intensive staff and service technician training, holding open training sessions at partners' premises. These sessions will be open to everyone within the UK rental market, including rental company technicians and service staff, touring and in-house engineers, system technicians, theatre operators and sound designers.
The Frankfurt unveiling of the Midas XL8 and M7 Audio also coincides with the launch of the M7 website: www.m7audio.co.uk, which will initially detail M7's contact details, console distribution and rental plans. In the coming weeks the site will become more active with an online booking facility, system packaging options, rental prices and terms of hire. Full details of the M7 Audio rental service will be announced in the near future.
(Chris Henry)
Above, L to R: John Oakley, Alex Cooper, Richard Ferriday, David Wiggins (Midas); Mike Lowe (Britannia Row Productions); John Penn (SSE Audio Group); Keith Davis (Capital Sound); Tim Boyle (Concert Sound); Chris Fitch (Skan PA Hire); David Cooper (Midas); Matthias von Heydekampf (Telex Communications Pro Audio Group); Yan Stile (Canegreen); Chris Hill (Wigwam Acoustics).
