Sennheiser radio and IEM was used throughout with Sennheiser SKM500N specifically used for all of the presenters and the winners. Bryan Grant for Brit Row commented, "49 channels of Sennheiser radio were used in an unfriendly RF area but the system performed flawlessly."
The majority of artists also chose Sennheiser mics including Usher and Alicia Keys (evolution 500 series wireless), The Hives (evolution wired, main vocal e 935), Franz Ferdinand (evolution wired, main vocal e840), Eminem (SKM5000), the Beastie Boys (SKM5000), Anastacia (evolution 500 series wireless) and Tiziano Ferro (SKM5000).
Ziebe explains some background: "My relationship with Sennheiser goes back to the first production of Phantom of the Opera when I realized this was a company that wanted to work with you to achieve the best sound, not one that was just trying to sell you something. I then asked for its involvement on the Brit Awards, which we've now done together for four years. From the outset sennheiser provided faultless radio and would go out of its way to accommodate the artists choice of mic, whatever the brand. The company's mics would always be offered but never forced on anyone and the technical support team is second to none."Ziebe continued: "For the MTV Awards 75% of artists pre-specified Sennheiser mics and in-ear monitoring, with the vast majority of others accepting the choice - a remarkable ramp up from a couple of years ago when just a few Diva's made that choice and also in a year dominated by American artists. It proves Sennheiser's confidence in its products - that by having its product used the artists would hear the difference and make the choice."
The 11th annual awards were hosted by hip-hop artist Xzibit in front of an audience of 6,000 at the Tor Di Valle arena, and will go on to be watched on TV by millions more around the world. MTV also organized a huge open-air concert featuring Anastacia and The Cure outside the Italian capital's ancient Colosseum, with some estimates putting the attendance there at 200,000.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
