AES News

The Audio Engineering Society has announced the winners of its “NovMember” membership promotion, which offered new and renewing AES Members 15 months of AES membership for the annual fee. As part of the promotion, several key AES partners joined in to offer audio tools and swag to five lucky new and renewing members, selected in a random drawing. NovMember partner sponsors included Audio-Technica, Focusrite, Roswell Audio, Rupert Neve Designs and Shure.

AES “NovMember” 2020 membership promotion winners are:

Aaron Shannon (AES Upper Midwest Section, USA) – Winner of a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Monitor Headphones

Bernat Llamazares (AES Spanish Section) – Winner of a Focusrite Clarett 4Pre USB Audio Interface

Sebastiaan de Kriek (AES Netherlands Section) – Winner of a Roswell Audio Mini 87 Microphone 

Franco Spataro (AES Italian Section) – Winner of the Rupert Neve Designs Swag Bag

Tristan Goodwin (AES Webster University Section, USA) – Winner of the Shure MV7 Podcast Microphone

Individuals interested in joining the AES can become a member with a 3-month membership for just $35 through the end of December 2020 ($15 for students). New members will gain instant access to the Society’s deep resources and benefits – online resources including the AES E-Library, the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, the AES Live: Videos portal, discounts on event registration, networking with the worldwide audio community, connecting locally through sections, and more. Learn more about AES membership and join online at aes.org/membership. 

The Call for Contributions is now open for the AES Show Spring 2021 Convention, which will take place online, June 1 – 4. Those wishing to submit proposals for technical sessions must complete the submission form in the AES 150th submission system to be considered by the convention committee for suitability and may be chosen for one of the convention tracks, or as a stand-alone event.

Find out more and submit your proposal here.

About the Audio Engineering Society

The Audio Engineering Society, celebrating over 70 years of audio excellence, now counts over 12,000 members throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Japan and the Far East. The organization serves as the pivotal force in the exchange and dissemination of technical information for the industry. Currently, its members are affiliated with 90 AES professional sections and more than 120 AES student sections around the world. Section activities include guest speakers, technical tours, demonstrations and social functions. Through local AES section events members experience valuable opportunities for professional networking and personal growth. For additional information, visit AES.org.

— AES initiative hosts online sessions with leading audio industry manufacturing suppliers —

The Audio Product Education Institute (APEI), an initiative launched in January 2020 by the Audio Engineering Society (AES) to focus on promoting methodologies, practices and technologies involved in developing and bringing audio products to market, will host its fourth online event addressing Supply Chain & Sourcing on Wednesday, January 6 (12:00pm EST). The webinar continues the dialog with industry experts from major audio industry suppliers – Hansong Technology and Tristar Electronics will detail their organizations’ operations and offer valuable perspectives in this episode. The conversation will be hosted by Dave Lindberg (DB Enterprises) and Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific), who are APEI’s chairs on Supply Chain & Sourcing, both with extensive experience and knowledge in supporting brands’ efforts to turn ideas into products and in manufacturing those products. The two companies will address key timely issues faced by the audio industry and will also answer questions from the hosts regarding key topics such as restrictions on travel, logistical challenges and the dynamics of global economics.

This fourth Supply Chain & Sourcing webinar is part of a series featuring key factory principals with deep experience in supplying top brands. In the session taking place January 6 at 12:00pm EST, registered attendees will be able to hear from Hansong Technology’s VO, Helge Kristensen, and Simon Gui, Sales Manager at Tristar Electronics, about the business, engineering, technological and operational challenges their companies face in bringing products to market in 2021. 

Hansong Technology is a privately owned company, established in 1998 as a manufacturer of high-performance, premium audio equipment, with assets in Asia and North America. Its headquarters and manufacturing facilities are located in Nanjing, China. Its state-of-the-art 51,000-square-meter vertically integrated manufacturing operation comprises assembly, SMT/SMD, injection molding, tooling, environmental, regulatory testing, and R&D teams. Hansong Technology has significantly expanded at a controlled pace to cover ODM and OEM manufacturing in multiple areas of consumer and commercial electronics. The company's experience includes products for markets such as Home Theater, Hi-Fi and AV systems, custom installation, professional audio, wireless technologies, and commercial audio. Hansong's workforce has kept pace with the company’s product expansion, growing to nearly 1000 full-time employees today. The engineering department is one of the company's strengths, with over 90 individuals in various disciplines from Industrial Design, Mechanical, Electrical and Software Engineering to Project Management. http://www.hansongtechnology.com/

Founded in May 2000, Tristar has remained an innovative company with a strong focus on continuous improvement and maintaining a high level of competitive advantage in an ever-increasing number of industries. The company is highly integrated in the value chain within the consumer electronics industry and has built long-lasting strategic relationships with its clients, suppliers and industry technology partners. Tristar’s sole goal is to be the best one-stop service for its world-renowned Hi-Fi and consumer electronics clients.

The AES Audio Product Education Institute’s Supply Chain Webinar #4 is part of an ongoing and multi-faceted event series that underscores the AES commitment to providing its membership and the industry at large with timely real-world information. 

Webinar registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Pe7KlK-9RHWXfWLWCQMuGg

About the Audio Product Education Institute (APEI)

The Audio Product Education Institute (APEI) was launched in January 2020, as an initiative of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), to focus on promoting methodologies, practices and technologies involved in developing and bringing audio products to market. The Institute roadmap intends to focus on six educational pillars: Interactive Voice Con; Supply Chain and Sourcing; Modeling and Measurement; Product Management; The Legal World; and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. For more information, visit https://audioproducteducationinstitute.org. 

— AES Show Fall 2020 Convention virtual Partner Showcase, AoIP Summit, Zoom and Podcast Webinar and TechTours events bring new and innovative ways to explore products and technologies to a worldwide audience —

AES Show Fall 2020 Convention attendees have the opportunity to take-in this year’s Partner Showcase virtual booths and exhibitions in a new, online format, as well as several on-demand pre-convention events, including the AES Show AoIP Summit, Zoom and Podcast Webinar and TechTours sessions. Taking place over the Audio Engineering Month of October, with extended access available through December 18, the 149^th International Audio Engineering Society Convention has been visited by thousands of attendees from around the world for hundreds of livestreamed and on-demand events presented in a variety of formats. 

This year the Audio Engineering Society launched a new and innovative series of showcase and virtual trade show exhibition experiences in conjunction with the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention – the AES Show Partner Showcase, hosting on-demand events, presentations and an array of sessions featuring over 60 exhibitors. Partner Showcase exhibits from each brand include live sessions, on-demand videos, product launches, partner discounts, information downloads and collateral materials. AES Show featured Platinum Partners include Amazon Devices, Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Genelec, NTP Technology (DAD, Penta), and the Recording Academy Producers and Engineers Wing.

Focusing on areas of high importance to many audio professionals today, this year’s AES Show hosted several pre-Convention events, including the Podcast and Zoom Audio Webinar, available for on-demand replay, now, for AES Show attendees. Webinar topics covered an array of techniques and technologies aimed at improving users’ online audio communications and productions, with sessions hosted by Waves Audio, Focusrite, Cloud Microphones and Synthax RME/Digigram. 

Also available on-demand is this year’s highly-popular AoIP Summit – a full day of audio networking and AoIP technology-related presentations and panels led by industry experts, hosted by partners AIMS, Focusrite Pro, Synthax RME/Digigram, Audinate, L-Acoustics, and Sweetwater. Over nine hours of on-demand video cover AoIP protocols and standards, interoperability challenges and opportunities, educational usage, using networked audio in sound reinforcement studio applications, and more. The first in an ongoing series, the AES will host its next AoIP Summit on February 25, 2021, further delving into solutions available through the application of the latest AoIP technologies.

In another new hugely popular AES Show experience taking advantage of this year’s online format, AES Show TechTours went virtual, offering visits to “7 Audio Wonders of the World,” hosted in association with Amazon Devices. These AES Show exclusive tours offer attendees guided, behind-the-scenes highlights of some of the most storied recording studios in the world and insightful dialog with studio personnel, including Skywalker Sound (Nicasio, CA), Galaxy Studios (Mol, Belgium), The Village Studios (Los Angeles, CA), Blackbird Studios (Nashville, TN), Abbey Road Studios (London, UK), United Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA) and Capitol Studios (Los Angeles, CA). 

*Note – Abbey Road AESShow TechTour no longer available

AES Show Fall 2020 Convention attendees can access the Partner Showcase, AoIP Summit, Zoom and Podcast Webinar and TechTours events through December 18 at AESShow.com. 

 The AES congratulates our members whose work has been recognized with a 2021 Grammy Awards nomination: Paul Blakemore, Michael Graves, Emily Lazar, Bob Ludwig and Laura Sisk.

___________________________________________________________

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
An Engineer's Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)

EXPECTATIONS
Gary Paczosa & Mike Robinson, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Katie Pruitt)

BLACK HOLE RAINBOW
Shawn Everett & Ivan Wayman, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Devon Gilfillian)

_____________________________________________________________

Best Historical Album

IT'S SUCH A GOOD FEELING: THE BEST OF MISTER ROGERS
Lee Lodyga & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Mister Rogers)

____________________________________________________________________

Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.

EVERYDAY LIFE
Coldplay
Daniel Green, Bill Rahko & Rik Simpson, producers; Mark “Spike” Stent, engineer/mixer; Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer
  

DJESSE VOL.3
Jacob Collier
Jacob Collier, producer; Ben Bloomberg & Jacob Collier, engineers/mixers; Jacob Collier, songwriter; Chris Allgood & Emily Lazar, mastering engineers

WOMEN IN MUSIC PT. III
HAIM
Rostam Batmanglij, Danielle Haim & Ariel Rechtshaid, producers; Rostam Batmanglij, Jasmine Chen, John DeBold, Matt DiMona, Tom Elmhirst, Joey Messina-Doerning & Ariel Rechtshaid, engineers/mixers; Rostam Batmanglij, Alana Haim, Danielle Haim, Este Haim & Ariel Rechtshaid, songwriters; Emily Lazar, mastering engineer

FOLKLORE
Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Jonathan Low & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer

— The AES utilizes member expertise and resources to launch online AES Show to a worldwide cast of attendees and presenters eager to connect at the biggest pro audio event of the year —

Throughout the changes to the audio engineering industry in 2020, the Audio Engineering Society has persisted in forwarding its mission to promote advances in audio and disseminate new knowledge and research through its latest online interactive events and programs. Taking that mission further still, this year’s AES Show Fall 2020 Convention was organized and produced by a behind-the-scenes cast that fulfilled and exceeded the Society’s expectations, providing everything for the digital networking infrastructure that ported hundreds of livestreamed and on-demand sessions to a worldwide audience, and coordinating and scheduling sessions for hundreds of the top names in audio engineering and production, including presentations by GRAMMY®-winning producers, engineers and artists alongside leading professional audio researchers and innovators.

Delivering the AES Show to nearly 4,400 attendees worldwide over a full month of livestreamed events, various forms of on-demand content, and interactive live discussions and Q&A required a host of engineers, along with much appreciated help from the Central Sound team at Arizona PBS. Video and live feeds took over multiple control rooms at Central Sound for audio and video production, utilizing a variety of production software and services such as the Adobe Creative Suite, OBS, StreamYard, Source Elements, Rendezvous Conferencing, and Zoom, which were further switched and encoded via Wirecast for distribution on various platforms. Streamguys proved invaluable as the primary CDN and streaming solution partner for the live technical convention. “The logistics of funneling a worldwide audience the hundreds of sessions that make up an AES Convention across three websites were daunting,” said Central Sound at Arizona PBS Manager, Executive Producer and Engineer Alex Kosiorek, who headed up streaming and on-demand content delivery. “Our team of committed professionals rose to the occasion to ensure the success of a multi-faceted, complex online event.”

Bringing together the outstanding lineup of award-winning engineers, producers and entertainers for the AES Show’s Special Events series brought its own challenges yet resulted in a number of highlights for the thousands who logged on to catch inspirational and technical insights from some of the biggest names in the industry. From featured livestreamed events with FINNEAS, Jackson Browne and Friends, Imogen Heap, and the AES Show opening statement from New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul, to the Platinum Panels series, hosting top recording engineers, producers, and mastering engineers, a theme of connection and collaboration rang throughout AES Show 2020. Special Events Chair Lisa Roy commented, “More than ever, leading artists, engineers and producers were enthusiastic about supporting the AES Show and reaching out to their peers around the world, to share their knowledge and to share their message of us all working together to navigate these troubled times. Inspiration and insights were shared in abundance!” 

Once again, AES Show attendees were also treated to a series of AES Show TechTours, now in virtual form and dubbed “7 Audio Wonders of the World,” taking visitors to an international host of some of the most iconic studios around the globe. Featured tours included Skywalker Sound (Nicasio, CA), Galaxy Studios (Mol, Belgium), The Village Studios (Los Angeles, CA), Blackbird Studios (Nashville, TN), Abbey Road Studios (London, UK), United Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA), and Capitol Studios (Los Angeles, CA), and included live Q&A sessions with studio hosts and talent. AES Show TechTours Chair John Krivit stated, “Unbound by the virtual nature of AES Show 2020, attendees had unparalleled insider access to world-leading facilities followed by engaging dialog with the staff and engineers who provide the environments for chart-topping creativity.” 

Exemplifying another highlight of AES Conventions was a series of open-session roundtable discussions that allowed attendees to log on and join in on a variety of topical conversations in virtual face-to-face chat rooms, moderated by AES Show organizers and industry experts. Topics included Hip-Hop and R&B, Immersive and Spatial Audio, Audio History, Networked Audio, Sound Reinforcement, Game Audio and XR, Immersive Music, and an Audio Builders Workshop session. AES Show Sound Reinforcement Track Chair and Historical Track Co-Chair Dan Mortensen, who also hosted several of the discussion, commented, “People were so eager to reconnect with their peers and mentors, particularly enjoying getting ‘face-time’ with special guests like legendary Woodstock engineer Bill Hanley, who not only stopped in but graciously went overtime to continue the conversation. My AES Section (Pacific Northwest) has discovered that one of the few upsides of these times is the easy ability to very personally network in real time with people who are sitting literally anywhere in the world and share our mutual love of audio on an ongoing basis. These roundtable discussions showed that this capability is translatable to a full-sized Convention.”

Adding to the value and accessibility of the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention, all presentations will remain online and open to registered attendees through November 30, with additional Partner Showcase exhibitions and virtual booths remaining open through December 18. Showcase registration is free for AES Members, while non-members can register for just $25, or for free with a VIP promo code from one of the AES Show Partners (special thanks to AES Show Fall 2020 Convention Platinum Partners Amazon Devices, Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Genelec, NTP Technology [DAD, Penta], and The Recording Academy Producers and Engineers Wing). For everything AES Show 2020 has to offer, including the comprehensive Technical Program, All Access Registration is still available, starting at just $149 for AES Members and $99 for AES Student Members.

Register Now at AESShow.com. 

The AES Board of Directors and Publications Policy Committee are eager to hear your thoughts on the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society – especially in light of COVID-19’s impact on the audio and publishing industries.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JAESsurvey2020.

The Audio Engineering Society will collocate the AES Show Fall 2021 with the NAB Show 2021 in Las Vegas, October 11-13.

“Our October collocation with NAB Show New York for the past few years has proven mutually beneficial for attendees and exhibitors alike,” said Colleen Harper, AES Executive Director. “We all miss the engagement and excitement of the in-person AES Show and look forward to once again interacting at the convention with professional audio manufacturers and our colleagues.”

AES Show Fall 2021 will include an on-line component to complement the in-person event. The AES Show Exhibition will be housed in the Westgate Hotel adjacent to, and accessible from the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall. AES Show and NAB Show attendees will be able to migrate freely between the two exhibitions.

Planning and organization is now underway. Detailed information will be available in early 2021. Companies and organizations interested in exhibiting can contact Graham Kirk.

— AES Best Papers Awards presented during online Opening Ceremonies highlight top research and advancements in audio engineering —

The AES announced the winners of the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention’s Best Technical Paper and Best Student Paper Awards during the Convention’s Opening Ceremonies on Thursday, October 27. The awards highlight outstanding research Paper contributions from both professional and student authors and are illustrative of the depth of the AES Convention Papers presentations, which share and showcase top worldwide research and advancements in audio engineering. Additionally, winners of the AES Show 2020 Student Competitions were announced during the Ceremony, including submissions across a variety of recording engineering and design categories. The complete AES Show Opening Ceremonies, along with the rest of this year’s online convention, are available On Demand at AESShow.com through November 30.

The AES Show Fall 2020 Convention Best Technical Paper Award, presented by AES Show Papers Co-chair Areti Andreopoulou, was awarded to Juhani Paasonen and co-author Ville Pulkki for their peer-reviewed paper “Short-range renderings of virtual sources for multichannel loudspeaker setups.” The paper’s abstract reads:
“A method for rendering virtual sources is proposed, where the sources are perceived to be closer than the loudspeaker array radius. The development is based on an informal finding about closer perception of the range of virtual sources rendered coherently over multiple loudspeakers. To avoid sound quality issues inherent with coherent rendering, the input is split to two streams, one with more transients and the other with smoother temporal envelope. The transient stream is rendered over coherent reproduction, and the continuous stream is processed with time-frequency-domain spreading technique. The results from localization tests with moving sources show that the proposed method produces the perception of closer distances on both sweet-spot and off-sweet-spot listening.”

The paper can be downloaded from the AES E-Library at https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=20938

The AES Show 2020 Best Student Paper Award was presented by AES Show Papers Co-chair Braxton Boren and was presented to Michele Ebri and co-authors Nicolò Strozzi, Filippo Maria Fazi, Angelo Farina and Luca Cattani for their paper “Individual Listening Zone with Frequency-Dependent Trim of Measured Impulse Responses.” The paper’s abstract reads:
“Acoustic Contrast Control (ACC) has been widely used to achieve individual audio delivery in shared environments. The effectiveness of this method is reduced when the control is performed in reverberant environments. Even if control filters are computed using measured transfer functions, the robustness of the system is affected by the presence of reverberation in the plant matrix. In this paper a new optimization method is presented to improve the ACC algorithm by applying a frequency-dependent windowing of the measured impulse response used for the filter computation, thus removing late reflections. The effects of this impulse response optimization are presented by means of sound zoning results obtained from experimental measurements performed in a car cabin.”

The paper can be downloaded from the AES E-Library at https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=20946

AES Show Student Competition winners were also announced for the Student Recording Competitions (Traditional Acoustic, Traditional Studio, Modern Studio, Sound for Visual Media, Remix, and Immersive Audio categories), the Saul Walker Student Design Competition, and the MATLAB Plugin Competition. The complete lists of Student Competition winners and judges, and sponsor information are available at https://www.aes.org/students/blog/2020/10/winners-of-student-competitions.

Visit AESShow.com to watch the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention Opening Ceremonies and awards presentations, Technical Program sessions, Partner Showcase exhibitions, and much more available On Demand through November. Showcase registration is free for AES Members, while non-members can register for just $25, or for free with a VIP promo code from one of the AES Show Partners (special thanks to AES Show Fall 2020 Convention Platinum Partners Amazon Devices, Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Genelec, NTP Technology [DAD, Penta], and The Recording Academy Producers and Engineers Wing). For everything AES Show 2020 has to offer, including the comprehensive Technical Program and the Papers presentations, All Access Registration is still available, starting at just $149 for AES Members and $99 for AES Student Members.

Register Now at AESShow.com 

— The Audio Engineering Society congratulates this Convention’s recipients of awards signifying exemplary service and dedication to the AES and the industry worldwide —

The Audio Engineering Society has announced the winners of this year’s AES Awards for distinguished achievement in the field of audio and service to the Society, presented during the Opening Ceremonies of the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention on October 27. The awards were presented in the online ceremony by AES President Agnieszka Roginska on behalf of Awards Committee Chair David Scheirman. The AES Show Opening Ceremonies are available on-demand for AES Show attendees at AESShow.com.

Awards presented at the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention include:

AES Board of Governors Award, given to Members rendering exceptional service to the Audio Engineering Society, presented to:

Jorge Azama, for chairing the highly successful AES Latin American Conference in September 2019 in Lima, Perú

AES Honorary Membership Award, given to individuals of outstanding repute and eminence in the science of audio engineering or its allied arts, presented to:

Imogen Heap, for outstanding contributions to the world of music and technology

Karrie Keyes, for her leadership in creating opportunities for girls and women in the field of live sound

AES Fellowship Award, given to Members who have rendered conspicuous service or are recognized to have made a valuable contribution to the advancement in or dissemination of knowledge of audio engineering, or in the promotion of its application in practice, presented to:

Peter Graham Craven, for decades of commitment to the growth and ongoing health of the professional audio industry and for unflagging advocacy for, and dedication to, the Audio Engineering Society

Jackie Green, for contributions to the sciences of microphone design and manufacture, microphone performance measurement and to microphone and wireless mic system education

Thomas Miller, for valuable contributions to the development of miniature transducer design

Umberto Zanghieri, for his work advancing the application of audio design and digital interconnectivity and for extraordinary service to the Audio Engineering Society

Distinguished Service Award, awarded in recognition of extraordinary service to the Society over a period of years, presented to:

Don Puluse, for his leadership of the AES Educational Foundation as its longtime President, securing and awarding opportunity to deserving AES Student Members

Complete AES Show Fall 2020 Convention Opening Ceremonies video presentation and details available here.

Visit AESShow.com to find out more about additional Technical Program events, Partner Showcase exhibitions, and much more being made available through November. Showcase registration is free for AES Members, while non-members can register for just $25, or for free with a VIP promo code from one of the AES Show Partners (special thanks to AES Show Fall 2020 Convention Platinum Partners Amazon Devices, Focusrite, Focusrite Pro, Genelec, NTP Technology [DAD, Penta], and The Recording Academy Producers and Engineers Wing). For everything AES Show 2020 has to offer, including the comprehensive Technical Program, All Access Registration is still available, starting at just $149 for AES Members and $99 for AES Student Members.

Register Now at AESShow.com