Welcoming Remarks: Editors' Roundtable

Join the editors of Mix, Pro Sound News and Radio World as they welcome you to the day's program and share insights, with you as well as with one another, about recent trends and emerging technologies in pro audio and radio, including  virtualization, remote workflows, podcasting, digital technologies and more. If there's one thing we've learned over the past year, it's that the exchange of ideas and new ways of working is key to building a successful career, and that's proven especially true in the overlapping worlds of broadcasting and professional audio.

Podcasting: ‘Good Enough’ Audio Is Not Good Enough

Podcasts have exploded in popularity over the last five years, inspiring millions of people to start their own shows, in part due to the low cost of entry-level audio gear. In reality, however, the DIY days of podcasting are long gone; today, audio quality is a crucial factor in building and keeping your audience. That means finding and using superior audio tools, production software and hosting services; exploring the use of dedicated podcast studios or building one yourself; and both developing and applying best practices at every step of the audio production process.

Keynote: What’s Next? New Tech for Audio Creation, Collaboration, Distribution

Crises often lead to accelerated advancements in technology, and over the past year, the professional audio industry has been actively developing new tools and new models to support evolving demands in sound production and distribution. Noted author, composer, artist and technologist Craig Anderton looks into those changes and finds that many of the foundations of the future—from networked systems and machine learning, to remote collaboration and blockchain payments/audience outreach—are here right now. And they’re about to become a lot bigger.

Networking in Exhibit Hall & Lunch Break

Building Your House-of-Worship Multipurpose Studio

Megachurches have produced extensive content for years to reach their followers, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, houses of worship of all sizes are faced with having to expand their outreach through digital media. Creating a central production space—one that can handle your worship facility’s live sound, recording needs and livestreaming—is the most practical answer, but it can also be a little overwhelming. Our expert panelists share how to assess what you want to accomplish, what you need to get there, tools and processes you might already have in place, and more.

Networking in Exhibit Hall

How Did They Do That? Grammy Awards 2021 Telecast

The production team behind the Grammy Awards is one of the smoothest running operations in live event television, regularly winning awards while at the same time introducing cutting-edge technologies. This year of the pandemic proved totally different, with four socially distanced stages set up inside the L.A. Convention Center, and 125 mixes completed on the final day before air. Audio Director Michael Abbott says it was one of the Top 5 challenging productions in his career, and he is proud of what the team accomplished.

Presented by Focusrite Pro

Networking in Exhibit Hall

Immersive Music: Record, Edit, Mix, Distribute

Last year, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group made a significant push into providing immersive audio content for music-only projects, with distribution deals through TIDAL, Amazon Music, Avid Play and other partners. In this presentation, a panel of engineers, technologists and streaming services provide a look at the tools, technologies and creative application of immersive audio, from tracking to mixing to distribution.

Networking in Exhibit Hall

New Technologies for Music and Recording Education

While education at all levels has been disrupted globally by the Covid-19 pandemic, the effects have been especially acute in recording and music education, where hands-on instruction and interaction are critical to a student’s growth. But educators haven’t been sitting still, and they’ve made use of existing technologies in new ways, along with discovering and incorporating new methods of instruction while modifying curriculum. What has worked? And what has worked well? Our panel of educators and technologists discuss the present and look ahead to potential hybrid models.

Networking in Exhibit Hall

Closing Remarks