Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing Kick Off 10th Anniversary Celebration

Underscoring its commitment to audio excellence and ongoing support for the art and craft of recorded music, The Producers & Engineers Wing® of The Recording Academy® will kick off a year-long celebration of its 10th anniversary with a GRAMMY® Soundtable panel discussion at the 129th Audio Engineering Society Convention in San Francisco Nov. 4 - 7. Entitled "Sonic Imprints: Songs That Changed My Life," the event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2:30 p.m., at the Moscone Center Room 134. Moderated by GRAMMY- nominated producer Sylvia Massy, the panel will feature producer/engineers Joe Barresi, Bob Clearmountain, Jimmy Douglass, DJ Kahlil, Nathaniel Kunkel and will explore the favorite tracks in their careers that left a life-long impression on their lives.

Over the course of the past eventful decade, the P&E Wing has honored and assisted those who labor behind the scenes to create music by highlighting their achievements, establishing important technical guidelines, educating about best practices, and providing a forum where all recording professionals - from producers, engineers, and studio personnel, to retailers, manufacturers, and educators - can work together to preserve and grow the industry.

Key achievements of the P&E Wing over the past decade include:
The creation of several best practices guidelines: "Recommendations for Delivery of Recorded Music Projects," "Recommendations for Surround Sound Production," and "Digital Audio Workstation Guidelines for Music Production."
Partnership with leading data management firm BMS/Chace (with the help of a grant from the Library of Congress) to develop CCD (Content Creator Data), a structured metadata framework that includes an application for the collection of technical, descriptive and participant information that maps to the associated schema and will help ensure proper crediting on digital releases. Now at the completion of a three-year development process, the schema and application will be released in the first quarter of 2011, available through a simple registration process.

· The P&E Wing helped lead the charge for The Recording Academy's advocacy participation in the matter of wireless microphones and White Spaces, organizing letter-writing and phone campaigns and lobbying in Washington, D.C. A key victory was achieved for musicians, singers and sound engineers with the FCC's order reserving two channels in every market for wireless microphones and affording microphone users further protection through registration in a database. Other advocacy issues the P&E Wing has aided include support of both copyright enforcement and performance royalties for artists, musicians and record producers.

 

· Working in partnership with The Recording Academy's 12 regional Chapters, more than 35 events are produced annually that focus on professional development and education.

 

The Producers & Engineers Wing was created in September 2000 when the Music Producers Guild of America (MPGA) merged with The Recording Academy. The MPGA was established in 1997 by GRAMMY-winning engineer/producer Ed Cherney with the goal of creating a forum for the technical recording community that would represent its interests as well as organize relevant events and promote dialogue on important technical, creative and economic issues. When the MPGA merged with The Recording Academy, it had approximately 300 members. Since then, the P&E Wing's ranks have swelled to more than 6,000. In that time, the P&E Wing has remained on the cutting edge of issues of importance to the music recording community.

"When The Producers & Engineers Wing was established a decade ago, an essential voice was created for music makers: the voice of those "behind the glass" that work so diligently to ensure that the quality and integrity of recorded music is captured and preserved," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Protecting and advocating for the rights of this group, bringing awareness to new technologies, and working to improve the overall landscape of recording practices will continue to be priorities for the P&E Wing. We have made great strides and achieved many victories on behalf of this constituency, and we look forward to what the next decade will bring."

"The Producers & Engineers Wing provides a voice for those involved in every aspect of the recording process," said Maureen Droney, Senior Executive Director of the P&E Wing since 2005. "The music production industry has faced enormous challenges in the 10 years since the Wing was created, and it continues to face new technical, legislative and economic tests today. The P&E Wing's leaders, and its membership as a whole, are a dedicated body of creative professionals that has provided The Academy and the industry with a unique and invaluable resource with which to address these challenges."

"The Producers & Engineers Wing is about supporting the profession and preserving the beauty and timelessness of music and artistry," said Ed Cherney. "It's about ensuring that music distributed over the Internet retains the integrity of sound that producers and engineers work so hard to create; the quest for fair and equitable intellectual property rights for our profession; thinking of ourselves as part of a group with common goals and ideas; nurturing our skills, and sharing our experience and knowledge."

 

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards - the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music - The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization's social networks as a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/thegrammys, a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/thegrammys, and a YouTube channel subscriber at www.youtube.com/thegrammys.

Currently more than 6,000 professionals comprise The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, which was established for producers, engineers, remixers, manufacturers, technologists, and other related creative and technical professionals in the recording field. This organized voice for the recording community addresses issues that affect the craft of recorded music, including the development and implementation of new technologies, technical guidelines and recommendations, and archiving and preservation initiatives. For more information, please visit www.producersandengineers.com.

 

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