Creative Industries Infrastructure

Outcome 3: Networking
Ian James Lodge/14003434
Word count 1100 words

Networking is about conversing and connecting with people over a topic. As audio
engineers there is various ways of networking such as conventions where
companies show off their range of equipment to potential customers and allows the
customers to learn more about the equipment. This is only one of the many ways of
networking. This essay will talk about conventions, forums, festival events and
informal networking and how it benefits a career in audio engineering.
In an article posted by Wikipedia, Wiki says Conventions are where individuals
who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some
common interest 1(Wikipedia, 2014). Possibly the largest gathering of audio
engineers in the world is at audio engineering society (AES) conventions. They are
the international association that sets the standards for audio industry. Unites
audio engineers, creative artists, scientists and students worldwide by
promoting advances in audio and disseminating new knowledge and
research2 (Aes.org, 2014) . Attending an AES convention would benefit a career in
audio engineering as the convention will attract vast amounts of companies such as
Avid, AKG and Shure who are showing off their products and it could give you an
insight on any problems you've encountered as an audio engineer or maybe even
tempt you into buying a product and improving youre sound. "One of the best
reasons to attend AES conventions is the opportunity to make important
connections with your fellow educators from around the globe. Academic
institutions offering studies in audio"3(Aes.org, 2014) .Attending one of the many
courses they offer, such as rigging, can benefit youre career as it will widen and
improve your range of skills within the music industry. The convention also holds
conferences which will update you with new research in technology.
Wikipedia, (2014). Convention (meeting). [online] Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_ (meeting).
1

Aes.org, (2014). About the Audio Engineering Society. [online] Available at:
http://www.aes.org/about/
2

Aes.org, (2014). AES Los Angeles 2014 Student / Career Event: Education/Career Fair. [online]
Available at: http://www.aes.org/events/137/students/?ID=4220
3

Another way of networking through the music industry is Tradeshows. Tradeshows

are similar to conventions where companies come out and show their products to
potential customers. However tradeshows attract more Companies wanting to sell
their products than the conventions as they serve more of an educational purpose
than a business purpose. Attending a Tradeshow such as NAMM, Could benefit
your career as an audio engineer as many of the Companies will have Experts who
are specialised in their products and talking to a few of the Experts from different
companies about their products, you will be able to find the appropriate equipment
for your needs. Being at a trade show gives you the ability to see the solutions
first hand and actually touch and work with various products4 (Leightronix.com,
2014). This can benefit you as every audio engineer is unique and you might find a
piece of equipment that you feel comfortable with. This in turn could improve your
work. Also Attending Tradeshows like PLASA (Professional Lighting and Sound
Association) can introduce you into the lighting industry. If you integrate youre
audio and lighting skills in a live Music scenario it could enhance the gig, Enhance
your confidence and reputation. Musikmesse, the Europeans version of NAAM
targets Musicians and Audio engineers and hosts presentations and conference's on
various topics and attending them can improve your knowledge.
The Free dictionary states that in Rome, a forum was the assembly place for
judicial activities or personal business5 (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2014). Forums are
still a good way of networking however they take place online and allow people to
put up questions or problems in a form of a post and other people comment on
their post with a solution. Gearslutz is an Audio engineer forum which allows
people to share problems and ideas. For example Pedro lobo, a user on the
Gearslutz forum asked Yamaha 3500p Power amp: Good for NS 10s?6(Lobo,
2014) and another Gearslutz forum user Called Ringwaith stated I just picked up
a Yamaha P2100 for $150. Its great on the NS10s!7 (Gearslutz.com, 2014) .This
shows the use of forums. Another Forum, Sweetwater is a forum but also sells
equipment aswell. This could benefit youre career as if you put up a question and
someone gives you an answer you can buy the equipment of the website, saving
time and possibly money. For example ParkerTree asked Beginner level mics for

Leightronix.com, (2014). The Benefits of Attending a Trade Show | LEIGHTRONIX Blog. [online]
Available at: http://leightronix.com/blog/the-benefits-of-attending-a-trade-show/ [Accessed 12 Dec.
2014].
5
Lobo, P. (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? - Gearslutz.com. [online]
Gearslutz.com. Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/403755yamaha-3500p-power-amp-good-ns-10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
6
Gearslutz.com, (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? - Gearslutz.com. [online]
Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/403755-yamaha-3500ppower-amp-good-ns-10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
4

Gearslutz.com, (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? - Gearslutz.com. [online]
Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/403755-yamaha-3500ppower-amp-good-ns-10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
7

small recitals/classical music8 (Sweetwater.com, 2014) and TimmyP1955 stated

pro379 (Sweetwater.com, 2014). The Pro37 can be bought on the Sweetwater
music shop.
Festivals are very important to networking as they bring people together and allow
them to share ideas and most importantly enjoying the music. Go north is a
National Festival located in Scotland and has everything from workshops to live
comedy and music. The festival is "Scotland's leading Creative industries
festival10 (Gonorthfestival.co.uk, 2014). This means that it will attract lots of important
and experienced people and "networking" with them could create great business
opportunities. South by south west is an international festival where it showcases
music, film and interactive workshops and special events. This would be beneficial
to an audio engineering career as you get to sample other areas of the creative
industries such as film and if you integrate audio and film, this could improve
youre skill range.
Finally, informal networking is a very good and can benefit your audio career like
it did mine. I attended an open night that one of my friends was running and just
talking to him gained me more knowledge about certain effects processors. This is
beneficial to my career because in some situations involving effects, I can handle it
with confidence. Also Facebook, the social media website allows you to see events
you might not otherwise find. If you were too attended events through Facebook,
this could create links with important people and secure you a job placement.
i

Wikipedia, (2014). Convention (meeting). [online] Available at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_(meeting).
1

Aes.org, (2014). About the Audio Engineering Society. [online] Available at:
http://www.aes.org/about/
2

Aes.org, (2014). AES Los Angeles 2014 Student / Career Event: Education/Career Fair. [online]
Available at: http://www.aes.org/events/137/students/?ID=4220
3

Leightronix.com, (2014). The Benefits of Attending a Trade Show | LEIGHTRONIX Blog. [online]
Available at: http://leightronix.com/blog/the-benefits-of-attending-a-trade-show/ [Accessed 12 Dec.
2014].
4

Lobo, P. (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? - Gearslutz.com. [online]
Gearslutz.com. Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/403755yamaha-3500p-power-amp-good-ns-10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
5

Sweetwater.com, (2014). Beginner level mics for small recitals/classical music. [online] Available at:
https://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?57893-Beginner-level-mics-for-small-recitalsclassical-music [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
9
(Sweetwater.com, 2014)
10
Gonorthfestival.co.uk, (2014). goNORTH - Scotland's Leading Creative Industries Festival Inverness, June 2014. [online] Available at: http://gonorthfestival.co.uk/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
8

Gearslutz.com, (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? - Gearslutz.com. [online]
Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/403755-yamaha-3500ppower-amp-good-ns-10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
6

Gearslutz.com, (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? - Gearslutz.com. [online]
Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/403755-yamaha-3500ppower-amp-good-ns-10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
7

Sweetwater.com, (2014). Beginner level mics for small recitals/classical music. [online] Available at:
https://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?57893-Beginner-level-mics-for-small-recitalsclassical-music [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
8

(Sweetwater.com, 2014) Beginner level mics for small recitals/classical music. [online] Available at:
https://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?57893-Beginner-level-mics-for-small-recitalsclassical-music [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
9

Gonorthfestival.co.uk, (2014). goNORTH - Scotland's Leading Creative Industries Festival Inverness, June 2014. [online] Available at: http://gonorthfestival.co.uk/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
10

References
Aes.org, (2014). About the Audio Engineering Society. [online] Available at:
http://www.aes.org/about/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
Aes.org, (2014). AES Los Angeles 2014 Student / Career Event:
Education/Career Fair. [online] Available at:
http://www.aes.org/events/137/students/?ID=4220 [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
Gearslutz.com, (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? Gearslutz.com. [online] Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/somuch-gear-so-little-time/403755-yamaha-3500p-power-amp-good-ns10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
Gonorthfestival.co.uk, (2014). goNORTH - Scotland's Leading Creative Industries
Festival - Inverness, June 2014. [online] Available at:
http://gonorthfestival.co.uk/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
Leightronix.com, (2014). The Benefits of Attending a Trade Show |
LEIGHTRONIX Blog. [online] Available at: http://leightronix.com/blog/thebenefits-of-attending-a-trade-show/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
Lobo, P. (2014). Yamaha 3500P Power amp: Good for NS 10s? - Gearslutz.com.
[online] Gearslutz.com. Available at: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/somuch-gear-so-little-time/403755-yamaha-3500p-power-amp-good-ns10as.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].

Sweetwater.com, (2014). Beginner level mics for small recitals/classical music.

[online] Available at:
https://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?57893-Beginner-levelmics-for-small-recitals-classical-music [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
Sweetwater.com, (2014). Beginner level mics for small recitals/classical music.
[online] Available at:
https://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?57893-Beginner-levelmics-for-small-recitals-classical-music [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
TheFreeDictionary.com, (2014). forum. [online] Available at:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/forum [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014].
Wikipedia, (2014). Convention (meeting). [online] Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_(meeting) [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014].