Our industry is in need of urgent support! Almost 6 months ago we watched our busy work calendars empty & now our warehouses show the stark reality, empty of people, but full of equipment unused and gathering dust…

#LightItInRed is a UK based direct action lighting protest that is scheduled to take place on the night of Monday 6^th July 2020 … to draw attention to the critical condition of the UK live event and entertainment industry and its need for special government support to see it through to re-starting. The dynamic “creative sector” which includes live entertainment, music, events, theatre, performance, and the arts generates around £110 billion annually (based on DCMS figures) for the UK economy … and is known for its invention, passion, and flair.

Red Alert is also being supported by numerous companies, professionals, organisations and other individuals and practitioners working in the entertainment technology industry and performing arts sector. The Red Alert campaign’s goal is to get the live entertainment and technical production sector in front of politicians, specifically those in the exchequer and at the DCMS (Department of Culture Media & Sport), the latter as the industry’s representatives at parliamentary level.

UK lighting rental company Clearsound Productions has not let the Coronavirus lockdown stop them from shining their lights … to boost morale in their ‘hood, send messages of positive energy and show solidarity for all those frontline and essential workers putting their lives on the line as the country battles the virus. In a resounding Sunday night collective action – the largest to date - on 19^th April, over 50 lighting and laser companies joined Clearsound to shine lights in the sky, united by the hashtag #ourshininglight

30 September 2020 marked the #WeMakeEvents Global Action Day, in which countries from across the globe came together in solidarity to highlight the plight that is currently facing the worldwide live events industry. In total, over 25 countries took part at 8pm local time, with activations delivering a range of creative responses, such as lighting iconic buildings in red to highlight how the industry is in red alert, as well as beaming shafts of white light into the sky to highlight the mass job losses.

Over the last five months, the #WeMakeEvents campaign has been tirelessly raising awareness around the current plight facing the live entertainment sector and its urgent need for financial support if it is to survive the Covid-19 crisis. With the introduction of tier systems and the continued local lockdowns, this means that hosting live events has become even more difficult than before. As such, the campaign is continuing to make its voice heard and will continue raising as much awareness as possible, as seen with the Survival in the Square creative activation which will take place later this month.

Award-winning author, journalist and radio and TV personality Stephen J. Dubner will deliver the keynote address during the NAB Show opening session, sponsored by Blackmagic Design, Monday, April 16. Dubner is the co-author of the international bestsellers "Freakonomics" and "SuperFreakonomics."

On 11^th August, the live events industry across the UK will come together in solidarity to host a series of creative action to help save the live events and entertainment sector, which is on the verge of collapsing without financial support from the government. Hundreds of venues are expected to turn their lights red, along with other creative activities being staged in over 20 cities across the UK to symbolise the industry going into red alert, and a final call to action titled ‘Throw us a line’ will be taking centre stage on London’s South Bank.

Five music industry stalwarts, who cycled even further than Land’s End to John O’Groats, arrived in London this weekend (Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October), stopping at iconic venues in the capital including O2 Academy Brixton, The O2, Alexandra Palace, Roundhouse, The SSE Arena, Wembley, The Tabernacle, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Eventim Apollo, to the Royal Albert Hall, after cycling 1,700km across the country, starting in Newcastle via more than 130 iconic live entertainment venues and festival sites in Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham, Oxford, Bristol, Bournemouth, Brighton and more.

With 15 of the biggest Chutney Soca artists in the world taking part, the recent Chutney Soca Monarch competition, held at Skinner Park in Trinidad’s San Fernando, was the biggest of its kind in the world, showcasing talent from North America, the Caribbean and the UK. This event has been taking place for the past 18 years under the organisation of George Singh’s South Ex Event Management.

On July 14, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, more than 400,000 spectators celebrated in Paris “Bastille Day”, the National Holiday in France, marking the beginning of the modern French nation. And to Lawo, it was a further chance to demonstrate the power of their latest live and broadcast technologies.

For the past 11 years, LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) in all its guises has been THE umbrella organisation that represents the UK’s live music business. It’s members include the Entertainment Agents’ Association, the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM), the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), the Concert Promoters Association (CPA), the Music Managers Forum (MMF), the National Arenas Association (NAA), the Production Services Association (PSA) and the Music Venue Trust (MVT). In other words, the Live Music Supply Chain, in full.

Better View – Sometimes you have to step back a little way from the noise, excitement and hype around all of the new technology coming at you and take a cold, hard look at what is really going to impact the billions of consumers on the planet.

One of the biggest annually-held events in southern Germany is the "Blue Night" in Nuremberg, in which artists deal with the theme of light and present their work to the public. According to the organizers, the Blue Night attracted more than140,000 visitors to the Nuremberg city center and thus was a complete success.

In the 1970’s, while he was a student at the University of Colorado, Director Lee Aronsohn fell in love with the music of the Boulder Revolution and the band Magic Music. Since the band’s break up in 1976, any trace of their music has been virtually impossible to find. Four decades later, superfan Aronsohn tracked down the original band members and convinced them to get back together in Boulder for one sold-out reunion concert that was documented in the film, 40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie. To preserve the integrity of the band’s original performances for the film, Production Sound Mixer David Griesinger used a selection of microphones from DPA Microphones.