By Steve Oppenheimer

(December 2006)

The 2006 AES show is history, and as usual, we had a blast seeing all the new tools and catching up with old friends. Between product demos, press conferences, and preparing our coverage, we were busier than ants at a picnic. And a fine picnic it was! We saw lots of new applications of existing technology, a few new directions, and plenty of just plain good stuff. To get the whole scoop, read our online show report at www.emusician.com.

This year we produced a cool blog from our AES booth with sister publications Mix and Remix. Even better, the three editorial staffs coproduced a series of Podcasts and videos that present interviews and product demos captured live at the show. Most of these podcasts and videos focus on manufacturers explaining their new wares, but some of my favorites are interviews with luminaries such as George Massenburg, Elliot Scheiner, and Geoff Emerick. If you want to know what these legends thought were cool at the show, point your browser to our site.

A quick note: the AES podcasts and videos are posted on Mix’s Web site (www.mixonline.com), but you also can access them from our site via links; they are, in fact, a joint venture. The podcasts were edited by Mix’s Kevin Becka. The videos are called Tech Minutes, and they were shot and edited by Jonathan Sontag and directed by various editors. I highly recommend you check them out.

Producing blogs, podcasts, and videos is far from being a one-time experiment. Mix has created show blogs in the past, including a joint blog with EM and Remix at the 2006 Winter NAMM show. This past AES, however, was the first show where we emphasized podcasts and videos, and we’ll have much more electronic coverage at future trade shows, starting with the upcoming Winter NAMM show in January 2007. During the coming year, we’ll present a wide variety of mixed-media coverage that will go well beyond trade-show coverage.

As part of our increased online and new media efforts, we have undergone some internal reorganization. For starters, former group publisher Dave Reik has taken on a new challenge that includes directing our circulation efforts and our fast-growing online Mixbooks store, but most important, involves developing some Very Big Plans I can’t tell you about yet. Let’s just say that sometime around the end of this year or in early 2007 we’re going to make you an offer you won’t want to refuse. On the editorial side, to help lead Electronic Musician, Mix, Remix, Music Education Technology, and Live Design into the brave new world of online multimedia information delivery, former Mix editor-in-chief Tom Kenny has been promoted to editorial director. Senior VP Pete May will act as interim group publisher.

The bottom line is that we’re retooling, working more closely with our sister publications, and gearing up to provide the best recording and sound-design information available. We feel that it’s a great way to end 2006 and launch into 2007!