Editorial: ‘It is incredibly important that there are equal opportunities in the pro audio industry’

"Music resonates in so many parts of the brain that we can’t conceive of it being an isolated thing. It’s whom you were with, how old you were, and what was happening that day.”

I didn’t write that. David Byrne of Talking Heads did, in his wonderful 2012 book, How Music Works.

I don’t just like that quote because it’s from one of my favourite books – Byrne’s made an accurate observation about the profound effect music can have on us. He just explains it much more eloquently than I can.

The cultural and indeed economic value of music was made clear this September, when music industry trade organisation UK Music released its 2017 Measuring Music report highlighting the UK music industry’s £4.4 billion contribution to the national economy in 2016, a six per cent increase between 2015 and 2016.

More music is being made, more people are listening to music and more people are paying to see music live. All of this activity trickles down through the industry and means that more jobs are being created in the production, recording studio and music technology sectors.

It is incredibly important that there are equal opportunities in the pro audio industry"

The report also showed that music producers, recording studios and staff accounted for 11,300 of the 142,208 total jobs in the wider music business, a 19 per cent increase on the previous year. Music producers, recording studios and staff contributed £121 million to the national economy.

This is obviously great news for the pro audio industry and positive figures like this strengthen the argument for more investment in training to equip the next generation of professionals to enter the growing workforce. At the same time, it is incredibly important that the workforce is diverse, with equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their background or gender.

Some companies are using their clout in the industry to try make a change in this regard, such as Red Bull Studios, and you can read more about its #NormalNotNovelty training sessions on p16.

It also seems appropriate, considering the strength of the UK recording studio sector (according to UK Music’s report), that this month’s issue is largely focused on the design and construction of the studios where the music is made.

If you’re a regular Audio Media International reader, you’ll probably have noticed a few changes in the pages of the magazine by now, namely a new name and a new face on the editors’ welcome page.

We’re the leading resource for the pro audio end user and we’re working very hard to keep you, the reader, informed and entertained. If you have any questions, complaints, recommendations or just want to have a chat, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.