>> RPM Direct and the Music Business Registry To Release 2nd Edition Producer/Engineer Directory

RPM Direct, Inc. and The Music Business Registry are set to release another print edition of the online directory at RPMDirect.com. We still have very affordable b&w and color advertising available starting at $200. Interested in reaching thousands of music industry professionals with your company or service? Please go here for our ad rates. Meanwhile, please add us to your lists for your studio, client or company press. If you have recording industry related news, producer, engineer news, studio sessions news, announcements, producer client updates, pro audio product news, music for review or something else to contribute, send it to News@rpmdirect.com. We Want to hear from you.

>> Sanctuary Pulls The Plug On UK Producer Management Office

Sanctuary Producer Management UK, a division of The Sanctuary Group, has been shuttered. The closure of this division of the debt-laden music group is just the latest from the company that has seen recent lay-offs and other cost saving moves. Alan Cowderoy - the former Director of SPM UK - will continue to work out of his office at The Townhouse in London and will remain the management contact for the following clients: Kevin Bacon & Jonathan Quarmby, David Bascombe, Markus Dravs, Lenny Franchi, Hugh Jones, Steve & Pete Lewinson, Richard Rainey, Chris Sheldon, Ian Stanley, Ali Staton, Cenzo Townshend and Sam Williams. Stay tuned to RPM Direct for Alan's new contact information and any updates to his client roster. In the meantime, Alan and his associate Claire Southwick can be reached via The Town House on +(44) 020 8932 3200.

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>> Sound Reinforcement Takes Center Stage At 199th AES in New York

Reflecting its increased commitment to content for sound reinforcement professionals – from large-scale touring rock shows to Broadway theater sound design corporate/sporting event and in-store wireless audio systems -- the 119th AES Convention has been themed Where Audio Comes Alive. The Convention will be held October 7-10, 2005 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. "Following the success of our expanded Sound Reinforcement program at the 118th Convention in Barcelona this May, our NYC show will take an unprecedented look at the science, art and technology that are driving live sound for performance and installation,” said AES Executive Director Roger Furness. “We have gained widespread industry support for this initiative and Live Sound Events Co-Chairs John Kilgore & Mary Falardeau are developing the most comprehensive series of workshops and training events in AES Convention history. Some 14 individual workshops are being planned, covering a range of topics including: Broadway Designers Symposium: The Musicals; Intercom For Large Scale Events - Olympics, Superbowl, etc.; Wireless Management In Stressful Environments – RF in live events; Industrial Strength Audio – Corporate Theater and its Peculiarities; Surround Live – A Special Pre-Convention Event organized by Fred Ampel; A unique series of sponsored training sessions. John Kilgore is a leading sound designer, recording engineer, and owner of John Kilgore Sound & Recording in NYC (formerly Masque Sound & Recording where he served as director of recording services since 1986). His credits include designing sound for musicals by Cannonball Adderley, Ray Davies, Todd Rundgren, Randy Newman and Stephen Sondheim. His mixing credits include On The Transmigration of Souls which won three 2005 Grammies including Best Classical Album. Mary Falardeau is Project Coordinator for Wireless First, one of the industry’s leading specialists in live sound wireless integration. She has worked as a project manager for theater, television, corporate and concert sound events for the past 14 years. Last year’s 117th AES Convention in San Francisco was named the #1 show in the world of sound reinforcement professionals in a poll of readers/visitors of ProSoundWeb and Live Sound International. The 117th AES Convention drew nearly 4,000 highly-qualified sound reinforcement and sound installation professionals. This year the AES has launched an ambitious marketing initiative designed to further expand attendance from this vital category for this year's show

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>> Michael Brauer Hits #1 With Colplay's X&Y

Congratulations to Michael Brauer for having mixed yet another #1 album this year – Coldplay’s X&Y. The band's new album broke sales records worldwide, debuting at #1 in 28 countries, and after two weeks is platinum or multi-platinum in every territory. Michael has recently completed mixing albums for Paul McCartney, Ben Folds, Athlete, Dream Theater, and Lucie Silvas; and singles that include The Bravery, The Duke Spirit, Magic Numbers, Polyphonic Spree, Breaking Benjamin, and Gemma Hayes. He was most recently in the studio mixing the forthcoming Daniel Lanois produced Dashboard Confessional album. Also, as of now Erik Eger is pleased to announce that he will be representing Michael exclusively for the world. For more information contact Erik Eger at THREEE (212) 684-9242 or erik@threee.biz.

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>> Magic Shop Filled With Music, Work By Burning Spear, Rogue Wave, Marah

Burning Spear has been lighting up the Magic Shop Recording Studios for two months, tracking and mixing a new album with Barry O'Hare engineering and Nino Caccavale and Tom Psipsikas assisting. Producer John Goodmanson mixed Socratic for Drive Thru Records and Rogue Wave for Sub Pop at Magic Shop. And, Greg Fidelman came by with Keith Caputo of Life of Agony to track vocals for Roadrunner Records. Magic Shop owner/producer Steve Rosenthal mixed Sam Cooke's Live At Harlem Square Club for Sony/BMG Legacy with Rob Santos producing and Psipsikas assisting. Rosenthal did the analog-to-digital transfers at the Blue Room with Brian Thorn. Meanwhile, Marah tracked and mixed their new album at Magic Shop for Yep Rock, with Matt Boynton and Rosenthal engineering, assisted by Psipsikas and Nino Caccavale. And, Josh Deutsch returned to the Magic Shop to track Virgin artist Tristin Prettyman. Fun Lovin' Criminals also came back to the Shop to track their latest album with Tim Latham producing and engineering, and Boynton assisting. And, Al Kooper came by to overdub and mix his first solo album in 30 years on Sony/Favored Nations. Rosenthal, Kooper and Boynton mixed the record, with assistance from Caccavale. John Agnello returned to Magic Shop to mix tracks for The Sands and Steve Wynn, and Louise Attaque recorded new tracks for their upcoming release on Atmospheriques with Mark Plati producing. And, artist Megan Reilly recorded for Carrot Top Records, with Psipsikas and Caccavale engineering. In the Blue Room recently: the original masters of the John Phillips solo album, The Wolfking of LA, were transferred for new release this fall, a number of Joseph Arthur live shows were mastered, and DJ Sasha spent a week mixing tracks.
And, the BBC Scotland's NY Sessions series have been recorded live at The Living Room, the popular Lower East Side music venue co-owned by Rosenthal. Psipsikas recorded the sessions live, and Rosenthal and Alaisdair MacCuish mixed them. Participating New York performers included Jesse Harris, Clare Muldaur, Dana Kurtz, Suphala, Nervous Cabaret, Kaiku, Curtis Eller, Spokinn Movement, Nation Beat, Slavic Soul Orchestra, Akoya, Outer National, Adam Matta, and many more. Magic Shop www.magicshopny.com.

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>> Quincy Jones To Compose 50 Cent Movie

50 Cent is to star in a movie about an orphan who becomes a drug dealer before making it as a famous rapper, directed by Jim Sheridan. The story mirrors the real life of 50 Cent - real name Curtis Jackson - who was jailed for selling crack before finding fame. Quincy Jones was nominated for two music Oscars for The Color Purple in 1985 and was also nominated for the film scores for In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Italian Job and The Wiz. Get Rich or Die Tryin' is named after 50 Cent's first hit album, which since its release in 2002 has made him one of the biggest stars in the rap world. Irish director Jim Sheridan's previous credits include My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father and In America, which all received Oscar nominations. Get Rich or Die Tryin' is due for release in the US in December, and in the UK in January. The script has been written by Terence Winter, who wrote many of the episodes of gritty TV drama The Sopranos.

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Ocean Way Nashville has announced a change in the upper most management with the hiring of Glenda Cones as studio manager. Cones who has been with the studio's parent company Belmont University for almost a decade, was formerly director of strategic programs for the Mike Curb School of Music Business. She takes the helm of the Nashville studio with anticipation of some incredible changes as well as thoughts of nurturing the legacy of quality and service Ocean Way has established in the past 10 years on Music Row. "Ocean Way has always been committed to setting a new standard in the recording industry," she said. "I am honored to be a part of it and thrilled with the challenge of continuing to move that bar." Cones, who works along side Belmont dean and Word Records president Jim Van Hook is excited about the switch in work environment from campus life to studio living. "I love being in the studio and the whole creative aspect of the music business. I always have," she said. Cones is no stranger to the audio world. Her husband, producer/engineer, Mickey Cones has been a regular at Nashville studios, enforcing what Glenda has learned in her years of experience in the music industry. For more information about Ocean Way and/or to book the facility call Glenda Cones at 615-320-3900 or visit them on the web at www.oceanwaystudios.com

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>> One Union Recording Bolsters Staff as Business Ramps Up

One Union Recording, the audio post production facility in the heart of San Francisco, is proud to announce the promotion of Joaby Deal to senior engineer and introduce senior engineer Eben Carr. Deal, who has been with One Union since 1995 started as an intern and has moved up the ranks to be one of the most sought after mixers and engineers in San Francisco. His recent credits include spots for AOL ("Sushi" and "Daydreamer," which can be seen on the One Union website), Fox Sports and Stubhub. In addition to those, Deal has worked on a number of ADR sessions for such films as Monsters, Inc. and Bug's Life. Carr joins the One Union staff after six years at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners where he served as the staff audio engineer for the past six years mixing both television and radio commercials. One of the Budweiser spots he worked on aired during the 2003 Super Bowl and an eBay radio commercial won the prestigious Mercury Award earlier this year. "In addition to streamlining all the technology at One Union we have continued to make sure we have the best and brightest working here," said One Union's facility director John McGleenan. "Joaby and Eben bring a fresh talent to our facility and we're very proud to have them on our side. They've already proven their skills and we can't wait to see what they do in the future." For more information visit One Union Recording www.oneunionrecording.com

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Grammy-winning engineer Jay Newland, the engineer behind the Nora Jones albums, recently mixed an album for English newcomer Louise Setara on the SSL C200 Digital Production console at BiCoastal Music. "This was the first time I used the C200," said Newland. "I have experience on the older 6000 Series and, most recently, the 9000 Series and from a design perspective, anyone with experience on the 9000 should be up and running on the C200 in no time at all. I quickly realized that other digital consoles have standalone interfaces with a strong learning curve, while the C200 looks and acts like a 9000. The C200 gave me wonderful sound and flexible options. SSL has made the transition to digital painless." Hal Winer's intimate BiCoastal Music in Ossining, NY, was designed and specified by the Russ Berger Design Group and features the C200 digital production console as its main attraction. The console offers 96 analog I/O and 128 AES digital I/O driving a Pro Tools HD3 system with an AV SAN Fibre Drive through Russ Berger Design custom monitors. For more information visit BiCoastal Music at www.bicoastalmusic.com

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>> Music/Audio Post Vets Launch StarCity Recording Company

Audio pros Jeff Glixman, Carl Cadden-James, and Lily Salinas have partnered to open StarCity Recording Company, a state-of-the-art full-service music and audio production facility. The trio initiated this joint venture with the vision of providing a creative, relaxed setting where artists could thrive outside the stifling confines of big city corporate pressures. Jim Gentile, developer of the property and building, is the ownership partner of StarCity Recording Company. "While putting together my partnership team, I initially scouted out a different location to open a studio, but having worked on previous projects in this incredible facility, I was excited to hear about its availability," Glixman said. "Logistically, this works out much better for us, as the studio was completed and I love its sound." StarCity, housed in a 18,000 square foot location once temporarily occupied by the more corporately-driven Angel Mountain Productions is fully encompassing with respect to music and audio post-production services. The facility is designed and purpose-built to accommodate 5.1 surround production in each audio space. All the control rooms contain soffitted monitors and automatic drop-down microperf screens with projectors to handle lock-to-picture requirements. The main mixing and tracking room is equipped with an SSL XL 9000 K Series console and a scoring stage capable of accommodating a 40-piece orchestra. The audio post room, geared for film and television work, is attached to a 33' x 17' Foley studio, which can be utilized as an additional tracking space. An added attraction at StarCity is a 30' x 40' THX specified mix theatre equipped with a 96 input Harrison digital film console; 6.1 Dolby Digital EX monitoring system. The studio's close proximity to New York City and Philadelphia--reportedly one hour driving distance from each--makes StarCity an alternative for creative individuals seeking to escape from inflated costs and the break-neck pace of the cities. A world-class facility located in Bethlehem, PA, StarCity Recording Company offers clientele more than 50 years of combined professional recording experience and the state of the art in 5.1 surround sound. For more information, contact Lily Salinas at 610-865-9455.

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Mixing in surround brings your music forward, in your face and all around. A surprisingly open sense of space enables you to hear a clarity that is unheard of in traditional stereo recordings. Having more choices to place elements in the mix gives you greater detail and more room for creativity, which makes music more fun and brings back the sense of discovery we all had when we were young. This is why Aldo Vaccaro brought his "Evolutions" DVD project to Cherry Beach for mixing in 5.1 surround. “Our goal, since the beginning, was to offer our listeners the highest level of audio quality, which is why we chose Cherry Beach Sound. With the encouragement and support of studio owner Carman Guerrieri, we were able to enhance our listeners’ experience with 5.1 surround, and bring our project to a level we hadn’t considered or even dreamed of achieving. Thanks to everyone at Cherry Beach Sound. We wouldn’t have done it without you.” Aldo is putting out his own line of guitars in September called "Dual Harmony Guitars", and promoting them with “Evolution,” a DVD of songs, videos, and demonstrations. He has spent 3 weeks at Cherry Beach Sound producing the surround remixes and final mastering of the DVD. For more information visit the Cherry Beach Sound website or email Shannon Shearer at shannon@cherrybeachsound.com

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>> AFM Calls For Pension Reform

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and Employers Pension Fund (AFMEP) is an important source of retirement income for professional musicians. The fiscal health and stability of the AFMEP is thus essential for their retirement security. The AFMEP is a multiemployer pension plan subject to federal regulation, and the US Congress is actively considering legislation to modify the funding rules applicable to such plans. According to AFM President Tom Lee, "We believe any modifications to funding rules should be designed to strengthen multiemployer pension plans like the AFMEP, and should not be allowed to undermine such plans or harm plan participants like the hardworking members of the Federation." Proposals supported by the AFM, the AFL-CIO, and the National Coordinating Committee of Multiemployer Plans provide constructive reforms of multiemployer plan funding rules and avoid destructive changes to current rules. In that regard, the 96th Convention of the American Federation of Musicians calls on Congress to enact only those pension reform measures that are endorsed by the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans. Congress' overriding objective must be to reinforce multiemployer pension plans—not to weaken them. For more information visit www.afm.org

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>> Recent Session Activities At Sound On Sound Recording

Sound on Sound had another busy month with a few of the regulars, including David Bendeth, Pat Viala, Bojan Dugic and Mike Tocci, booking a significant amount of time. In Studio A (SSL 9072J), Andy Jordan and Mike Etherden were tracking the BBC Radio Drama "Above The Title"; Hawthorne Heights (Victory Records) was mixing with producer/engineer David Bendeth; Bobaflex (TVT Records) was mixing with producer Joe Viers and David Bendeth; Towers Of London (TVT Records) was mixing with David Bendeth; and Dropping Daylight (J/Octone) was also mixing with David Bendeth. In Studio B (SSL 9072J), Hot Right (Atlantic) was recording vocals and editing with various producers and engineer Carlisle Young; Barbara Cook (DRG Records) was mixing with producer Hugh Fordin and engineer Cynthia Daniels; Will Downing (Universal/Verve) was recording vocals and mixing with Ray Bardani; Labba (Jive Records) was mixing with Grown Men Music and Brian Stanley; Remy Martin (Universal) was mixing with producer David Banner and engineer Pat Viala; Heather Headley (RCA Records) was tracking with producers Neo and Tango and engineer Mike Tocci; O-Solo (TVT Records) was mixing with Omar Hurt and Pat Viala; Kanye West (Def Jam) was editing with Andrew Dawson; and Chamillionaire (Universal) was mixing with Scott Storch and Jason Goldstein. In Studio C (Sony Oxford OXF-R3), Elephant Man (VP Records) was tracking with producer Lil' Jon and engineer Steve Locke; David Banner (Universal) was recording vocals with engineer Alex Venguer; T-Payne (Jive Records) was recording vocals with Memphis and Bojan Dugic; Mashonda (J Records) was recording vocals and mixing with Swizz Beatz and Glen Marchese; and Mario Vasquez (J Records) was tracking with Ne-Yo and Mike Tocci. In Studio D (ProTools/HD4), Ice Cube w/ Snoop Dogg (Cube Vision) was tracking with Lil' Jon and Bojan Dugic; Rell (Island/Def Jam) was tracking with producers Boola and Bink and engineer Bojan Dugic; Ruben Studdard (J Records) was recording vocals with Ne-Yo and Mike Tocci; Noah (Jive Records) was tracking with D-Dot and Bojan Dugic; Tony Verderosa of Thwak! Music and Christian Wicht were tracking and editing commercial spots for Mennen Deodorant , Trojan Condoms and Herbal Essenses; and Slick Rick (Def Jam) was tracking with Bojan Dugic. For more information visit www.soundonsoundstudios.com

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>> XM And Napster Partner To Launch 'XM + Napster' Integrated Music Service

Napster and XM Satellite Radio have announced a long-term, strategic partnership that will take the digital music experience to new heights with the integration of their satellite radio and online music services for listening online and on a variety of MP3 players. The collaboration will debut with the launch of "XM + Napster," the first online service to provide a single interface for accessing, purchasing, and managing music from XM and Napster. "XM + Napster" will be the exclusive, integrated service for digital music subscriptions and downloading for XM's 4.4 million-plus subscribers. The co-branded "XM + Napster" service will be marketed by XM and Napster, and launched in the fourth quarter of 2005 in conjunction with the availability of new XM/MP3 players with XM's Connect and Play technology, which will give XM subscribers the ability to listen to XM's 150-plus channels of live programming on the player, in the car or at home, store songs in the player's memory, and mark the songs they like for future reference or online purchase. When the XM/MP3 player is connected to a PC, the "XM + Napster" service will match the marked XM song titles with Napster's massive music catalog; available songs can be purchased individually for on-demand listening and transferred to the player for a completely portable experience. The "XM + Napster" service will also enable XM subscribers to manage their entire digital music collection in one location, giving them the freedom to create playlists that contain music from a variety of sources. In addition, the "XM + Napster" service will allow XM subscribers who listen to XM Radio Online, the Internet radio service that offers more than 70 XM music channels, to listen to music they hear on XM and purchase music for transfer to a variety of compatible MP3 players. For more information visit www.napster.com

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>> Bits & Pieces...

Producer/ Engineer Rick Slater has finished the eight song EP “Ruby Red” by Christine Havrilla. WXPN of Philadelphia immediately began playing the song “Loneliest Girl” from an advance copy while the CD release at The World Café sold out in advance. The tracks were cut at Bearsville Studio’s The Barn with overdubs at Milkboy Recording, Mars Audio, and mixes at Larry Gold’s The Studio in Philadelphia. Select labels are being approached. For more information contact Rick at (914)787-8156 or slicraider@optonline.net

Rich Travali mixed several tracks on the new Slim Thug album Already Platinum (Star Trak/Geffen), which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 this week! Rich also recently mixed tracks for upcoming albums from Twista (Atlantic), Robin Thicke (Interscope), Ali & Big Gipp (Universal), and 216 (Universal). For more information, contact Andy Kipnes, Mark Beaven, Heather Hawkins, Mio Vukovic, Peter Lloyd, Becky Scott, Tara Kelly, or Justin Gressley. Advanced Alternative Media 212-924-2929

Recessive Gene Records artist Katherine Schell just finished her debut album Emptier Streets in CRC's Studio 4. Crc's Mathieu Lejeune and guitarist Stefan Clark produced the session with Sean Geyer assisting. Kanye West was in Studio 5 working with CRC Engineer Chris Steinmetz on some new material. The Mobile Unit has been busy on the road. Chris Shepard and Stuart Holverson recorded a slew of bands, including The Secret Machines, at The Bonnaroo Festival. For more information contaact Mathieu Lejeune at matlejeune@hotmail.com

5.1 Entertainment Group Chairman and CEO John Trickett announces the appointment of Jon Burk to Marketing Manager, to be based in the company’s home office in Los Angeles. In his new position, Burk will be responsible for developing and overseeing marketing efforts that will ensure growth, aid in product and service development, and increase consumer awareness of the company and its products. He will also lead the marketing department’s short and long-range business objectives, while reporting directly to Trickett. www.5point1.net

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