AES Reflections: 2011 in NYC

October 24th, 2011 by Trenton

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WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN: What made you come to AES? Or why did you think about visiting the just-concluded annual convention this year, even if you couldn’t? Or how come you were glad to skip it entirely?

No matter what you decided to do, there are great reasons to back up your choice. For those who made it, the annual audio pow wow was just too essential for business or pleasure to skip. There were those who were tempted but had to pass, because the industry’s increasingly challenging/ confusing economics made the trip untenable. While others, ready to see fresh leadership and direction for the sector, willingly sat it out.

Convention convo had its own flavor in 2011.

I spent the days of AES 2011 at the Javits Center and the nights absorbing New York City’s beautiful old boroughs, bouncing from one nocturnal event to another. Starting with Avid’s announcement of Pro Tools 10 Thursday night at Lincoln Center, to the show’s final bell at 4:00 PM on Sunday, it was a steady stream of breaking information, familiar faces, new friends and spirited conversations.

While in years past, the buzz has been about finding the newest/latest hardware and software, I didn’t sense very much of that this time. There were boxes and plugins debuting here and there (500-series modules for all!), but many exhibitors had nothing new to display — and were just fine with that.

R&D cycles seem longer now, and the race to compete has been replaced with just keeping pace. For many at AES 2011, simply being there was the Big Statement. In our industry, sheer survival now comes with bragging rights.

Interestingly, besides in some panels and at the citywide in-studio live band and DJ sets, I heard very little mention of…music. Among the many mic pre mavens, producers, engineers, artists, friends, and colleagues that I saw, it feels like we talked about pretty much anything but that. It was like an old mutual friend whose health felt too fragile to bring up.

There was dialogue aplenty about phattening frequencies, clip gain, and sweetening signals; powered speakers and flat FRC’s; exciting projects and possibilities; hanging in there. But that sweet source of inspiration which also provided income – music – sometimes felt a little MIA, even as we auditioned Adele in the tweeters.

We have to make sure we don’t miss our muse, even as things get complicated.

It can be hard to hum a happy tune on the show floor. So hopefully now that AES is over, everyone else who was there got to do what I’ve been doing today: listening to my favorite songs. Those are what got us here. The craving to hear new ones is what keeps us all moving ahead.

— David Weiss