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Launch of AudioNET V4 Surviving on a diet consisting only of coffee and chocolate crackles we spent the last weekend in November installing AudioNET® V4. We're pleased to say V4 has been very well received, especially by embattled radio producers, who now no longer have to log-in to download new spots. Studios are already making use of new features such as pausing deliveries and the key number match for fulfilling orders, has been a big winner. Here's a quick reminder of some of the new features:
Again, a huge thank you to all the people from studios and radio stations who helped with suggestions for the new version and with beta-testing prior to the installation. Kath Takes a Leap of Faith Risk Sound's studio manager Kath Momsen literally jumped at an opportunity to help celebrate a mate's birthday in November - and says the memory of her first skydive still gives her an adrenalin rush. The whole thing started as a birthday adventure for Chris Reynolds, who runs Active Motion film editing upstairs at Risk Sound. "It was something I always thought I'd like to do, so I said yes," Kath says. Once at the site in Nagambie near Shepparton, there wasn't much lead-in before the big leap. "They put us in jumpsuits and hung us off a frame-thing to show us what to do and the next thing I know you're strapped fairly intimately to an instructor and in a plane." ..."I'd love to do it again."... Kath says it was the most "extraordinary experience." "It's actually also a very very personal experience," she says. "There's the outward thing of wow, and the physical feeling of the fall but also the inwardness of the lesson of putting your life in someone else's hands is extraordinary." Kath says she'd jump at the opportunity to do it again. "There was someone filming the whole time and you're distracted by the fact of having a person with a camera in your face telling you to look up and smile while you're falling 14,000 feet at 200 kilometres an hour. I'd love to experience it again without the distraction. "The free falling is extraordinary and then you pull the chute and there's the slow glide down with the great view. "My adrenalin didn't stop pumping for an hour. When I got on the ground I called a friend and just screamed down the phone." McCosh No Longer a Flight Risk Freelance engineer and frequent traveler Paul McCosh has decided to settle down in Melbourne and has taken up residence at Risk Sound. For the past few years, Paul's been chasing the sun: composing and recording electronic dance music in Europe and then coming home to Melbourne in time for the pre-Christmas rush and freelancing at various studios including Flagstaff and Metropolis. "But then I started to look at the future and I really started to think about when I'd be 40 and 50. And I thought that if I kept going down this avenue now I'll lose touch with the post production industry all together. So I wanted to stop doing the music and go back to fulltime and plant my feet," Paul muses. So he skipped the European summer this year and worked full time doing producing at Metropolis, filling in while Polly was on leave overseas (ironically in Europe.) "It was during that period that Phil got in touch with me about starting full-time over here. I thought it was great fortune that all that came about." When he got to Risk he discovered that Phil intended to convert his own analogue studio to pro-tools and that would be Paul's new "home." "Even when he told me before I started here, that was his idea I thought "wow are you sure you want to do this." But at the same time I was absolutely honoured that he was going to invite me in during that process. We're still all a bit spun out here that it's all going to happen." Paul says it never occurred to him to try engineering in Europe or Sydney and says Risk is the perfect home. "If the studios were in Byron Bay it would be heaven on earth." Your Bits - Studio news
Party Pics "Tis the season to be jolly - and the best way to be jolly is to throw a party. Tiger hosted guests at their Neutral Bay Studios, Sound Reservoir decked out Jones Bay Wharf with blue lanterns, GAS partied at the Olive Grove across the road and RISK evoked childhood fun at Luna Park.
Kiwis Import AWARDS AWARD decided to look further afield for judges this year and it certainly paid off for the Kiwis, who took home all the radio gongs. DDB New Zealand won two silvers and a bronze AWARD Award for their spots for 42 Below Vodka and Publicis Mojo won a bronze for HP computers. Closer to home Human won two bronze AWARDS for original music in TVC and Cinema for TVCs for Visa and Wizard Home Loans. Gusto and Song Zu won a bronze each for Original Music in the TVC and Cinema Craft categories, for Nike and Toyota respectively. Full list of winners at: www.awardonline.com Beer and Chickens Attract Sirens The first winners of the new Siren Awards for radio advertising have been announced by Commercial Radio Australia. George Patterson Bates in Melbourne won the Radio Campaign Category for VB spots and 141 Worldwide in Sydney won the Radio Single Category for the Lost Chicken Helpline. Josh Stephens and Ben Coulson from George Patterson Bates and Stephen Coll from 141 Worldwide Sydney are now in the running for the major prize - a trip for two to Cannes to be entered into the inaugural Cannes Radio Lions in 2005. Judges included Jonathon Kneebone (Glue Society); Peter Baker (Glue Society); Craig Moore (Campaign Palace); Brad Grisaffe (Audiobrien); Stephen Yolland (Decisions, Decisions); Peter Withy (KWP! Advertising) and Ralph van Dijk (Eardrum). The Siren Awards are the work of the Siren Creative Council set up under the auspices of Commercial Radio Australia, to promote excellence in radio advertising. Entry is free and round 2 is now open. Follow this link to hear the winners and finalists for round 1. Who's On Top Here's a quick summary of who finished on top of the radio ratings after eight surveys in 2004. The Sydney market was the most volatile during the year as 2GB consolidated its relatively new ascendancy. Nova and the ABC's 702 came in second and third respectively. The big shock of the year was 2DAY which started at number 2 and finished at number 8. In Melbourne nothing could knock 3AW off the number one spot but Gold and Fox dropped out of the top three during the course of the year and ABC774 and Nova celebrate Christmas in number two and three spots. Brisbane's Austereo stablemates B105 and MMM swapped positions to finish the year's final survey at number two and number one respectively. 97.3FM stayed put in third place. In Adelaide there was also a one-two swap with SAFM dropping down and MIX 102 moving up. 5AA dropped out of the top three altogether and ABC891 moved in. The ABC also did well in Perth, moving from number three to number two by the end of the year. 94.5 held the top spot easily all year and 92.9 dropped out of the top three, while 96FM edged in. Bank Gives Regional Stations the Works The regional stations formerly owned by DMG and RG Capital are now all owned by the Macquarie Bank. The Bank has renamed the network MRWorks (Macquarie Radio Works - presumably because they can't call it Macquarie Radio because 2GB and 2CH remain the last vestiges of what used to be the Macquarie Radio Network.) You will have noticed on your AudioNET® Dispatch page that some stations have two names - their former name and their MRWorks designation. That's because everything remains in a state of flux for 12 months while Macquarie Bank works out how to comply with ABA regulations which limit it to two stations in each market. Courtesy of buying two regional networks, MRWorks now owns three to four stations in many key regional markets. It now also owns the Regional Radio Bureau which represents all the MRWorks stations as well as stations owned by Grant Broadcasters, the Ace Group, Redwave radio and some independents. Macquarie Bank has indicated it intends to keep the RRB but there's speculation about a name change in the New Year. Our Bits - AudioNET® Christmas Message One of the great things about Christmas is the generosity of spirit (alcoholic and the real kind) it brings out in people. It also heralds the end of another year, prompting reflection on times past and planning for the future. Over the last 12 months we've welcomed new staff and new clients and enjoyed the satisfaction of adding new relationships to our existing ones. I'd particularly like to thank Sandy Campbell who joined us in September to run our Sydney office. As well as providing great support for our Sydney clients, Sandy's a fun member of our team and a welcome voice of support for radio stations and clients in distress. Vaughan Roberts' dedication behind the scenes probably goes unnoticed by many, but not by us. This year has been particularly challenging because of the release of AudioNET® V4 which Vaughan managed single-handedly. Being a perfectionist he's still not 100% happy but given that we've incorporated virtually all the suggestions from studios and stations, I would like to publicly congratulate him on a job well done. We've also welcomed many new clients this year some of whom will be celebrating their first Christmases with us, and also their first Christmases in new studios. As a small business in an increasingly competitive industry we are extremely fortunate to be able to work with clients we respect and have fun with. Many of you have become good friends and we appreciate the trust you have in us and the advice and suggestions you share with us so we can improve our service. We particularly appreciate the feedback and goodwill we get from producers and traffic managers in the radio stations We deliver to. You're the ones hanging around late in the day waiting for breakfast spots that have to be scheduled before you can go home. Your co-operation and feedback is an integral part of AudioNET deliveries. Your support this year has been invaluable and we hope we've helped reduce your stress levels. What I'm really trying to say is that we take none of this support for granted. Over the past few weeks we've been welcomed at several Christmas functions, have enjoyed gracious hospitality and received wonderful compliments. We promise we'll earn them all again next year! Naturally, deliveries as usual over Christmas and New Year. Support available on the 1800 FREAK OUT line 1800 003 155 or support@dbmsystems.com.au if you need us. Just remind your clients that many radio stations will have skeleton staffing over Christmas so they'll get better service if they can deliver as early as possible. Have a great Christmas and New Year and here's to a prosperous 2005. Cheers, p.s here's our famous Chocolate Crackles recipe. Chocolate Crackles Recipe 250g block copha Melt copha. Stir into all the dry ingredients. Spoon mixture into paper muffin or cake pans and set in the fridge. Note: The original recipe uses 4 cups of rice bubbles + 1 cup of icing sugar + 3 tablespoons of cocoa. AudioNET® Thought For The Day "One of the nice things about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with a present." - anonymous.
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Killer Bits: December 2004
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