Professional Sound - February 2019 | Page 17

2019 INDUSTRY OUTLOOK Survey SPEAKING OUT Professional Sound surveyed audio professionals across Canada to gauge the trends they anticipate for their markets in 2019 and how their outlooks have changed since this time last year. 29% say 2018 was significantly more profitable than 2017, while 33% say 2018 was slightly more profitable & 20% say it was equally profitable 31% expect this year to be signifi- cantly more profitable & 29% expect it to be slightly more profitable… 13% Only expect 2019 to be either slightly or significantly less profitable 67% expect their company to hire more employees in 2019 while only 4% expect their staff to shrink 67% are optimistic about the near future in their segment of the audio industry, 22% are unsure, & 11% are pessimistic What are your thoughts on what your industry has in store for 2019 when compared to the last several years? What business, economic, and/or technological trends do you think will most impact the Cana- dian pro audio industry in 2019 and beyond? “I think audio- and video- over-IP technologies will continue in their push for dominance.” “The biggest impact will be the tendency of larger AV companies to merge with and to swallow the smaller companies.” USITT’s 50 th Stage Expo & Conference Heading to Kentucky The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) says its 50 th stage expo and conference is on track to be its largest to date. The show, which takes place from March 20-23, 2019, in Louisville, KY, will host more than 200 educational sessions, hands-on trainings, and demos, while the expo will host more than 300 exhibitors. The expo floor will house six stages presenting costume and makeup demos, tutorials, fashion shows, book signings, speakers, award presentations, the Tech Olympics, and exhibits. Conference sessions include: Interactive Sound Scapes; Current Practices and Research in Sound; Non-Linear and Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Playback Structure and Philosophy; In-Ear Monitor Fundamen- tals and Hearing Conservation; and more. As well, ESTA and USITT have again partnered on the New World Rigging Symposium, which will be held from March 19-20, 2019 in conjunction with the USITT Conference and Stage Expo. The event allows riggers and those interested in the live entertainment rigging industry to net- work and discuss current issues and new technologies. For more information, go to www.usittshow.com. “More affordable mics, more high-quality VST plug-ins, and more tablet-based apps for pro- fessional live and studio use. The home studio market will continue to grow, and video game industry growth will facilitate increased indie development studios and a need for junior sound designers.” “3D audio and spherical audio mic modeling.” “With AoIP starting to mature, we will see a settling of trends as the industry catches up to the possibilities.” Bose Corporation Acquires Cloud-Based Service ZiipRoom Bose has acquired ZiipRoom, a developer of productivity and connectivity software for meeting rooms, conferences, and devices. ZiipRoom will integrate into Bose Professional, the dedicated group within the company that focuses on the needs of professional audio designers, consultants, and system integrators. ZiipRoom CEO and co-founder Martin Bodley, former CEO of RevoLabs, will be leading the enterprise conferencing category for Bose Professional at its headquarters in Framingham, MA. For more information, contact Bose Professional: 800-994-2673, pro.bose.com. PROFESSIONAL SOUND 17