The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® will be focusing on issues associated with loudness with two expert panels at AES New York, taking place Oct. 16-19, 2019, at the Javits Center in New York City.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 2:45 to 4:15 p.m., the panel "The Loudness War Is Over (If You Want It)" will take place in the Special Events Room. Engineer George Massenburg will serve as moderator, with panelists to include engineers Serban Ghenea, Gimel "Guru" Keaton, Bob Ludwig, Thomas Lund and Ann Mincieli.
Now that streaming dominates the music listening landscape, it’s time to revisit what loudness really is and how to manage it. Companies including Apple, YouTube and Spotify each have their own measurement standards and loudness targets, while today’s production paradigm often lacks a traditional infrastructure of project managers and gatekeepers with technical expertise.
Artists and record companies—as they always have—want their songs to sound at least as loud as the ones playing before and after them. The stakes are high. So, what to do? The truth is the creators are responsible for understanding all of the issues in the loudness discussion. No one else is going to do it. Join them for this lively and informative conversation to shed light on both the current unhappy state of loudness and what creators can do to make it better.
The following day, Thursday, Oct. 17, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., the panel "When Loud is Not Loud: What You Need to Know About Loudness Measurement Today" will take place on the show floor at the Recording Expo Stage. Alex Kosiorek (manager of the production service Central Sound at Arizona PBS; Executive Producer of Classical Arizona PBS productions; and current AES Vice President, Western Region of USA/Canada) will serve as moderator, with panelists represented from Adobe, iZotope, Nugen and Waves.
Whether it is music or spoken word (such as podcasts), care is needed to preserve the artistic intent of the content’s creators. It is critical that producers, recording, mixing and mastering engineers understand what truly is at stake, and how to read, measure and manage the loudness of audio files. Join representatives from four audio tech companies who will inform and enlighten about the proper use of today’s loudness meters and measurement tools.
