How to resolve AdBlock issue? PAMA wraps Successful 2024
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) was involved in a flurry of activity in 2024, including its speaker series with industry experts and awarding its fourth annual scholarship to deserving students studying professional audio. Pictured above are representatives from PAMA member companies gathered in Nashville in summer 2024 for an annual retreat in front of the city’s famed Blackbird Studio.
Live online lecture events are a key part of PAMA’s program throughout the year, giving PAMA’s membership and the industry at large the opportunity to hear directly from experts on a variety of pertinent topics in a webinar setting. Two highlights from the 2024 program were “Music & Audio for Video Games” on December 12 with prominent video game composer Frank Klepacki; and “Preventing Hearing Injury from Loud Music: Strategies and Tools” with Doctor of Audiology and Sensaphonics founder and president, Dr. Michael Santucci AuD., on August 22. These sessions and others can be viewed at the website below.
PAMA also continued its ongoing PAMA Member Spotlight blog series of biographies and career profiles of PAMA members. The 2024 calendar year saw new profiles of Robert Clyne, President and CEO, Clyne Media, Inc.; PAMA Treasurer and incoming Board President Yvonne Ho, Co-founder and Vice President Sales & Marketing, Point Source Audio; Golden Preciado, Training Specialist, QSC; and Casey Johnson, VP of Business Development for the Americas, d&b audiotechnik. These features and past entries in the series can be found at the website below.
The summer saw an exciting and long-awaited trek to Nashville for an in-person PAMA annual member retreat. This event comprised three days of exclusive tours, industry speakers, networking, and of course great food, drinks and live music. Chris Regan, outgoing PAMA President (and Co-Founder, Chief Innovation Officer at RF Venue), stated, “Traditionally, once a year, PAMA visits a member company location and tours its facility, but we decided to try something different this year and worked to put together an incredible itinerary in Nashville that touched all aspects of pro audio from iconic recording studios, to custom guitars to live sound venues and expert panel discussions.” Regan did a full writeup of the event, complete with photos, available on LinkedIn.
In September, PAMA in partnership with Shure Incorporated announced the 2024 recipients of the fourth annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship. Brunner, a long-time Shure executive, a past president of PAMA and a leading voice in the professional audio community, had an unwavering passion for education and mentorship throughout his career. Each scholarship is offered annually to students worldwide who are pursuing an education in professional audio. The current recipients are Valor Swezey from University of New Haven (for the second year) and Narek Manoukian from Southern Utah University and Mei Hei from Berklee College of Music (each for the first year).
PAMA also serves as an informal aggregator of industry data, tracking trends and taking the temperature of evolving relevant issues through surveys and ongoing discussions. November saw the publication of a PAMA report on the lasting effects of the disruptions to the supply chain brought about by the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, a vast majority (approximately 86%) of industry-leading professional audio manufacturers who responded to the survey reported that their companies were moderately to majorly affected by pandemic-born supply chain disruptions and the simultaneous interruptions in semiconductor fabrication. The report and previous reports are available in the Press section of PAMA’s website.
Online and live events and further investigations of industry trends and issues are in the works for 2025, along with explorations of further ways to promote excellence in professional audio.