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D& B AUDIOTECHNIK
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The human experience is changing with remarkable
and sometimes bewildering speed – and savvy
businesses operating at the intersection of entertainment
and technology are adapting accordingly
constant need for entertainment,
these are interesting times.
Population growth, urbanization,
longevity and technology are
irrevocably changing our behaviors and
consequently the business of leisure.
The rising population and the inexorable
trend to city living have powerful implications.
Predictions suggest that by 2050, 70% of a
population of almost 10 billion people will
live, work and be entertained in cities and
megacities, with most of this growth in Asia.
At the same time, we are living longer
(a factor driving the cruise market boom,
for example), our lives are increasingly
suffused with technology and our expectations
of entertainment are rising accordingly.
Technology and service
All of which creates new opportunities for
audiences, venues and technologists. In
response, manufacturers such as Germanybased
audio technology and solutions specialist
d&b audiotechnik are evolving their
understanding of customers’ business models
and needs, steadily locating their support
offices at the heart of these population centers –
in Asia especially – and delivering sophisticated
technology solutions to meet new challenges.
“To be attractive for a venue today, you
have to offer a high standard of service, but
also a high level of technical capability,” says
Amnon Harman, who’s been at the helm of
d&b audiotechnik since 2014. “If we look at
concert touring, for example, venues wanting
to be a stop point for global tours need to be
rider-compliant, and that increasingly means
having the very best equipment available.
“Venues are also becoming bigger, more
multipurpose and more technology driven,”
he continues. “They position themselves by
offering these high-technology services and
that becomes an integral part of their business
model. This is not only true for new venues –
we see it already in established venues.”
Audio quality
Sydney Opera House is one example of an
iconic institution that has transformed its reach
and fortunes for the 21st century. “The Sydney
Opera House changed its business model to
attract more traffic to its spaces, both indoors
and in the open air,” says Harman. “But it could
only do that by becoming more attractive, by
increasing the quality level of its main purpose,
which is music, and bringing passion across the
stage to the audience. And that is why they
decided on d&b.”
Another example is London’s venerable
Royal Albert Hall, which hosts more events
each year than there are days. “They recently
made a major move to improve their sound
capability,” says Harman. “They chose d&b
because we were able to offer a flexible audio
technology concept that would cover their
varied schedule and allow them to serve these
events using the house system in most cases.
Some touring shows will still bring their own
systems in, but most events at the venue can
now use the d&b system.”
Nor did the Royal Albert Hall stop there.
In addition to the comprehensive new
loudspeaker system, it has installed the d&b
84 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE