We need your ideas and suggestions for the Pro Sound Awards! The lobbying period remains open until the end of May. The first Pro Sound Awards will be held at Ministry of Sound on 19 September 2013, and it’s already shaping up to be quite the shindig. Sennheiser, DiGiCo, Focusrite Novation, Fineline Media Finance, Martin Audio and now Sony Professional are already onboard as sponsors. The Awards will cover the spectrum of pro-audio, recognising excellence in the four sectors of Live/Touring, Studio, Installed Sound and Broadcast Audio, along with four special awards for Rising Star, Marketing Campaign/Initiative of the Year, Grand Prix and Lifetime Achievement. Some 16 different accolades will be up for grabs during the evening. There will also be a complimentary drinks reception and post-awards party. Of particular interest to readers of Installation will be the three ‘Installed Sound’ awards. These are Team of the Year, Permanent Installation Project of the Year and Temporary Installation Project of the Year. (This threesome is currently seeking a sponsor: email [email protected] or [email protected] for more on that.)
Who is eligible for each award? The boundaries are intentionally broad, in order to entice as many entries as possible.
– For Team of the Year, we’re looking for ‘Any specifier/consultancy/installation company showing exemplary work with audio on a commercial project or projects’. As with all of the categories, projects don’t have to be purely audio projects, but as the awards are for installed sound there must be a significant audio element.
– For the Permanent Installation Project award, we’re after ‘Any permanent installation project with significant audio content worthy of wider recognition’. We deliberately haven’t set any wider criteria than these, so it’s up to you to explain whether the projects you nominate are special because of the sheer scale of the endeavour, or because of a novel use of technology, because of how the project has been received, or any other reason.
– And for Temporary Installation Project, nominations should be for ‘Any service provider/equipment supplier/distributor/installation team demonstrating outstanding support on or contribution to a temporary installation project’. Similarly to the Permanent Installation Award, just about any type of contribution made to a project can be considered – you just need to put forward a compelling case.
All suggested nominations should apply to events between 9 September 2012 (…that’s after the Olympics) until the lobbying period closes: 31 May 2013.
How do you lobby for your nominee? Lobbying is free, anyone can do it, and making your thoughts known is easy.
Read through the categories and see which one(s) you feel you want to make a pitch for: and you can nominate yourself. Send your short pitch (up to 300 words MAXIMUM) for each award under consideration to [email protected]. Provide as much factual information as possible – data and evidence of notable successes are invaluable. Up to three hotlinks to relevant material online can also be provided. And by all means ask your colleagues or industry friends to make their feelings known. The more relevant detail present in your contribution, the easier it will be to sift through the great number of lobbying suggestions we expect to receive. But please – no more than 300 words per entry. Based on the email lobbying, the Pro Sound Awards team will create a list of finalists for each category. This process involves looking at the performance of those nominated companies over the past year, plus the information provided by the lobbying emails. We DON’T base finalist positions on the number of emails we receive about a particular company. A shortlist of finalists for each category will be presented to a large panel of judges from across the spectrum of the pro-audio industry. These judges ultimately will choose the winners of each Pro Sound Award (with the exception of the Grand Prix and Lifetime Achievement – these will be chosen by the Pro Sound Awards team). So drop us a line with your suggestion(s), fast! A full list of award categories, details of eligibility and so on, is available on the lobbying page. (www.prosoundawards.com/lobby) Early bird tickets are currently available for the 19 September event for just £30. For other enquiries about the awards, contact [email protected]www.prosoundawards.com
