New York, NY (November 20, 2023)—Lately, in the event you’ve heard {that a} professional audio firm was acquired, 9 instances out of 10, it was by a non-public fairness agency. Nevertheless, a string of company acquisitions this fall have been bucking the pattern.
Shure Acquires Wavemark: Shure has reached an settlement to accumulate the Finnish software program firm Ab Wavemark Oy, which creates options for theater, broadcast and content material streaming purposes. The transfer comes practically three years after Shure first made a strategic funding in Wavemark, and it brings choices like Wavetool and WTAutomixer into Shure’s software program library for audio engineers. Wavetool is an audio and listening utility that gives early detection of potential audio issues, streamlined communication capabilities with a sound crew, and centralization of monitoring functionalities.
Suitable with RF receivers from a number of producers, Wavetool can monitor as much as 128 channels from one display, and as is perhaps anticipated, the software program is appropriate with a number of Shure methods, together with Axient Digital, ULX-D, SLX-D, Axient Analog and UHF-R.
In the meantime, the WTAutomixer V2 plug-in is meant to be used by podcasters, content material creators and broadcast audio engineers, offering soundmixing capabilities because it balances quantity throughout a number of microphones whereas turning down nonactive microphones, making it acceptable for speak exhibits, dialogue panels and homes of worship.
Lenbrook Acquires MQA: Canadian residential/ business audio developer Lenbrook has acquired UK-based MQA, whose high-resolution audio encoding has been utilized by high-end streamer Tidal and others. MQA went into administration in April after it misplaced its most important backer, Reinet Investments, and issues had been solely exacerbated when Tidal CEO Jesse Dorogusker introduced on Reddit in late June that the open-source FLAC had change into “our most popular format for high-resolution audio,” although it might proceed to supply the MQA format for now.
With the acquisition, Lenbrook has bolstered its mental property portfolio with numerous MQA patents, and naturally, its proprietary audio codecs—MQA and SCL6. Simply as necessary within the acquisition, nevertheless, are MQA’s greater than 120 licensees and content material partnerships; whereas Tidal is a high-profile buyer, it’s under no circumstances the one entity working with MQA.
In an announcement, Lenbrook mentioned its main goal within the acquisition was to offer certainty for enterprise and technical developments that had been underway previous to MQA’s administration. Consequently, Lenbrook retained a core group of engineers and builders, and gross sales and advertising personnel. The assertion went on to underscore the brand new father or mother firm’s religion in MQA’s expertise and imaginative and prescient by characterizing itself as “a secure and well-capitalized group that takes a long-term view of investments and market growth.”
DiGiCo Acquires Fourier Audio: DiGiCo has acquired UK-based Fourier Audio, bringing the dwell sound software program developer and producer beneath the umbrella of DiGiCo’s father or mother firm, Audiotonix, which additionally contains manufacturers akin to Allen & Heath, Calrec, DiGiGrid, Klang:applied sciences, Harrison, Slate Digital, sonible, Sound Units and Stable State Logic.
Fourier is a UK-based startup whose options have been put to make use of on a variety of Broadway and West Finish theater productions, together with worldwide music excursions. Its crew of software program engineers and sound designers have reportedly spent the final two years growing “Venture Core,” a brand new software program platform for utilizing studio audio plug-ins in a dwell setting.
ASG Acquires AID: Bay Space media and leisure expertise and operations provider Superior Programs Group has acquired the property of Los Angeles-based integration, gross sales and assist firm Audio Intervisual Design.
AID, identified for its audio, color-grading and workflow designs and integrations, has additionally constructed a popularity for its work with movie, streaming, broadcast and music recording studios. AID brings to ASG many specialised expertise companions and a protracted historical past of involvement with Dolby Atmos services all around the world.
In the meantime, ASG serves the trade with consulting, design, methods integration, skilled providers and managed providers, together with embedded groups that assist function and preserve manufacturing, post-production and inventive for a few of the largest corporations on the planet.
Soundmirror Acquired by Staff: With founder and president John Newton transitioning into retirement, Boston-based classical music recording and post-production firm Soundmirror has opted to change into a 100% employee-owned enterprise via the institution of a worker-owned cooperative settlement. The corporate has recorded orchestras, opera corporations and artists all over the world for greater than half a century, accumulating greater than 135 Grammy nominations and awards alongside the way in which. Newton will stay on the firm via a transition interval.
A worker-owned cooperative is a enterprise owned and managed by its staff, the place possession is shared equally amongst those that select to purchase into the corporate. The brand new mannequin won’t change the providers or operations of Soundmirror; the three senior engineers and producers of the corporate, Mark Donahue, Blanton Alspaugh and Dirk Sobotka—who now cooperatively personal the corporate together with common supervisor Alexis Value—will proceed to offer recording providers.
