The Music Producers Guild Announces Two New Sponsors

With Prism Sound, PPL and SADiE already in place as headline sponsors, the Music Producers Guild (UK) has announced that two new sponsors have joined the growing list of companies supporting its 2010 Awards.
Focusrite Audio Engineering and the PMI Audio Group are respectively sponsoring the Music Producers Guild's Best International Producer Award and the Joe Meek Award for Innovation in Production. Focusrite will also be donating equipment to the winner of the Best International Producer Award.
Music Producers Guild Chairman Steve Levine said: "It is marvellous to have the backing of companies like Focusrite and PMI Audio, both of which have been a part of the music recording industry for a very long time. The emphasis they place on quality reflects our philosophy that, in order to create music with longevity, you need talent at all levels. Of course, this includes musicians, artists and recording professionals, but it also encompasses equipment manufacturers who push the technological boundaries and provide the high quality tools we need to do our jobs."
Focusrite is renowned for its extensive range of recording consoles and outboard signal processors, while the PMI Audio Group designs and manufacturers recording and broadcast products under several well-known brand names including Joemeek, Trident, Studio Projects and Toft Audio Designs.
Malcolm Toft, Consultant Designer to the PMI Audio Group, said: "Five years ago, we took over the Joemeek brand, which, like the Music Producers Guild Award, is named after the legendary UK producer. Given this synergy, it made perfect sense for us to sponsor this award."
Toft added that he is delighted the Music Producers Guild is recognising the achievements of recording professionals through its awards. He said: "The backroom staff do a sterling job and it's great to see these awards honouring the efforts of engineers as well as producers."
His view is echoed by Focusrite's founder Phil Dudderidge who said: "I am delighted that Focusrite is able to sponsor the International Producer Award at this year's Music Producers Guild Awards, which are a great way to celebrate the Art of Record Production. Record Producers, as I still like to call them, whether they come from a musical or studio engineering background, have the expertise to raise the recorded performance of an artist or a band to a higher level and generally make the difference between a basic recording and commercially successful recorded work. I congratulate all this year's winners of the Music Producers Guild Awards, especially in the International Producer category."
The Music Producers Guild Awards 2010 will be held at the Cafe de Paris in London on February 11. Once again, the Music Producers Guild is collaborating with the BRITS to present the winner of its Producer of the Year category with a BRIT Award for Best Producer. There will be 15 categories in total.
Steve Levine added: "We have just closed out nominations for the 2010 awards and we were delighted with the response that generated. It's great to see these awards being so well supported and we're really looking forward to a fantastic event in February next year."
Full members of the Music Producers Guild are now voting on the nominations in order to compile short lists in each category. Where applicable, the categories will then be judged by a panel consisting of record industry experts including producers, engineers, artists, artist managers, A&R representatives, music journalists and radio presenters.
(KMcA)