Rumours, Bits & Bytes

15th November edition

Previously we pondered the prevalence of success that has smiled on some people in the lighting trade. Millionaires like Richard White (Wise Tech is worth 1.6 billion), John Gunton (Dynalight was sold for gazillions) and of course theatre supremo Stephen Found (Bytecraft was split in half and sold twice!) all started in the sweaty stage lighting biz. So it is fitting to report the latest venture for brash, blunt and brilliant Tony Cochraine, one time king of Adelaide lighting (Hiwatt). His new gig is chair of AUS-X Open, the largest motocross event in the southern hemisphere. Cochrane made his fortune with the V8 Supercars Championship, which continues as a major force. Of the four guys mentioned, Tony would be the most – umm – interesting.

Since this is an occasional rumour column, it is interesting to note the probable eruption of a big seismic event (no pun) concerning distribution of several loudspeaker brands. This is ahead of the remarkable revolution in 3D sound that we are chronicling in the December edition of CX. The coming revolution will require serious investment by whomever emerges the winner. The prize is obvious – we recently reported a study reporting the global loudspeaker biz is set to grow by a billion US dollars over several years and that did NOT factor in the new, coming, almost here now 3D ‘immersive’ market. It seems like 2018 will be quite interesting.

Stuart Coupe’s forthcoming book on Australian Road Crew is eagerly anticipated. He has travelled far and wide and spoken to pretty well everyone or at least someone representing each corner or sector. The painstaking effort he applies pays off, his previous books sell well – and that’s because they read well.