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66 l April 2012


www.prosoundnewseurope.com industrytalk


ON THE BANKS of Europe’s ninth-longest river, just west of Frankfurt, distributor Mega Audio is the very embodiment of the pro-audio industry. Its 23-year history describes a defining trajectory: every point on it is in perfect keeping with trends, because every decision made in that time has been the right one. Originally with partners who have since departed, founder Burkhard Elsner might once have been a geography teacher, occasionally still plays the guitar and definitely runs one of Europe’s most successful distributorships – not least because he has always resisted the temptation to turn the company into anything else…


What kind of pro-audio world did you launch the company into in 1989? It was a studio business. We planned, built and equipped studios, but the company was also founded as a business partner and distributor for Amek – remember them? – and TAC. Before that I’d worked at Thum+Mahr for a few years.


What was the game plan? I felt there was room for another professional audio company in Germany. I guess I’m a mixture of entrepreneur, salesman and business manager – you have to have all of these attributes to make it work for any length of time. It’s been over 20 years, so we’re getting something right…


What have been the big changes in Germany? The same as everywhere else: during the ’90s the studio business was eroded by the internet and the availability of easy-to-copy digital recordings. The record companies didn’t create the budgets any more, the studios were suffering and by the end of the decade there were hardly any rental studios left in Germany. And then, after 9/11, the business just dropped completely. The phone stopped ringing, and we had about a year to last on back orders.


ADVERTISER INDEX


18 Sound.......................................24 ABTT...........................................60 AES Pro Audio..............................36 AKG..............................................22 Allen & Heath ...............................46 ASL Intercom ................................10 Audio Sud.......................................8 Audio-Technica.............................23 Avid ..............................................14 CEDAR Audio..................................3


Clear-Com.....................................36 Coda Audio ..................................58 d&b audiotechnik.....................54,55 DBTechnologies............................43 Direct Cable Systems.....................25 DPA...............................................17 Dynacord ......................................37 EAW...............................................7 FBT Elettronica.............................52 Focusrite ......................................29


“There are very few large-scale production studios today, and everyone is battling for those that do exist – so it doesn’t make much sense to build a business around that sector” Burkhard Elsner, Mega Audio


musicians and producers, but the budgets are small. There are very few large-scale production studios today, and everyone is battling for those that do exist – so it doesn’t make much sense to build a business around that sector.


How have the Midas machinations affected you? Well, it’s been nearly three years now and things just keep getting better. We first got the brand because Bosch was letting go, with a view to selling it, and enabled Midas to set up its own distribution. I took advantage of that situation, and in fact the Behringer takeover has really boosted that business. Now it can happen for real. Behringer hasn’t changed anything within the distribution channels – at least not in terms of how each country has a sole distributor who looks after that market. Other things have changed – like manufacturing, which is much better quality; product concepts; and pricing, which is much more competitive.


business class Rhine air,


Mega Audio founder Burkhard Elsner is one of the most recognisable faces in the German distribution business.Phil Wardmet him in Frankfurt


Why do you think 9/11 had such a direct effect on our business? Our experience was that, after that date, people didn’t call us. They were not interested in investing any money. International tours were cancelled, people were trying to save their businesses… and the studio business was suffering anyway. International artists were not coming to record in Germany any more. Basically,


we sat down and said, ‘What are we going to do next?’


And the answer was…? We decided to build up the distribution side of the business. We’d always had some of that business, pushing some of the rackmount and console products through to the dealers, but it was only a foot in the door. We expanded it dramatically, and we were lucky to pick up brands that


Hand Held Audio...........................35 HHB Communcations....................34 HK Audio......................................56 Kling & Frietag..............................48 KV2 Audio................................16,33 L-Acoustics ...................................51 Lawo .............................................41 Line 6...........................................IFC Martin Audio...................................9 MC2 Audio....................................44 Midas ...........................................68 MIPRO..........................................53


were actually feeding that business – like Fostex, for instance. We also got back into the live touring sector, which had stopped when Amek stopped, basically. We picked up Innovason around 2003, had Digidesign for a while and then settled on Midas. Touring and distribution have


really grown, while the studio side sits quietly in the middle! There’s always private studios, owned by


NTP Technology...........................40 Outline .........................................62 PALM Expo Mumbai.....................59 Powersoft SRL ..............................21 Prism ...........................................28 QSC Audio......................................11 Radial Systems Engineering......4,IBC Renkus-Heinz................................18 Riedel Communications .....45,47,49 Roland...........................................13 Shure............................................38 Sommer Cable ...............................61


Which brands that you distribute are you really pleased with? DPA is consistently reliable and has been growing rapidly – between 60% and 80% per year over the past two years. Expensive, maybe, but still competitive – and they are the best you can buy. They take us into broadcast, too. Obviously we’re expecting extraordinary growth with Midas and Klark Teknik this year, as well.


Are you doing more and more in fixed installation? I’ve always resisted that temptation. We are a distribution company; we do not intend to become a competitor to our own customers. They are installers and rental companies.


Can Angela Merkel save Europe…? Maybe! The euro is a good thing, but there has to be a common economic policy rather than national economic agendas. But hey – I’m not a politician. I just sell pro-audio gear. www.megaaudio.de


SSL .........................................26,27 Studiomaster................................39 Tannoy.........................................20 TOA/Trantec ................................57 Unity Audio ..................................30 Void Acoustics..............................50 Waves Audio .................................19 XTA................................................5 Yamaha Commercial Audio ...........FC


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