Volume 15, Issue 8 — April 29, 2021

rAVe Rental [and Staging] — Volume 15, Issue 8

April 29, 2021 | Volume: 15 | Issue: 8

Daniel Shatzkes was in the middle of writing a totally different story than the one he ended up with when he came across a Wall Street Journal piece about how many roadies (stagehands, audio, video and lighting technicians, riggers, travel crews and many others) have “moved on,” even as pandemic restrictions are lifting. The WSJ article, along with a heavily commented Facebook thread Shatzkes saw and explored within his own network, sparked his new column, published in rAVe this week. “The Return of the Roadie and the Roar of the Industry” might just pull at some of our road warriors’ heartstrings, posing questions like, How many of you have permanently moved on from being a roadie? What are the ramifications of a decreased labor pool on the industry? Shatzkes’ perspective adds some, well, perspective. And I appreciated a story that gave us some concrete predictions and suggestions too.

In addition to the feature stories this week, enjoy our roundup of tech news below 👇👇 with updates from Extron, Atomos, Luxul, Panasonic, Clevertouch, Barco and more. I may have heard through the grapevine that some of the biggest Rental/ProAV names will be in attendance at LAVNCH WEEK 4.0 in May and LAVNCH FAIR in June. Will you?

— Leah McCann

COLUMNS

+ The Return of the Roadie and the Roar of the Industry [Daniel Shatzkes]

Many “roadies” (which can encompass stagehands, audio, video and lighting technicians, riggers, travel crews and many others) have had to find jobs in other industries to make ends meet. Often these new jobs have been stable, nine-to-five jobs with benefits and come with more time at home and with family. Basically — the exact opposite of a roadie’s life working gigs and tours out on the road. Many of these former stagehands have come to enjoy the predictability and stability of their new jobs and have hung up their concert T-shirts for good.

+ Which Key Verticals Will Drive Recovery for the Commercial Audio Market? [James Kirby]

Despite declines over the past year, the installed audio markets have provided a strong base of demand for many manufacturers and continue to show the fastest levels of recovery. This is especially the case for commercial audio, which is home to PA/VA, background music and conferencing applications.