In the news: CMG Audio Visual & Touring company profile in ProAVL Asia
Distributed by Black Canvas Publishing, ProAudio Asia (part of ProAudio Central) has established itself as the definitive voice of the Australasian Professional Audio industry. Featuring the very latest news from around the world, in-depth reviews and editorial as well as expert analysis and knowledge, ProAudio Asia is the a leading authority for everything audio from intimate recordings to large-scale live sound.
ProAVL Asia recently published an article and company profile on CMG Audio Visual following the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the live entertainment industry throughout 2020.
Established just five years ago, CMG has grown into a dedicated Meyer Sound rental house and full-service event company. Caroline Moss looks into the success of the relative newcomer.
CMG Audio Visual was founded in July 2015 by four business partners: Aaron Taylor (managing director), Tobi Pinazza (general manager/technical director), Steve Biermann (chief financial officer) and Ben Wright (director of marketing and partnerships). Heralding from diverse professional backgrounds, CMG’s management team offers a broad skill set to its Australian clients.
The concept of launching a new audiovisual company grew from humble beginnings, namely a friendship that developed between Taylor and Pinazza who met while attending local events in the regional town of Wollongong in New South Wales. The pair discovered a common and defining interest: while Pinazza had almost 15 years’ experience in senior technical roles in Australia and overseas, including stints on cruise ships and as general manager of a production company, Taylor had a passion for AV and lighting products, having purchased, experimented with and traded in a range of equipment since his early twenties. By 2013, this had included the purchase of his first-ever Meyer Sound loudspeakers – a pair of UPA-1Ps – which were supplemented by a set of USW-1P subwoofers later that year. By 2014, when Taylor’s fledgling Meyer Sound inventory was enhanced by the arrival of a compact Mina curvilinear array, an idea had started to form that would define the beginning of a new era for Meyer Sound in Australia.
The duo had identified that Meyer Sound’s next-generation Leo family of loudspeakers was not being represented in the Australian touring and events markets, despite experiencing much success overseas. Seeing the opportunity this provided,in 2015 they teamed up with Biermann and Wright to launch CMG Audio Visual with Australia’s first Meyer Sound Leopard linear line array and 900-LFC system. The company moved into its first office and warehouse space in Montague Street, North Wollongong, shortly thereafter.
“The Meyer Sound Leo family of systems was already very successful in international markets, and we were confident that the strong demand and brand preference experienced overseas could be replicated locally,” says Pinazza. “There was an opportunity to be the first to bring these best-in-class, high performance line array systems to Australia and, to date, this decision has proved a success for our business, much to the satisfaction of our clients.”
Following its official launch in 2015, CMG delivered mainly charitable, not-for-profit and local government and community events throughout regional NSW. This quickly led to much larger corporate events, launches and private functions, as well as a series of shows and live performances across Sydney, Wollongong and further afield. These include the Vivid Sydney festival of light and music, multi-stage festivals such as Subsonic Music (Newcastle) and a series of arena shows ranging from Grease – the Musical in Perth to national ballroom dancing championships across the country.
"A special event for us that’s close to home, and that we’ve delivered since our establishment in 2015, is the i98 Illawarra Convoy,” says Pinazza. Held every year in November to raise funds for local children and their families who are affected by serious illness and disease, the event is one of Australia’s largest one-day fundraisers. In 2019, it raised AU$2.76 million with the participation of more than 750 trucks and 900 motorbikes, plus an audience of over 10,000 at the Family Fun Day and fundraising concert that marked the end of the convoy throughout the Illawarra coastal region of NSW.
By 2018, CMG had launched CMG Touring, a dedicated Meyer Sound rental company, adding a mid-size Lyon linear line array and 1100-LFC system to its inventory and moving to larger premises three times the size of the original space to accommodate its growth. The new investment underlined the team’s passion for delivering audio experiences and commitment to the Meyer Sound family of products. By now, CMG had become a full-service event company offering a large range of audiovisual, lighting and staging equipment. In addition to its Meyer Sound inventory, the company stocks a selection of Midas Pro Series consoles, Martin lighting fixtures, Claypaky strobes and moving heads, MA Lighting consoles, Barco projectors and a large quantity of VuePix IP-rated LED screen modules.
“Although we’ve experimented with multiple speaker brands and still have several examples from other suppliers in the warehouse, we’ve chosen to pursue Meyer Sound exclusively for the vast majority of our inventory due to their superior intelligibility, flexibility and quality,” says Pinazza. Another investment that has been in high demand, particularly in the peak summer months, is a large truck stage which is used for outdoor concerts, events and celebrations such as Australia Day, the Melbourne Cup and New Year’s Eve. The arrival of Lyon in 2018 was the catalyst for CMG to extend its presence across Australia, delivering a range of national theatre tours and events, including the provision of a sound system for the UFC 234 mixed martial arts event at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne before a sold-out crowd and global audience. Just two years later, in February this year, CMG announced its largest acquisition to date, completing the purchase of a Leo linear line array system that increased its Meyer Sound inventory to more than 320 individual loudspeakers. Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, crippling the events industry worldwide. The company was able to proceed with Harvest Rain’s Wizard of Oz Arena Spectacular at the Qudos Bank Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park in February, before the live events industry was closed down. However, CMG remains positive about the future, retaining 12 of its permanent employees via the Australian Government’s JobKeeper package.
“We have a talented crew of technicians, operators andsupport staff that we’re very proud of,” says Taylor. “We have experienced tremendous growth over the past five years, much of which can be attributed to the long hours, hard work and enthusiasm of our staff. This has been a challenging year for all of us, and we wish we could extend the Covid-19 support payments to more of the casual and contract staff that, up until the pandemic, we worked and partnered with closely on a regular basis. However, we’re confident that live events of this scale will return to Australia post-pandemic and we’ll be well positioned to deliver an incredible listening experience for audiences across the country, through our Meyer Sound Leo family of loudspeakers.”
During the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, CMG has pivoted to supply a range of live streaming services and virtual event options, including a custom-built live performance space available for hire within the Wollongong warehouse. Restrictions on public gatherings have seen many events scheduled for this year being cancelled or postponed until 2021, including the i98 Illawarra Convoy, due to take place in November via a fundraising broadcast. “The future is bright for CMG as they’ve grown rapidly by focusing on their customers and delivering superior value, ”comments Meyer Sound’s Asia Pacific sales manager, Chris D’bais. “They now hold the largest Meyer Sound rental inventory in Oceania and Southeast Asia. With the Leo family being widely specified on international riders, including top artists like Metallica and Ed Sheeran, CMG is able to support the Meyer Sound global touring network, and this will only strengthen once we return to some level of normality.”
This article appeared in the November/December of ProAVL Asia. Read the original story here.
For more information or to get an obligation-free AV hire quote for your next event or live show, contact our expert team on 1300 814 568 or email events@cmgav.com.au.