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We recently did one of those shows where the budget is weak and you have to drive three to four hours to get to it. But it was a Wednesday night and the client — an agent and a personal friend of mine — needed a favor.

This was a gig that should have paid $7000 plus travel and meals, but it was paying more like $4500 plus travel and meals. We came to terms on what he would get for the money, with a little "gimme" for the act on my part to make everyone happy.

The sound reinforcement industry will soon face a serious issue of which many people are not even aware. I am referring to legislation brought before the United States Senate and House of Representatives, specifically known as The Communications, Consumer's Choice and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 (S. 2686, H.R. 5252). Introduced early in 2006, this amendment to the Communications Act of 1934 incorporates proposed telecommunications reform, including FCC adoption of new rules to increase competition in sports programming, Internet Neutrality allowing 'Net users to access lawful content of their choice and connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network, and legislation designed to speed transition of TV broadcasting from the current analog system to digital transmission. These and other aspects of the bill do not directly impact those of us working in sound reinforcement. However, part of this bill (and its subsequent revision) is a provision called the Wireless Innovation Act of 2006 ("WIN Act"). This portion of the bill proposes freeing up so-called "underutilized" broadcast space for wireless broadband use.

It wasn't long ago that the best technology available was priced beyond the reach of many live sound professionals. A certain amount of price segregation makes sense, of course, but manufacturers across the board came to the realization that a customer base could be doubled, maybe tripled, by offering a series of products at a more attainable price point. The trick is to take proven technology, tweak it slightly to get to a more affordable level and keep the quality high.

Last month we discussed the increasing demand for live recording. This month, we take a look at how to get your raw tracks or mixes to the producer and/or band for overdubbing or approval. (Overdubbing on a live CD? I never knew there was such a thing! Tell it to the judge.) Whether you realize it or not, you have likely already participated in a form of digital audio delivery: that iPod you've got strapped to your arm is probably filled with MP3s that have been downloaded from the Internet. Granted, MP3s are relatively small files, and Lord knows the fidelity stinks, but the technological idea is there. Of course, things get complicated when file size increases, and any audio file we might be interested in has got to be huge. In other words, audio at 44.1 kHz/16-bit requires a lot of data. You can't fit a lot of audio at 44.1/16 into your iPod.

There are some things in the music business that never change. For instance, record labels will always want to repackage a band's old material. History has shown that "Greatest Hits" packages are an easy (and cheap) way to do this. After all, the biggest expense of a new release — studio time — is minimal for a re-package. Ditto for the concept of a live recording. The band is performing anyway, and by the time they've played their 25th show, they're pretty well rehearsed, so the label decides it's time to record a concert for release on CD in stereo and on DVD in 5.1 — and that's where life on the road gets complicated.

'Twas the night before Christmas; the deadline was tight.

The tempers were flaring; there was no end in sight.

The ground plans were hung on the walls without care,

While hundreds of box truss were flown in the air.

The Clients were nestled all snug in their beds

While us in production were banging our heads.

The script had revisions; the computer had crashed.