Episode 432 – Acoustic Consultant Sam Berkow, The UK Government On Streaming, And The New Vinyl Association

My guest this week is legendary acoustic designer Sam Berkow, who has designed and improved the acoustics for everything from concert halls, to recording studios, to amphitheaters, to worship spaces. 

Sam is a founding member of SIA Acoustics and has been the acoustical designer of a wide variety of projects such as concert venues like Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Pearl at the Palms, the renovation of the Hollywood Bowl, the Grand Ole Opry and The Jazz Standard nightclub,  as well as studios for Airshow Mastering, the Polar Express remote truck, and the Dennis Riese Family Recording Studio at the Clive Davis School at NYU, and many more.

He is also a recent Parnelli Award winner (the most prestigious award in live events), and the creator of the SIA-SMAART measurement software, which is the industry standard tool for providing acoustical measurement and sound system optimization capabilities.

During the interview we talked about how the SMAART software came about, his brutal first business plan, what makes him different from other acoustic consultants, the major problems that most home studios have, and much more.

I spoke with Sam via zoom from his office in the New York.

On the intro I’ll take a look at why the UK government says that streaming services pay reasonable royalties, and a new vinyl manufacturing association.

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