Online Voters Will Decide Winner of AMP’s Spotted Excellence Award
Web Event is New Feature of Association’s Annual Awards for Excellence in TV Commercial Mixing.

April 20, 2005 - The Association of Music Producers (AMP) wants you to listen to a television commercial. The organization, which will be honoring post production mixing engineers June 6th at its fourth annual AMP Awards for Excellence in TV Commercial Mixing, says there is no similar award for those responsible for that "rare breed," a TV commercial that catches your attention because of its superior sound quality. This year AMP has added the Spotted Excellence Award to its roster of honors and is inviting visitors to its website (www.ampnow.com) to watch (and listen to) three nominated spots and vote for the one that sounds the best.

“Everyone’s a critic and we all love good TV commercials," said AMP West Coast Chapter President Liz Myers of Trivers/Myers Music who chairs the event. “The Spotted Excellence Award gives you a chance to vote for a spot you think sounds the best. We musicians know the way we like things to sound. Now we want to hear what the public likes.”

The three commercials nominated for the Spotted Excellence Awards are: BBDO/NY’s “Sled” for Pepsi/Mountain Dew, post-production mix by Tom Jucarone/Sound Lounge-NY; Saatchi & Saatchi/LA’s “Wheel” for Toyota Motor Corporation, post-production mix by Eric Ryan/Ravenswork-LA; and Fallon/Minneapolis’ “Interview” for United Airlines, post-production mix by Jimmy Hite/Margarita Mix-LA.

The online polls will be open until June 3rd. In addition to the agencies, AMP secured permission from SAG, AFTRA and AFM to run the spots on the website.
The winning commercial will be announced at the June event, which will take place in Beverly Hills at the Mosaic Hotel. Tickets go on sale May 1st.

“A lot of expertise goes into making a great television commercial, and the sound mix is the critical last step,” said AMP President Jan Horowitz of DHMA, a music and sound design company. “Pulling all the audio elements—the music, dialogue, voiceover and sound effects—into perfect balance supports both the visual image and the advertiser’s message. That’s what the very best post production mixers do, and we think they deserve recognition.”

In addition to the Spotted Excellence Award, represented online by a picture of a cheetah, AMP will be handing out several other awards at its event. Honors will go to two finalists, an honorable mention, and the best newcomer in the field. Capping the evening will be the presentation of the AMP Decibelle trophy to the Mixer of the Year. Last year’s AMP Awards drew more than 200 advertising professionals, Hollywood celebrities, and music business notables to the famed rock 'n roll studio The Village to see Bob Gremore of Mike Recording Services in West Los Angeles crowned Mixer of the Year.

A primary sponsor of this year’s event will be SHOOT magazine, with others to be announced. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which provides musical instruments and instruction program to public schools that request assistance. In addition to the awards, the evening will feature a screening of short films on the theme “The Revolution of the Creative Process: How New Technology Affects the Way We Work.”

Tickets to the awards party will be $75 for members of AMP and AICP; $85 for non-members and will go on sale May 1st. Reservations may be made by e-mailing ampnow@yahoo.com . The Mosaic Hotel is located 125 S. Spalding Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. The reception begins at 7 p.m., the Awards Screening at 8:30 p.m.

For information, call (310) 546-3505 or visit AMPNOW.com.

The Association of Music Producers (AMP) was founded in early 1998 for the purpose of educating its members, and the production and advertising community as a whole, on all facets of music production, from creation to final use. With its national headquarters in New York, and regional chapters in Los Angeles, Chicago, Florida and Minneapolis, AMP is the first organization to represent the commercial music industry on a broad platform of creative, business and community matters. Production guidelines, legal issues relating to rights, licenses and composer royalties, talent negotiations, industry education, public relations and industry charitable endeavors are some of the bullets on AMP’s agenda. At a time when the impact of music is growing exponentially in every broadcast medium, AMP is serving to give the music community a clear voice—and the benefit of its own experience. AMP is an affiliate of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP).