AES: Audio Engineering Society

We're taking a different turn today and we're going to focus more on the Audio Industry, recent news, and primarily discussing Game Audio.

Today, I will be speaking about the Audio Engineering Society. A couple months ago they had completed their elections for the new 2010-2011 officers, with Jan Abildgaard Pedersen being elected President.

Now, there are a lot of different sections to my industry: different people doing different things. The Music Industry is taking a lot of hits right now, primarily because of illegal downloading. They have been doing more marketing through live music and merchandise, along with the help of iTunes’ bonus tracks and pre-order packages. However, at the same time, the Game Industry is thriving and because of this the Game Audio Industry is thriving.

Quality audio for video games is a must. There was a time when 8-bit, computer generated audio was acceptable but we are in the 21^st century and you can’t play “Call of Duty: Black Ops” or “Halo: Reach” with 8-bit audio (however, some bloggers believe there could still be a use for low-bit audio for phones, Wi-Fi, etc.). Games today have full quality, lossless audio and pay well to those who design it.

After reading a blog about the Game Audio/Music Composition industry, I learned quite a bit about finding work and the two career paths that one can take.

In New York, a couple years ago, the AES’ 127^th convention was held. They discussed the latest achievements in Game Audio and Music Composition through a number of various workshops. Also, there was a lot of attention that focused on interactive music [something that I’ve been known to have interest in].

There are usually two options if you pursue a career in Game Audio. You can either be an Audio Programmer or a Sound Designer. Most of these jobs are found through studio websites, Game Industry forums, and the all-powerful networking. As a Programmer, it is often necessary to have a Bachelors degree but as a Sound Designer, you may not need a degree at all (though it helps). With Sound Design, you start as an intern (like in any studio) and work your way up.