22live Chooses Martin Audio
January 9th 2023
22live and Martin Audio officially unveil a partnership which sees 22live become a Martin Audio dealer in addition to holding significant stocks in its rental inventory.
22live is the UK’s newest pro-audio service provider and is marketing itself based on the fact that it is a trusted and reliable alternative. This statement comes from the fact that the team behind the company are no strangers to the industry, and when Paul Timmins founded the new business in early 2022 one of the first key considerations was which loudspeaker manufacturer the company should seek to forge a relationship with.
The new company now holds significant inventory of Martin Audio Wavefront Precision WPL, WPC, WPS, WPM, and TORUS supported by SXCF118 and SXHF218 subwoofers, all powered via the Martin Audio iK42 amplified controller, and utilising Dante throughout. Investment in the brand came about following careful consideration and the development of a partnership which aims to see 22live establish itself within the pro-audio service market as both a hire company and equipment reseller, and to provide Martin Audio opportunity to enjoy a stronger presence at the top end of the market.
Paul Timmins, now Hire Director at 22live, has a long history with Martin Audio, but history alone is not enough to make a purchasing decision. Timmins comments “There is always a lot at stake when it comes to selecting a partner brand, rental companies can’t very often buy everything and investment in a brand immediately says something about your business. For us we needed to get our hands on a product that gave us more of a USP, and supplied by a manufacturer that complemented our ethos. For us choosing the right brand was key to a successful launch.”
There was a lot to think about from the 22live perspective; namely brand perception, opportunity and alignment to what 22live wanted to be. Product in terms of performance, life cycle, availability and price, as well as what the perceived rental opportunities could be, and sub hire potential. Finally 22live also needed to form a relationship that was also a partnership, where an alliance could be formed to build success together, and also offer greater to support to 22live customers through this.
Paul Timmins
“For us we needed to get our hands on a product that gave us more of a USP, and supplied by a manufacturer that complemented our ethos..”
Martin Audio – The Brand
It was the belief of the 22live team that Martin Audio has a strong name within the world of live sound reinforcement. While it was also largely agreed that Martin Audio as a brand, was not currently at the top of every rider, it was also 22live’s perception that Martin is certainly a trusted brand that engineers generally believe is capable of delivery and providing a good result. The Martin Audio MLA system, which Paul Timmins had a steeped history and involvement with, had been very close to breaking the rider conventions, gaining popularity and traction from its release and was, and is still, utilised on some of the biggest names and events in the business. The MLA overall proved to be a successful product with a very strong presence in some markets, and it enjoyed a solid reputation in the UK, and it was 22live’s belief that Wavefront Precision could continue to build on this success.
It was also the team’s perception that Martin Audio’s long history and association with live sound reinforcement in the UK meant something and that it could continue to climb the rungs to becoming a bigger and more successful brand in the future without having to cross that hurdle of gaining recognition.
Another benefit to 22live of Martin Audio’s brand that 22live liked the association of, is that Martin Audio is still very much perceived as being a ‘rock n roll’ provider. 22live considered that this has been achieved at Martin largely by their ethos; where all members of its management are approachable, down to earth, and they are service led. Despite being owned by larger parent companies, Martin Audio has always retained that independent feel. This aligned too with 22live’s ethos of independence and providing a service led by its people, customers and their shared relationships and collaboration.
Martin Audio – The company
Since Dom Harter became the Managing Director at Martin Audio it was the 22live perspective that they had turned a corner and had been growing in success and popularity. 22live could also see that parent company ’Focusrite PLC’ were reinforcing the brand’s potential by supporting its ambitions in R&D and investment. Paul Timmins comments “As we were considering a substantial investment in the brand Dom wanted to let me know the longer term vision for the company and how that could positively impact on our needs and expectations.”
That quickly became evident with the Focusrite Group’s announcement of its acquisition of Linea Research in March 2022, proving their commitment to the Live Sound arena. Timmins comments “For me this was a massive boost in my confidence with regard to both Focusrite and Martin Audio. Here was a company empowering its leadership team to really run the business while at the same time investing real money in providing it all the tools it needed to compete in the big leagues of loudspeaker manufacturing. We saw bringing the amplifier manufacturer in-house as really providing Martin Audio the tools it needed to become more successful.”
In addition to this 22live saw the fact that Martin Audio was a UK based company as a benefit. Timmins comments “While we don’t expect to only invest in one brand of loudspeaker in the long run, the fact that we could start with a UK based business we saw as a positive to our UK customer base. Not only does it make life easier in terms of getting product support, or even delivery of product, it also allows us to fly the flag in some way for British manufacturing.”
Paul Timmins
“While we don’t expect to only invest in one brand of loudspeaker in the long run, the fact that we could start with a UK based business we saw as a positive to our UK customer base..”
Martin Audio – Product
There was then also the question of product. Fortunately for Martin Audio and 22live, the release of their newest line; Wavefront Precision, were all relatively recent additions to their product portfolio. WPM (2 x 6.5”) and WPC (2 x 10”) were both unveiled as the first products in the series back in 2017, with WPL (2 x 12”) and slightly later the WPS (2 x 8”) joining and completing the current line-up in 2019. Shortly after the 2019 release the industry was hit by the pandemic and so it is only now that these products are really having an opportunity to get out there, with 2022 being the first year that WPL was deployed as the main system on Martin Audio’s flagship showcase, the pyramid stage at Glastonbury festival.
Martin Audio describe the USP of the Wavefront Precision series as follows;
‘With the launch of the Wavefront Precision™ Series (WPM and WPC) back in 2017, the concept of scalable resolution was born — harnessing the optimisation technology behind Martin Audio’s self-powered MLA® Series systems in a new line array format with a scalable approach to external system amplification. Delivering signature sound quality, coverage consistency and control in an affordable package, this uniquely flexible and upgradeable approach has been rapidly adopted by sound rental and installation companies worldwide to become the company’s fastest ever selling line array series.
Wavefront Precision Longbow (WPL) now brings this high performance, optimisation, flexibility and control to large-scale touring and installation applications. Designed as a complete system with external iKON® multi-channel amplifiers, automated DISPLAY™ optimisation software and VU-NET™ control platform, WPL provides financial accessibility to the higher echelons of touring and install sound — from stadium concert and outdoor festivals to arena and House of Worship installations.
The complete system philosophy guarantees that WPL arrays perform predictably and effortlessly to their design maximum, as well as ensuring that they are compatible with other WPL systems throughout the world.’
From the 22live perspective we had only heard good reports as to the performance of the Wavefront Precision series, but equally the team hadn’t had an opportunity to judge for themselves by hearing it. Paul Timmins arranged a demo whereby himself plus newly appointed directors Stefan Phillips and Simon Gladstone could all go and listen to the system at Martin Audio HQ in High Wycombe. The demo was well received by all members of the team and they were impressed by its output, rigging and physical characteristics.
Simon Gladstone comments “Essentially there are very few bad products out there in the modern live sound environment, and we all felt that the Wavefront Precision systems could provide the output necessary to keep engineers happy, but we all know there is much more than this to a system choice and specification. It was also a priority for us to look at the control software VU-NET and the system design platform Display.” It was clear from the demonstration that Martin Audio had all the ingredients and the right understanding of what was required to make this product line a success. “While we knew there was still work to do to continue the development of VU-NET and for Display 3 to deliver to its full potential, we could see that there was a solid foundation to work from and a roadmap to reach the end goal. With the power of Focusrite behind them, and with the Linea acquisition having only recently been made, we were confident enough that Martin could deliver on all fronts.”
What was more important for the team was making a purchase at the right time. Stefan Phillips also added “Life cycle was a very important consideration for us. We knew that there were more rider friendly, and proven products out there, but what was the point in buying something that everyone else already owned or that had already been out in the marketplace for more than 5 years. We needed to invest in something that had opportunity to grow with us, and that could be well supported, but still offer a USP in terms of providing something new.”
Stefan Phillips
“We needed to invest in something that had opportunity to grow with us.”
Timmins summarises “In fact the more we got into the opportunity that Wavefront Precision presented, the keener we were to get onboard, it felt like a small risk to take backing something new, but it was a considered risk, with plenty of opportunity to go with it. We didn’t want to be just a me too company, we didn’t want to be competing on price by only offering the same products that many already owned, and so we felt that the Martin Audio Wavefront Precision series was certainly weighted heavier on the pro’s than the con’s..”
Next came the question of availability. “The thing that really played to our favour here was the fact that Dom wanted the system to be deployed on the pyramid stage in 2022,” comments Timmins. Martin Audio had actually committed to building a WPL system specifically for use at the event and so had made stock available for this requirement with the plan to rent it to the festival’s supplier RG Jones. This made it relatively straightforward for a deal to be put together involving Martin Audio and 22live, with an initial stipulation being that the system needed to also be made available for use at Glastonbury. Timmins goes on “This really was another box ticked as not only did it mean that we could get our hands on some stock relatively quickly, but it came with an initial dry-hire attached for late June, which just gave enough time for Stefan and Simon to assist in making this possible too.”
For the rest of the summer 22live was able to start building relationships with other Martin Audio Wavefront Precision owners in order to aide them in facilitating events which they had shortages for. Timmins comments “It was great to start working within the Martin Audio Wavefront Precision rental network, and to understand that there was a lot of support for the product, providing sub hires to RG Jones, SWG Events, Nub Sound, CS Audio, and Hire Frequencies. This was a useful way for us to get the ball rolling as we were starting to gear up and get some of our own opportunities lined up”
Martin Audio – The opportunity
Martin Audio’s popularity seems to be on an upward trajectory once again. There are many reasons for this but essentially 22live believed that Martin Audio is a strong brand, with a strong history and they also have a new and strong product with the right roadmap for success, and now with an in-house amplifier manufacturer, Martin has all the ingredients to compete at the top end.
For 22live the opportunity comes in aiding the development of Martin Audio to reach new heights and put the product in places that allow it to continue to grow and for demand of the brand to increase. 22live has already now seen this through its successes achieved in late 2022, utilising Martin Audio on the Sigur Rós European tour, the Australian Pink Floyd’s UK tour, as well as providing systems for shows in Alexandra Palace and London’s O2 Arena, with Central Cee and D-Block Europe respectively.
22live will also now act in 2023 as a dealer for Martin Audio, representing Martin as a boutique supplier focussed on supplying Wavefront Precision and TORUS products predominantly to the touring market. Now with Alex Penn joining the management team at 22live, a wealth of sales experience also joins the company which will help 22live to develop business for Martin Audio, alongside the success of the brand within its hire division. Alex Penn comments “The opportunity to resell a product is a much stronger proposition for rental company buyers when they are able to source through a supplier that is already itself deploying the product successfully, as it is better able to support the brand and product in this way.” Penn too has worked historically alongside Martin Audio’s Peter Codron, UK Sales Manager, as well as other members of the Martin Audio team, meaning again that relationships exist now not only because of the two companies alignment but because of shared experience historically. This can only be of benefit to 22live’s new customer base and Martin Audio, as the two company’s both gain momentum and work together strategically.
Alex Penn
“The opportunity to resell a product is a much stronger proposition for rental company buyers when they are able to source through a supplier that is already itself deploying the product successfully.”
“Perhaps the single biggest point from 22live’s perspective as to why Martin Audio was chosen is that they are a nice bunch of people to work with.” Paul Timmins comments “At the end of the day we are all doing this, building 22live, and working in this industry because we have a passion for it, and because we want to enjoy it. We want to work with people that want to work with us, providing something new, that is different and better than what has come before. We really feel that we can deliver a great result through working in partnership with the team at Martin Audio. It's true that Martin Audio don’t have quite the same R&D resources as some of our industry’s biggest suppliers, but they are backed by a large and successful UK group that can and are providing them the resources to reach new heights. Martin know what they need to do to compete and it goes a long way with us to feel that your supplier really wants to work with you and values you. It’s very important to get along with those that you work with, whether that be colleagues, suppliers, or customers, and we felt the relationship we already have with Martin Audio and many of the people there embodies our culture and pragmatism of delivering first class results through dedication, commitment and also pride in what we do.”
