The Association of Professional Recording Services APRS has appointed Malcolm Atkin to the post of Chairman, replacing the outgoing Chairman David Hamilton-Smith who is retiring after three years of service.

He begins his chairmanship with a welcome boost for the organization with the announcement of two new corporate sustaining members who have made a financial and supportive commitment to the APRS.

Atkin commented: "Having been involved with the UK recording industry for my whole career, the APRS has always been a part of my working life. It is therefore a great honour to be asked to take on the role of Chairman. It will be a great pleasure to use my experiences to benefit an organisation that has assisted me along the way and for which I have always had the utmost respect. These are challenging times and focusing the association on the needs of its members will be my primary goal.”

The first of those, Cream Recording Studios is a new business venture by GearBox in partnership with Chris Dibble, former studio manager and chief engineer of the world-renowned Lansdowne Studios.

Cream is a large-scale music recording/mixing studio housed within GearBox’s West London headquarters. The studio has been designed by Roger D’Arcy, of Recording Architecture, and is purpose-built and equipped to offer a professional, high-quality environment for music recording, with an emphasis on film scoring and sound-to-picture productions.

The other major new member is Audio Pro International, a brand new magazine, with a new remit and a new editorial stance. The pro audio market is already served by a number of titles, but publisher Intent Media believes Audio Pro International will carve a niche for itself through a new style of editorial based around in-depth news stories that look behind the headline and beyond the press release; features that drill down into the nuts and bolts of major installations, live events and broadcasts; and a highly technical approach that addresses the issues occupying the minds of those at the cutting edge of pro-audio.

Both companies are keen to help and support the aims and work of the APRS in the industry and will be a considerable asset to the organization for the foreseeable future.