Ken Porter, Spectrum Sound:

My work and interest in sound goes all the way back to high school - played in bands, set up gear for other bands, kind of a local roadie. In college, I started out in music education and evolved to working with both recording and live systems, and it kind of went from there.

We opened the doors to this business in 1979 and have been going ever since. There weren't nearly as many sound companies here at that time, so we saw a need to be filled. Later we set up an operation to build road cases both for ourselves and other sound companies, and that's gone really well.

It's hard to say exactly why we've survived so long, but you have to start with providing quality gear and services at a fair price, and developing relationships that help foster and sustain steady business.

But going beyond that, as a company it's vital to look at efficiencies, ways to make the company more profitable regardless of hot and cold periods. All new equipment purchases must be prudent; there must be a reasonable expectation of a long-term return on your investment. This is where I see some businesses get tripped up. We have so many talented people in this industry, providing true quality, but they don't have the right balance on the business side.

I was fortunate in college to take a number of courses that are relevant to my business - accounting, marketing, law, for example - and these put me on the right track. My wife has also been a big key. She's smart, methodical and business oriented. She keeps our books, helps us stay on the right track and is also an excellent sounding board.

I understand that these are things that audio people don't necessarily like to think about, but you've got to watch your wallet. Or find someone else who will.

Locally, the amount of work available goes up and down. There are several corporations based here, so some good corporate clients and gigs can be had.

One interesting thing I've been told is that tours don't necessarily like to come to Nashville due to the demand for comp tickets. With so many people here working in music, I guess many feel like they deserve to be "comped for working in the biz." A while back, one production guy said he was trying to deal with 240 comp requests!

In-ear monitoring and digital consoles, as well as other digital products, have been significant in attaining consistency in our work. Country acts, in particular, can play a diverse selection of venues back to back. One night they're in a club, the next they're at a state fair, the next they're at a shed.

So the ability to more easily carry this compact gear has made a world of difference. Digital has also given us the luxury of repeatability, where optimum settings are simply stored and recalled each time, giving a great starting point.

Line arrays presented the opportunity to provide more consistency from a system. Simply, there are fewer variables, and addressing the issue of vertical control takes a lot of room problems out of the equation. Digital technology takes us even further.

I'm quite comfortable with the reliability of digital consoles. Definitely. Most of the questions I get deal with their operation: "How do I get it to do this?" If you're fluent with the console, you simply walk the user through the process of getting what they want and need.

A side note related to the digital discussion is fiber optics. Sure you can "run a tank" over certain types of fiber and not hurt them, but I was at a show recently where audio output was compromised and no one could figure out what was wrong. Finally, it was discovered that something heavy was resting on a section of fiber, and as a result, the light band was being compressed.

So the next time you work with fiber and there's a problem, be sure that no one is standing on it. Just another little thing for your checklist!