In early November, Shure will randomly select the ten competing schools from the eligible registration pool. Each of the participating student teams will receive a standardized microphone locker from Shure that must be used to complete the recording project. The contents of the locker include two KSM313, two KSM32, two KSM44A, one KSM42, two KSM141, four SM57, two SM27-SC, one BETA® 52A, one Beta 91A, three BETA 98AMP, two BETA 181/S each with an additional Omni capsule, one SM7B, one VP88, and one A27M.
Competing teams must track and mix their original piece of music, which will be judged by a panel of industry professionals on its overall fidelity, clarity, sonic balance, and creativity in microphone selection and placement. Previous judges have included some of the industry’s top audio visionaries such as Ken Caillat, Mike Clink, Steve Churchyard, Frank Filipetti, Elliot Scheiner, and Leslie Ann Jones, among others.
The winning school will be awarded a new set of assorted Shure products, including KSM, SM, and Beta microphones, as well as SRH headphones, a prize package valued at more than $11,000. Runners-up and honorable mention school prizes will include select Shure microphones and headphones valued at $5,395 and $1,872, respectively. In addition, students on the top three recognized teams will receive prizes ranging from a KSM42 microphone, valued at $999, to a SM27-SC microphone, valued at $374, to SRH840 headphones, valued at $250.
“For nearly a decade we have been wowed by the caliber of student submissions we receive each year,” said Stephen Kohler, Senior Director of Marketing, Shure Americas. “During this milestone year, we anticipate recordings will once again impress us on all fronts—creativity, passion, mixing, and microphone techniques.”