AKG announces the second year of its industry renowned European Scholarship of Sound Programme - Monday, 14th February, 2011

Ten highly sought after places available to budding electronic music producers and students hoping to develop a career in music and sound

For more information: www.akg.com/scholarshipofsound

LONDON, UK – AKG announced today that it will be offering ten talented electronic music producers and sound students from across Europe the unique chance to take part in the second edition of the AKG Scholarship of Sound.

This year, AKG, the manufacturer of high performance studio, broadcast and live sound equipment, is expanding the programme, opening it to talented individuals from even more countries (including Spain, Italy, Turkey and Russia), offering them the opportunity to spend seven days in Berlin, learning about music and sound.

Building on the success of last year, the Scholarship which takes place from 30th July – 6th August, will again provide a life-changing opportunity for participants. During the week, the students will be advised on how best to develop a career based around their passion for sound and music, with a series of audio workshops and mentoring sessions led by some of electronic music’s leading artists and professionals. Creative development sessions, designed to enhance participants understanding of production and mastering, will be interlinked with in-depth industry insight tutorials to highlight the skills necessary to succeed in the music industry.

Stay tuned for detailed information on the leading artist, contributors and content of the workshops on the Scholarship of Sound 2011, which will be announced at the beginning of March 2011. Those who participated in the Scholarship in its first year (last year) include Dixon the hugely popular house DJ, music producer and founder of Innervisions record label, Jon Berry, manager of the prestigious Kompakt label and Stefan Betke (aka Pole) label manager, producer and mastering engineer of ~scape.

Providing a platform for the next generation

AKG opens the search for candidates for the Scholarship of Sound on 14th February 2011 with applicants invited to submit their applications via www.akg.com/scholarshipofsound.

Rowan Perkins, a student who participated in last year’s Scholarship of Sound, was one of many who benefited hugely from the initiative; “the Scholarship has helped me to network with some fantastic musicians and label owners, and this, in turn, has helped me to feel confident about pushing my career forwards. It's definitely something that has helped with the progression of my career.”

“Now in its second year, the AKG Scholarship of Sound provides a unique opportunity for young and aspiring sound engineers and electronic music producers who dream of a career in sound and music“, said Juergen Bopst, General Manager, AKG Global. “The Scholarship of Sound offers passionate people from across Europe the chance to learn from highly respected experts and to discover tools and methods developed by those experts over the years in their personal careers. AKG has created the Scholarship of Sound to support the most talented students and music producers from across Europe and help them to break into the highly competitive music industry.”

The deadline for applications is the 30th April 2011 after which the applicants will be judged by an industry panel. The ten winning scholars will be announced on 16th May with the Scholarship, flights, accommodation and living expenses covered entirely by AKG.

The 10 lucky winners, selected from the European regions, will take part in the scholarship from 30th July – 6th August at the Berlin AKG Studio.

For more information please visit www.akg.com/scholarshipofsound

Or contact Sally Plant, HarmanConsumerUK@bitecommunications.com Tel: 44 (0)20 8741 1123

Official partners of the Scholarship of Sound: Ableton, SAE, Sound on Sound, RA.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, harman kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 11,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $3.4 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010. The company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

© 2010 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Infinity, harman kardon, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. SuperSoft is a trademark of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. BlackBerry is the property of Research In Motion Limited and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. Used under license from Research In Motion Limited. GRAMMY is a registered trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Scholarship Of Sound includes:

- Flights to Berlin

- Accommodation

- AKG Sound experts learning sessions

- Tutoring sessions with acclaimed audio engineers

- Mentoring sessions with successful DJs and producers

- Sessions hosted in partnership with highly-respected music technology companies

- Record Label spotlight

- Discovery of Berlin’s most famous musical spaces

APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED: From 14^th February to 30^th April 2011

JURY DELIBERATION: 1^st to 15^th May 2011

WINNERS ANNOUNCED: 16^th May 2011

AKG SCHOLARSHIP OF SOUND IN BERLIN: From 30^th July to 6^th August 2011

How to apply: www.akg.com/scholarshipofsound.com

Candidates must:

- Be currently enrolled in an audio based degree at university or student at an established sound college OR an electronic music producer

- Be born before July 30, 1993

- Speak fluent English

- Live in the EU, Turkey or Russia

EXPERTS WHO TOOK PART IN THE 1^ST EDITION IN 2010 INCLUDE

Adam Marshall / Ableton / DJ, music producer

Andreas Schneider / Schneiders Buero / Founder and general manager

Dixon / Innervisions / Co-founder, DJ, music producer

Dominik Biba / AKG / Product developer

Jon Berry / Kompakt / Marketing and development manager

Reimar Fochler / AKG Acoustics / Application Engineer for wireless products

Stefan Betke (aka Pole) / ~scape / Label manager, music producer and mastering engineer

Uli Wombache / Manager / Watergate

QUOTES FROM LAST YEAR’S EXPERTS AND STUDENTS:

" I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity to sit with the students. They were a lovely group of people and it was an amazing start to what I am certain shall be an extraordinary platform for the music community in the future."

Jon Berry, label manager - KOMPAKT

"I'm sure I speak in behalf of everyone when I say we all had the most amazing time in Berlin”.

Sam Huisman, student taking participant in the Scholarship of Sound

“Thank you SO much for organising such an amazing week. Everything ran smoothly, the workshops were fantastic, the group got on amazingly and the welcoming from you and the other organisers was really great. Thank you! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought everything over the week was thought out and planned really nicely. Thank you again.”

Rowan Perkins, student participant in the Scholarship of Sound

"Be prepared for a lack of sleep and make the most of your time there, it's an incredible opportunity!”

Jon Alexander, student participant in the Scholarship of Sound

"I definitely think that the Scholarship of Sound has helped progress my career since I now have contact with other sound-loving engineers around Europe and I learnt a lot during that week.”

Jill Zimmermann, student participant in the Scholarship of Sound

"Since the Scholarship I have worked a lot on music, experimenting with sound and continued my studies in information of science and my DJ'ing. Recently I moved to Berlin, to focus more on music, and I've just applied for an internship at Innervisions which I hope to get."

Matias Bruhn, student participant in the Scholarship of Sound

“Especially in the first few weeks I found myself looking at acoustic problems differently. I've also participated in a lot of side projects for various people”

Sam Huisman, student participant in the Scholarship of Sound

“The networking and socialising was something unlike any other event as the Scholarship brought together a group of such dedicated and passionate audio engineers. The Scholarship has given me the confidence to believe that I am talented at what I do and companies will want me to work for them.“

Josh Ward, student participant in the Scholarship of Sound

ENDS