Robert Allan David Wilson, MBE, born in 1951 in the Scottish Borders, is an entrepreneurial business leader, musician and philanthropist. He lives in Knebworth, Hertfordshire. He was awarded an MBE in the 2016 Queen's New Years Honours for services to the music industry and charity. [1]
Until May 2018, [2] Wilson was the Chair of Sound Technology Ltd which he founded in February 1978. It is currently one of the largest independent distributors of musical instruments and professional audio products in the UK and Republic Of Ireland. [3] [4] He earned a lifetime achievement award by NORD in 2018.
For the last 40 years, Wilson has been Director of the Music Industries Association (MIA), a UK trade association. It is the only one servicing and representing the interests of all UK businesses involving musical instruments and associated products. In 2003, Wilson was recognised for his 25 years' service, and received a lifetime achievement award in 2006. In 2019 he officially retired from MIA [5] [6] [7]
Wilson continues to play an important part in supporting the music industry. [8] [9]
From 1980 to April 2017, Wilson was a Director for Music for Youth, a national youth arts charity giving young people free access to life-changing opportunities to perform & discover music across the UK.
Wilson was the Director of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) from 2008-2011. NAMM is a not-for-profit association that promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry. As president in 2005 he contributed to their Oral History project and again in 2018. [10] Wilson received awards in recognition of his dedicated service as a Director and for his excellent service in the Music Products Industry. In 2020 he was awarded the NAMM Oral History Service Award. [11]
Which? is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights, and offering independent advice. The brand name is used by the Consumers' Association, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee that owns several businesses, including Which? Financial Services Limited, Which? Legal Limited and Which? Limited, which publishes the Which? Papers.
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden and Langley, and encompasses the village of Knebworth, the small village of Old Knebworth and Knebworth House.
Avid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign brand was phased out. Avid Audio products will continue to be produced and will now carry the Avid brand name.
Shure Incorporated is an audio products corporation from USA. It was founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of microphones, wireless microphone systems, phonograph cartridges, discussion systems, mixers, and digital signal processing. The company also manufactures listening products, including headphones, high-end earphones, and personal monitor systems.
The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology communities". It is typically held in January at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
Ivor Sigmund Tiefenbrun MBE is the founder and chairman of Linn Products Ltd, Glasgow-based manufacturers of high-fidelity audio equipment and home theatre equipment. He was influential in the manufacture and retail of British audio in the 1970s and 1980s, and was appointed MBE by Elizabeth II in 1992.
Hal Leonard LLC is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Currently headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it is the largest sheet music publisher in the world.
QSC is an American manufacturer of audio products including power amplifiers, loudspeakers, digital mixers and digital signal processors including the Q-Sys networked audio, video and control platform. QSC products are used by professional installed, portable, production, corporate and cinema customers worldwide.
Universal Audio is an American company that designs, imports, and markets audio signal processing hardware and effect pedals, audio interfaces, digital signal processing, virtual instrument, and digital audio workstation software and plug-ins.
The TEC Awards is an annual program recognizing the achievements of audio professionals. The awards are given to honor technically innovative products as well as companies and individuals who have excelled in sound for television, film, recordings, and concerts. TEC is an acronym for Technical Excellence and Creativity.
Fylde Guitars is an English manufacturer of handmade fretted musical instruments.
Philip Stephen Dudderidge is a British sound engineering entrepreneur. He is a notable figure in the professional audio industry, having worked as Led Zeppelin's concert sound mixer, and later co-founding Soundcraft Electronics Ltd before serving as Chairman of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd.
The NAMM Oral History Program is an oral history project and archive of recordings of interviews with people from all aspects of the music products industry, including music instrument retailers, musical instrument and product creators, suppliers and sales representatives, music educators and advocates, publishers, live sound and recording pioneers, innovators, founders, and musicians.
Judith Sarah Jarman Craymer is an English creator and producer of musical theatre who has also worked in the film, television and music industries. She is the founder of Littlestar Services Ltd. Craymer worked on Mamma Mia!, which has been seen by more than 65 million people worldwide. Ten years after the film adaptation grossed more than $600 million around the world, Craymer produced an all-new original movie musical based on the songs of ABBA, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Since opening in July 2018 the film has become the most successful live musical movie sequel of all time grossing just less than $400 million. Craymer was nominated for the "Carl Foreman award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature film" at the 62nd British Academy Film Awards for the film version of Mamma Mia! She has been dubbed "the greatest showbiz impresario" of the first decade of the 21st century and has consequently been entered in Debrett's.
The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is a not-for-profit global trade association dedicated to the music products industry. Originally founded in 1901, NAMM is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and represents 15,000 global member companies and individual professionals.
Maurice Joseph Summerfield is a British guitarist, author, publisher, and businessman. He is the founder of Classical Guitar magazine. He produced several recordings for his company's label, Guitar Masters Records, from 1981 to 1985.
Lorelly Wilson is a British chemist, educator and founder of Chemistry with Cabbage, hands-on workshops to inspire students to study science. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and was awarded an MBE in 2016 for services to education.
Janine Mireille Irons is a British music educator, artist manager and producer, who in 1991 co-founded with her partner Gary Crosby the music education and professional development organisation Tomorrow's Warriors, of which she is Chief Executive. In 1997 she and Crosby also initiated the Dune Records label, which has a focus on Black British jazz musicians and musicians from Tomorrow's Warriors. She has also worked as a photographer and musician.
Andertons Music Co. is a musical instrument retailer based in Guildford, Surrey, England. Its online store is one of the United Kingdom's top 150 e-commerce sites, with sales approaching $40 million per year. It is widely known among guitarists for video demonstrations by owner Lee "The Captain" Anderton, Rob Chapman, and Peter Honoré a.k.a. "Danish Pete". It also partly owns Chapman Guitars alongside Monkey Lord Ltd, which is in turn owned by Rob Chapman and his wife Natassja Chapman. Lee Anderton is also an investor in multiple musical equipment brands, including Victory Amplification, EastCoast Guitars, Burns Guitars London, Landlord FX, and Ordo.
Tony LitMBE is a British-Indian politician and Managing Director of Sunrise Radio. He was appointed MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to the British-Asian community.