Major Manufacturers

AKG – microphones, headphones and wireless systems

Alesis – full line of professional audio and musical instrument products

Ampeg – best known for bass amps

AMS/Neve – studio consoles and outboard equipment, inc. Capricorn

API – best known for consoles and rack-mount processors

Apogee – analog/digital conversion, software and CD-R blanks

Audio-Technica – best known for microphones

Auralex – foam sound reinforcement and advice for the home studio

Avastor- reliable hard drives for a fair price

Avid – best known for digital video workstations

Bomb Factory – makers of the moogerfooger, sansamp & classic compressors

Bryston – specialty products, particularly amplifiers and sound reinforcement

Cakewalk – desktop audio software

dbx – wide range of high-end products, both digital and tube

Digidesign – best known for Pro Tools, a major evangelist in the digital audio revolution

Dolby – high-end audio-processing design (including licensing) and equipment

Eventide – best known for Harmonizer and DSP processors

Fender – classic electric guitars, amps and related pro equipment

Focusrite – high-quality design from British company founded by Neve

Genelec – monitors, subwoofers and related equipment

Gibson – classic acoustic and electric guitars

Glyph – storage solutions for Rich Media, A/V Production & Streaming Broadcast

GML – George Massenburg Labs – mastering-oriented electronics, best known for EQ

Ibanez – guitars and related equipment

JBL – professional loudspeakers, also mixers and microphones

Kawai – acoustic and digital pianos, also sequencer/sound modules

Korg – synth workstations, dance gear and related processors

Kurzweil – keyboard and rack-mount synthesis, also electronic percussion

Lexicon – leading DSP equipment for over 30 years

Mackie – best known for mixers

Mark Of The Unicorn – desktop recording and MIDI software, best known for Performer

Marshall – classic amps and related equipment

Monstercable – numerous solutions, cable and power

Nagra – best known for professional tape recorders

Neumann – http://www.neumannusa.com/ – primarily microphones

Otari – consoles, tape machines and disk-based recorders

Propellerhead Software – makers of Reason, ReBirth and ReCycle

Roland – synths, mixers and wide range of musical electronics

Sabine – tuners, wireless products and professional audio filters

Sennheiser – best known for headphones and microphones, including wireless

Shareware Music Machine – massive listing of available software by category (and alphabetical)

Shure – best known for microphones

Solid State Logic – analog and digital studio consoles

Sonic Foundry – software AV products including Sound Forge, Acid and Vegas

Sonic Solutions – digital audio workstation designer now leads DVD authoring surge

Sony Media Solutions – best known in pro audio for digital tape products including DAT

Steinberg.net – makers of Cubase VST

Studer – best known for broadcast production equipment

SynthZone – many links to leading synth manufacturers and help-sites

Tannoy – wide range of monitors, speakers and related equipment

Tascam – recording and mixing equipment

TC Electronic – audio software engineering with many practical niches

Velodyne – best known for subwoofers

WaveFrame – digital audio workstations including FrameWorks

Waves – best known for software plug-ins

Yamaha – wide range of audio and recording gear as well as musical instruments, both electronic and acoustic

Indy Artist

Artist Direct – extensive resource including UBL, UBL Industry News

CDBaby – sell your product

Garageband – indie and pre-indie oriented fare including GetSigned.com

Harmony-Central – many resources, best known for their technical gear tips

Musician – high-end, targeted to both pros and wannabes

MusicPlayer – great depth of features from magazine partners

Taxi – mostly addresses getting A&R attention for the unsigned

Publications and Resources

Batanga – Latin music news and Internet radio

BET.com – The latest in Black entertainment

Billboard – general industry news, charts and e-mail list

Downbeat – jazz-centric articles and artists

Electronic Musician – articles and reviews emphasizing software tools for the desktop

EQ – useful gear, tips and columns

Hollywood Reporter – dependable L.A.-oriented industry coverage

Internet Music Report – links to daily news, highly focused on important issues inc. IP & DRM

Keyboard – synth-compatible gear and the artists who use them

Mi2n – format-sorted press releases and industry news

Mix – studio recording features and products

MTV – artists and features from the cable network

Music Connection – indie-oriented articles and directories

Music Player – general news and links galore

Pollstar – tour and venue-oriented news

Surround Pro – leading trade for 5.1/DVD 3D-sound

VH1 – artists and features from the cable network

Search Engines

About.com’s Audioworld – search engine – news and directory, large collection

Analog Devices – vendor – small selection of engineering-oriented sites

Google – search engine – tech-oriented searches and directory

Mel Bay – music book publisher – grab bag of music-lovers’ links

Midi Farm – search engine – Midi emphasis from best-known Midi portal

Music Yellow Pages – search engine – online phone book format

NYPL Links – public library – select list with strengths

ProNetGuide – news media – audio, replication and contracting links

Trinity Sound – vendor – small collection, nice insider orientation

World Records – searchable database of hand-picked music sites

World Wide Pro Audio Directory – private entity – highly-focused collection

Yahoo! Music – Web directory – don’t skip the obvious – great variety

Beatboy – collections of MIDI drum sequences

ConTempo Music Library – royalty-free buyout music library

ILIO Entertainments – sample libraries, loops and software innovations

Killer Tracks – BMG-owned production music service including Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound library Manhattan Production Music – wide variety and audiophile excellence including classical music and oversampled effects

Megatrax Production Music – production music and custom scoring

Metro Music Productions – small, quality-oriented library

Music Bakery – royalty-free buyout music and effects

PBTM Music – many styles of instrumental background music, all available online

Promusic – music and effects on thousands of CDs available for annual license

River City Sound Productions – Memphis-based provider of buyout production music and custom live recording services

Sonomic – over 100,000 royalty-free samples and FX available

Sound Burst – Italian sound-palette developer

Sound Ideas – effects-oriented service with several music production libraries available including Westar Valentino – established, quality source of music and effects, especially for television

Voice Crystal – sampling CDs and soundfont banks

Ear Health

House Ear Institute – hearing conservation research and education

National Hearing Conservation Association – resources, conferences and activism

Education

California Recording Institute – San Francisco, CA – home of Gibson’s “virtual mixer”

Ex’pression Center – Emeryville, (S.F. Bay Area) CA – “total immersion” in creative technologies

Full Sail – Orlando, FL – “real world education” with high-end equipment

Future Media Concepts – New York; Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA – quick Digidesign-authorized training in Pro Tools

Institute of Production and Recording- Minneapolis, MN fantastic facility; all the studios truly mirror the real world environment.

HowAudio- wide variety of instructional videos

MEIEA – Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (list of school programs)

Mix Guide: Education- a complete list by region.

Musicians Institute – Los Angeles – Recording Institute of Technology (RIT) program

SAE – Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and New York – commercial and broadcast recording

UCLA Extension – Los Angeles – Entertainment Studies offers wide selection

University of Miami – Music Engineering program directed by Ken Pohlmann

Record Production – video tours of many top US and European studios

Studio Expresso – free service for searching and booking

Studio Finder – recording studio search engine

Studio Menu – portal site with useful links and directories

Studio Referral – free service, great for the rate-conscious

Technical Information

AEA – Audio Engineering Associates – Wes Dooley’s ribbon-mic repair, refurbishing and manufactured replicas

Audio Upgrades – making it better at the component level

Brent Averill – classic vintage mic preamps/EQ in custom racks

Boutique Audio – custom rack mounts for vintage modules

Desk Doctor – audio facility tech support, many services

JRF Magnetics – custom analog tape heads, assemblies and replacements

Little Labs – routers, switchers and custom-designed products

Marquette Audio Labs – custom racking and small studio construction in SF & LA

MicShop – keeping thousand-dollar mics in tip-top shape

Studio Tips – useful articles for do-it-yourselfers

Sonic Solutions – long-standing DAW manufacturer is now creator of breakthrough DVD-authoring software

SurroundMusic.net – DTS’ consumer-oriented portal/search engine for DVD-V and DVD-A

SurroundPro – home of the conference, magazine and chat zone

AES Standards Committee – developing technical standards, often adopted worldwide

ANSI – American National Standards Institute

CNET – computer-oriented searchable resource

DVD+RW – industry home for the DVD+Rewritable format

IEEE Standards Association – within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

ISO – International Organization for Standardization

QDesign – leading low bitrate format

Sonic Control – digital music creation, technical content, magazine format

TechWeb – CMP’s searchable news targeted to information technology professionals and computer geeks, provided by a major trade magazine publisher

W3C – World Wide Web Consortium develops Internet standards

Professional Websites

AcidPlanet – loop-oriented community using Sonic Foundry’s ACID

AES – Audio Engineering Society

ASCAP – American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers

BMI – Broadcast Music, Inc.

CES – thousands of new consumer technology products debut at the International Consumer Electronics Show

Comdex – incredibly massive computer-related event

EAT’M – Emerging Artists and Talent in Music

IFPI – RIAA-affiliated international recording industry association

IRMA – International Recording Media Association

NAMM – International Music Products Association

NARM – National Association of Recording Merchandisers

NEMO Boston – talent showcases and industry panels and exhibits

MIDEM– Cannes, France music exhibition provides worldwide dealmaking opportunities

RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America

SESAC – performing rights organization

SPARS – Society of Professional Audio Recording Services

TSNN – Trade Show News Network provides information about thousands of trade shows