San Francisco - Aug 19, 2008 - AES Special Event Committee Chairman Chandra Lynn, and Vice Chairman Larry The O have arranged a series of special events for the upcoming AES convention.

Oct. 2, 1 p.m.
Opening Ceremony Keynote: The Artist Owns The Industry
Record Plant co-founder Stone will explore music industry trends and opportunities, and what it takes to succeed in today's environment. Speaking from his strengths as a business/marketing entrepreneur, Stone will focus on the artist's need to develop a sophisticated approach to operating their own business, and, how traditional engineers can play a meaningful role in the ongoing evolution of the recording industry.

Oct. 3, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Lunchtime Keynote: The World's First Audio Recordings; Their Recovery and Restoration
An informal collaborative of audio engineers and historians, First Sounds recently made international headlines by playing back a phonautogram made in Paris in April 1860. The discovery established a forgotten French typesetter as the first person to record reproducible airborne sound 17 years before Edison invented the phonograph. Primitive and nearly accidental, these early recordings posed unique technical challenges David Giovannoni will discuss their recovery and restoration.

Oct. 4, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Lunchtime Keynote: The Music Business Is Dead - Long Live The New Music Business!
This will be a high-level view of the changing business models in today's music industry. Peter Gotcher of Topspin Media will explain why artists can no longer derive their income from record labels providing tiny shares of high-volume sales. He will explore multiple revenue streams for artists; the importance of getting rid of unproductive middlemen; and generating more revenue from fewer fans.

Oct. 4, 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Organ Recital: Graham Blyth
A highlight of every AES convention at which he performs, this year's recital will be held at St. Mary's Cathedral, a modern structure with a panoramic view of San Francisco. The cathedral's Ruffatti organ was designed for the Baroque repertoire that Blyth will use to great advantage. St. Mary's Cathedral is located at 1111 Gough Street in San Francisco.

Oct. 5, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Lunchtime Panel: The Evolution Of Electronic Instrument Interfaces; Past Present, Future
Moderator: Gino Robair, editor of Electronic Musician magazine
Panelists: Don Buchla, Roger Linn, Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith
Developing musical instruments based on new technologies and making them intuitive, musically useful and appealing to musicians requires more than just a feature-rich box with a sexy industrial design. This panel will discuss issues ranging from interface design to avoiding the mistakes of the past when designing products for the future.

The 125th AES Convention will be held in San Francisco's Moscone Center October 2-5, 2008.