Moog Music
| Moog Music
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Inc. |
| founding | 1953 as RA Moog Co. |
| Seat | Asheville , North Carolina |
| management | Mike Adams |
| Branch | Electronic musical instruments |
| Website | www.moogmusic.com |
| As of May 21, 2015 | |
Moog Music is the name of two companies that Robert Moog founded to build synthesizers and theremins . The company currently still in existence is based in Asheville , North Carolina .
The first Moog Music was founded by Robert Moog in 1953 as RA Moog . After various name changes it was called Moog Music from 1971 until the bankruptcy in 1986.
In Great Britain there is a third company of the same name, which has no connections to Robert Moog and is only allowed to produce for the British market under this name.
history
Beginnings
Robert Moog founded RA Moog to build and sell Theremine . Moog's invention of the analog synthesizer in 1964 and its use on the world hit Switched On Bach in 1968 made Moog an important name in the music business of the late 1960s. Moog still sold the first synthesizers as custom-made, exclusive studio equipment, and viewed them less as a musical instrument . In 1970 the company began targeting a slightly broader market with the Minimoog . The Minimoog should have the most important features of previous Moog synthesizers in a simplified, smaller, cheaper and less susceptible form. It was originally intended for professional studio musicians who would appreciate the more portable version of their equipment. After the performance in 1970, Moog Music managed to conquer the mass market.
1970s
In 1971 Moog sold a majority stake in Bill Waytena , the owner of Musonics , who renamed the company Moog / Musonics, and Moog Music that same year. After a few years he sold his shares in Norlin Music , the world's largest instrument manufacturer at the time. Moog Music became a subsidiary of Norlin. Robert Moog's contract stipulated that he would have to stay with Norlin for four years to get the full proceeds from the sale of his company shares. He stayed with the company until 1977 as president of the Moog Music division.
Initially, the size of Norlin Moog helped eliminate sales and billing. Moog Music could concentrate solely on instrument development. At the same time, Robert Moog lost its influence in the company and largely withdrew from active development.
Since 1980
When Norlin ran into economic difficulties in the early 1980s, managers from Moog Music took over the now independent company. However, at that time analog synthesizers had no chance on the market against the digital competition, so that the company ceased operations in 1986.
After Robert Moog left Norlin in 1978, he started a new company called Big Briar . This again mainly built Theremine and MIDI interfaces. Over the years it expanded the business to include other unusual and new electronic instruments. After the trademark rights to Moog Music and various related brands had become free again, Robert Moog managed to acquire them again for most markets in a lengthy process, and he renamed his company again to Moog Music. The company benefits from a renewed interest in original synthesizers, which are now considered classics. In addition to the production of synthesizers and various electronic devices, Moog Music is also the world's most important producer of theremines and has played a key role in the renaissance of the instrument since the 1990s.
In 1996, another company acquired the Moog Music trademark rights after the American Trademark Office declared the trademark free in 1994. In 2002 Robert Moog succeeded in getting the naming rights back. Robert Moog died in 2005.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Stephen Gislason: Sound of Music p. 57, Environment Research, ISBN 1-894787-79-X
- ^ Greg Rule: Electro shock !: groundbreakers of synth music Hal Leonard, 1999 ISBN 0-87930-582-7 p. 155
- ↑ Mark Jenkins: Analog synthesizers: understanding, performing, buying: from the legacy of Moog to software synthesis Elsevier, 2007 ISBN 0-240-52072-6 p. 56
- ↑ a b c Steve Jones: Encyclopedia of new media SAGE, 2003 ISBN 0-7619-2382-9 p. 321
- ^ Paul Théberge: Any sound you can imagine: making music / consuming technology Wesleyan University Press, 1997 ISBN 0-8195-6309-9 p. 56
- ↑ a b Ernie Rideout: Keyboard Presents Synth Gods Berklee Press, 2011 ISBN 0-87930-999-7 p. 75
- ↑ "Bob Moog. Voyage Of Discovery ” ( September 4, 2008 memento in the Internet Archive ), soundonsound.com, March 2003.