At the beginning of each year, we stick our heads above the parapet and make 5 predictions about what we anticipate happening in the worlds of recording, pro audio and post-production in a given year. For example, you can check out how we did with our predictions for 2019.

In this article, we share our industry predictions for 2020.

1. Greater Uptake of ARA In 2020 including Pro Tools

ARA, short for Audio Random Access is a very clever exchange technology that enables standalone software such as Melodyne, Antares Auto-Tune, & Revoice Pro to communicate directly with a DAW environment for a seamless end-user experience.

ARA is a development by Celemony, the makers of the popular pitch & time correction software Melodyne. PreSonus was then the first DAW maker to integrate Melodyne tightly into the timeline to offer seamless pitch and time correction using ARA.

Since its release, ARA has been adopted and integrated into other DAWs such as SONAR, Logic Pro X, Cubase, Nuendo and Reaper.

In 2018 the second generation of ARA (conveniently named ARA2) was announced, boasting an even quicker and slicker workflow. Check our article… Celemony Announces ARA 2 - Plug-ins And DAWs To Work Even Closer

The ARA interface extension has been designed to allow plug-ins and DAWs like Studio One, to communicate more comprehensively with one another and therefore work far better together. 

ARA2 has received a generally positive response although to date the integration of ARA into Apple’s Logic Pro X has proved somewhat troublesome, which seems to have been down to Apple rather than third party developers trying to write software to support it.

The Elephant In The Room

The notable exception amongst DAWs supporting ARA is Pro Tools, even though ARA has for quite some time been one of the more popular feature requests for Pro Tools.

That could change because Avid included ARA in the 2019 ACA Vote in the Pro Tools Software / Hardware section.

If Pro Tools was to get the ARA 2 treatment it could look a little something like the concept images above that we have mocked up using Melodyne and iZotope RX as examples. Take another look… can you imagine your Pro Tools workflow benefiting from ARA? We can!

What About Post-Production?

While the benefits of having ARA in Pro Tools for music production are clear, we suspect Pro Tools won’t receive ARA until the benefits can also be enjoyed by post-production engineers as well. There is a growing number of ARA compatible software including:

• Melodyne

• Antares Auto-Tune

• Synchro Arts VocALign

• Synchro Arts ReVoice Pro

At AES 2018, Sound Radix announced that the upcoming update to Auto-Align Post would be available in ARA versions for VST and AU equipped DAWs. Check out our article Sound Radix Announce Auto-Align Post 1.1 Update With VST-ARA2 And AU-ARA2 Support - Coming Soon.

The fact that ARA is on Avid’s development radar is a promising start. For years Pro Tools users could see ARA being integrated into other DAWs but there seemed to be no indication from Avid that it was ever going to be on their roadmap until the 2019 ACA Survey and Vote.

2. Directional Subwoofers DSP Will Spread Down To The Low End

We’ve seen the use of DSP or DSP-like processing become far more commonplace in speakers using 2019. In our recent article DSP In Studio Monitors - Do You Need DSP To Get A Great Sound? We Look At What Some Of The Top Brands Are Doing we examined how DSP can be used to introduce consistency in crossover filter design which is difficult to achieve using analogue components and to create linear phase filters which are impossible to achieve in the analogue domain. However, it was only when we got to the Kii Threes that we saw a glimpse of the use DSP might be put to in in the future. The Kii Threes use multiple bass drivers to control the directivity of the bottom end in the same way as waveguides control the directivity of the top end. Using multiple bass drivers, driven by discrete channels of amplification and controlled by some clever DSP to control the phase relationship between these drivers it is possible to have a consistent response throughout the entire frequency spectrum.

The recently announced Genelec W371A builds on this idea and as well as using multiple drivers to control directivity it can use the drivers in an innovative Complementary mode in which it uses measurements gathered using the Genelec GLM measurement system to address the previously difficult issue of room modes. By placing the drivers in different points in space it can allocate signals to the driver best placed to reproduce it because it is furthest from a modal null in that particular room for that particular frequency. Very clever and the kind of thing we’re likely to see more of in the coming year.

3. People Will Care More About Quality Than Price

We predict that in 2020 we will see price normalisation starting to happen. What we mean by this is that it's been a bumper few years as prices for audio equipment have dropped, especially software. We see products that once commanded hundreds or thousands of dollars sometimes as low as $50.

We predict fewer brands will be using substantial discounts to win customers. Some have told us that the current model is unsustainable and others that they are simply not interested in playing the discount game. Apple, for example, has bucked the trend with the new Mac Pro 7,1 - its pricing is certainly not aimed at bargain hunters, but those who want power at a price.

And in the audio world there are plenty of brands who prefer to maintain a price point, which to be frank, brings them the customers they want by pricing out those they don't.

There will always be low priced products but expect to see more brands finding other ways to offer value for money that doesn't rely on the lowest price. Some may think this is a bad thing, but it may force many of us to decide to buy fewer pieces of gear of higher quality... or just buy less.

4. Recording Space Modelling

We predict that in 2020 that we will see more recording space modelling, after all, we’ve seen software modelling of all stages of the recording chain, from the early days of desirable outboard like Fairchilds, Pultecs and 1176s in the first generation of plug-ins, microphone modelling from Townsend Labs, Antelope and Slate through the various attempts to model output devices like the Audified Mixchecker. This idea of modelling monitors has been extended recently by Waves with their Abbey Road Studio 3 which models not only the monitors themselves but the space in which the monitoring is occurring, in this case, the control room of Abbey Road Studio 3.

However, some people commented at the time of its release that they would rather have the live area of Abbey Road, maybe the far more famous Studio 2 modelled.

The only attempt to model the live area of a big name studio in software we can think of is the Ocean Way plugin from Universal Audio. This is a great plug-in, and at the time of its release we thought it would be the first of many, the fact that it remains on its own, particularly in light of the boffins from Waves modelling a room at Abbey Road, but one of the control rooms, and UA making such a great job of modelling rooms at Capitol but modelling the reverb chambers rather than the live areas, suggests that name studios are aware that the sound of their rooms is a USP and considering their vintage mics, consoles and outboard have all been modelled, they are probably reluctant to allow their rooms to be modelled. However, once something is possible it often becomes inevitable so we would be surprised if work hadn’t already happened towards making these modelled spaces available to all of us.

What spaces would you like to see modelled? Do share your thought in the comments…

5. Smartphone Multitrack Recording Will See a Boom

Could the days of producing an album on your phone be near? We might not be quite there yet, but today, let’s take a look at what may trigger a multitrack phone recording boom in 2020.

These days, just about everyone has a smartphone. And it’s no secret that portable recording technology has been improving over the years. Audrey bought a new iPhone this year and was surprised to see GarageBand installed as a stock app. With handy pieces of gear popping up like Spire Studio from iZotope, it’s got me thinking about the direction that portable multitrack recording is going.

Here are some reasons why I think iOS recording is about to take off…

There are already a handful of iOS interfaces in a range of price points - from under $100 like Korg plugKEY, and up such as the iConnectivity iConnectAudio4+ which runs about $300 and boasts 4 XLR inputs. Some even charge your phone while you’re using the interface the Korg plugKEY.

Dan tested the Focusrite Clarett USB C interfaces. These make a fantastic dual-purpose rig for in the studio, on the road or at home with just an iPad Pro and our test showed this to be a solid setup

Products for specific needs are being developed to be used with iOS, including lightning microphones like Shure’s MOTIV M88, MIDI controllers such as IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O 49, and guitar interfaces. A lot of these even have a separate headphone control. As workflows develop, I bet we will see more cheap gear for specified use pop up that can be linked together in a modular way.

Historically speaking, convenience usually wins over quality. We saw that with MP3s and CDs. MP3s made music more accessible and now, digital music consumption is more popular than ever. I think recording will take a similar turn by sacrificing a bit of quality for more convenience. At least for artists creating demos.

As home studios continue to become more pro, recording with a phone or other device is going to be the new “home studio.” Multitrack recording with a phone or device is the newest bottom tier of the recording pyramid, with pro commercial facilities remaining at the top. All the ingredients for a storm of an iPhone recording boom are there. We will just have to see if it takes off like I think it will in 2020.

That’s It - Our 5 Pro Audio Industry Predictions for 2020

There are our 5 Pro Audio Predictions for this year. Do you have any predictions of your own? If so do share them in the comments section below and we can see how your predictions perform in 12 months time.