Sound on Sound

History[edit]

The magazine was conceived, created and founded by brothers Ian and Paul Gilby and their friend Godfrey Davies in 1985. It was originally launched in 1985 on the UK Channel 4 television programme, The Tube, championing the convergence of MIDI, computer technology and recording equipment. At the time of its launch, text for the magazine was edited on BBC Model B computers and pages were physically pasted together with wax.^[1] The modern magazine is full-colour throughout and led the way in using colour as much as possible through its pages when other magazines used colour only for the front cover and special features.^[1]


In 1998, SOS Publications opened a website parallel to the magazine, digitising all of the print articles since January 1994 and providing additional, supplementary, content including audio and video files. The website grew to include a discussion forum, a subscribers area, a directory of professionals and companies in the music recording and technology sector and a shop through which browsers could purchase back issues of the magazine alongside merchandise, PDF articles and new subscriptions to the print edition.^[2]


In January 2008, the website expanded to include podcasts and videos featuring interviews, product demonstrations, featured articles and news stories. The magazine is a regular attendee of worldwide music technology conferences and events such as AES, the NAMM Show, NAB, IBC and Musikmesse, and regularly publishes articles, videos and podcasts reporting from these events.


A sister magazine, Performing Musician which covered all aspects of live performance, was launched in early 2008, but closed at the end of 2009.


The magazine was named after the Bill Nelson's Red Noise album Sound-on-Sound^[3] and as of 2003 the website had a Bill Nelson Shop section^[4] in which this musician's independently produced CDs could be bought.