[02 Mar 2021]
Ray Mia unveiled as President of Free Turn Entertainment’s specialist audio division and announces global development partnership.
Jacaranda Studios is set to open the taps on a rich seam of specialist audio production works from across the UK and US following the appointment of Capomaestro Ray Mia as President of creative production company Free Turn Audio.
The deal – which sees the Jacaranda Records founder join forces with the creative team behind the 2020 Netflix smash White Lines, Killing Bono, and a raft of high-end projects for ESPN, Nike, Nissan and others – is set to deliver a wide range of specialist immersive audio contracts to Jacaranda’s Liverpool studio operations.
A division of Free Turn Entertainment, the creative development agency launched by brothers Jon and Nick Hamm, Free Turn Audio has been launched as a specialist immersive audio storytelling division to work alongside the company’s film, television and brand funded entertainment offering.
The division will develop, produce and distribute immersive audio in response to the exponential growth in global audio audiences. Bringing together talent and expertise from the worlds of audio, tv and film, it will primarily focus on audio-first projects with the potential to deliver storylines and IP across TV, film, experiences and gaming, with projects powered by a range of commercial models including commissioned B2B, B2C, paywall, subscription, freemium, brand and advertising-funded.
The first Free Turn Audio project out of the hopper is a partnership with Teleporter Group’s Antenna International to develop, produce and distribute new, fresh and innovative stories from Anternna’s 40yr+ extraordinary clients and archive featuring many of the world’s leading global cultural institutions and iconic attractions such as NASA’s Space Centres, Tate Modern, MOMA and The Vatican.
Other projects in development include a-soon-to-be-announced scripted series in collaboration with platinum selling rock musicians, and a documentary magazine show in collaboration with a global publishing icon.
Free Turn CEO Jon Hamm: “Free Turn Audio will be a critical component of our total entertainment offering, rounding out the company’s capabilities to include gold-standard immersive audio as part of the complete entertainment package. While the new vehicle will operate as a standalone high-end development production business, we will also be exploiting the symmetries with our TV, Film and Branded division to see this market-leading capability integrated across the full scope of our production slate.”
Ray Mia said: “Since its inception, Jacaranda’s strategy across the label and studios has always been focused on bringing high-quality, high end sound design and immersive audio projects from AAA Hollywood and Silicon Valley clients to Liverpool. Covid hasn’t helped anyone, but for the last year we’ve remained disciplined and diligent, working hard to pivot the business and deliver on that goal.
“The Free Turn Audio deal, and the partnerships that it will create, is a hugely significant step forward in our vision for the specialist music and audio ecosystem we are trying to build in Liverpool.”
