During this time period
he recorded and produced numerous acoustic projects using MIDI sequencing and non-linear
hard disc recording. From 1995-2000, he also composed commercial music for
radio and television commercials, released a Worldbeat reggae compilation
project "da Boom" and formed
Soundzweet Music, a music publishing company. As a former
owner and chief engineer of a commercial recording studio, Todd has extensive
experience with all aspects of the audio and music production processes using
state of the art and vintage tube equipment. His innovative style
blends the best elements from yesterday's and today's technologies, always
maximizing the particular equipment on hand to its fullest creative potential.
According to Todd, "it's more important to know how to get the best sound out of
what you're using, rather than what brand to use." Although he prefers
popular software packages such as Synclavier, Pro Tools and Performer, he is highly fluent on both
Windows and Macintosh systems running virtually any application. As a
result, he has a powerful sense of purpose and a passion for adding value to
every project. He is
excellent at developing and maintaining successful business relationships
to obtain, enhance,
and retain customers by building on trust, and is committed to the success of
all of his clients.
Todd has been twice nominated for an ITS International Monitor Award and voted a
winner in 1992 for "Best Movie Sound Design" shown at the World's Fair in Spain. In addition, he solo engineered 3
acoustic recordings that won prestigious
Downbeat Magazine Awards
in 1998. He was also nominated for an Addy Award in 2000 for his original
music production for the state tourism board of Missouri. Todd has
also worked for major television networks like ABC, NBC and ESPN
engineering recordings for CD's, television, film, radio, and
internet broadcasts.
Todd
has also worked in the
Expendable Launch Vehicle Program
(ELV) at the Kennedy
Space
Center for Boeing as a Communications Specialist and while there was elected Union Steward
for the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W.)
to help negotiate labor contracts with upper management.
Under NASA’s
direction, he was able to add to his previous broadcast and
advanced signal flow experience providing telecommunication services for
national clients like Lockheed Martin and United Space Alliance by
custom designing, installing, and trouble shooting mission critical audio,
video, and
data circuits.
In
addition to his Music Performance and Sound Recording and Engineering Degrees,
Todd also holds an MBA from the
University of Central Florida's School of Business
specializing in Information Systems Management. Active in the rapidly evolving and ubiquitous digital economy,
he is an advocate for the development of interoperable vendor neutral Digital
Rights Management standards, but in the meantime is pursuing best-of-breed
practices and solutions for secure digital media content creation, management and
distribution. Todd's life-long commitment to the dynamic media industry and his passion for artistic and technical excellence is a tremendous asset to any
organization. As an accomplished professional who is comfortable wearing many
hats simultaneously,
he has a unique combination of
creative skills and related business education and experience that will no doubt contribute to any type of project.
Throughout his career, he has always
focused on artist rights’ issues and on building synergistic relationships.
Drawing on his real world education and experience, he has consistently stayed
at the forefront of the entertainment, media and technology businesses working
for companies like Disney, ABC Television and Boeing. He’s been nominated and
won several industry awards, in addition to working on an Emmy award winning
television series and has recorded several Grammy Award artists. Passionate
about teaching and helping others, he now focuses on the encoding and
monetization of digital media and enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences
at workshops, clinics and seminars. Todd is also an occasional
journalist, specializing in the evolution of music technology and audio/video
distribution via the internet and consumer electronics.
His monthly eNewsletter,
The Beals Media Update, was endorsed by The
Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School and his articles
and blog entries
have been featured online with
Billboard’s PostPlay, JupiterMedia’s DRM Watch, Digital Music
News, The Music Dish Network, Mobile Content News and Digital Media Wire. In
addition, he's also been interviewed several times on Phil Leigh’s
Inside
Digital Media Program, quoted by the
press, and appears on leading industry panels (i.e., DCIA, CES, BBC).
His
writing has been published in entertainment attorney Steve Gordon’s book
“The
Future of the Music Business:
How to Succeed with the New Digital Technologies.”
From 2004-2006, he was the Vice President of Business Development for
Goin’ Native Records,
a Worldbeat Indie label focusing on unique multicultural entertainers. In
addition, he also serves on the Advisory Boards for
Digital Media
Alliance Florida (DMAF) and
Fitphonic
Systems.
Most
recently, he transitioned from Thomson's Digital Audio/Video
Product Development Team in Indianapolis, IN, to a valuable leadership role
within Audiovox
Electronic Corporation's management team, where he's focused on
creating and implementing innovative new digital strategies for consumer
electronics and improving strategic partnerships and building third party
entertainment and content alliances for the RCA brand.
Born
in
Lakeworth, FL in 1969, Todd
Beals is a musician who
has actively been involved in music ever
since taking piano lessons at the age of five. Inspired and motivated by
his Middle School Band Director, he developed a serious interest in learning to
play the trumpet in 6th grade at age 11. Four years later, he
auditioned and was accepted as the youngest student to ever attend the
Tanglewood Institute
of Music to study classical music with members of the
Empire Brass Quintet.
After
graduation from Boca Raton High School at age
17 and a brief stint at the University of Florida
studying Pre-law, he was inspired to pursue the artistry of jazz music and
transferred with a music scholarship to the
University of North
Florida. Under
the expert tutelage of industry veterans like Rich Matteson, Bunky Green, Jack Peterson, and Dr. Bill Prince, he
earned a B.A. Degree in Jazz Trumpet Performance and
was one of the first recipients of the
University's new American Music B.A. Degree. While attending college, he honed his musical skills performing regularly at local clubs,
festivals, theme parks, and conventions.
His instrument of choice is the flugelhorn, but he also sings and plays trumpet,
coronet, electronic valve instrument (EVI), piano, keyboards, and any nearby
computer. Following his participation on several independent album projects in the late
80's, he became more interested in the artistry of recording music.
Upon graduation, Todd decided to pursue
a more "behind the scenes" career and moved to Orlando in 1990 to attend the
prestigious
Full Sail Center for
the Recording Arts.
He soon gained considerable recognition in the community for his songwriting,
arranging and music production abilities.
He also excelled in the Orlando entertainment business assisting on numerous album
projects, live remote recordings, pre and post production audio, sound design,
audio for video, radio jingles, and on-hold telephone commercials. In addition,
he was frequently
in demand as an independent audio engineer and freelance musician. 