Satellite broadcaster SiriusXM has over 200 satellite channels, 400 web channels,
and 30 million subscribers. To service all of these, the company currently has
several main production centres – New York, Washington, Nashville, and LA with a
total count of about 150 broadcast studios, along with five music recording and live
music broadcast studios. Two of those studios, in Washington and New York, have
recently upgraded by installing SSL C200 HD Live Production Consoles.

Jackson MacInnis is Director of Operations at Sirius and directly responsible for the
music production studios. “We produce the special recording sessions and live music
broadcast events for 200 channels of everything from hip hop, to heavy metal, to
classical,’ he explains.

Sessions range from multitrack recordings with an audience and a fast-turnaround
mix, to live broadcast performance sessions. To get through such a busy schedule
takes planning, and practice. Before the session, MacInnis will have already briefed
the artists or production manager and offered them the wide selection of
instruments they keep on tap at the studio, which cuts down on load-in and set-up
times. “We put everyone on headphones and personal monitoring systems,’
continues MacInnis. “So each artist can mix themselves… That eliminates a huge
amount of sound check time.

“Our operations are so fast turnaround that even that extra few minutes to reset a
console versus the speed of the C200 HD can make a difference…

“We’ve got it down to just walking in the door, putting on headphones, and plugging
in… Everything is already lit up, and within 45 minutes we’re hitting Record. We’ve
been doing it for 15 years so we’ve got it down to a science… They are usually
happy when they leave.’

The C200 HD is a digital live broadcast production console with 48kHz or 96kHz
operation, a variety of redundancy and fault-tolerant features, and a traditional
analogue style “knob per function’ control surface with an in-line channel format and
48 multitrack busses.

“I can hit the lead singer’s high pass filter in the blink of an eye, as opposed to
having to access it, then hit another button, and so on. The speed of this thing is
something else… I can literally close my eyes and mix.’

It’s that layout and operational speed that allows freelancers to come into the
SiriusXM studio and work with minimal thinking time.

One of MacInnis’ favourite aspects of his role at SiriusXM is the variety and quality
of music that comes through the door. “It’s a dream job for an audio engineer,’ he
comments. “To list the great acts we’ve had in is difficult – it’s much easier to list
the ones we haven’t had in! …I come to work and get to watch concerts every day.’