NEW YORK—The “MTV Video Music Awards” on Sept. 7 set a record for the most-viewed and engaged “VMAs” in history with more than 5.5 million viewers watching on CBS, MTV and Paramount+, a 42% jump in viewers from 2024.

A team of audio engineering professionals from Firehouse Productions contributed to the success of the awards show, held at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., turning to Shure wireless audio technology to ensure the evening’s production was as iconic as the artists performing.

Audio coordinator Mark Dittmar, broadcast production mixer Sean Prickett, music mixers Eric Schilling and John Harris, RF coordinator Cameron Stuckey, front-of-house mixers Dan Gerhard, Adam Armstrong, Simon Welch and Mike Bové and monitor mixers Chris Prinzivalli, Brett Taylor and Tom Pesa made up the Firehouse Productions audio team.Firehouse Productions provided equipment for the event. The team deployed 56 channels of the Shure Axient Digital Wireless Microphone System and 52 channels of the Shure PSM 1000 In-Ear Personal Monitoring System, including 110 P10R receivers.

“Even with the huge differences in artists and their performances, the Axient Digital system, coupled with ultrareliable Shure capsules, made every vocal performance predictable and rock solid,” said music mixer Harris. “From Busta Rhymes’ hip-hop to Alex Warren’s massive pop vocals, and from reggaeton with J Balvin to country rock with Bailey Zimmerman, I always had the control and sound that I needed.”

Added audio coordinator Dittmar: "Shure wireless provides us with the seamless technology to execute a large show like this, and of course, the sound quality is amazing.”

Shure microphone capsules graced the stage with a myriad of the award show’s performers, including Doja Cat on a Beta 54 headset mic, and Alex Warren, Sombr, Bailey Zimmerman and Busta Rhymes on SM58 capsules. Notably, J Balvin and Mariah Carey, recipients of the 2025 Video Vanguard award, both sang into new Nexadyne 8 vocal microphone capsules, with Carey’s mic featuring a custom gold Shure Axient Digital handheld transmitter. Lady Gaga, Artist of the Year winner, shared a prerecorded performance where she was singing into the new Shure SM39 headset microphone.

“For the MTV VMAs we debuted the Shure Nexadyne capsule with J Balvin, and it was a game-changer. Right out of the box, the capsule delivered a crystal-clear vocal that sat perfectly in the mix; we barely touched the EQ on his channel strip. Huge clarity, great rejection and broadcast-ready tone without extra work,” said Hugo Pinzon, monitor and broadcast engineer.

Each of these artists, in addition to Lola Young, Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter and Conan Gray, all relied on Shure Axient Digital wireless handheld transmitters.

LONDON—XR Studios was tasked with managing the first example of a major awards show production during the COVID-19 pandemic with the MTV Video Music Awards. To handle this challenge, XR studio chose the disguise xR workflow to serve as the show’s central technology hub.

XR Studios created a virtual stage for the socially-distance telecast that was taking place in New York. This was showcased during the show with performances by Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas and more in Extended Reality environments. Notch VFX helped create the virtual sets using disguise’s RenderStream video-over-IP protocol.

The disguise gx 2c media server powered real-time generated graphics from Notch onto the LED video screens as well as the virtual set extension content outside the LEDs through its camera calibration workflow.

“This was the largest and most complex xR show that we have had to support so far,” said Jamie Sunter, disguise senior support specialist. “We had support and development teams working in L.A. and U.K. to ensure that we could get the most coverage with both timezones. We utilized the newly built xR stage in London HQ to then be able to verify fixes and reproduce issues that were being seen on the site.”

The disguise software also assisted with color balance and overall compositing of real-time content tools for the VMAs. 

For more information, visit www.disguise.one.  

ALAMEDA, CALIF.—The music’s worlds stars came out to be honored at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, while Clear-Com and its FreeSpeak II digital wireless intercoms had a presence behind the scenes. During the live production on Sunday, Aug. 28, at Madison Square Garden, FreeSpeak II was used to connect the live production crew to cover the entire venue with 20 integrated Transceiver Antennas and 25 wireless beltpacks.

Firehouse Productions ran this year’s VMAs, and used FreeSpeak II for all of its 20 stage managers. The intercom system was also able to support five more tech positions. Full coverage was possible with the addition of Clear-Com’s Eclipse HX-Delta digital matrix with two E-Que-HX cellular frame cards, according to Vinny Siniscal, Firehou’se director of RF communications division. The production was able to operate the FreeSpeak II intercoms in the 1.9 GHz band, which allowed it to leave the 2.4 GHz band open for other signals, like lighting control and Wi-Fi devices.

Additionally, the FreeSpeak’s beltpacks can support up to five configurable channels per unit and hold an 18 hour charge. The beltpacks also come with a bottom-mounted LED flashlight.

“Whether they are handling cues for the talent, the rigging, or automation, I know that each stage manager can connect seamlessly to the people they need to talk to anytime,” said Siniscal.