Shure has undoubtedly helped many artists rise to fame and has become a dominant force in the music technology industry. Their reliability and use has not wavered, as they continue to be a top-choice for performers and awards shows.
AMA Awards
The American Music Awards have been a music tradition since 1974, each year featuring top artists and performers from a variety of genres. In an article published in the Musical Merchandise Review in 2020, it is stated that “The AMAs relied heavily on Shure products for its worldwide broadcast this year. A live performance by Taylor Swift, who was named ‘Artist of the Decade’, featured a customized Shure Axient Digital KSM8 microphone” (Musical Merchandise Review, 2020). The use of Shure by the Artist of the Decade emphasizes how well Shure has worked and continues to work for today’s top artists. Beyond Swift, Shania Twain, Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez, Ozzy Osborne, and Dua Lipa also all used Shure microphones in their live performances (Musical Merchandise Review, 2020). The music industry has grown to trust Shure and its products, making it a top choice for artists of varied styles, ages, and time periods.
Starting at 3:00, Taylor Swift performs “I Knew You Were Trouble” with a Shure Microphone at the 2019 American Music Awards.
“Taylor Swift – Live at the 2019 American Music Awards.” Performance by Taylor Swift, Youtube, 26 Nov. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVY8I46dkb0.
Future of Shure
Over the past 96 years Shure has grown at an extraordinary rate from the small office in Downtown Chicago that Sidney Shure began with. The company is now sold in over 120 countries generating millions of dollars every year. In order to stay on top of this growth trend Shure prioritizes research into current industry trends to create new product offerings. In 2020 Mark Brunner, VP of Corporate Relations for Shure, explained how Shure aimed to capture a new customer base with products that supported content creators producing home recordings, podcasts, YouTube videos, and live streams (Wasylak). Their MOTIV and MV products aim to provide the same high-quality sound from their other products but from the convenience of a consumer’s mobile and USB devices. Due to Covid-19 consumers in all capacities beyond content creators were in dire need of quality video and audio from within their homes. As a result Shure demand largely increased especially within their conferencing, headphone, and microphone lines. Beyond product line expansions Shure has worked hard to expand their global manufacturing sites and stores. They have also begun to develop “experience centers” which provide “product demonstrations for corporate, government, end education customers seeking audio solutions in their respective facilities” (Wasylak.)
The most recent center being the Rose Shure Experience Center in London, but there are similar facilities in downtown Chicago, Shanghai, and Hong Kong that have also had great success. Overall, Shure’s ability to adapt to the changing needs of their consumers and the industry at large has helped them maintain a dominant presence in the digital technology field and there is no sign of them slowing down anytime soon.
The ribbon cutting at Shure’s experience center in London in 2019.
Wissmuller, Christian. “Shure’s President and CEO Christine Schyvinck Cutting the Ribbon to the New Experience Center in London.” Shure Opens New Rose Shure Experience Centre in London, Musical Merchandise Review, 17 Dec. 2019, https://mmrmagazine.com/site/mmr-global/shure-opens-new-rose-shure-experience-centre-in-london/.