Audio Militia - "Stellar content means repeat business and great reputation"

20 Apr 2018

Audio Militia's co-founder and executive producer Nick Argyros shares how their 2017 Loeries success proves it's time to disrupt the production industry and create content beyond the expected music and audio.

If you visit the Audio Militia website, you’ll see they call themselves ‘Africa’s first all-encompassing music and audio agency’.

Audio Militia’s co-founder and executive producer, Nick Argyros.

That may seem like a bit of a stretch, but if you factor in the fact that Audio Militia goes beyond jumping around audio bits and pieces and instead specialises everything from original composition to music strategies for brands, final mix, music search, and all the relevant legal aspects, it starts to make sense.

Making music with military precision

Even more so when the work they’re getting awarded for goes beyond typical ‘sound production’ work to also include aspects of VR and design. They’re certainly racking up the awards to prove their military precision and accuracy. For example, at the most recent Loerie Awards, Audio Militia’s work was awarded the following fleet…

Audio Militia’s Loeries 2017 wins
Gold	Internet video – above 30s	Student Flights	‘BabyBot’	TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris Johannesburg
Campaign bronze	TV and cinema commercials – up to 90s	Libresse Maxi Pads	‘Unembarrassed – Galactic Quest, Duckling, Disco Ball’	Net#work BBDO
Bronze	Broadcast design and graphics	Channel O	‘Idents 2016’	Wicked Pixels
Bronze	TV and cinema commercials – above 90s	Unisa Higher Education	‘Define Tomorrow’	Net#work BBDO
Craft certificate	TV crafts – animation	Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé Cabriolet	‘#Lookup’	Net#work BBDO
Craft certificate	TV crafts – performance	Unisa Higher Education	‘Define Tomorrow’	Net#work BBDO

And they’ve extended that winning streak into 2018, with ‘Babybot’ going on to snag the title as overall experiential category winner for 2017, in the most recent Creative Circle ad of their yearly awards.

1st at Ad of the Year in the experiential category! Shoutout to @audiomilitia Team�� and the the real deal @shane_saws from the talented @tbwahuntlascaris�� #winning #powerhouse #postproduction #postproductionsuccess #finalmix #soundengineering #production #kapow

A post shared by Audio Militia (@audiomilitia) on Mar 20, 2018 at 1:28am PDT

AdWeek’s AdFreak titled their overview: ‘Hip Dude Forced to Care for Screaming, Pooping BabyBot at Music Festival in Sadistic Ad Stunt’ – as you’ll see from the clip below, that’s not click-bait-y at all, it’s entirely accurate!’

Suitably impressed, I caught up with Argyros himself to find out how they plan to extend their winning streak this year and who they admire most in the industry…

What do you attribute 2017’s successes to?

The Audio Militia team attributes its continuous successes not only to the strength of existing relationships with our existing clients, but also word of mouth leading to an ever-expanding customer base.

Feeling the heat but nailing the mix �� #AudioMilitiaPowerHouse #sounddesign #engineergenius

A post shared by Audio Militia (@audiomilitia) on Mar 27, 2018 at 2:36am PDT

We are committed to always sending out stellar content and that has meant repeat business, a great reputation and the opportunity to work on some pretty amazing projects!

As a result of that Loeries win, you were also ranked as second-best TV, film and video recording the 2017 Loeries Ranking table! What plans are already underway to better your ranking next year?

So proud of the team! Our official EMEA Ranking from The Loeries for Television, Film & Video is 2nd! For Africa and the Middle East! #audiomilitia #recordingstudio #loeries2017

A post shared by Audio Militia (@audiomilitia) on Oct 9, 2017 at 1:55am PDT

We have had an exciting few years. Last year, we launched a revamped Ferndale studio and added a few talented members to the team.

This year we welcomed a brand new studio to the family, in the form of a shiny new suite in Blairgowrie. This addition to our existing Bryanston studio hit the ground running with a good amount of work coming its way.

We also place a lot of emphasis on upskilling our staff and making sure that they are exposed to the latest trends and technology in the industry.

How does the 2017 Loeries flock differ from your haul the previous year?

It’s an exciting time to be alive and the world is embracing different ways of thinking and expression. This has extended itself into the kind of briefs we get and the jobs we work on.

This is notable in the fact that in 2017, we won a few awards due to our involvement in VR and design projects.

Tell us who you personally admire in the industry.

A mentor we admire is Colin Shapiro. He has done so much for musicians in South Africa and we shall forever be thankful to him for his efforts in making sure that composers are compensated fairly.

Another mentor we admire is Rob Schroder.

Team Robroy: Schroder, Shannon, Stansfield and Loureiro.

#LoeriesRanking with... Robroy Music

Leigh Andrews 23 Feb 2018

The man is immensely talented and he has become something of an icon where composition is concerned.

Lots to look forward to creatively from 2018! Click through to our Loeries’ special section for more, and be sure to follow Audio Militia’s successes through their website, Instagram and Facebook channels.

Leigh Andrews

About Leigh Andrews

Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.