"The story of what happened to the light and sound 'industry'"

[dbit]

In Robert Austin's Blog on this site entitled "Megabrain", about Michael Hutchison, He states at one point:

"The story of what happened to the light and sound 'industry' will be told on another occasion"

I'm very intrigued to hear more about this. I was very into light and sound as a young teenager, even working at a clinic that offered light and sound sessions and had two flotation tanks (god I wish they were still around in my area!). I've recently been reconnecting with these technologies and have been in touch with some people in the industry. My biggest surprise has been that the whole world of consciousness technologies seems to be largely exactly where I left off with it, that is, stuck in 1993! (I stayed with it until the late 90's, but you get my point).

I truly believe that these technologies are still a little ahead of their time but that now, with the widespread acceptance of technological devices of all kinds as common place, and meditation being something that everyone is at least familiar with the concept of, light and sound technologies could potentially take off in a larger way. Part of the problem seems to be that no one is marketing them to the general public in any visible way that I can find. Furthermore when people visit many of the websites of these companies and distributors, the site, graphics, info, and thusly the technology appear to be out of date, some kind of sci fi hang over from the late 80's/early 90's. In fact this is the only real forum that I've found out there in the consciousness technology world that is actually active and well maintained (kudo's to mindplace!). There is a real disconnect there between the potential of these revolutionary technologies and the way in which they're presented.

Now I know people will say it's a small industry, no one has a budget, etc. but I heard it said that "excuses are success kryptonite". I used to work at two small record labels growing up and when we couldn't pay someone to do something we learned how to do it ourselves. This went for everything from accounting and book keeping to graphic and web design. In 2012 there's really no excuse for the graphics on a website to be severely pixelated, or for all the headline text to have an awful glow around it, but that's what I largely see when visiting AVS company sites, and they're selling technological products! (Again, kudos to Mindplace for being ahead of this trend and not looking like 1st gen web design).

I don't want to make this post too long, but I would LOVE to hear from Robert Austin with regards to his statement about "what happened to the light and sound industry". It would be very meaningful to me to hear from an insider just how the industry fared over the years.

[neuroasis]

I'm sure Robert will respond with very insightful information as he has been a driving force in the industry since the beginning. I just wanted to let you know that he is on vacation at the moment and will return in about 1 week.

I want to reluctantly agree with you here. Light and Sound Meditation Mind Machines have a vast unexplored potential for innovation and growth that is yet to be fully realized. I also want to state that we are at a turning point and there is a great deal of movement going on 'behind the scenes'. A convergence of a next generation of new talent (under the guidance of the pioneers) is what really needs to drive the growth.

That means you and everyone on this forum! I can personally attest that the MindPlace staff is open to your ideas, suggestions, criticisms, and input. Tell us what we can do better in the short term and what can be imagined for the long term. If you have skills and talent then jump in and help us push to the next level.

Thanks for reaching out with your observations...

Scott

[neuroasis]

BTW, to be specific...

Anyone can contribute with blog posts (become an affiliate and make some money!), social media involvement (Facebook posts, tweets), make online videos at YouTube or Vimeo for instance, write tutorials, create cool graphics...

Create some sessions or tell us what sessions you want... Make some meditation music... contribute web design ideas and mockups... make up slogans... create mockup machine ideas... film a documentary movie... write a book... keep an online journal... post ideas at this forum...

Show the machines to your local psychologists, hypnotherapists, tanning salons, massage therapists, meditation gurus.. new age shops... start a religion

If we wait passively things will happen in their own time or not at all. If we contribute some time and talent then everyone benefits.

[Marisa]

The following are my observations about the AVS industry since I've been involved with it (which began in 2002). I just want to go on record saying that these are my observations, which come from my perspective and are certainly open to correction.

When I first started selling AVS machines as a dealer for Mindplace, the web-store market place was in its infancy. Mindplace, the manufacturer, only sold to authorized dealers and this relationship was wholesale. What this meant was that the dealers were responsible for product advertising, marketing, sales, customer support and warranty issues. The dealers were a wide range of people from hypnotherapists to companies that put out catalogs of related products. Most of the people selling the machines at this time actually knew something about them and the technology. During this time, there was a lot of customer education and support because of the direct relationship between buyer and seller.

One of the biggest barriers in taking this technology further, like the medical field, was and still is the ominous costs involved with FDA approval. The cost is far greater than any small company can afford and if they somehow managed to get funding, the cost of the machines would go from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand (like with EEG).

While I agree that there should be boundaries in place concerning medical claims, I think those boundaries could be a bit more realistic. For example, I don't see the harm in saying that the machine can help with relaxation or sleep. While these are "medical conditions" and an AVS machine should not be marketed as a "cure" to anything, we should be free to market it as a tool. A tool is not a cure and that's a very important distinction I wish the FDA would take into consideration.

Anyway, it was only a few years ago that the Internet as a market place became a viable option for sellers. It changed the way that companies did business and some of those changes were better for the seller, they were not better for the buyer. A number of sellers set up web-stores and began selling multiple products and the focus shifted from specialty store to a variety store and the level of customer education and service gave way to winning buyers boxes and Google placement. The marketplace became more competitive (globally) and the old business model was fraying.

With such a dramatic shift in the nature of business, Mindplace realized that their customers had questions that weren't being answered. The Internet has become and great source for information and a great source for misinformation and there really was a need to create a centralized forum for information sharing, warranty issues etc. could be addressed more efficiently and effectively.

In order to do this, Mindplace had to restructure their company and creating the forum, redesigning their web page and setting up an Amazon storefront took an enormous amount of resources and time. Sometimes good things happen to good people and Mindplace attracted some awesome people who donated extra time to help set up and manage the forum and support site. What has emerged is a community of people who are stepping up and helping others, contributing information, programs and help. It's a very cool thing and not something that most Internet retailers have the opportunity to create or maintain.

So, the next phase of AVS technology is, like Scott said, going to come from the community. The community benefits because with their help, the prices of products can stay affordable and believe me, doing things this way does not make a person rich but not everything needs to be about getting rich. The community will take the education of the technology and further it through their exploration and hopefully experimentation.

In sum, there are some obstacles to marketing AVS products and companies such as Mindplace are still in business because not only are they adapting to a changing marketplace, they are setting the standard for customer service and community involvement. In some ways things haven't changed as there have always been enthusiasts who love the technology and those are the people who advance it and educate others about it - they just got disbursed for a while and now they and the new generation of enthusiasts have a place to gather.

And that - is my version of the AVS story.

M.

[brewmasher]

***Sigh***

If we could have only gotten Oprah hooked on AVS!

[neuroasis]

At some level as in most industries the 'buzz' of a product is driven by celebrity. There was a big interest early in the product cycles (early 90's) driven to a large degree by MegaBrain. After Michael Hutchinson's accident that awesome advocate voice was tragically sidetracked. Also, during this time there were other major writers and speakers releasing content and books about technology based consciousness expansion... Terence Mckenna, Tim Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, and several others. We haven't quite filled the shoes left by these inspired writers.

Newer works like Head Trip by Jeff Warren are out there and interesting but not to the same level of appeal. However, with the surge of interest in Neurofeedback this may be set to change.

[SteveMod]

I've written it before in the forum and I'll write it again now.......I feel like I've stumbled into AVS at a special time when the technology is at it's tried and true stages and any advancements and accessories at this stage will just be frosting on the cake. I'll consider myself a novice for a long time due to the fact that I haven't even moved past the basics of my Procyon unit because the basic package and preloaded sessions not to mention the available Audio Strobe accessory is huge and I experience something new almost every session. I do however, feel that I've also stumbled onto the leader in the industry, MindPlace. Short of asking for a non paying position to roam the world and preach the word of MindPlace and AVS (because I'd do it for free) I can only wish them great success and prosperity. I hope all is well for them, and will be for a long time to come.

[Robert Austin]

Wow, SteveMod--what a heart-warming thing for you to write! Made my day... Marisa, your summary was nicely succinct and pretty much spot-on. I hope to elaborate on some of these points in the near future and provide some early context. Sometime soon I'll add some photos and descriptions of some of the prototypes we've developed which never saw the light of day: CD based system with a sort of digital AudioStrobe control and RGB glasses, plus GSR control (fully working in 1998), the USB RGB ganzfeld system based on the old Stress Shield (2002), a super-Procyon with added audio effects DSP (2004), etc. We spent so much on product development that we didn't have enough money left over to pay for manufacturing a number of them! We've changed how we are organized internally fairly radically over the past year, freeing up some resources and accessing new talent, so look for some innovative new products and services in the not-distant future (Having learned my lesson, I no longer project production dates for new products. Apple has us beat hands-down in that department :-)

Marisa's piece reminds me also of the incredible amount of time and creative effort she and Andy have put into the support site. It's because of them that we have the best service, and I would argue the most interesting and evolving Forums community of any light and sound manufacturer. This has been their baby all along, and without them we wouldn't be having this interesting conversation!

[Marisa]

Thank you for such kind words Robert. Wow, that felt good. I think I'll print and frame that for raining days. :-)

I'm going to hand off the credit to Andy though because he was the one who put this all together, organized it and keeps it running. After seeing what he did today to restore the forum (if anyone noticed it was down for a bit) he is the one that makes this playground a safe and fun place to be.

Humbly, M.