The Channel: M-A-S, Spain
UA Featured International Distributor Interview
by Terry Hardin

Robert Moog and Lluis Moreno.

Who is M-A-S?
Me, Lluís Moreno, and Marc Viadiu. I deal mainly with sales and marketing, public relations with our dealers and suppliers, advertising, etc. I spend most of the time on the road, but feel so lucky to have meet people like Erica [McDaniel, UA's Director of Sales,] and Sophia [Wardlaw, UA's recently departed sales manager] (note to Erica: this last one deserves a 6176, doesn't it?). I've been doing this job for 12 years, and I like to think I have worked with and learned my salesmanship from some of the best professionals in the USA and Japan.

Marc Viadiu is simply a technological beast. He has a degree both in telecommunications and electronic engineering. He's one of the most sought-after acoustic engineers in Spain. He provides his wide experience in business administration and his reliability, which is greatly respected by our most demanding customers. At the end of the day he likes to 'relax' and get rid of all his tension by practicing windsurfing at the Barcelona beaches.

“For us it is simply a luxury and an excellent opportunity to work with Universal Audio.”

M-A-S is the continuation of all the work we did before for Sonomarket SL. I worked for four years there and was lucky enough to meet people who taught me many positive things. My obsession about acoustics, the history of Moog and the heritage and reliability of Universal Audio made me decide to join Marc to start this project. Now, we are technologically much better and more competitive and can focus solely on our distribution tasks.

How many people are employed by M-A-S? In what capacity?
Besides Marc and me, there is another person on our staff. Eli Baqués does our accounting. A hard and demanding worker, she holds a college degree in business. She's tall, blonde and really good-looking. She's just extremely lovely. She's the mother of a handsome boy, Marcel, and a beautiful little girl, Jana. (Did I mention these are also my children? Ha, ha.)

Marc Viadiu (in sunglasses) relaxing with friends on the beach in Barcelona.

How long has M-A-S been in business?
Our company [M-A-S] is very young. We are only two months old. And although I have been personally in charge of the Universal Audio operations since March 2004 [while still at Sonomarket, Universal Audio's previous Spanish distributor], I started in the import and distribution business 12 years ago.

In what city is M-A-S headquartered? Why?
M-A-S is headquartered in Barcelona. Why? Sun, beaches, wonderful food, state-of-the-art technology, design, architecture, Gaudí, Dalí, Miró, Picasso, and...soccer! F.C.Barcelona. Besides these, we have excellent communications by air, land, and sea. Barcelona is probably one of the most European cities in Europe. Please, don't you miss it. Visit us; you are all welcome.

Do you have offices elsewhere? If so, where?
Our offices and warehouse are in Barcelona, but we have a very professional team of dealers in cities like Madrid, Bilbao, Sevilla and Valencia, among others.

What makes the Spanish pro audio market unique?
Nowadays, when the distribution of brands has become a business of, we can say, "collectors," when the alliances and sales between very big and powerful companies have changed the task of the importer into a very risky science, we have decided to work only with brands whose names are well-established on the international scene, brands with principles-names with that touch of vintage fame, that are highly respected even by their competitors.

Big brother Marcel and little sister Jana

We don't collect brands; in fact, we only import three of them: Universal Audio, Moog and Auralex Acoustics. What these three names have in common is the quality of their respective products. We have not been devoured by a marketing whirlpool. We try to share our vision of our brands with our dealers so they can continue building up these good names when dealing with their customers.

What makes the Spanish pro audio market unique?
Unlike other markets in Europe, which are more consolidated and have a greater economic potential, our market is continually growing. The long decades of tyranny and corrupt governments Spain experienced are a thing of the past, but those were the times when the rest of Europe got into the technological evolution. Now we're moving bit faster than our European partners, as if to recover lost time. We are privileged both geographically and with our wonderful weather (the Spanish Mediterranean coast is sometimes referred as the European California), and lately many music producers, engineers, famous DJs, musicians and singers have established themselves in our country. Spain has become a really attractive and competitive market.

How many dealers do you currently have in your distribution network?
Unfortunately, the majority of our dealers are based in Barcelona and Madrid. We try to have demo products in other main cities around Spain, so everybody can at least try the Universal Audio range of products. In all we have about 15 dealers with significant sales.

Why is Universal Audio important to your business?
As I said before, because our philosophy is to work only with the best. UA's prestige is our prestige. UA challenges us to work with the utmost efficiency to match its quality. We are established users of Universal Audio products, and thus can confirm what we say. Universal Audio is sort of a challenge and a blessing for anybody who loves really good sound.

Eli and Jana

What makes selling UA gear cool?
Our relationship with UA is always easy and sincere. We like to receive the always positive "feedback" from our customers when they finally can hear their LA-2A or 6176 or Studio Pak... We also like that sense of heritage that distinguishes Universal Audio from its competitors. It's amazing and delightful to see our devices in the most famous recording studios here in Spain, and in radio and TV stations, etc. THE UAD-1 POWERED PLUG-IN CARDS! It's really nice to meet our friends from UA at the "coolest" bars and discos in Frankfurt, Berlin, Los Angeles (and Barcelona?) after the shows are over, and we really feel good about it. UA employs such nice folks!

What makes selling UA gear difficult?
The big handicap is the language. Unfortunately the level of English is still a bit low in our country, which means we have to spend a lot on translations of manuals, websites, catalogs, etc. We might still lack a bit of experience in controlling our stock rotations, but that's it. For us it is simply a luxury and an excellent opportunity to work with Universal Audio. (Erica: remember my 6176!)

Please provide us with any interesting or amusing stories about M-A-S, your clients, or yourselves, or all three combined.
The fact that I have to travel so much has given me the chance to meet lots of very nice and funny people. There are piles of funny moments, some even ridiculous, like when I got cross with my friend Arnaldo Buzack at Sam Ash Music in New York City when he just left me alone at the counter to wait on someone named "Pelé." I thought he was making fun of me- Pelé is one of the best Brazilian soccer players of all time-and I told him if that man was Pelé, then I was the mother of the Queen of England...but it was really him, Pelé, and I felt very embarrassed because he was standing right behind me and heard the whole conversation. We became good friends, and I still keep a photo with the two of us, with some words in it written by Pelé himself for my son Marcel. I have another story in which I met Michael Jackson in person (sick) in Taipei and Bangkok. I can tell this last one to whoever comes to Barcelona to visit us...

One of the advantages we have at M-A-S is that our services include electroacoustics as well as architectural acoustics. We are very skilful in getting excellent results in our soundproofing projects and in getting the best sound possible from room and hall interior remodeling. This allows us to provide complete solutions to our customers and puts us in a great position to give them advice about the best choice of equipment for their studios. That's where UA's role becomes very important. We think of acoustics and sound as the most important parts for getting good final results. And we can boast about being the most experienced company in our country in dealing with the interaction between acoustics and sound. It's just a matter of continuing to offer the best at all times. "Mas" means "more" in Spanish, and that's what we at M-A-S want to offer to our customers: more.