About VDT-Magazin

VDT-Magazin

VDT-Magazin is the membership magazine of the Verband Deutscher Tonmeister e.V. (VDT), the German association of sound engineers, published five times a year, the 5x jährlich the MIZ institution record lists. Operating under the motto "from the industry for the industry since 1967," the Aus der Branche für die Branche seit 1967 the website states, the magazine serves as the essential information organ of the professional audio industry, addressed exclusively to the VDT's lively and diverse membership of around 2,000 professionals. Each issue focuses on a selected theme, the Fokus auf ein ausgewähltes Thema the association describes, with the fixed editorial team working alongside the VDT's specialist departments and international authors published in the original English.

Overview

The five-times-yearly rhythm gives the pro-audio professionals their regular industry briefing: the themed print editions by post or PDF, with the MyVDT member area's digital downloads. The exclusive membership addressing, with the 100-percent pro-audio readership of internationally relevant professionals, decision-makers, and innovators, gives the magazine its perfect target group coverage.

The themed-issue concept defines the editorial program: each issue's own theme, from the EBU's activities to the remote production, requiring the specialist and detail knowledge that the VDT's Fachreferate deliver. The fixed editorial team's specialist journalism and editorial experience, combined with the departments' expertise, gives the magazine its technical depth.

The international authorship brings the global pro-audio knowledge: the almost-every-issue international articles published in the original English version. The fortes medien publishing partnership's cross-media content and format development extends the print magazine to the new media formats.

The VDT magazine is published five times a year by the VDT, the Fünfmal im Jahr erscheint das VDT-Magazin the website records. It sees itself as an essential organ of information dissemination for the professional audio industry, the essenzielles Sprachrohr und Organ der Informationsvermittlung. The publication is aimed exclusively at the lively and diverse membership base of 2,000 members, the rund 2.000 Mitgliedern the website names. They come from the fields of sound carrier production, radio, film, television, multimedia, and stage or are representatives of the media, equipment industry, event industry, research, development, and teaching.

In combination with the VDT's sponsoring companies as supporters, the magazine's readership is generated 100 percent from internationally relevant professionals, decision-makers, and innovators in the pro audio industry, thus achieving perfect target group coverage. In almost every issue, one or more articles are by international authors, which the magazine publishes in the original English version.

The VDT-Magazin appears in high content quality with five print editions per year, which reach all VDT members and sponsoring companies by post or on request only as PDF. In the MyVDT member area, the PDF versions of the magazine are additionally available for download in digital form.

History

The 1950 Munich founding as the Deutsche Filmtonmeister-Vereinigung places the association in the post-war German film industry's reconstruction: the film sound engineers' professional organization, growing into the Verband Deutscher Tonmeister for the sound engineers of all media. The 1967 magazine tradition start marks the association's publishing maturity.

The association's tasks define the magazine's context: the members' societal, economic, and social interest representation, the profession's cultural significance, the training concept and examination regulation participation, the experience exchange among the professional sound transmission practitioners, equipment manufacturers and developers, and the relevant sciences' representatives. The Tonmeistertagung's biennial congress and the Bildungswerk's education work complement the magazine.

The magazine's five-times-yearly evolution from the earlier quarterly rhythm documents the industry's information needs growth: the high-content-quality print editions, the MyVDT digital downloads, and the fortes medien partnership's cross-media development. The 2026 issue themes' contemporary topics show the magazine keeping pace with the pro-audio industry's transformation.

The VDT's magazine tradition reaches back to 1967: "from the industry for the industry since 1967" marks the association's publishing history. The Verband Deutscher Tonmeister was founded in 1950 in Munich as the Deutsche Filmtonmeister-Vereinigung, growing into the professional association for the sound engineers of television, film, radio, records, and theater.

The magazine's evolution from the association's information bulletin to the five-times-yearly themed magazine reflects the professional audio industry's growth: the print editions' high content quality, the MyVDT digital downloads, and the cross-media content development with the publishing partner fortes medien. The 2026 issues' themes, from the EBU activities to remote production, binaural headphone reproduction, and game audio, document the magazine's contemporary focus.

Coverage and Content

The sound production journalism covers the craft's disciplines: the sound carrier production, the radio and film sound, the television and multimedia audio, and the stage sound that the members practice. The practical know-how, user-oriented and technically profound reports give the professionals the applicable knowledge.

The broadcast innovation journalism addresses the media technology's future: the media over IP and cloud technologies, the EBU Technology and Innovation Department's projects, and the BBC R&D's research that the EBU issue's interviews present. The remote production theme covers the distributed production workflows transforming the industry.

The headphone and immersive audio journalism reflects the listening revolution: the binaural headphone reproduction issue's spatial audio coverage, with the technical foundations and the practical applications. The game audio and interactive media issue addresses the interactive entertainment's sound design, one of the industry's growth sectors.

VDT-Magazin covers the professional audio industry's full spectrum: the practical know-how, the user-oriented and technically profound reports, and the interviews with selected international experts. Each issue dedicates itself to its own theme, for which the VDT's specialist departments deliver the specialist and detail knowledge.

The broadcast technology journalism addresses the industry's infrastructure: the EBU activities issue, with the Hans Hoffmann, Paola Sunna, Dave Marston, and Ievgen Kostiukevych interviews on media fundamentals, production, technology and innovation, BBC R&D, and media over IP and cloud technologies. The remote production and binaural headphone reproduction issues cover the current production paradigms.

The Letters from America column gives the members the transatlantic perspective: the vice-president Ulrike Anderson's New York-based column, spanning from the EBU's visible work through the industry's transformability to the cultural and societal diversity. The game audio and interactive media issue addresses the growing games sector.

Organization and Ownership

VDT-Magazin is published by the Verband Deutscher Tonmeister e.V. (VDT). The fixed editorial team consists of Markus Thiel, Peter Kaminski, Stefani Renner, and Nick Mavridis, bringing extensive specialist journalism and editorial experience. The publishing partner is fortes medien, with whom the VDT works on the print edition's development and new cross-media content and formats.

The VDT's president is Ulrike Anderson, the vice-president Daniela Rieger, and the managing director Stefani Renner. The association counts around 2,100 sound engineers from television, film, radio, records, and theater.

Digital Presence

Tonmeister.org hosts the VDT-Magazin pages, with the current issues' overviews, the selected web content, and the membership services. The MyVDT member area provides the PDF versions for download. The Friday newsletter distributes industry-relevant information, event notices, and job advertisements to the members.

The Tongestalten podcast puts interesting sound people in the foreground, illuminating their personal preferences for working with sound. The 2026 issues' online overviews, with the EBU, remote production, binaural, and game audio themes, give the magazine's growing web presence. Dedicated apps for the VDT-Magazin brand are not detailed in the sources reviewed; the brand's digital presence rests on its association website, the MyVDT downloads, and the five-times-yearly print magazine's pro-audio journalism.