Shure Incorporated is entering its 96th year as an industry leader in audio technology and is planning many celebrations of the company’s history throughout the next 12 months.
S.N. Shure started the audio company in downtown Chicago in 1925, selling radio parts kits. Since then, the company has grown into a global leader, offering a diverse portfolio of wired and wireless microphones, personal and professional listening products, and conferencing and meeting solutions.
“While our 95th year provided several challenges as it relates to the pandemic, we continued with our superior product innovation and customer support,” says Christine Schyvinck, Shure President and CEO. “Our founder, S.N. Shure, would be proud of how our Associates banded together to persevere during these difficult times - positioning our company for a 96th year of global success.”
Shure products are now sold in more than 120 countries, and through the decades, they have been trusted and used around the world by such luminaries as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley, Pope Francis, Nelson Mandela, The Beatles, and every United States President since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Throughout the anniversary, Shure will celebrate key milestones, including:
- 25 years ago – 1996. Rose Shure named Chairman of the Board. Sandy LaMantia hired as VP of Engineering (he was later named Shure’s third President).
- 50 years ago – 1971. Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn appear in Nashville as endorsers of Shure products as Shure begins to aggressively market to the country music industry.
- 55 years ago – 1966. The Shure SM58 is introduced, one of the most iconic vocal microphones in history.
- 60 years ago – 1961. Shure established Shure Electronics Ltd, London,– the company’s first wholly owned subsidiary in the UK, and the forerunner to Shure UK today.
- 65 years ago – 1956. Shure completes its headquarters move from Chicago to nearby Evanston, Ill.
- 70 years ago – 1951. Shure introduces the Unidyne II Model 55S, known as the “Super 55” for its revolutionary style. It is a smaller version of the revolutionary Unidyne I Model 55 from 1939.
- 75 years ago – 1946. Shure transitions from war time production back to peace time products.
- 80 years ago – 1941. The Uniphase Acoustical Network patent is issued to Shure engineer Ben Bauer – the most valuable patent in the company’s history.
While these are historic milestones, Shure continues forward with industry-leading innovation today.
Over the past 12 months, the company has expanded its systems integration business with the acquisition of Stem Audio and the expansion of networked audio ecosystems for companies, educational institutions, governments, and others to conduct quality virtual meetings. Shure IntelliMix Room, an innovation in digital signal processing (DSP) for AV conferencing, was unveiled globally last summer.
On the professional audio side, Shure introduced its new DuraPlex microphones, the company’s new mid-tier subminiature (5 mm) omnidirectional lavalier and headset microphones. Shure also rolled out the SLX-D Digital Wireless System, the newest addition to the Shure digital wireless portfolio. The new offering is the digital replacement of the company’s SLX system, with new mechanical designs, improved audio quality, more reliable RF performance, streamlined setup, and more.
Shure also increased the frequency of free online training sessions from the Shure Audio Institute to provide audio professionals with the latest tools and information.
For consumers, the Aonic line of listening products was expanded to include Aonic 3, 4, and 5, while the podcasting industry’s demand continued to grow. In response, Shure launched its MV7 and MV5C microphones to increase its podcast and work-from-home microphone options.
