So Sound’s new MD, TJ Morrison, discusses father Doug retiring… And winning a Play Creators Award!

TJ, great to see you. We’re here to chat about your new role at So Sound – and the reasons for it! Your job title is now what?
I’m now the Managing Director because, as you know, my dad – Doug Morrison – quietly retired. So from the beginning of this year, really, my brother Charlie and I have taken on a lot more of the responsibilities. Charlie’s the Financial Controller; we’re looking at the whole company through those lenses.

And many people know Doug not only as an industry veteran, but also a bit of a legend! For those that don’t know him, for what is he best known?
In terms of individual products from the early days, dad worked on the back end of the first wave of Speak and Spell. Soon after that he worked on the Animal Farm book with Hasbro. Beyond that, there’s the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn product – which we continue to work on to this day…

Yes! And worth saying that your dad spoke about some of these things when we interviewed him. People can read that here…
The other thing that dad did in the early days was the localising of a huge number of different products… So as a sound engineer, he wouldn’t just put sounds and voices into American and UK versions of toys. He did it with loads of different languages and for many, many different markets – which was pretty much unheard of at the time.

Later, he grew the sound design side of the business: creating music, jingles, sound effects and voices: think Moose’s Magic Mixies, for a modern example. More recently, he took the company into the invention side of the business! We established ourselves quite quickly there. An example of that would be Hasbro’s Lightsaber Ignite Darth Vader action figure.

Which is nominated for a play Creator’s award at Mojo Nation this year!
But you know, Deej, the way I like to sum it all up is this… Dad’s best known for making millions of kids happy all over the world. For generation after generation, he’s made kids smile in markets that might never have had access to product in their native language.

Wow. That’s made me a bit emotional. And I suppose because that kind of localisation is de rigueur now, it’s difficult to imagine how groundbreaking it was back in the 1980s…
Yes! There was one product – a Fisher Price Laugh and Learn puppy, I think – that went into the Polish market… I believe it won Poland’s toy of the year for five years in a row! Partly because it was a fantastic product, of course, but partly because it was the first toy ever to come with a Polish native speaker doing the voice.

Amazing! And am I right in saying that So Sound is always evolving and developing in terms of technologies?
Yes; that’s something that was established as very important in the early days. Dad and his team were always exploring the different types of chip that were available, say, to see what was possible; to see how we could get the most out of toys. We still do it, obviously…

But in those days, it was the Wild West of technology! And the invention side of things… That’s comparatively new – but Doug helped you establish yourselves pretty quickly…
Right. In the last few years, he’s very much backed the current team to establish So Sound as an invention studio. So originally, it was always tech and localisation, then sound design. Over the last five or six years or so, we’ve gone into that world of invention and started to place some really cool products. Doug’s been a champion of us, of the staff and of me. Personally, I can’t thank him enough for being a champion, being a legend… And always putting other people first.

He’s such a good egg, he really is! And what’s he retired to do, TJ?
Put his feet up and not feel guilty about it, I think. Ha!

Ha! Finally! Ha!
Well, he’s supposed to taking the break that he very much deserves after 40 years of running the business. But as you know, Deej, dad’s got a real passion for classic cars… So he and my uncle are going to work on some classic cars together.

And in terms of winning the Play Creators Award for Outstanding Achievement – which we don’t give out every year; it’s reserved for the truly extraordinary … Your dad’s very modest; he won’t be expecting that… So much so, you’ve had to con him into coming along on the night. Ha! Why does he think he’s going?
We’ve told him the truth in as much as the Lightsaber Ignite Darth Vader is nominated for an award. But my mum knows what’s really going on – so she has said she’d quite like to go to the awards night. Dad – being the gent that he is – said they should definitely go, then… Little suspecting that he’s been chosen for the Outstanding Achievement award. Plus, he’s a massive Chelsea fan – any excuse to go to that ground! But you’re right: he’s too modest – it would never occur to him; not in a million years.

And modest is one word that comes up a fair bit with Doug. What other qualities come to mind that describe him?
Oh, good question. A few things spring to mind. I would say one key thing is determination. That’s stood him in really good stead over the years; it’s a quality I like to think he’s passed on to Charlie and me as well. I’d also say he’s a great problem solver. If a client poses a problem, he’ll help find a way to make sure that gets sorted. I would say that also speaks to his sense of empathy… He’s great at being able to understand the wants and needs of clients and staff alike. No company is great without great staff, and great staff deserve a great environment…

I really do think dad’s given So Sound staff the best tools and best opportunities to be the best version of themselves. His empathy has always really helped him understand that work’s important, but life around work’s important too. So yes… Incredibly modest, incredibly empathetic, incredibly determined. And very generous in letting people do what they need to do to feel great. So he’s been a great, great leader: respected and well loved; he’s genuinely endeared himself to people.

Perfect and I’m enormously pleased to see him receive this award and let people show their appreciation for his hard work over the last 40 years. To that end, TJ, what we’ll do next is print a transcription of your speech…
Are we calling it a speech? Don’t call it a speech!

Ha! Your introduction! Sorry! And then we’ll transcribe what your dad says as he collects that. We’ll print that below…
That would be amazing! Thank you.

TJ Morrison introduces Doug Morrison
Thank you! It’s a real honour to be up here and to be able to present this award to someone who really has brought millions of smiles to faces all around the world… They’re someone who has spent their career building an infrastructure to allow companies like Hasbro and Fisher Price go into markets with localised products; markets that never had those kinds of product in their own language before. They’ve run a toy company for forty years, with the core principles of the company being in innovation, in audio and technology…

Fast forward to today: our audio and technology departments are joined by a group of absolutely brilliant product designers as the audio and tech team is still still thriving.

Meanwhile, I’ve learned so many personal and professional lessons from this man… One of which that really stands out to me is in the ability of this person to be flexible. And when I say flexible, I’m saying this man is nimble on his feet; the way he can duck and dive… I’ve seen him trip over things and still manage to stand up!

So what’s impressive is the way he’s always been able to adapt to what the client needs, always been able to adapt to the market and what the market’s requiring – and many different markets all around the world. He’s really stood me in good stead to be able to run the company today. I owe my career to this man, and I’m so grateful for being able to work with him, being able to watch him work, being able to see him be an exceptional leader… And most of all, I’m grateful to be his son. This award goes to an incredible human being, an industry legend, my hero, my dad: Doug Morrison.

Doug Morrison collects the Outstanding Achievement Award
I have been very lucky to be in this industry for as many years as I have… Sorry; I’m a bit emotional! Um…

Great speech, TJ – thank you. And I have to say to the team – and we do work as a team at So Sound; outstanding characters and people… I’ve loved it every second. I’m now glad to retire. But thank you, everyone. This is very much appreciated. Thank you.

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