Matt Ross-Spang Opens Southern Groove Studios in Memphis, TNGrammy Award-winning producer and engineer Matt Ross-Spang has opened Southern Grooves Studio at Crosstown Concourse in Memphis, TN. Reverb recently featured the studio in their "Show Us Your Space" series, praising, "In the middle of the 20th century, the wonderful mix of soul, country, blues, R&B, and rock 'n' roll that shot out of Memphis studios like Sun and Stax electrified the world. Producer, engineer, and studio owner Matt Ross-Spang—who probably knows as much about this Memphis Sound as anyone still living can know—is giving it new life in the 21st century."

Ross-Spang has worked at the most iconic studios in Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Nashville — Sun, Sam Phillips, Fame, RCA — producing, engineering, and mixing music by artists like Elvis Presley, Lou Reed, Al Green, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Lori McKenna, Margo Price, S.G. Goodman, Drive-By Truckers, Mountain Goats, Cut Worms, Iron & Wine, and more. He has won two Grammy Awards, for engineering Isbell’s 2015 album Something More Than Free and again for its follow-up, 2017’s The Nashville Sound. Out this year alone, he produced Peter One's Come Back To Me, Lucero's Should've Learned by Now, St. Paul & the Broken Bones' Angels In Science Fiction, Blind Boys of Alabama's Echoes of the South, and Old Crow Medicine Show's Jubilee, in addition to engineering Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit's Weathervanes and mixing Morgan Wade's Psychopath.

On designing his new studio, Ross-Spang offers, "When I decided to build this studio I wanted to combine the spirit behind some of my favorite historical studios and my love of mid-century modern design. The studio follows the tried and true method of avoiding parallel surfaces, even utilizing an undulated ceiling - a preference of Sam Phillips. Like many of the great early 60s studios, I went with a tile floor for a livelier sound. The acoustic treatment (wood and burlap) is similar to what you’d find in Studios in the 70s, especially in Memphis and Muscle Shoals. We designed the studio around Crosstown's distinctive structural columns. They are 3 feet thick and at 17 feet intervals. The columns add unique acoustic and visual properties to the room.   I live in a time capsule Mid-century Modern home built in 1957. I used some of its wood paneling and ceiling beams as inspiration in my studio for the live room and iso booth. The furniture was hand-picked to match the studio’s aesthetic. I wanted a custom chair rail around the live room and had it sized for microphones, drinks, and even guitar pedals to add stylish shelving and comfort to the room without clutter. Most importantly the studio, although brand new, feels like it’s been around for decades."

Of the studio's custom equipment, he adds, "As the studio was taking shape I realized that I needed to synchronize the equipment and functionalities seamlessly with the studio's aesthetic. As a student of music history, I’ve always loved how classic studios like Abbey Road and Decca would custom-build their equipment and needs. You can look back at old studio photos and know exactly what studio it was by just pictures of the acoustic treatment or even the gobos. This is somewhat lost in modern studios and I wanted to bring it back. Ken Capton and I designed brand-new gobos from the ground up. They are stackable with removable panels (a lively hard side or a “dead” treated side). The Top half of the gobo is even designed to be the same height as the chair rail in the live room for us with amplifiers. We even designed custom casters for the Hammond B3 to be portable and visually appealing. Greg Pace and I designed my favorite piece: a modern Cue System to fit my studio's needs and looks. The boxes were hand-built and painted pistachio green. They feature our own 2 channel design and are all analog. They are screwed into some sleek space-age end tables. Each table was modified with the connectors and cabling!"

In celebration of adding the final touches to Southern Grooves, Ross-Spang is hosting a private Grand Opening Shindig for industry and press at the studio tomorrow, September 28, starting at 5:30pm CT. Attending press can RSVP HERE. Can't make it? Find more photos of the space and equipment HERE.

Rupert Neve Designs MBT: Review now live! Our full review of the Master Bus Transformer is now available for all to see online.

NIVA calls out Live Nation for its ‘calculated attempt’ to divert artists from independent venues[UPDATED] NIVA (National Association of Independent Venues) is pushing back against Live Nation’s announcement that its clubs will give $1,500 in cash gas and travel stipends to each headliner and support. Continue reading
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AIAIAI’s UNIT-4 Wireless+ is the world’s first wireless studio monitorAIAIAI has just revealed the UNIT-4 Wireless+ studio monitor, heralding it as the world’s first wireless professional studio monitor aimed at producers and musicians.

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The Danish brand, usually known for its headphones, is set to officially launch the speaker in October, but we’ve now been given a sneak peek at this groundbreaking new product.
The UNIT-4 Wireless+ is extremely portable, with a weight of just 2.5kg, and battery-powered, offering over twenty hours of playback time. The aim of this, say AIAIAI, is to let producers make music from anywhere, offering “complete wireless freedom”.

Aside from portability, the 2-way active monitors provide a precise soundstage and neutral frequency response, ensuring tonal accuracy with a flat +/-2dB frequency response from 50Hz to 20kHz.
They also provide clean bass extension down to 40Hz through a bespoke acoustic design, featuring a 4-inch woofer and 1-inch silk-dome tweeter with a crossover at 3kHz. These are housed in a bass reflex enclosure made from recycled plastic to minimise sound resonance and colouration. It looks to be sturdy too, alongside portable, with a magnetic steel grille guarding the woofer and tweeter.
You can use the AIAIAI app to adjust the EQ levels of the speaker via a five-band EQ feature.
The UNIT-4 supports ultra-low latency wireless connections via the X02 transmitter or Bluetooth 5.2, and it also offers cabled connections with 3.5mm mini-jack and 6.3mm balanced TRS inputs.
As with many of AIAIAI’s products, it’s good for the environment, boasting a design that caters for disassembly. It also is made from 100 per cent recycled plastics, and is future-proof, allowing users to upgrade and replace components.
AIAIAI’s UNIT-4 Wireless+ monitor speakers will be available to buy in October. They will cost $700. You can pre-order and read more via aiaiai.audio.
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DJ and producer Commix accused of “defrauding dozens of people” who signed up to his music production workshopsDJ and producer Commix has been accused of “defrauding” multiple people who signed up to his music production workshops via his tuition company Bear Music.
25 people out of a Bear Music WhatsApp group consisting of 110 members have come forward claiming that Levings owes a total of £9,299. Some of the people within this group of 25 have allegedly been “let down for as long as three years.”
A post shared on drum and bass forum Dogs On Acid on 25 June provides a chart which breaks down how much is reportedly owed to each individual, which totals at £9,299 for 237 hours. “There may be more people that are also owed money and lessons who have simply given up any hope of receiving the lessons or a refund,” the post reads.
Conrad Whittle and Guy Brewer (also known as Shifted) left Commix in 2004 and 2011 respectively, meaning Levings has represented the Commix name solo since then. Students of Levings say, “We have been told multiple times how the booking system is being improved, how his sister is now helping, and how he will be clearing the lessons owed. Yet he continues to not show up to lessons and the same issues persist.”
RA has now spoken to Spencer Lievens, the person who started the Dogs On Acid post, and a number of other students from the Bear Music workshops following the allegations. One of the students, who has remained anonymous, told the publication that Levings became “abusive” towards them when they requested a refund for unfulfilled classes. They said that this negatively impacted their mental health.
In an email that RA says it has seen between Levings and the student, Levings suggested that the student was “suffering from debilitating paranoia,” had “lost his grip on reality” and should seek professional help.
MusicTech has reached out to George Levings for comment and is awaiting reply.
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Vaporizer2 Wavetable Synth By Vast Dynamics Is Now Open Source
Vaporizer2 is the flagship hybrid wavetable additive/subtractive synth/sampler workstation from Vast Dynamics, and it’s now open-source. The move to open-source came with the release of version 3.3.0 (latest info available via the Vast Dynamics GitHub page). Vast Dynamics calls Vaporizer2 “Probably the most versatile wavetable synthesizer,” when you read the feature list, that might just [...]
View post: Vaporizer2 Wavetable Synth By Vast Dynamics Is Now Open Source

Softube announce Console 1 Channel Mk III The upcoming Console 1 Channel Mk III is a new and updated version of Softube's popular hardware control surface and software package.

Vicious Antelope Hyperview - Obsession Hyperview is a cinematic soundbank for Synapse Audio Obsession synth and it contains 96 synth presets with analog flavor, 55 polysynths and 41 pads. The main sonic identity... Read More

OM INFINITE SOUND Immovable - Impressive Orchestral Ensembles Extraordinaria biblioteca de muestras, con un minucioso diseño sonoro centrado en sonidos orquestales emocionales, profundos y siderales. Gran colección con cuatro inspiradores conjuntos... Read More

The truth behind why you aren’t getting more streams [Randall Foster]Just because your music isn’t getting attention does not mean it doesn’t deserve it. This post from Symphonic’s Chief Creative Officer covers what needs to improve your music streams. By.. Continue reading
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Worthless NFTS, Growing a Fanbase & more: Hypebot’s Bruce Houghton joins the Music Biz Weekly PodcastI’m always honored and excited when invited to be on an episode of the long-running Music Biz Weekly Podcast, so when Micahel asked if I’d join again (Jay was at. Continue reading
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PreSonus and Bitwig introduce new file format which lets users share sessions across different DAWsYou may have already caught the news that PreSonus has launched its 6.5 update for Studio One, and as part of the launch the brand is introducing a new file format which allows for the sharing of sessions across multiple DAWs.
The new file format, which reads as .DAWproject, is currently being provided across Bitwig Studio 5.09 as well as Studio One 6.5.

READ MORE: Bitwig Studio 5 continues to innovate with a new tranche of creative tools

The new .DAWproject files should contain the crucial data from your session, and bring it all over to a different DAW from another manufacturer. Information such as time, tracks, and channels, as well as note and automation data should be transferred just as they are.
Both audio and MIDI data is supported, and even plugin data used in your session can also be carried across, providing whoever you are sharing the file to has the necessary instrument and effects installed on their device too.
Bitwig has released an FAQ post on its website which answers all the important questions about the new file format. It can be used right now, and to export a project this way, Studio One users will need to go to the menu, select File, click Convert To, and then select DAWproject File. For Bitwig Studio users, go to the menu and select File, then simply choose Export DAWproject.
The process is also super straightforward to import. Just open your menu and go to File, select Open, or just drag and drop a DAWproject file onto your DAW window.
“The DAWproject format is a container that includes audio, notes and plugin data along with the project and metadata structure represented as XML data,” explains Bitwig.
“In other words, it includes all information related to time, tracks, and channels, plus all audio, note and automation data and the states of the plugins used in a file. It is designed to be adaptive to future needs and to remain compatible regardless of differences in feature-sets between various programmes.”
Find out more via this explanatory article from Bitwig.
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Travis Scott claims his phone is at the bottom of the ocean amid Astroworld trialRapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld trial has just become slightly more complicated after his lawyer claims that his phone, which contains sensitive information relevant to the lawsuit, is at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

READ MORE: “You’ve done so many classics”: Pharrell and Timbaland debate who is the better producer in wholesome video

In 2021 the Astroworld tragedy took the lives of 10 people and injured hundreds after crowds at Travis Scott’s music festival were crushed.
Scott has finally faced his long-awaited deposition, which took place last Monday (18 September), relating to the many thousands of lawsuits that have been filed since the catastrophic event.
Rolling Stone reports that attorneys representing the plaintiffs (the victims and their families) had requested information from Scott’s phone. However, the eight-time GRAMMY nominee’s lawyer, Steve Brody, has told the court that no information can be obtained from Scott’s phone as it is sitting at the bottom of the ocean. He added that he didn’t back up his phone over “significant hacking concerns.”
In addition, the plaintiffs’ lawyers also claim that Scott and XX Global had previously “objected to produce those records, citing several different grounds including that the request was ‘seeking confidential and/or sensitive information’”.
In the transcript which has been obtained by Rolling Stone, this lack of information was questioned by Judge Kristen Hawkins:
“There does not seem to have been any action, from what I am hearing right now, taken on the part of Mr Scott’s legal team to either, A, secure and download anything from his phone immediately following an event in which 10 people died, or, B, trying to recover text messages from alternate sources when Mr Scott would have the ability to go and get that information, possibly from the carrier, or from other sources.”
However, Scott’s team remain adamant that Scott has nothing to hide, despite the loss of all evidence and communication before, after and during the event.
“His actions during and after the festival demonstrate that he has done nothing wrong,” says Ted Anastasiou, a representative for Scott. “As does the fact that he and his team were cleared following the investigation by the Houston Police Department.”
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Updated Roland Juno-60 v2 sports new high-def interface, new sounds and moreRoland has updated its Juno-60 digital synth plugin, introducing a more refined interface, new browsing functions, a Circuit Mod function and new sounds.

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The update is part of Roland Cloud’s Legendary Series v2 rollout. The Legendary Series is a bundle of plugin emulations of classic synths, such as, of course, the Juno-60 alongside the Jupiter-8, the SH-101, the JX-8P, and the Roland JV-1080.
The most visually striking update to the Juno-60 plugin is its interface. It’s now high-resolution, which is perfect for big-screen setups in professional studios on modern DAWs, and makes it feel as though the real hardware synth is there in the room. In terms of interface additions, there’s also a new universal header.
On the Juno-60 v2 there’s an all-new universal browser, allowing you to search and rate sounds across every installed patch bank, including a fresh bank of tones. You can also now customise your sounds effortlessly by adjusting vital parameters directly from the integrated Tweak Panel, eliminating the need to switch views.
Talking of tweaking, Roland has introduced a new Circuit Mod function, which draws inspiration from vintage Roland synths. You can now adjust multiple trims effortlessly using a single macro control and replicate the effects of ageing with its Condition parameter. This can turn the Juno-60 v2 into anything from a “factory-primed instrument” to a “road-worn synth that hasn’t seen a tech bench in decades”, says Roland.
The Roland Juno-60 v2 is far from the only software version of the Juno-60 to be available today. MusicTech recently rounded up some of the best Roland Juno-60 and Juno-106 emulation plugins, coming from brands such as Arturia, TAL, u-He and UVI Audio.
Head to roland.com to learn more about how you can get your hands on these revised versions of classic synth emulations.
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Building an Artist Management Empire and Breaking Country Artists with Bruce KalmickBruce Kalmick, CEO of WHY&HOW (a full service artist management company), is changing the narrative of "artist manager."