2025 will be a ‘pivotal year’ for Meta’s augmented and virtual reality, says CTOAndrew "Boz" Bosworth, Meta's CTO, says 2025 will be a pivotal year for Reality Labs, the company's augmented and virtual reality unit.

ETF issuers pen letter urging SEC return to ‘first-to-file’ approvalsETF issuers say abandoning the long-held first-to-file method stifles innovation and rewards lazy behavior on the part of filers.

A Flip Clock Becomes a Flip TimerSometimes it’s nice to have a widget to do a single task and avoid getting distracted by the supposed simplicity of doing it with an app on a smartphone. [Dina Amin] built a timer from an old flip clock to stay focused.
Starting with a disassembly of the flip clocks she found at a flea market with [Simone Giertz], [Amin] decided to change the twenty four hour mechanism to a twenty four minute one which was similar to the amount of time she was already using for several different practices. Since she’s an expert in animation, she planned on turning a set of CT scans into the animation that would play on the section that had previously been the minutes of the clock.
As much of the original clock’s components were damaged, and [Amin] didn’t have a chance to learn clockmaking from scratch in a week, she tried a few different drive mechanisms for the build. The drum from an air fryer timer driven with an electric motor fit the bill, but off enough from proper minutes that [Amin] switched from numerals to a yellow circle that fills in as it approaches the satisfying ding of completion.
If you want to see Simone’s Moon flip clock we’ve covered that project too.

BEATSURFING CHEat codeCHEat code is a multi-effects processor reimagined. Sixteen meticulously crafted modules designed for radical sound transformation and an accelerated workflow. Stack them. Re-route them. Developed with the legendary Che Pope. It's your new unfair advantage. Stop the routine. Start creating. Key Capabilities 16 Unique Effects Engines: Explore beyond the ordinary. Granular synthesis, warped delays, rich modulation, rhythmic slicing, and textural processing – each module offers a distinct sonic signature. Fluid Routing: Connect modules in series for evolving chains or run them in parallel for complex layers. Unlike traditional FX plugins where you choose between serial or parallel routing, ours lets you explore everything in between. When the knob is centered, for example, it's exactly halfway between series and parallel — blending both paths dynamically. Performance Widget: Momentary effect throws. Touch-sensitive automation returns. Capture the spontaneity of live performance within your DAW. Advanced Macros: Simplify complexity. Four macros bridges the gap between intricate sound design and intuitive performance. Read More

“I can’t find the hook. It just keeps on going, and then it ends”: Barry Manilow’s issue with modern songwritingBarry Manilow thinks songwriting has changed, and that young artists don’t write the same way he was trained to.
Manilow – known for hits such as Copacabana and Mandy – is currently amid his The Last Concerts tour, and is planning to release a new album by the end of the summer which he says will probably be his last. Manilow also runs the Manilow Music Project, which has provided schools with instruments and equipment for over 30 years.

READ MORE: “I’m not just producing tracks anymore… I’m producing stars from scratch”: Timbaland unveils AI entertainment company – and its first Suno-powered artist

In an interview with Billboard, he discusses the forthcoming album: “I’ve been working on it for a long time…for so long that the style of music has changed [laughs]. I had to go back and redo [the songs] so they sounded a little more contemporary.
“I had to take all the strings out, all the background vocals out ‘cause they don’t do that anymore. They don’t use strings and background vocals and all that. Even I heard that it sounded dated, so we had to go back and redo it,” he says.
“The songwriting has changed. Young people don’t write the way I was trained to write. There’s no verse which goes into the chorus which goes back to the verse which goes to [the] ending, and you change keys. They don’t do that.
“They start the song and then they just…it feels like a run-on sentence to me. I can’t find the hook. I can’t find the chorus. It just keeps on going, and then it ends,” Manilow continues. However, he assures his own album will stick to the classic formula. “That’s not what this album is, and that’s not the way I know how to write, and I think my contemporary songwriters and people I work with would say the same.”

Barry Manilow will continue playing shows for his Last Concerts tour in July. He is also playing a number of shows in Las Vegas as part of his residency at the International Theater. You can find out more via his official website. 
The post “I can’t find the hook. It just keeps on going, and then it ends”: Barry Manilow’s issue with modern songwriting appeared first on MusicTech.

From the majors’ reported AI music licensing talks to Goldman Sachs’ new report… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days
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SaschArt releases multiDelay, a free creative delay plugin for macOS and Windows
SaschArt has released multiDelay Free, a freeware stereo delay plugin for Windows and macOS. SaschArt is a very active indie plugin developer who has been quietly building a solid collection of free VST plugins for years. While his releases often fly under the radar, we’ve featured many of them on BPB—and for good reason. If [...]
View post: SaschArt releases multiDelay, a free creative delay plugin for macOS and Windows

Live Music News: NIVA, EVA, Top Drawer, Concert Stuff & MoreIn the latest live music news, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) has announced Jim James, frontman for My Morning Jacket, and legendary producer Jimmy Jam will keynote NIVA '25.
The post Live Music News: NIVA, EVA, Top Drawer, Concert Stuff & More appeared first on Hypebot.

Win this remix contest and you’ll get your music released through UMGTo mark this year’s GeoGuessr World Championship, online beat battle platform Audeobox is hosting a unique remix competition in partnership with GeoGuessr and FL Studio – and the top prize is an official Universal Music Group release.
The Remix Challenge invites producers from across the globe to flex their creative muscles and rework the GeoGuessr World Championship’s 2025 anthem, Legendary. The winner will not only get a major label drop, but they’ll be able to head to the championship finals, taking place between August 29-30 in Copenhagen.

READ MORE: “There’s a terrible housewifely tidiness”: Why Brian Eno thinks there’s too much “fiddling” in modern music production

Budding producers will be able to download stems of the championship anthem, which was originally performed by Mapei and written by Niki & the Dove and produced by YARO.
The top three tracks will all receive one year of FL Cloud Pro, GeoGuessr merch and a Pro Subscription, as well as an Audeobox subscription, a unique badge, and loot cubes.
The prizes then vary, with third place set to receive FL Studio Producer Edition, while second place will get FL Studio’s Signature Bundle. First place will receive FL Studio’s All Plugins Edition – as well as the all-expenses-paid trip to Copenhagen, of course.

Entering is free – all you need to do is create an Audeobox account and download the official World Championship Anthem Stems. Once you’ve reworked Legendary into your own legendary mix, you’ll have to submit your remix through the official GeoGuessr Challenge page.
The submission deadline is June 15, with voting opening to the public the next day. Voting will run for a month, closing on 16 July.
While GeoGuessr started out as a quaint browser game back in 2013, this year will be the game’s third annual championship. The team are keen to utilise GeoGuessr’s global platform and offer a hopeful producer the chance of a lifetime.
“GeoGuessr has always been more than just a game – it’s a global culture powered by an incredibly creative community,” Mikael Falgard, Head of Esports at GeoGuessr, tells EDM.
“By partnering with Audeobox, we’re inviting remixers worldwide to put their own spin on our anthem and become part of this championship moment. We’re excited to hear the sounds our community creates.”
Head to the official Remix Challenge page to find out more. Submissions close on 15 June.
The post Win this remix contest and you’ll get your music released through UMG appeared first on MusicTech.

IK Multimedia offers FREE Brad Paisley’s Amp and Two Classic Dirtboxes
IK Multimedia kicked off June with another AmpliTube 5 CS monthly freebie, this time giving away the Dr. Z Z Wreck Head and Cab, as well as the ProCo Rat and Fulltone OCD stompboxes.  All of the above freebies are emulations of classic guitar gear releases for the free AmpliTube 5 CS guitar and bass [...]
View post: IK Multimedia offers FREE Brad Paisley’s Amp and Two Classic Dirtboxes

“I’m not waiting to program a synth… I can make that sound”: How Ellie Dixon samples everyday objects to keep her set up low-costPop artist Ellie Dixon uses everyday items found within the home to create her tracks, from chopsticks to microwave doors. Appearing on the latest episode of the My Forever Studio podcast – made in partnership with Audient – she reveals how doing so helps to keep her set up cheap and cheerful.
Dixon has amassed millions of streams, and one of her most popular songs, Green Grass, utilises the sounds of wooden spoons. As a self-producing artist, she makes a lot of songs right from her own bedroom, and experiments with clutter lying around on her desk.

READ MORE: My Forever Studio: Ellie Dixon is banned from Currys

She explains, “I’m someone that wants something instantly, so I’m not waiting to program a synth or order some percussive thing. I can make that [sound], and I want to make that in the next two minutes because I’ve got an idea, or I’m making it with my mouth.”
Asked what weird samples have snuck into her tracks, she replies, “My favourite is if you slam a microwave door – unbelievable snare sound, so good. You get such a slam, like you know how microwaves just always sound pretty violent? These natural sounds, they have so much natural variation, there’s this imperfection that I think we’re really drawn to as imperfect beings.
“When there’s this mass draw to something, it’s normally quite an imperfect human aspect of it that we love, and [going] back to the psychology of music, I think our brains are very clever… If you manipulate a natural sound I think your brain can still tell it came from something natural.”
Dixon adds, “Even if you’re not consciously making that connection you’re just going, ‘Oh there’s something about this that I like.’ And if you hear these everyday sounds that you hear in your world buried in music, I think it feels very familiar and homely.”
Host Chris Barker suggests it can be dangerous however, because when people know a sound is made in this way, they can never un-hear it: “Yeah, you’ve got to be careful about the information you share,” says Dixon
You can check out the full episode of My Forever Studio below:

Ellie Dixon heads out on tour this September. You can grab tickets to see her via her official website.
The post “I’m not waiting to program a synth… I can make that sound”: How Ellie Dixon samples everyday objects to keep her set up low-cost appeared first on MusicTech.

Gadhouse’s vintage-inspired HENRY turntable offers “the perfect combination of nostalgia and progress”Gadhouse has launched a new vintage-inspired turntable named HENRY, offering a blend of both “nostalgia and progress”.
Accompanied by two bookshelf speakers, a crystal clear lid, and a unique slipmat, the sophisticated HENRY turntable is now available in Ebony or classic Mahogany, and is marketed as the cool uncle of the Gadhouse product range.

READ MORE: Audio Technica’s $10k Hotaru turntable spins your records on a floating, light-reactive platform

Gadhouse describes HENRY as the music aficionado’s turntable and speaker set. It supports “seamless” digital streaming, and features Bluetooth connectivity, a 60W speaker, and an Audio Technica T3600L cartridge. It offers a low noise design system, a speed selector for 33 ⅓ and 45RPM records, plus USB encoding for recording your vinyl.
“When Henry shows up to Gad’s House, all eyes are on him. He’s sophisticated, effortlessly charming, and timelessly stylish,” says Gadhouse. “Timeless is the way Henry lives. Loved by every Gadhouse member for [the] reason that he never goes out of style.
“For every morning meeting, he confidently chooses the ebony suit that gives him composure and a sharp professional edge. On warm weekend afternoons, Henry often plays jazz from his vinyl collection, sharing stories from the past with the little ones gathered around. With a mahogany pipe in hand, he’s the dream uncle, effortlessly cool and full of rich, deep character waiting to be discovered.”

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Earlier this year, Gadhouse launched its COSMO Solar turntable range, with a clear-tech, Y2K aesthetic. The new additions to the lineup were first revealed during CES 2025 back in January, and come in three cosmic-inspired lid colours including Venus Red, Jupiter Green, and Neptune Blue. The COSMO Lucid White also made a return, known for its plain, transparent design to match any style.
The HENRY turntable will begin shipping from 16 June. It is priced at £275, and you can order it now directly from Gadhouse.
The post Gadhouse’s vintage-inspired HENRY turntable offers “the perfect combination of nostalgia and progress” appeared first on MusicTech.

How to use Physical Music Sales, Merch to build a Loyal FanbaseIn a digital-first industry, physical music sales and merch offer something streaming never can: a real, lasting connection with fans. Learn how to turn every sale into a meaningful moment that builds loyalty, buzz, and a fanbase that sticks around.
The post How to use Physical Music Sales, Merch to build a Loyal Fanbase appeared first on Hypebot.

InnerMost47 releases OBSIDIAN Neural Sound Engine, a FREE AI-powered jam partner
OBSIDIAN from InnerMost47 is a free and open-source AI-powered jam partner for macOS and Windows (VST3 plugin). If you’ve read any of my posts on artificial intelligence, you’ll know I approach it with caution. I don’t think AI is inherently bad, and I know we aren’t at the stage of being replaced by robot musicians. [...]
View post: InnerMost47 releases OBSIDIAN Neural Sound Engine, a FREE AI-powered jam partner

Boom Library release World War I Firearms Boom Library have released World War I Firearms, a high-resolution sound effects collection designed to capture the authentic sound of early 20th-century weaponry.