Understanding Music Publishing Rights: A Comprehensive GuideUnlock how to maximize earnings as an artist or songwriter with this guide to understanding music publishing rights. It breaks down everything you need to know to protect your work and profit from your creations.
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Best FREE Linear-Phase EQ VST Plugins
This article covers the best free linear-phase EQ VST plugins for Windows and macOS. Linear-phase EQs are essential for achieving transparent equalization, especially in mastering. Unlike traditional EQs, a linear-phase equalizer preserves the phase of your audio, making it ideal for mastering and handling complex multi-mic recordings. While free linear-phase EQ plugins are hard to [...]
View post: Best FREE Linear-Phase EQ VST Plugins

Musician’s Guide to LiveStreamingIn this Musician's Guide to LiveStreaming discover how to livestream with proven strategies used by successful musicians. Learn how to grow a fanbase, maximize revenue, increase visibility, and take full control of your virtual success.
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Splice is now in Studio One Pro 7
Splice is now integrated into Studio One Pro 7—discover how to search, filter, and audition Splice sounds, all synced to your project’s key and tempo.

“We didn’t get anything good”: Ninajirachi on her disappointing experience with AI music generatorsElectronic producer and artist Ninajirachi has opened up about her disappointing encounter with AI music generators in the studio.

READ MORE: “What’s interesting about this song is there’s actually very little going on”: Watch Jack Antonoff break down Sabrina Carpenter’s Please Please Please

Speaking to MusicTech, Nina says that the value of AI in music production lies in its ability to improve the “brain to page” flow, bridging the gap between abstract musical ideas and concrete expression.
And while AI music generators have become increasingly popular for their ability to create background tracks and assist in music composition, they often fall short in delivering the emotional depth that human musicians bring to their work.
“We were trying to give it the most obscure prompts, just to see what we could get out of it,” says Nina of her experience with the tool. “We didn’t get anything good.”
That said, like many other musicians, Ninajirachi hopes that AI will evolve into a tool that assists rather than replaces human creativity.
“My hope for AI is that it develops in a way that’s assistive for creators and is not replacing the creative work,” she says.
Elsewhere in the chat, Nina also shares her thoughts on the democratisation of music technology, noting the way artists can now make music that sound “fully professional” at a fraction of the cost.
“In the past, someone would have to spend 20 grand on a studio, an engineer and a mix person to create something that people would deem consumable,” she says. “When I was in high school, I was making songs on my laptop that sounded fully professional. With a computer, you can hypothetically make any sound. That’s so awesome.”
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Laufey: Gen-Z's Gateway to the Realm of JazzYoung artists including Icelandic-Chinese singer songwriter Laufey, English pop group Wasia Project, London-based singer/songwriter Ella Hohnen-Ford, and American Jazz singer Samara Joy, utilize their own personal fusions of contemporary jazz and pop to bridge the genre divide. We explore these musicians who are helping to introduce jazz-adjacent sounds to new audiences.

Acustica's Secret is out now Acustica released Secret, inspired by a rare, hand-built American console that became the iconic centrepiece of Crystal Sound Studios in Hollywood during the 1970s.

The BBC Sound Effects Archive now has over 33,000 free samples ready to downloadEver wanted to experience the roar of the crowd of the 1989 FA Cup Final? Or perhaps immerse yourself in the sounds of an African market? What about simply going on a muddy walk, or creeping close to a pack of grunting reindeer? Well, you’re in luck. With over 33,000 samples on offer, the BBC Sound Effects Archive might have the sound you’re itching for.
While BBC’s Sound Effects Archive opened in 2018, its library has more than doubled in the last 6 years. The selection spans from the sound of hands being washed in a bucket, to croaking frogs, to crackle and chatter of around a bonfire. Samples date back to the 1920s, with the earliest sounds being gas engines, chiming clocks and whirring sewing machines.

READ MORE: Sample libraries are here to stay – so why do some producers still find their use illegitimate?

The entire library is free to download – but you can’t use any sounds on music you plan to sell. Each archival sound has a non-commercial RemArc License, meaning you can’t legally use any of these samples for profit.
If you’re just experimenting in the studio or using it for a personal project, it’s fair game. And the site even has its own Mixer Mode, so you can build your own soundscapes without having to download anything.
The RemArc License aims to aid with research and education alongside personal projects. The tracks have also been shared specifically with dementia research in mind. The RemArc, short for ‘Reminiscence Archive’, was designed to assist those with dementia “by stimulating their long-term memory with material from the past.”
Musicians and sound designers can certainly learn a lot from the high-quality recordings. The BBC has put ample effort into atmospheric sampling for decades – and it all stems back to the height of entertainment radio. From cutting tape film with shears to simulate ‘cutting grass’, to mic-ing up and hopping into a shower to record ‘rainfall’, the 1920s welcomed in a bold age of sampling experimentation.
In a BBC article exploring the broadcaster’s sampling history, Radio 4’s Andrew Partington notes the importance of immersive sound design. “It is very easy to underestimate the importance of the sound effects because very often they’re going on at an almost subconscious level behind a scene where someone’s making a cup of tea,” he says. “But take them away and you realise how important they were.”
The BBC’s 1931 Yearbook notes that it would be “a great mistake to think of [sound effects] as analogous to punctuation marks and accents in print.” A strong archive of sound effects is the “bricks with which to build” any sonic world, and thus they should be considered with equal care as “speech and music.”
You can access the BBC’s Sound Effects Archive now.
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Spike Stent offers his expertise in Spike AI The acclaimed mix engineer with credits including The Beatles, Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran is attempting to bring his expertise to a much wider audience through Spike AI.

Sample libraries are here to stay – so why do some producers still find their use illegitimate?When Afrojack discovered that Fred again.. had used a Splice sample pack on ten – a track from his newly-released album ten days – he found it “disappointing”, as he recalled in a recent interview.
While Afrojack was quick to acknowledge Fred again..’s talent, his comments illuminate a viewpoint still held by more traditional DJs and producers: using pre-made Splice samples and loops is cheating. According to such purists, everything from synth sounds to samples should be created from the ground up for a recording to be authentic.

READ MORE: Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava on sampling: “It’s how young people create now”

It calls to mind that quote about skinning your goat to make a snare drum — but it’s true that stacking a bunch of pre-made loops and samples on top of each other without any original elements is difficult to pass off as your composition. But does interspersing your creations with Splice samples really delegitimise or subtract from the final product?

Sampling and synthesis from the ground up is a time-consuming process and, especially in an economy where regular releases are seen as paramount, finding regular hits of inspiration – like in loop and sample libraries – is crucial. If someone else has already created the perfect sound which complements your project and you’ve paid for it, why not use it?
In the case of an artist like Fred again.. – one of the world’s most popular electronic music stars – regular releases are perhaps less important than for an artist who’s just starting out. So maybe Afrojack’s implication that established artists not bogged down by such demands should take their time to create everything themselves is more valid.
But in any case, recording music has always been about making the best use of the tools at one’s disposal.
We have the tools to speed up the production process, so by choosing not to use them in pursuit of the often esoteric notion of ‘authenticity’, producers risk falling behind. By shunning sample packs as an idea altogether, they might miss out on an opportunity to inject a track with that little bit of magic to make it a hit.
Splice success stories are common, but none are more high-profile than Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 smash hit, Espresso. With well over a billion streams on Spotify at the time of writing, it’s inarguably one of the biggest tracks of the summer. And it was created, largely, using a Splice sample pack.

Created by Oliver, a popular Splice loop maker who’s also had his work used in Doja Cat’s Say So, among others, the Power Tools Sample Pack III features a number of loops which were obviously pretty unchanged before they were used in Espresso.
Just scroll down to a file named ‘OLIVER_104_pop_loop_surf_dad_rhythm_lead_C.wav’ and you’ll instantly recognise the track’s distinctive clean chord stabs. Or listen to ‘OLIVER_105_drum_loop_disco_live_feel.wav’ to hear the song’s drum loop in isolation.
Of course, the degree to which someone might find Splice sample usage to be egregious depends on how much it’s used, and while Espresso relies heavily on loops, the bassline is a new creation for the song, and Carpenter’s catchy vocals – which make it the hit it is – are all original.
And as Splice tells MusicTech, sample libraries are helping close the proficiency gap between more skilled and less skilled producers: “There will always be producers with more technical skill than others, but why would anyone gate-keep creativity?”
“We believe that music production has been underserved by technology, and now is the time to make it even more accessible,” the company goes on. “That doesn’t mean quality won’t always rise to the top, but if we’ve seen anything over the past 10 years, it’s that music production is increasingly global. There are new audiences opening up every day. Over 50 per cent of our users don’t live in North America.”
Ultimately, music production is an inherently niche and nerdy space, with many different ways of working and therefore many opposing opinions as to how something should be done. The ratio of music producers to music listeners is acutely small, so this is naturally going to foster a somewhat elitist mentality.
It’s easy to get bogged down with how music ‘should’ be recorded, and forget why we’re all here in the first place: to make music that connects with and inspires people. And if a little Splice usage helps achieve that goal, what’s the problem?
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Artcore adds Physical Media and Merchandise Sales Artcore has rolled out a new feature allowing UK and EU artists and labels to sell physical media and merchandise directly on the platform.

Lake People launch G103-D-4 Lake People have announced the release of the G103-D-4, a Dante-enabled dual stereo headphone amplifier.

Apple Album Booklets: 50K added to Classical but not Apple Music50,000 Apple Album Booklets have been added to Apple's classical music app "to enhance your listening experience," but no booklets are available on the main Apple Music service.
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Serato to revive its iconic Scratch Live Control Vinyl for a limited-edition anniversary reissueIn celebration of its 25th anniversary, Serato is launching a limited-edition reissue of its Scratch Live Control Vinyl.
Serato Scratch Live first launched in 2004, becoming the first digital vinyl system to allow DJs to mix and scratch digital music using specially designed control vinyl or control CDs with DJ hardware.

READ MORE: Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland launches digital amps and effects suite in partnership with STL Tones

The brand itself was founded by New Zealand natives Steve West and AJ Bertenshaw, with its first product, the Pitch ‘n Time, landing back in 1999. In honour of its birthday milestone, just 1,500 units of the Scratch Live Control Vinyl are to be launched as part of this commemorative reissue.
Buyers will receive a pair of 12” 140g control vinyls, encased in a special 25th-anniversary jacket. Five classic colours will also be available, including black, transparent red, transparent blue, orange, and grey marble – though this will remain a surprise until you actually unwrap the package.
Throughout its lifetime, Serato has been name-dropped across lyrics from Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Drake, A$AP Rocky and more. Artists like Questlove, Erykah Badu, Metro Boomin, A-Trak, DJ Snake and DJ Jazzy Jeff have also utilised its software for their music.

“At Serato’s core is a passion for music and technology, and we’ve built our foundation on the ongoing commitment to creating best-in-class products for DJs and music producers,” states Nick Maclaren, Serato’s Chief Strategy Officer who, as a club DJ in the 2000s, was one of the first to trial Scratch Live.
“When Serato Scratch Live was first introduced, it reinvented what was in the realm of possibilities for DJs at the time. As we celebrate 25 years of empowering artists through Serato’s advanced technology, we’re excited for our community to experience the magic of this innovation once again with the reissue of the Serato Scratch Live Control Vinyl.”
This limited drop will be available to purchase in select stores globally for $49 USD starting October 1 2024 at 9am NZT. Find out more via Serato.
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Kesha goes independent, launches label with ADA and CrushKesha has launched her own independent label. It will be distributed by WMG's with Crush Music overseeing marketing and promotion.
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