From Spotify’s 1,000 plays threshold to Taylor Swift’s blockbuster 1989 rerecording… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe five biggest stories to hit our headlines over the past seven days
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What is EQ? A comprehensive guide
In this comprehensive guide, learn about what EQ (equalization) is, its common types, and how to use it in your music.

AI music platform Soundful launches “Soundful Collabs” series with big-name artistsThe AI music production platform Soundful has launched a new “Soundful Collabs” series campaign.

READ MORE: “She is a generation-defining artist”: Taylor Swift named Apple Music’s 2023 Artist of the Year

It’ll be working with some of the biggest artists and producers to capture their “Sonic DNA”, giving users of the platform the opportunity to create tracks that sound like them, as well as “simultaneously pioneering a clear and ethical path for content monetisation.”
Among the names involved in the initial launch are 3LAU, Autograf, CB Mix, DJ White Shadow, Kaskade, and Starrah. But Soundful will be working on numerous other names throughout the campaign. The programme will provide a new revenue channel for artists, producers and labels involved, too, as they can earn income from every tranasction.
Soundful’s founder and CEO Diaa El All said in a statement, “Working directly with this elite group of talented stars to adapt our technology to their signature sounds was a very ambitious undertaking, and quite honestly, took some world-class creativity and engineering to pull it off.
“I’m incredibly proud that our subscribers can now create tracks in the sound of some of their idols. It’s a huge step towards leveraging the promise of AI to inspire creativity while also rewarding artists and other rights holders with ethical and meaningful income.”
Premium subscribers to Soundful can access the collabs by paying an extra fee for finished track creation and downloads.
Soundful launched its beta a year ago, and has grown to have over half a million users – and brands are using Soundful for content for advertising, social media, promo videos and vlogs.
Soundful co-founder and board member Neil Jacobson, CEO of Hallwood Entertainment said, “My thesis is and has always been that the growing number of musicians coming online globally who are learning that they don’t need to be instrumentalists in order to be copyrightable musicians, is one of the most exciting movements in music.
He continued, “Soundful is the bridge to both creators and those who need affordable, licensable music at scale through the most seamless platform that exists. The more people learn to create music, the more their ear as a listener will be developed. The developed ear is what will drive sophistication, thereby higher quality music overall.”
The post AI music platform Soundful launches “Soundful Collabs” series with big-name artists appeared first on MusicTech.

Analog Obsession Releases FREE FetCB Dynamics Plugin
Analog Obsession released FetCB, a freeware compressor plugin for digital audio workstations on Windows and macOS. Although I’ve told myself, “No more compressors,” here I am with another free compressor plugin. Ultimately, who can deny the charm and appeal of a shiny new plugin compressor? This will surely make my drums sound fatter, punchier, and [...]
View post: Analog Obsession Releases FREE FetCB Dynamics Plugin

“She is a generation-defining artist”: Taylor Swift named Apple Music’s 2023 Artist of the YearTaylor Swift has been named Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2023, after reaching the accolade of the most-streamed female artist in Apple Music history.

READ MORE: Major labels “overhauling contracts” to prevent artists from re-recording their music like Taylor Swift has

The global superstar has seen incredible success in the last 12 months with the release of two re-recorded albums: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
In addition, the start of her Eras tour in March saw her streaming figures grow by 61% globally according to Apple Music, and saw the 2019 track Cruel Summer re-enter and remain in the charts since April.
While Ed Sheeran holds the top spot for most streamed Apple Music artist ever, with more than 9.5 billion plays globally, Swift has seen an impressive 65 songs reach Apple Music’s Global Daily Top 100 in 2023, which is more than any other artist in the streaming service’s history.
“I am so honoured to be Apple Music’s Artist of the Year,” says Swift. “Thank you to every single one of you for making this year the most incredible, joyful, celebratory year ever. From streaming the music non-stop to screaming it together in real life at the shows, dancing chaotically in movie theatres, none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you so much.”
“Taylor Swift’s impact on music is absolutely undeniable – not just this record-breaking year, but throughout her entire career,” says Oliver Schusser, Apple’s Vice President of Apple Music and Beats. “She is a generation-defining artist and a true change agent in the music industry, and there is no doubt that her impact and influence will be felt for years to come.”
Taylor Swift has been in the headlines over the last few weeks as it’s been reported that major labels are “overhauling contracts” to prevent artists from re-recording their music.
Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group are three major labels who have recently overhauled contracts for new signees to introduce these new restrictions.
Their hope is that future artists will not be able to re-record their own albums no earlier than 10 years or more after leaving their label.
The post “She is a generation-defining artist”: Taylor Swift named Apple Music’s 2023 Artist of the Year appeared first on MusicTech.

What is MIDI?
MIDI is a communications protocol for connecting audio devices. It’s also one of the most widely used music-making tools and the core of every production software setup. Today, we’ll answer what MIDI is and how to use it, as well as break down MIDI terms, devices, and setups. Learning more about MIDI will help you [...]
View post: What is MIDI?

Waves Audio Will Release A New FREE Plugin On Black Friday
Waves Audio has announced they will offer a new plugin for FREE on Black Friday, November 24th. Only 10,000 free licenses will be available, and users can sign up now to reserve their licenses. Receiving a free plugin from Waves on Black Friday has become a tradition in the music production space, much like getting [...]
View post: Waves Audio Will Release A New FREE Plugin On Black Friday

Soundtoys Little Plate reverb plugin is FREE for a limited timeSoundtoys is giving away its Little Plate reverb plugin for free until 1 December 2023.

READ MORE: Black Friday deals 2023: Best early deals for music producers, DJs, beatmakers and musicians

Soundtoys’ Little Plate is a reverb plugin known for its emulation of classic plate reverbs. It features a user-friendly interface, a warm decay, modulation controls for adding movement, and a mix knob for balancing wet and dry signals. This plugin is regarded highly by producers for its simplicity and vintage reverb character, making it a popular choice for enhancing vocals, instruments, and mixes with a classic plate reverb sound.
The brand has now decided to offer the Little Plate reverb plugin, which usually costs around $80, for free. This offer runs until 1 December 2023 and is available via Soundtoys.

“After the release of SuperPlate earlier this year, we thought it the perfect time to give everyone a chance to experience the original (and still awesome) Little Plate plug-in. It’s an amazing-sounding reverb that’s become a staple of many pro users. We’re constantly hearing how much people love the EMT 140 sound, modelled on the plates in our collection,” said Soundtoys’ CEO and lead designer Ken Bogdanowicz.
“SuperPlate dives much deeper into the world of analogue plates with five different plate reverb models and with much greater creative control over the reverb sounds.”
If you’re an avid user of plugins, you’ll no doubt be aware of Soundtoys’ widely-used catalogue of software, which includes the likes of EchoBoy, popular for its versatile echo and delay effects, and Decapitator, offering lush analogue saturation.
Soundtoys also allows you to shape your sound using FilterFreak’s filter and modulation controls. The brand’s own Little Radiator effect is useful too for adding a little ’60s-esque tube heat to bass and synths.
Little Plate is not the only reverb offered by Soundtoys. It released the SuperPlate in August, and in our review of it, we wrote, “a wonderful sound, concise and easy to use GUI, and a few neat tricks up its sleeves”.
Head to Soundtoys to find out more.
The post Soundtoys Little Plate reverb plugin is FREE for a limited time appeared first on MusicTech.

Introducing Beatport Studio, a new cost-effective subscription model for plugins and samplesBeatport has launched Beatport Studio, a brand-new platform which combines Loopcloud, Loopmasters and Plugin Boutique into a singular subscription model.
Structured around a more cost-effective model – as opposed to buying the same number of plugins outright, for example – the new platform gives producers access to thousands of plugins and even more samples in one central hub.

READ MORE: Deadmau5-backed Pixelynx launches BeatKOR AI music collection in partnership with Beatport

Subscribers have access to 10 plugins per month – from the likes of developers like Baby Audio, Excite Audio and more – and can rotate their selection every month. As Beatport explains, if a user finds they’re not using certain plugins, they can deselect them using the Beatport Access app and select a new plugin to try for the following month.
Additionally, Beatport Studio subscribers get access to hundreds of thousands of samples and sounds via the ever-expanding Loopcloud Sounds plugin. Browsing takes place directly within your DAW, and loops are automatically synced to your project’s tempo.
To sweeten the deal, Cubase LE and Bitwig Studio 8-Track are included as part of the subscription price of Beatport Studio.

Robb McDaniels, Beatport CEO, says: “Beatport Studio marks a significant milestone in our commitment to empowering music producers worldwide. We’ve harnessed the collective creative strength of Beatport’s Producer Group to deliver an integrated production marketplace that reflects our dedication to innovation and flexibility to ensure our users are at the forefront of shaping the sonic landscape.”
“It’s an exciting time for music producers,” adds Gareth Halsall, VP of Beatport’s Producer Group. “We’re proud to bring a new dimension to the industry by combining flexibility and choice, ultimately enriching the creative experience for our users. Beatport Studio is more than a membership; it’s a gateway to a vast world of sound, right at your fingertips.”
Price-wise, a Beatport subscription – which includes 10 plugins and 100 sounds per month – costs £11.99/$11.99 monthly, or £119.99/$119.99 annually.
For more info, head to Beatport.
The post Introducing Beatport Studio, a new cost-effective subscription model for plugins and samples appeared first on MusicTech.

“It might have been easier if I used AI, but I didn’t”: How Giles Martin created the backing vocals for The Beatles’ Now and ThenGiles Martin has opened up about the production process behind one of the most highly anticipated songs of the year, Now and Then, by the Beatles.

READ MORE: Rick Rubin: “What’s missing today is what SoundCloud used to be”

Released on Thursday (2 November), the song — touted as the fab four’s “last” – features sonic contributions from all four Beatles: George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Before the song’s release, talks about the alleged involvement of AI in the track’s making had caused a stir among fans. In a new interview with Variety, Martin clarifies that AI software was only used to extract and clean up Lennon’s vocals on the demo track, with the bulk of the song being recorded or spliced together from the Beatles catalogue.
Of the song’s backing vocals in particular, Martin says: “No, it’s not artificial or intelligent. No, it’s the same process that I used, as you say so rightly, in Love.”
“And Paul was nervous about this, actually… My thought was this: that I really thought this needs to sound like the Beatles. And I have Paul, and he’s definitely the producer of this track, and I’m producing it with him.”
He adds, “The band would have probably sang “ahhhhs” in those things, but they’re not around anymore. So I’m not using AI to recreate their voices in any way. I’m literally taking the multitrack tapes of Eleanor Rigby, some stuff from Because and Here, There, and Everywhere, just in the same way the Beatles are splicing that in.”
“So, no AI, no. It might have been easier if I used AI, but I didn’t,” Martin continues. “And it’s funny, because it gives a different quality. I was listening to the song today, and the backing vocals have a sort of tape feel to them, like they’re on tape.”
“They feel like they’re from the Beatles, and they are from the Beatles. I think if they were from some machine learning program, they wouldn’t sound right.”

The post “It might have been easier if I used AI, but I didn’t”: How Giles Martin created the backing vocals for The Beatles’ Now and Then appeared first on MusicTech.

Cubase 13 lets you produce “more naturally, intuitively, and conveniently”Steinberg has launched the latest version of its flagship DAW, Cubase 13, giving it a significant user interface redesign and new features.

READ MORE: ROLI unveils the Seaboard Block M MIDI controller, offering all the elements of the original in a more portable package

This update introduces a sleeker MixConsole interface for improved mixing focus, Steinberg’s new VocalChain plugin for professional vocal recordings, enhanced MIDI composition tools, and redesigned Chord Pads.
Credit: Steinberg
It also features Iconica Sketch, a compact orchestral library for scoring film, games or TV. This includes 140 articulations for 34 instruments in a 5 GB library.
Cubase 13 also sees the return of its renowned Steinberg Vocoder, letting you craft vintage robotic vocals or infuse analogue character into instruments. With extensive features including 24 filter bands, sidechain input, and precise control, the possibilities are broad. Additionally, two new equalizers, EQ-P1A and EQ-M5, contribute a touch of sophistication to productions. Notably, the inclusion of Black Valve, a classic tube compressor renowned for its warmth, character, and sonic richness, pays homage to an iconic studio processor, making it a standout feature of this release.

New effects in Cubase 13 include the Black Valve compressor and EQ-P1A and EQ-M5 equalizers. Additionally, the software offers Spectral Warp modes in the Sampler Track and exclusive sample packs.
The new DAW also prepares for MIDI 2.0 adoption and offers improved video handling on Windows. Steinberg, with tusi update aims to introduce a more balanced approach to music making, combining workflow improvements and new creative tools to enhance the music production process.
Steinberg’s product marketing manager Matthias Quellmann says on the release of Cubase 13, “Cubase 13 is the result of many conversations and interactions we had with our user base in the last years. Our primary goal was to help our users to stay in the flow when they are creative and we are very happy about the balance of workflow improvements and new creative features in Cubase 13.”
Cubase 13 comes in three forms: Cubase Pro 13 is priced at €579, Cubase Artist 13 at €329, and Cubase Elements 13 at €99.99. Grace period updates are available for customers who activated Cubase Pro 12 or earlier from August 23, 2023.
Find out more at Steinberg.
The post Cubase 13 lets you produce “more naturally, intuitively, and conveniently” appeared first on MusicTech.

Why artist subscriptions are the perfect partner to two-tier licensingWith two-tier licensing now a thing, it is time to focus the discussion on how to add new components to the DSP ecosystem that will help long-tail artists continue to thrive in this brave new world. There are many positives that two-tier licensing will bring (helping mid-tier artist remuneration, attaching an appropriate premium to lean-forward listening, etc.) even if the streaming fraud efforts will likely soon be offset by bot farms increasing their minimum streams thresholds. But the potential downturn to long-tail artist income is a very real prospect. Not only could artist subscriptions re-level the playing field, but self-releasing artists (artists direct) also have an opportunity here that label artists do not.

For more years than we care to remember we have made the case for artist subscriptions, most recently in this MIDiA report. The data in the report shows that what fans want to pay for most (and by some margin) is early access to music, exclusive merchandise, and songs. On one hand, this makes artists subscriptions relatively low effort, as there is no need to produce backstage access videos or host live Q&As, among other things. On the other hand, it is problematic for record labels that have to consider factors such as release campaigns driving large stream volumes to trigger the algorithms, and commercial agreements with DSPs that can complicate exclusives. Artists direct, however, have no such constraints. 

MIDiA’s data shows strong willingness among fans to pay, up to $5 an artist. But, if a long-tail artist was to price their subscription at just fifty cents, it would only take five fans to subscribe to generate the same amount of income a thousand streams would. Get that to ten fans (surely eminently achievable for many long-tail artists) and they would be earning double the minimum stream threshold of the two-tier system. It is a mechanism that enables DSP streaming to deliver on the elusive long tail promise and, to boot, everyone wins:

Artists direct get income that is more meaningful income than in today’s one-tier system

Bigger artists continue to get a more meaningful share of streaming royalties

The beauty of this approach is that the infrastructure is already in place, it just needs a little tweak. In August, Spotify and Patreon announced a new initiative for podcasters, enabling them to create premium subscriptions for exclusive podcast content. Artist subscriptions thus already exist on Spotify, they are just not called artists subscriptions, yet.

Starting in 2024, Spotify and other DSPs face a delicate balancing act. They must navigate the demands of larger rightsholders – a term that covers not only major labels but also a very large number of indie labels and publishers of all shapes and sizes. At the same time, they are going to have to convince the wider creator community that they are there for them. 

This is particularly pertinent because DSP streaming no longer hold a monopoly over music creators. In 2022, the number of creators releasing outside of the traditional digital supply chain grew twice as fast as those releasing into streaming. This is the second successive year that this has been the case. A forking is taking place. These creators are choosing share their music on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Soundcloud, BandLab, Discord, Twitch, Instagram, etc. rather than risk getting lost in the DSP ocean. From a creator economy perspective this is no bad thing, in fact, it will probably be a good thing. However, from a DSP perspective, they will want to utilise every resource at their disposal to position themselves as the most attractive platform for artists.

Dear Reality introduces dearVR SPATIAL CONNECT to Cubase 12 for extended Dolby Atmos capabilitiesDear Reality has introduced its dearVR SPATIAL CONNECT mixing controller to Steinberg’s Cubase 12 for improved Dolby Atmos capabilities.
The virtual reality-lead music brand says it “streamlines spatial audio productions” and “enables extensive in-headset control of the most-used DAW functions and the dearVR PRO spatializer plugin.”

READ MORE: 50-metre hologram of Fatboy Slim plays surprise set above Alexandra Palace

In case you aren’t already familiar, the dearVR SPATIAL CONNECT utilises gesture control in a virtual 360 degrees environment for music production. In combination with Dear Reality’s dearVR MONITOR headphone monitoring plugin for multi-channel speaker setups, Cubase users can now bring their spatial productions up a notch.
Users can simply link a VR headset like the Meta Quest or HTC Vive with their DAW, to position and automate audio tracks in the virtual space by pointing at them with two handheld controllers. Users have direct VR access to the position, channel volume, solo and mute, and the automation status.
Additionally, dearVR SPATIAL CONNECT provides overlay modules for extended navigation and control in the VR headset. There’s a main control module for direct control of Cubase 12’s transport functions, a metre bridge module which brings the traditional mixing console to the VR world, and a  “minimap” module to provide a comprehensive overview of all audio sources in the scene.

“With the latest dearVR SPATIAL CONNECT update, we make our VR mixing solution available to a wide range of music producers mixing Dolby Atmos in Cubase 12,” says Dear Reality co-founder, Christian Sander.
“This combination enables them to experience a revolutionary way of working with spatial audio. By optionally adding our dearVR PRO spatializer and the dearVR MONITOR virtual headphone mix room, engineers benefit from a complete spatial audio ecosystem where they can spatialize, control, and monitor spatial audio sessions.”
The dearVR SPATIAL CONNECT is on sale now for a lower price of £219 (as opposed to £409).
Find out more via Dear Reality.
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Cacophony Is An Open-Source MIDI Sequencer By Subaltern Games
Subaltern Games has released an open-source MIDI sequencer called Cacophony, and it’s free if you want to compile the program for yourself. The developer wanted its strength to be its minimalist and ergonomic design, which is why the software looks like an old video game and has a strong tracker influence. It’s minimalist because it [...]
View post: Cacophony Is An Open-Source MIDI Sequencer By Subaltern Games

Exoverb Micro By Dear Reality Is FREE For A Limited Time
Dear Reality offers the Exoverb Micro (€25 value) realistic reverb plugin as a free download to its email subscribers (including new signups) for a limited time. Exoverb Micro is a compact reverb plugin that emulates realistic spaces in your DAW. Because of this, the plugin is more suitable for use as a reverb for mixing [...]
View post: Exoverb Micro By Dear Reality Is FREE For A Limited Time