Avicii’s Wake Me Up hits two billion Spotify streamsWake Me Up, one of the biggest hits by late EDM producer Avicii, has hit two billion streams on Spotify, joining an exclusive 40-strong club of songs in the two billion region.

READ MORE: Producer reveals how he made over $1,000,000 selling beats on YouTube

The track, which features Aloe Blacc and was released in 2013, joins the likes of 2018’s Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi, 2019’s Dance Monkey by Tones and I and Sunflower by Post Malone and Swae Lee. It becomes just the fourth dance track to do so.

The milestone was celebrated by Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, who took to X to write: “Some big news today. Wake Me Up by Avicii is the first song by a Swedish artist to break 2B streams on Spotify. It’s so amazing to see Avicii’s influence and remarkable work continuing to bring joy to so many around the world.”
Achieving two billion streams is huge, and was an unthinkable number not that long ago. But, if you’re now thinking about who has three billion streams, we have been too. This club is, as you can imagine, far more exclusive. Only two artists have achieved three billion Spotify streams so far – Ed Sheeran with Shape Of You and The Weeknd with Blinding Lights.
Wake Me Up is not just smashing the numbers on Spotify streams. In June, it earned RIAA Diamond Certification, which means 10 million certified units have been sold.
There’s no doubt that Avicii, who sadly died in 2018, is now revered as a modern great of dance music. It was revealed in May 2023 that a documentary about the EDM artist is in the works, which will “accurately and objectively” tell his story.
In other Spotify news, it was recently revealed that the streaming platform is missing out on an estimated $38 million after its algorithm has suggested less cost-effective white-noise podcasts designed for studying and meditation.
Listen to Avicii’s music via Spotify.
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Night Tapes: “Other producers seemed like wizards. Then we found out they just had better plugins”Night Tapes are a seriously talented three-piece band creating electronic-tinged, psychedelic dream pop. Hailing from London, the outfit is made up of Max Doohan, Sam Richards and Iiris Vesik, three musicians who formed the band after a series of late night jam sessions.

READ MORE: Best synthesizers to buy in 2023: 18 of the best synths under $600

Kindness is the title of just Night Tapes’ third EP – which is early on in their journey when you consider how pristine each track sounds. It helped, we must add, with the maestro hand of mixing engineer Nathan Boddy, who’s worked with PinkPantheress, James Blake, Mura Masa and London Grammar. We speak to the band and find out about the plugins in particular that helped shape this stunning EP and why digital tools and synths help their music-making process.
Perfect Kindness by Night Tapes
Hey, Night Tapes! How are things?
Iiris: Hey, MusicTech! We’re deep into making a new EP (which will probably be the last EP before an album), preparing for a little tour in the UK and Europe in September/October and trying to enjoy the rainy summer we’re having in London.
What are your individual roles and how do you work together?
Ritchie: We don’t really have defined roles so much. We were all producing music individually before Night Tapes and this carries across to how we write now. Most of the songs start as a demo from one of us individually, which we then collectively work on it to carry over the line.
Tell us about your love of plugins.
Max: There’s a lot of innovation going on in plugins and plugins are generally a lot cheaper and easier to demo. While we love old hardware that’s tried and tested there’s something to be said for using new tools that create new outcomes in your music.
Iiris: I remember how everything I made used to sound shit and other producers seemed like wizards who could just magically make stuff sound better. Then I found out they just had better plugins and eventually I had to get a good microphone. Until those things happened, everything was just frustrating.
What’s your latest plugin purchase?
The God Particle. Image: Cradle
Max: We recently got a plugin called The God Particle by Cradle which is an enigma. It has a definite sound which either really works or really doesn’t. There’s a track on the latest EP Perfect Kindness on which we recorded the lead vocals with an iPhone and then cranked that plugin to 200 per cent to emphasise all of the artefacts.
What’s the best-value plugin you own?
Effect Rack. Image: Soundtoys
Max: SoundToys Effect Rack. This multi-plugin rack was a ray of light in the lockdown when it came out for $99. We use the presets all the time and it’s such a creative toolbox to have access to.
What’s the weirdest plugin you own?
Soundgrain. Image: Olivier Belanger
Ritchie: It’s not really a plugin exactly, but Soundgrain is an amazing tool for manipulating audio. It’s a little hard to explain exactly what it does, but it effectively time stretches and loops samples at different frequencies to create amazingly interesting textures. It’s an amazing way to create beds of sound and ambient pads.
What plugins go on your master bus without fail?
Max: Sonarworks SoundID Reference. our studio is not currently acoustically treated so it’s helpful for getting a more accurate sound in the room- especially for mixing.
What plugin would your latest EP, Perfect Kindness, be incomplete without?
ValhallaRoom. Image: Valhalla DSP
Max: ValhallaRoom by Valhalla DSP. It’s our go-to reverb across all of our music and has become an instrument in its own right. It doesn’t really imitate a real space like most VST reverbs – it’s got an ethereal quality.
You’ve created a really distorted atmosphere on Humans. How?
Richie: A big part of that distorted sound is running various instruments through cassette multitrack preamps – primarily our Tascam four track mixer. On certain parts, we’ll track to cassette tape and transfer that to our project. The cassette tape has quite a limited dynamic range, so it compresses the tape saturation in a musical way.
When it comes to vocals, we’ll often combine this saturated sound with software saturation so it’s easier to bed into the mix. Like many others, we’re big fans of using Soundtoys’ Decapitator to do this. Saying that, I’m a big fan of Logic Pro’s stock clip distortion. You have a lot of control over where clipping occurs, and it runs well in parallel with the mix turned right down. The big vocal sound on both Humans and Inigo is a result of this. It has a really bright, sparkly saturation that compliments the heavier, more midrange tape saturation of the Tascam.
Do you have any secret sauce plugins?
Virtual MixBuss. Image: Slate Digital
Max: Virtual MixBuss by Slate. It’s an analogue desk emulator which has become our default first plugin on our output chain. It adds a little more air and color to everything.
Richie: Virtual Tape Machines, also by Slate. It’s really subtle, but sounds warm and lifelike. I’m a massive fan of Waves’ (slightly less realistic) Kramer Tape too. Flux control is dangerously addictive.
What about a guilty pleasure plugin?
Richie: Fabfilter’s Pro L 2. Turning a mix up by 4db is apparently the real secret to impressing friends, family and A&Rs.
Listen to more of Night Tapes’ music on Bandcamp.
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After partnering with AI music startup Lemonaide, BeatStars unveils AI music creation tool, ‘Seeds’According to BeatStars, the new tool is aimed at helping creators generate initial ideas for music
Source

Producer reveals how he made over $1,000,000 selling beats on YouTubeRap producer and YouTuber KXVI has posted a video explaining how he made over $1,000,000 selling beats and collaborating with type beat producers.

READ MORE: Nearly 120 historic hip-hop artefacts – including a ring designed by Tupac – go on sale in Sotheby’s auction

Speaking in a video entitled How I Made $1,062,634 Selling Beats Online, the producer explains his journey to success, highlighting that it was through selling beats on digital production marketplace BeatStars, that helped, as well as reaching out to popular producers on YouTube.
The producer – who now collaborates with the likes of Lil Tjay and in 2022 helped produce DJ Khaled, Future and SZA’s BEAUTIFUL – mentions that reaching out to ‘type beat’ producers on the platform played a role in the success story. If you don’t know, ‘type beat’ producers are those – typically in hip-hop – who make beats emulating the style of a specific artist or producer.
KXVI explains how he started to make success selling beats online, especially off one instrumental, Elevate which made him $1,000 – $2,000 a month. Then, a few years later, he met fellow producer Dilly Got It Bumpin’, who showed him how he’d made $30,000 from selling beats on BeatStars in a matter of days, inspiring him to reach the same level of success.

He goes on to say how by sending loops every day to hugely popular type beat producers, resulting in collaborations, he began getting a 50% cut on the beats they sold together via BeatStars. He also started making his own sample packs, later bringing in session musicians for a pack called Elements of Soul, thus improving the quality of the packs, which paid off in terms of popularity and more revenue.
At the end he says, “If I’ve learnt anything form my journey, it’s just that you’ve just got to keep going… everyone I used to make music with when I was 14, everyone who’s kept going for the seven years that I’ve been doing this, they’ve had major placements or made money online from their music. If you keep going, you’re going to find some success from your music.”
Subscribe to KXVI’s YouTube channel.
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Phoebe Willo Crowdfunds over $30,000 via SongBits and Music GatewayBy aligning with SongBits and Music Gateway, independent and unknown artist, Phoebe Willo, raised over $30,000 by allowing fans to invest in her latest single. Both companies launched with the purpose to empower the independent artist and prove that fans want to support artists on a business level by investing for a piece of ownership in a project; in this case, streaming revenue on Phoebe’s latest single, “Lost in the Music.” A revolutionary new form of crowdfunding moving into the future, fans can now share in the success of an artist’s project. 

Music industry icon Dave Stewart — the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer, innovator and Eurythmics co-founder — is a co-owner of both SongBits and Music Gateway. “This is a precursor to big news coming,” says Stewart. “I am always thinking of ways to help new artists and this is a colossal one. I have always been heavily involved in paving the way for artists to survive in this fractured music business. At a time when actors and writers are on strike, music has always been the low hanging fruit, the sacrificial lamb so to speak.”

SongBits is a game-changing new platform that creates all-new levels of fan engagement, quick and effective new revenue streams and vital new data insights for artists and labels. Co-founder, Russell Sheffield shares: “Phoebe clearly has incredible talent and is one to watch. SongBits is all about supporting incredible talent whilst enabling fans to share the value of their songs. For the first time, creating a unique and true partnership together through harnessing the power of Web3.”

Music Gateway’s mantra is to empower independent artists by providing promotional services across playlisting, radio, press and digital media, leveling the playing field for artists across the globe. Jon Skinner, CEO & Founder of Music Gateway, says: "Dave Stewart has been part of our journey since the very beginning. Being a huge advocate for collaboration, he saw the huge potential in what we set out to achieve. Dave is a valued shareholder and plays a vital role on our advisory board. On a personal level, Dave is just amazing to work with and his ideas are endless." 

SongBits

Music Gateway

What is the Doppler effect?
In this comprehensive guide, learn about what the Doppler effect is, where it's heard in the world around us, and common misconceptions to be aware of.

The Aphex Twin machine causes chaos at Field Day 2023Although it’s a bright, sunny Saturday at Field Day in East London’s Victoria Park, there’s a dark sense of devilry in the air. The past two editions of the All Points East-partnered festival have showcased brighter disco house flavours. It’s evident, however, through this year’s emergence of mullets, black string vests and LSDXOXO and Juliana Huxtable playing techno at 4 pm, that 2023’s edition has been cast over by a towering shadow – Aphex Twin, who headlines at 9.25 pm.

READ MORE: Aphex Twin shares two archival tracks via ‘secret’ Soundcloud account

Cult followers have come out in full force, draped in logo-clad merch, to support the rare performance – one of just 22 since 2019. Murmurs of Richard D James ruminate through the site’s trees, landing at bars and toilets, where AFX nerds proudly show off their credentials. It feels like an Aphex Twin convention.
So, when the sun falls and stages close, the fixated faces of those who find pleasure in experimental sonics descend on the East stage, where Aphex Twin is set to shock, entertain and confuse.
And confuse he does. The Windowlicker and Syro creator, who recently released his first EP in five years, dives headfirst into a mind-boggling, intoxicating concoction of techno, rave, breaks, electro and… well, lots more genres. Glances of horror are shared between friends who didn’t get the memo. Others, who did, grin. Some try – and fail – to dance to the music.
Towards the end, no song seems to maintain the same groove for more than 16 bars. A muffled techno track starts with a four-by-four beat but then flings off in all manner of directions. It’s tough to pick out a particular song from the mix, which results in a hushed, bewildered crowd.
Image: Andrew Whitton
Hundreds of lasers set the sky ablaze. The Aphex Twin machine is unstoppable. The stage does feel like a machine – a huge, malfunctioning thing that’s been hacked by an AI rave robot, spurting as many genres into the chaotic output as possible. Chaos is the ultimate adjective to summarise Aphex Twin’s headline show at Field Day 2023.
Nearby tower blocks are illuminated by the show’s giant visuals, provided by Aphex Twin’s resident visual artist, Weirdcore. Filling the screens on either side of the stage, the walls behind Aphex Twin’s live setup and on a lightbox hovering above his head, they dramatically dart like strobes through morphing, evolving AI-driven images of machinery. At one point a contorted image of King Charles appears; at another, it’s the late SOPHIE and Charli XCX that are given the Aphex face treatment, to the delight of the crowd.
Does the show work in a festival setting? In many ways, no. It’s hard to engage with, especially if you’re standing further back, and in this case, with such a big crowd, that is the case for many. But has an Aphex Twin show ever been easy to engage with? The idea is to stand back and let the barrage of sounds and sights wash over you.
That’s just what the crowd do, as they embrace and bask in the Warp Records star’s genre-bending brilliance. Whether you’re confused, amazed or tripping balls, Field Day goers can agree on one thing: after 30 years, Aphex Twin is still pushing the boundaries of music. It’s thrilling to witness.
Did you miss Field Day this year? Keep an eye on fielddayfestivals.com for any information regarding Field Day 2024.
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Associate Music Festival Programmer focusing on Latin musicSXSW seeks an entry-level Associate Music Festival Programmer focusing on Latin music (from traditional to modern). The ideal candidate is an open-minded, self-motivated, collaborative individual with a strong music industry background, comprehensive knowledge of music/genres, and an enthusiasm for identifying new talent and trends in music. Strong communication skills, close attention to detail, and the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment are required for this position. Apply at www.entertainmentcareers.net

Armin Van Buuren DJs atop Burj Khalifa, breaks two world recordsArmin van Buuren has broken two world records by performing a DJ set on the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, the world’s tallest building.

READ MORE: “What do they do up there? Twiddle filter knobs and clap”: Deadmau5 says most DJs play pre-recorded sets at major festivals

The 40-minute DJ set took place on a balcony near the top of the 328-metre-tall building and consisted of the DJ, producer and label owner’s usual stadium-filling blend of electro-house and trance. A recording of the record-breaking set has been uploaded to YouTube, which you can watch below:

Armin Van Buuren’s elevating DJ set broke two world records: the highest performance atop the tallest building on the planet and the largest LED screen employed for a show. Oh yeah, we forgot to mention – the set was accompanied by mammoth audio-reactive visuals that spanned the length of the whole building.
The DJ set took place to promote the upcoming Middle East debut of UNTOLD — Dubai’s first mega festival, which will take place in February 2024. On the lineup is Alok, Alesso and Martin Garrix.
Talking of Martin Garrix, the Animals producer also has some experience in DJing on top of tall buildings. In October 2022, Garrix celebrated winning DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list by playing on top of the Empire State Building, becoming the first ever DJ to do so.
Neither DJ are the winner of the highest DJ set ever recorded on land, however. That feat went to Indian students Nosher Ali Khan, DJ Ghasuray, and Saad Ata Barcha, who played on the summit of the Pakistani mountain, Manglik Sar (6,050 meters) in 2021.
More cool DJ sets to have happened recently include a DJ set at Stone Henge and a set at the site of the Pyramids of Giza, both performed by Carl Cox. Nina Kraviz has delivered techno to fans on the Great Wall Of China and Paul Oakenfold once DJed at Mount Everest Base Camp.
Read more about UNTOLD festival via untold.com.
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Elon Musk’s X platform files to dismiss music publishers’ $250 million copyright lawsuitX, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has filed to dismiss a lawsuit filed by major music publishers back in June.
The lawsuit accused the platform of wide-scale copyright infringement, and was filed by a coalition of 17 music industry bodies, with plaintiffs including Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Group, Warner Chappell, BMG and more.

READ MORE: Warner Music Group sign licensing deal with TikTok to boost social media revenue

The original lawsuit against X seeks to claim $250 million in damages for “hundreds of thousands” of alleged infringements of approximately 1,700 pieces of music.
As opposed to other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, it was reported at the time of the filing that the platform had not negotiated music licensing agreements with music copyright holders.
The motion to dismiss now filed by X is the first response the platform has made since the original lawsuit was filed.
In the document (via Rolling Stone), it has cited a 2005 supreme court ruling from MGM Studios v. Grokster, and has claimed that the publishers “do not allege that X encouraged, induced, or intended to foster the infringement of Plaintiffs’ works,” further arguing that the music publishers “must allege that the defendant took active steps with the intent of encouraging infringement.”
It also adds, “To the contrary, X’s anti-infringement policies and practices, including its DMCA policy, believe any reasonable assumption that X has induced its users to infringe any copyrights,” and further states, “Even reading the Complaint in the light most favourable to Plaintiffs, no liability can be established on the facts as pleaded.”
David Israelite, CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA),  said in a statement (via Music Business Worldwide) on 15 August that “X’s response is par for the course – another attempt to deny the fact that they have consistently failed to stop or even slow the rampant piracy on their platform.”
View the full motion to dismiss at Music Business Worldwide.
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“What do they do up there? Twiddle filter knobs and clap”: Deadmau5 says most DJs play pre-recorded sets at major festivalsElectronic music producer Deadmau5 has said that most DJ sets at major festivals are pre-recorded.
The artist, who’s real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman, shared that he has played pre-recorded shows himself, explaining that at most big festivals “you have to”.

READ MORE: Deadmau5 on plugins vs. hardware: “For me, fun isn’t struggling on a laptop”

The topic is a divisive one, but Deadmau5 had no problem in being honest and upfront about it. He began discussing the topic of pre-recorded sets during a live stream which has since been posted to YouTube. Responding to a comment that asked if he had “ever faked a DJ set”, he was happy to share that he had played pre-recorded ones due to time restraints.
“If he means a pre-recorded set, yeah, wow, all the time. Most of the time. Does that make you mad? Do I go to jail for that? Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t,” he says.
Whilst nonchalantly eating popcorn, he then goes on to make a joke about the FBI knocking on his door: “How dare you play a pre-recorded set due to a strict timeline!”
“[At] most major festivals you have to play a pre-recorded set. Like EDC [Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas], I would be surprised if somebody actually played a set that wasn’t pre-recorded to be honest, because theres such a big deal to the fucking artist in the production schedule and the timeline and all that stuff that they wouldn’t wanna fuck up.
“You know what a dead giveaway is to a pre-recorded set? The visuals, believe it or not. When shit is so immaculately timed that everything is lining up, that means everything is on a playback system,” he explains. “What do they do up there? Twiddle filter knobs and clap, yes absolutely. That’s all you can do.”
Deadmau5 then went on to respond to a comment saying those who play pre-recorded sets are not real DJs, “Okay. Says who? The fucking DJ police?” he scoffs.
Watch the video below:

Tickets to see Deadmau5 live are available through his website.
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“Pop will be way more minimal sounding” in the future, Charli XCX predictsElectro-pop and PC Music singer-songwriter Charli XCX has taken to Twitter – now X – to share her predictions about the future of pop music, foreseeing a more minimal sound.

READ MORE: PC Music to stop releasing new music after 2023

“I predict that over the next year pop music will be way more minimal sounding – like 3 or 4 sounds per song plus vocal” the Boom Clap singer wrote yesterday.
After one fan responds to her minimalism prediction by tweeting that pop music should be “highbrow and exciting”, Charli XCX justifies that minimalist music can be “exciting and avant-garde”, not necessarily translating to just acoustic or soft sounds.
“Extreme drama” can be created through minimalism, she writes, found in songs like Peaches’ Fuck The Pain Away and SOPHIE’s Bipp.

“When i say minimal”, she defends, “I do not mean ‘simple’ or ‘lacking complexity’ or ‘small’. i mean that there are only 4 or 5 sounds that make up the entirety of the song – and this choice ends up making everything feel monolithic to me. There is no clutter. Every slight change feels gigantic because you can hear every detail.”
The Crash singer also says that she thinks lyrics will become less metaphorical and “flowery” moving forward and more conversational – “things you’d actually say to your friends on FaceTime”, she writes.

i predict that over the next year pop music will be wayyyy more minimal sounding – like 3 or 4 sounds per song plus vocal
— Charli (@charli_xcx) August 13, 2023

Charli XCX, who has become a cultural icon for the LGBTQ+ community in recent years, was included in the Barbie soundtrack with her track Speed Drive. The soundtrack, curated and produced by Mark Ronson, made UK chart history, with Charli’s track reaching nineteenth in the UK Top 40 charts.
After being added to the soundtrack, she tweeted “Wont lie I did used to behead my Barbies but really happy to be on the soundtrack tho!”
Charli XCX isn’t the only artist to have made predictions regarding the future of music this year. At the BRIT Awards in February 2023, David Guetta said “the future of music is in AI. For sure. There’s no doubt. But as a tool.”
Keep up to date with all things Charli XCX via charlixcx.com.
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Scientists have reconstructed Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall by listening to people’s brain wavesScientists have successfully managed to use people’s electrical brain activity to accurately reconstruct the classic Pink Floyd song Another Brick in the Wall.
The experiment – the first time a recognisable song has been decoded from brain activity [per The Guardian] – is hoped to restore the musicality of natural speech in patients who struggle to communicate as a result of neurological conditions like stroke or ALS.

READ MORE: This new AI music generator can generate over one billion different soundtracks

29 patients were played a three-minute segment from Another Brick in the Wall, with the following brain activity recorded using electrodes placed directly on the surface of their brains as they underwent surgery for epilepsy.
AI technology was then used to take the brain scans and turn them into audible material. Though somewhat muffled, the line, “All in all, it’s just another brick in the wall” was heard, with its rhythms and melodies intact.
“It sounds a bit like they’re speaking underwater, but it’s our first shot at this,” says Professor Robert Knight, a neurologist at the University of California in Berkeley who helped conduct the study.
Knight says by using a higher density of electrodes – the team worked with an average separation of 5mm between electrodes – the results of the experiment may improve.
“Now that we know how to do this, I think if we had electrodes that were like a millimetre and a half apart, the sound quality would be much better,” he says.
Staff at the same laboratory have reportedly been able to decipher speech – and even slightly imagined words – from brain scans, but according to Knight, “in general, all of these reconstruction attempts have had a robotic quality”.
“Music, by its very nature, is emotional and prosodic – it has rhythm, stress, accent and intonation,” he continues. “It contains a much bigger spectrum of things than limited phonemes in whatever language, that could add another dimension to an implantable speech decoder.”

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Wide Blue Sound Offers FREE Audio Plugin Uninstaller For macOS
I doubt I’ve ever covered anything here with a name that more accurately and succinctly describes the software’s primary function than Audio Plugin Uninstaller by Wide Blue Sound. We typically talk about effects, sounds, instruments, and more creative aspects of music, so I understand if uninstalling plugins doesn’t generate the same excitement. But I also [...]
View post: Wide Blue Sound Offers FREE Audio Plugin Uninstaller For macOS

MNTRA Instruments Releases FREE Mirage Cinematic Instrument
MNTRA Instruments releases Mirage, the FREE cinematic instrument for macOS and Windows. It’s difficult to summarize Mirage in a headline; a cinematic instrument is the most encapsulating description I could think of because it’s ideal for scoring videos or games. The reason it’s ideal for scoring video or games is that it allows you to [...]
View post: MNTRA Instruments Releases FREE Mirage Cinematic Instrument