5 vocal production and songwriting tips from NERVO
DJ and production duo NERVO (Kylie Minogue, Steve Aoki) sat down with us to share five timeless vocal production and songwriting tips.

Sony Playstation is acquiring Audeze, maker of planar-magnetic studio headphonesEsteemed headphone manufacturer Audeze is set to be acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment, with a focus on PlayStation.
READ MORE: Sony’s MDR-MV1 headphones offer a stunning insight into your mixes and masters
In a statement released today (24 August), Sony announced that it has “entered into an agreement to acquire Audeze.” The California-based tech giant said that the purchase will assist in the innovation of audio experiences of PlayStation games.
Audeze will continue to operate independently, which likely means it will continue to build its high-end planar magnetic studio headphones, such as the £1,699 Manny MM-500s.
However, elsewhere in Audeze’s catalogue is a selection of award-winning “audiophile gaming headphones.” Also built with planar magnetic tech, these headphones – such as the Maxwells – offer 24-bit, 96kHz via wifi dongle, plus Dolby Atmos capabilities.
Audeze x Microsoft Ultraviolet Maxwell.Image: Audeze
On the latter, Sony’s senior vice president of platform experience, Hideaki Nishino says: “We’re excited to bring Audeze’s expertise into the PlayStation ecosystem, building on the great strides we’ve made with PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech and the Pulse 3D wireless headset.”
Meanwhile, Audeze’s CEO Sankar Thiagasamudram suggest that the acquisition will provide the brand with opportunities to expand its business and amp up PlayStation’s audio tech.
“Sony Interactive provides Audeze with a unique opportunity to scale our business, as we continue with our mission to deliver best-in-class headphones to recording professionals, audiophiles, and gamers.”
“We’re also looking forward to contributing to Sony Interactive’s efforts to take PlayStation audio experiences to the next level.”
Previously, Audeze has collaborated with one of Sony’s main competitors, Microsoft, on limited-edition headphones for the Xbox. Sony’s press statement suggests that, as its fellow California-based company is still operating independently, it will continue to collaborate with Sony’s competition. No doubt Sony and Audeze co-branded products are in the works, though.
Sony has recently been in the news for another announcement: PlayStation Portal, a new handheld gaming device to accompany the PS5.
The statement ends, “Terms of this transaction, including the acquisition cost, are not disclosed due to contractual commitments.”
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AI-powered music creation app Moises launches new tools for easier productionMoises, an AI-powered app for music creation, has launched three new features which aid the production process.
The new features – AI Lyrics Transcription, Song Sections, and Extended Chords – will “empower singers, songwriters, and musicians to unlock their full potential”, according to the brand.

READ MORE: New music platform Myvox lets artists licence and monetise their own AI voice models

The app’s new AI Lyrics Transcription tool can transcribe lyrics from songs in multiple languages, such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French, and can synchronise lyrics with “word-by-word precision”.
Users can also access their transcribed lyrics on all platforms, so you record an idea on a mobile device, import it into Moises, and continue to work on the same project on a desktop device for easier collaboration, or producing on the go.
Also now in the app is Advanced Chords, a new addition to the Chord Detection feature. This provides more accurate chord detection and advanced chord capabilities so that users can access complex jazz chords and more.
Chords are also categorised into three different types (easy, medium, and advanced) so that musicians have the right chords for their skill level.
And finally, due to user requests, the platform is also now offering an AI-powered Song Sections feature which automatically detects and can loop different parts of a song such as the intro, verse, and bridge. The tool has been created to offer gigging musicians who need to learn fast a swifter way to practice.
“Each of these features provides new functionality unique to Moises,” says Spencer Mann, VP of Growth at Moises in a press release. “Our product team has listened to our incredible customers and these new features are the result. They are all designed to help intermediate and advanced musicians get the most from their experience in Moises.”
Find out more at Moises.
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Serato Sample 2.0 puts stem separation directly into your DAW – a production gamechanger?Auckland-based software developer Serato has released Sample 2.0, bringing stem separation technology as a plugin for your DAW for the first time. The new version of the sampling software also boasts a tweaked workflow for a workflow that’s “simpler than ever before,” the company says.
READ MORE: Group test: Six of the best stem separation tools in 2023
Following an early preview by content creator Ave McCree yesterday (22 Aug) and six years after version 1, Serato Sample 2.0 is now officially available to download. It packs a “proprietary machine-learning algorithm,” according to the brand, that allows you to quickly isolate and manipulate the instrumentation of any sample.

MusicTech has test-driven an early-release model of the plugin and can confirm that, yes, it’s incredibly easy to separate samples into stems. To do so, you’ll load the Serato Sample 2.0 plugin onto a MIDI channel in your DAW, import a sample from your computer, and isolate or remove a ‘stem’ using the dedicated panel.
There are options to create an acapella, remove a vocal line, isolate a drum beat, extract the entire backline, or dissect a groovy bassline.
The results aren’t perfect, but you’ll likely be impressed with what’s instantly possible.
Serato Sample 2.0. Image: Serato
With the Serato Sample workflow, you’ll be able to chop up the sample and play them in realtime on your keyboard or MIDI controller, too. Parameters for level, filter cutoff, attack, release, key shift and more are available per sample, too.
Also included in Sample 2.0 is Serato DJ’s trusted Pitch ‘n Time technology. This allows you to time-stretch and change the key of your sample with “best-in-class” sound quality, Serato says.
Grammy-winning producer !llmind (who has produced for the likes of Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Drake) said, “Sampling used to be just chopping and stretching songs. Now, I get instant access to audio stems in my DAW. [Sample 2.0] completely changes the game.”
This isn’t the first time stem separation technology has been made available – software such as Hit’N’Mix’s RipX DeepRemix/DeepAudio is one notable program that superbly carries out the task. With Serato bringing the tech in a plugin, though, we will surely see many beatmakers’ workflow change.
Keep your eyes peeled on MusicTech for a full review of the software.
You can buy Serato Sample 2.0 now for $149 or subscribe for $10 per month.
Learn more at serato.com.
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Songwriters are worried about BMI’s private equity sale – and if it will hurt their royalties. What happens now?MBW has heard rumors from senior music biz figures that BMI has explored talks with a number of potential backers/suitors, with the latest name on the lips of the business being New Mountain Capital
Source

“Now you can do an orchestral piece on a computer with 200 tracks – but it’s good to impose your own restrictions”: Calvin Harris on the benefits of limitation in music productionThough he’s now one of the most successful and acclaimed DJs in the world – with millions of streams and millions of record sales to his name – Calvin Harris, like so many DJs and producers, came from humble beginnings.
In a new interview with BBC Sounds, the Scottish DJ recalls starting his music-making journey using an old Amiga 500 Plus desktop computer his older brother left at home when he went off to university.

READ MORE: “I’ve never used a MIDI instrument in my life”: Jack Antonoff on his love of analogue gear

“I made my first album on that, actually. I used it long after I should have stopped using it,” he admits.
“I used to play a lot of computer games on it, and then my brother got this very sort of primitive – it was called a tracker programme – so you’d have four channels running vertically, and you could input samples on those vertical channels. Then you’d hit the spacebar and it would start playing. And as the line crossed these little inputs, it would [make drum sounds].
Commodore Amiga 500. Credit: James Sheppard/Future via Getty Image
“So I loved it – it was like playing a computer game, but actually you were making something at the end of it, so it was kind of creative.”
Harris goes on to highlight the importance of restriction in music making, and how it can actually be more beneficial than having limitless access to more and more channels and possibilities.
“It taught me to be very selective about what I put in my own tunes, simply because I only have five channels. So everything that was there had to be there for a reason. Now it’s limitless, isn’t it – you can have thousands [of channels].
“But I think if you learn how to do something and you’re very restricted – there were some songs that I couldn’t put a crash symbol in and a chorus vocal at the same time, it would take up too much memory. So I had to decide, would I put in this riff, or would I put in this hi-hat, you know?
He continues: “You can do anything now. And all the programmes are so advanced. You can literally go from doing nothing to doing an orchestral piece with 200 tracks, but I think it’s a good idea to impose your own restrictions sometimes, and work to that.”
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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?
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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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