DAWJunkie releases DT-600 Mini, a FREE Casio MT-600 emulation plugin
DAWJunkie, the developer behind Padness 2 Jr, LeadOff Jr, and various other quirky but awesome freebies, is back with another freebie – the DT-600 Mini. DT-600 Mini is based on the 1980s Casio MT-600 keyboard. The Casiotone MT-600 is one of those keyboards many musicians had as a kid, without realizing the sounds are actually [...]
View post: DAWJunkie releases DT-600 Mini, a FREE Casio MT-600 emulation plugin

Beatport announces changes to leadership team: “Robb has been a phenomenal leader and mentor” Beatport has announced a change to its leadership structure, with CEO Robb McDaniels moving to an Executive Chairman position on the Board of Directors effective from July 1, 2026.
In addition, the company’s President and Chief Financial Officer, Matt Gralen, will step into the CEO role vacated by McDaniels, while Chief Revenue Officer Helen Sartory will become President and Chief Operating Officer.

READ MORE: Music Producer’s Guild Awards 2026: The winners, the highlights, and the hot topics of the night

Since joining Beatport in 2017, Robb McDaniels led the successful turnaround of the company following the bankruptcy of its former parent company, SFX Entertainment. 
Under his leadership, the company says, revenue has “quadrupled”, with Beatport now serving over 1 million customers worldwide and providing a suite of products catered to DJs, artists, producers and labels.
“Working with Beatport’s incredible team, artists and business partners has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” says McDaniels. “I am so proud of what our organisation has accomplished since 2017, and I know that Matt, Helen, and the entire leadership team will expand on the category-defining position we have built.
“As Executive Chairman, I will continue to be involved in the company’s partnerships and planning, and I will be a sounding board for Matt and Helen as they take Beatport to the next level.”
Matt Gralen. Credit: Grace Phillips
“Beatport is a pillar of dance music culture whose focused service to DJs, artists and labels cannot be replicated,” says Matt Gralen. “I am honoured to guide our platform into a new chapter alongside our passionate team, as we work to deliver positive outcomes for both our customers and our business.
“Robb has been a phenomenal leader and mentor, and I am excited to continue the strong partnership that he, Helen and I have had for the last several years.”
“From my first day, working on the Beatport mission alongside Robb has been incredibly rewarding, and as a team we’ve seen tremendous progress over the last few years,” adds Sartory.
“I’m excited to be working alongside Matt for the next stage of the company’s evolution, as we continue to innovate for Beatport’s DJ community, our artist and label ecosystem, and the dance music industry as a whole.”
Helen Sartory. Credit: Grace Phillips
Learn more about Beatport.
The post Beatport announces changes to leadership team: “Robb has been a phenomenal leader and mentor” appeared first on MusicTech.

Music Producer’s Guild Awards 2026: The winners, the highlights, and the hot topics of the nightOn a mild spring evening, I find myself at the Troxy, a beautiful Grade II-listed art deco music venue in Stepney, London, where a medley of music industry professionals are congregating for the 18th annual Music Producers Guild Awards. Tonight is a celebration of the people behind the scenes, sometimes overlooked yet often most instrumental in bringing projects to full life — mixers and masterers, producers and recording engineers, and the studios where they practice their craft.
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On entrance, I immediately spot David Wrench, the wizardly mastermind known for his work with David Byrne, Arlo Parks, and Jamie xx to name a few. I’m suddenly struck by the collective impact on pop music currently contained in the Troxy’s auditorium.
I take my seat at Table 34. To my left is Miles Clinton James, Producer of the Year nominee who helmed Little Simz’ critically acclaimed Lotus. On my right is Tom Dalgety, his rock pedigree built on acts like Royal Blood, Pixies, and Ghost. Both don headwear: James, a chunky-knit beanie; Dalgety, a black fedora.
After a delectable three-course meal, the ceremony begins. Abbie McCarthy of Radio 1 fame kicks things off with a lighthearted dig at producers’ proclivity to remain in dimly lit box rooms by themselves for hours on end, at odds with their presence here in the Troxy. The crowd seem unamused, though Mark ‘Spike’ Stent confirms her assessment, admitting he’s a little nervous when he collects his prestigious Icon Award. He receives a standing ovation, and it couldn’t be more deserved — Stent’s fingerprints are on countless megahits from the likes of Madonna, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, and Miley Cyrus.
The headline accolade, Producer of the Year, is given to Zach Nahome, executive producer of Olivia Dean’s chart-topping second album, The Art of Loving. It’s unsurprising — the album’s mixer, Charlie Holmes, picked up Mix Engineer of the Year earlier in the night, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard Dean’s first UK number one, Man I Need in recent weeks.
Another highlight is Self-Producing Artist of the Year, which goes to Joshua Spence Mainnie, better known as Barry Can’t Swim.
Songwriter and record producer Kamille lands the Inspiration Award. As well as penning hits for Jessie J, Little Mix, and Anne-Marie, she’s collaborated on music with Fred Again, with whom she worked on the Next Up initiative, a mentorship programme for female producers.
In her acceptance speech, Kamille said: “I hadn’t seen many women doing what I wanted to do when I first started. There were hardly any female engineers, hardly any female producers … I just want to continue to be an inspiration to anyone.” This sentiment of democratisation and door-opening pervades much of the evening. No longer do industry professionals want to gatekeep their knowledge and experience — instead, they want to pass it forward to the next generation.
Once the award ceremony wraps, I get chatting with Jon Craig, owner of Courthouse Studio in Manchester and a key name in orchestral dance events like Hacienda Classical. He introduces me to Dan Harfield — assistant to mastering engineer Matt Colton out of Metropolis — as one to watch.
Reverting to music tech geekiness, I quiz Harfield on his desert island plugin: “FabFilter Pro-L at the end of the chain. It’s like the Neumann U87 — it does almost everything, almost perfectly. No matter what you’re mastering, as a smoother-overer, it works very well.”
Finally, I converse with Isaac Neilson, an indie rock singer-songwriter who’s on a serious undertaking: a gig a day, every day in 2026. I ask him if it’s moving the needle, and he responds with enthusiasm around the growth he’s seeing.
It’s a positive note to close the night, and I return home feeling buoyed. Despite the wholesome mood of the evening, there’s been ample acknowledgement of the challenges real people are currently facing in the music industry, from studio and venue closures to lack of representation. The fact Neilson’s unrelenting graft seems to be paying off reassures me that musicians, producers, and engineers who persevere can still achieve their dreams — even when it feels like the deck may be stacked against them.
Here’s the full list of 2026 MPG Award Winners:
Producer of the Year
Zach Nahome
Writer-Producer of the Year
Steph Marziano
Breakthrough Producer of the Year
Oli Barton-Wood
Breakthrough Engineer of the Year
Evie Clark-Yospa
Self-Producing Artist of the Year
Barry Can’t Swim (Joshua Spence Mainnie)
Recording Engineer of the Year
Ricky Damian
Mix Engineer of the Year
Charlie Holmes
Mastering Engineer of the Year
Natalie Bibby
Atmos Mixer of the Year
Andrew Scheps
Unsung Hero
Mick Ross
Small Commercial Studio of the Year
Snap! Studios
Large Commercial Studio of the Year
Decoy Studios
Original Score Recording of the Year
Young Fathers – 28 Years Later (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Producer: Young Fathers
Additional Production: Rosie Danvers, Tommy Danvers
Engineer: Jake Jackson
Mixer: James Trevascus
Album of the Year
Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving
Producer & Engineer: Zach Nahome
Mixer: Charlie Holmes
Mastering: Simon Francis
Special Awards
Icon Award – Mark “Spike” Stent
Inspiration Award – KAMILLE
Outstanding Contribution to UK Music – The 1975
Special Recognition Award – John Thornton
Pioneer Award – BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Impact Award – War Child
Read more music tech news.
The post Music Producer’s Guild Awards 2026: The winners, the highlights, and the hot topics of the night appeared first on MusicTech.

OpenAI’s existential questionsOn the latest episode of Equity, we discuss OpenAI's latest acquisitions and whether they address "two big existential problems" for the company.

2026 Green Powered Challenge: The Eternal HeadphonesNoise cancelling headphones are a great way to insulate yourself from the bustle of the city, but due to their power requirements, continuous use means frequent recharging. [Alessandro Sgarzi] has an elegant and unique solution — powering the noise cancelling electronics by harvesting energy from the ambient noise of the city via a sheet of piezoelectric film.
This impressive feat is achieved using a LTC3588-1 power harvesting IC and a pair of supercapacitors, while an STM32L011K4T6 microcontroller processes the input from a MEMS microphone and feeds a low-power class D amplifier. This circuit consumes an astounding 1.7 nW, a power that a noisy city is amply able to supply. Audio meanwhile comes via a traditional 3.5 mm connector, which we are told is the cool kids’ choice nowadays anyway.
We like this project, and since it’s part of our 2026 Green Powered Challenge, it’s very much in the spirit of the thing. You’ve just got time to get your own entry in, so get a move on!

quietformat TOYKEYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLNlPyp6n5Y TOYKEY is a virtual instrument built from a vintage 1980s toy keyboard from producer KION's studio. It keeps the raw charm, playful tone, and distinctive character of the original instrument while expanding it into something much more flexible for real-world music production. Four voices, layered freely At the center of TOYKEY are four core voice layers: Organ, String, Clarinet, and Piano. Each layer includes independent volume and pan control, making it easy to blend tones freely and build sounds with much more depth than the original hardware could ever produce on its own. Small origin. Much bigger range. OYKEY keeps the charm of a small vintage toy keyboard, but it is not limited to simple playback. With filters, envelopes, modulation, built-in effects, unison, mono, and portamento, it can move into much deeper sound design territory while still holding onto the raw and playful character that makes the source so special. Pitch MPE Support TOYKEY supports Pitch MPE, allowing pitch to be controlled independently for each note. Even within a single chord, one note can vibrate, another can bend, and others can move with glide-like motion on their own. Used with an MPE-compatible controller or environment such as Ableton Live, it opens up a much more expressive and alive style of performance. Requirements macOS 10.13 or later / Windows 10 or later (64-bit only). VST3 / AU compatible DAW. Minimum 4GB RAM (8GB recommended). Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) support. Read More

Waves update Sync Vx Waves have recently released an update that extends their vocal-alignment plug-in’s capabilities to all DAWs — even those without ARA support.

Xilentch XMVari - Mastering Vari-Mu Tube CompressorThe newest member joining the XM series family had actually been in development for quite some time. Along the road ahead, we wanted to add a tube behavior that could respond dynamically to the signal of course, in a way that fits the XM design philosophy. What makes it special is that it does not emulate any particular model. XMVari belongs to its own unique design philosophy. It carries the same level of precision that was shown while building the flagship XMLimiter. But this time more colorful. "My friend, sending huge love and appreciation to the honorable Jordan Faulknor. He handles all of our graphic work, and as always, everything on the visual side belongs to him video/visual promotion, plugin interfaces, and more... I should once again express how grateful I am from here." Launch Trailer: YouTube/ZjXNLaBG_Jo. Read More

Tesla brings its robotaxi service to Dallas and HoustonTesla is expanding its robotaxi service to Dallas and Houston, according to a social media post from the company. The post says simply that “Robotaxi is now rolling out in Dallas & Houston 🤠” and includes a 14-second video showing Tesla vehicles driving without human monitors or drivers in the front seat. The company now […]

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Three-Monitor Ridge Racer Machine Emulated in MAMEWhen Ridge Racer hit the arcades in the early 1990s, it came in a few different versions. The last variant used three large CRTs to create a wraparound display for the player. Incredibly rare, it’s believed that only a single-digit number of machines remain in existence. [beaumotplage] has secured a remaining example, and been working to preserve this historical artifact.
The first mission when it comes to this machine was to dump the ROMs, which have thus far not been preserved in any major archive. With that done, [beaumotplage] worked to hack a version of MAME that could emulate the Three Monitor Version’s unique mode of operation. As it turns out, each screen is driven by its own arcade board, with the three boards linked via C139 serial links. To emulate this, the trick was simply to write some C139 linkup code and run three versions of MAME all at once, letting them communicate with each other as the original boards would have. It’s a little janky in operation right now, but it does work!
You can download the hacked version of MAME for three-monitor operation here, though note that this does not include the ROM dumps from the machine itself. We look forward to seeing if the hardware ends up getting a full restoration back to operational standard, too.
Overall, this work goes to show that arcade preservation and archival work sometimes requires getting deep into the nitty-gritty technical stuff.

Blackmagic Design introduce Fairlight Live Fairlight Live is a new software mixer that’s aimed at broadcast and high-end live audio duties, and offers built-in support for a wide range of immersive audio formats. 

Russia introduces bill to criminalize unregistered crypto servicesIndividuals and groups would be required to register with the Bank of Russia before offering certain crypto services, or potentially face fines and prison time.

Live Review of MaanuSony Hall, New York, NY

Web: yain.coContact: sikki@sylaforever.comPlayers: Maanu, vocals; Asfandyar Ali, instrumental accompaniment

New Yorkers braved the cold at the end of January to see Maanu at Sony Hall. They arrived in droves, packing the theater wall to wall with a buzzing energy.

From Lahore, Maanu’s music blends pop, R&B, ballads, and hip-hop with his local culture to create something new and enthralling. Primarily in Urdu or Punjabi, his music leaves its hooks in the audience, making it impossible to forget. Maanu sprang on stage with high energy, amplified by hip-hop beats and bright lights. A slight tinge of melancholy from the vocal melody bubbled below, adding a deeper color than that of the high hats and fast beats. From the first note, the audience was dancing and singing along, utterly enamored.

Maanu’s stage set up was simple—he was joined only by Asfandyar Ali. Ali opened the show with his own set, playing stripped back tracks to warm up the crowd. He remained on stage playing live guitar and beats from a laptop. Together they created an intimate yet impactful dynamic. Throughout the show, beats ranged from mallets to sizzling high hats to dark bass drum. After a few minutes, Maanu chatted with the crowd, welcoming them in and announcing his recent marriage. Serving as a segue, Maanu shifted from upbeat anthems to tender ballads. Sweet guitar riffs from Ali and lilting melodies paired with pink lights to fill the room with an endearing atmosphere. Maanu’s ballad melodies swelled with emotion, filled with impressive vocal runs and gentle reverb in the guitar. Maanu and Ali rounded out the ballads with a pivot to R&B before bringing back some of the energy.

After this tender and earnest section, bright guitar and 2010’s hip-hop beats returned. The audience reacted immediately. These tracks were accompanied by enthusiastic singing, shouting, and clapping from the crowd. Grittier vibes in the guitar, deeper colors in the beat, and quicker lyrics had everyone on their feet dancing along. It felt like a party instead of a concert. Maanu’s connection with his audience is palpable, and they fed off each other’s energy all night long.

 Maanu does not tour in the United States often but embarked on a North American tour following the release of his album thikaana in 2025. There’s no news yet of any future projects, but I’m sure Maanu will be back with something new before long.The post Live Review of Maanu first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles exit OpenAI as company continues to shed ‘side quests’Kevin Weil and Bill Peebles are leaving OpenAI as the company shuts down Sora and folds its science team, signaling a sharp pivot away from consumer moonshots toward enterprise AI.