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Bandsintown launches Ad Manager for low-cost audience-expanding marketing campaignsBandsintown has added a tool to help the 570,000 registered Artists that use the popular music discovery platform to create and manage low-cost audience-expanding email marketing campaigns. Staying connected with. Continue reading
The post Bandsintown launches Ad Manager for low-cost audience-expanding marketing campaigns appeared first on Hypebot.Linda Audio releases free Instavibe saturation plugin for Windows.
#free #plugin #musicproductionLinda Audio Releases FREE Instavibe Effect Plugin Linda Audio releases free Instavibe saturation plugin for Windows. You might say to yourself: “I’ve got plenty of saturation plugin“- however, we both know that is a wrong statement and there is always room for more. If you’re... ...Chartmetrics relaunches free OneSheet artist EPKsMusic data and analytics firm Chartmetric debuted it’s recently relaunched OneSheet program at the Music Biz in Nashville, after acquiring the startup last year. By David Benjamin De Cristofaro To create. Continue reading
The post Chartmetrics relaunches free OneSheet artist EPKs appeared first on Hypebot.#Musicians: How to get the most out of your failuresSome failures may feel like setbacks when they can actually be the opposite. Here’s how to learn better from your mistakes for a more successful future. By Noa Kageyama, Ph.D. Continue reading
The post #Musicians: How to get the most out of your failures appeared first on Hypebot.Mike Shinoda on crafting Meteora, songwriting, and the art of vocal production
We sat down with Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park, Fort Minor) to discuss the creative process behind Meteora, how it informs his trajectory for the music he's releasing today, his advice for budding music creators, and more.Focusrite update Hitmaker Expansion bundle Focusrite have announced that users of Scarlett, Clarett+ and Red interfaces will now gain access to the FAST Balancer plug-in and Native Instruments' MASSIVE softsynth.
Gate.io threatens legal action against rumor-mongersInsolvency rumors surfaced after a series of events involving Multichain. Gate.io has denied any liquidity issues.
Elon goes to China, Rivian is selling stock for $3 billion, and Fiat’s cutest tiny EVWelcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B.
Rebecca Bellan here, and yup, I’m still steering the ship.
The biggest news this week has been Elon Musk’s visit to China, a move that has the potential to strengthen Tesla’s ties with the world’s largest auto market. It’s Musk’s first visit since the COVID-19 pandemic, and his commitment to China isn’t surprising given how much China’s vehicle sales carry the automaker’s global sales. In Q1, China accounted for over half of Tesla’s deliveries.
Even though Twitter is banned in China, Musk has still managed to make himself something of a legend to the Chinese people, reports Rita. The CEO has over 2 million followers on Weibo, where Musk shares his admiration for China, his opposition to cutting off supply chains and his plans to expand his business in China.
“The China space program is far more advanced than most people realize,” wrote Musk on Weibo.
His sweet-talking has earned him the nickname “Iron Man.”
The pieces of Musk’s visit to China are still falling, and we’ll keep updating, but here’s what we know so far. Musk kicked off his trip by dining with Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, one of the largest battery manufacturing companies. There have been talks lately of CATL and Tesla partnering to build cheaper batteries in the U.S., but there’s nothing solid yet.
Musk also paid a visit to the Shanghai Gigafactory, where he met the staff behind Tesla’s popular Model 3 and Model Y.
We’re keeping our eyes out for more news of Musk’s happenings in China. And with that, onto the rest!Want to reach out with a tip, comment or complaint? Email Kirsten at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com. You also can send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec. Or you can reach Rebecca at rebecca.techcrunch@gmail.com or follow her at @rebeccabellan.
Reminder that you can drop us a note at tips@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.
Micromobbin’Cake is expanding into India via a partnership with Pepfuels under the brand name CollarEV.
Cowboy is being sued by eBikeLabs, a French startup that builds embedded software for e-bikes, for patent infringement and copying eBikeLabs’ tech in its latest feature, AdaptivePower. Cowboy has refuted the claims and accused eBikeLabs of running a smear campaign. As Romain Dillet reports, “This is a messy story about a business relationship that fell apart between a small startup that doesn’t have deep pockets and a popular consumer brand that wants to protect its reputation.”
Zoomo will start offering Urban Arrow’s electric cargo bikes on its e-bike subscription platform.
Residents of Santa Barbara can check out e-bikes on a weekly basis from a new e-bike lending library.
Honda filed patents for two new moped-style electric scooters called Dax:e and Zoomer:e. Both are poised to enter the Indian market.
Zeus launched a solar panel charging pilot program in Regensburg, Germany. Under the pilot, scooters parked at the company’s three “Zolar stations” will get a charge from the sun. Maybe they should be called Helios stations, amiright?!
Porsche has launched two new e-bike cross-performance models that look like they can absolutely shred mountains.
City Spotlight: Atlanta
On June 7, TechCrunch is going to (virtually) be in Atlanta. We have a slate of amazing programming planned, including the mayor himself, Andre Dickens. If you are an early-stage Atlanta-based founder, apply to pitch to our panel of guest investors/judges for our live pitching competition. The winner gets a free booth at TechCrunch Disrupt this year to exhibit their company in our startup alley. Register here to tune in to the event.
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin (opens in a new window)
Deal of the weekLucid Group plans to raise $3 billion through a stock offering, the majority of which will come from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF already owns more than 60% of the company, and it’s agreed to buy 265.7 million shares in a private placement for about $1.8 billion, which suggests a price of about $6.80 per share. The rest will be raised from a public offering of 173.5 million shares of common stock, according to the company.
Shares immediately dropped 9% after-hours on the news as investors considered how much more money Lucid would need to surmount its rising losses and diminishing available capital. And all of this amid a looming recession, a Tesla-sparked price war, and the aftertaste of large-scale layoffs in March.
Sure, Lucid can bring in more cash, but the company really needs to cure its spending problem. In the first quarter, Lucid’s cash and cash equivalents dropped to $900 million, down from $1.74 billion at the end of Q4 2022.
Other deals that got my attention this week …
Boeing has fully acquired eVTOL startup Wisk Aero. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Boeing already owned part of Wisk and had committed $450 million in capital back in January.
A British consortium that includes mining company Glencore will invest $9 billion in Indonesia’s mining and EV battery sectors. Indonesia has the world’s biggest nickel reserves.
General Motors and South Korea’s Posco Chemical are getting C$150 million from Canada’s federal government and Quebec to build a battery materials facility. The companies aim to have the C$600 million project up and running by 2025.
Loewi, a Paris-based e-bike refurbishment startup, raised €1 million in funding to help it reach 300 refurbishments per month and expand globally.
Ola Electric, an Indian manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, is said to be preparing for an initial public offering before the year’s end. The company achieved a valuation of $5 billion during its most recent fundraising round in 2022.
Notable reads and other tidbitsAutonomous vehicles
A California bill that would require a trained human safety operator to be present anytime a heavy-duty autonomous vehicle operates on public roads passed the state’s Assembly floor. It’ll go to the Senate now and, if passed, to the governor’s desk. The AV industry argues the bill stifles California’s competitiveness and defeats the whole purpose of self-driving trucks. The bill’s authors are concerned about safety on highways and job security for truckers.
Cruise is expanding hours of operation in San Francisco for certain riders who have access to its free service. For some, rides will start at 9 p.m. and go until 5:30 a.m.
Einride announced a partnership with the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to deploy 2,000 EVs, 200 autonomous vehicles, eight charging stations and Einride’s SaaS product Saga across 550 km of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The partnership is expected to play out over the next five years. Einride did not share the financial terms.
Serve Robotics and Uber have expanded their existing partnership. Over the next couple of years, about 2,000 of Serve’s little autonomous sidewalk delivery robots will deliver food via the Uber Eats platform in multiple markets across the U.S.
Electric vehicles, batteries and charging
Arcimoto unveiled its new tiny, three-wheeled flatbed truck called the MUV. It has a customizable rear storage space, top speed of 75 mph, and about 102 miles of city range. The MUV is available now for $23,500, and Arcimoto is aiming to sell fleets.
Select 2024 Audi and other VW Group cars will have Webex available to download from the automaker’s in-app car store. Webex is also available on the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and in Ford vehicles.
Fiat’s new Topolino tiny EV is so cute we could scream. The remade Citroen Ami is a retro-looking quadricycle with a convertible top and ropes instead of doors, and aside from a teaser image, that’s really all we know about it. It probably won’t go any faster than the Ami, which hits around 28 mph, so it’ll be a no-go for the States. Which is sad because, again, it’s super cute and better for the environment and urban landscapes than an electric Hummer.
Ford’s CEO Jim Farley said the automaker might not break even on its EVs until 2030.
Geely is preparing to enter Thailand’s electric vehicle market.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV is a practical, luxurious car with top-notch tech in the form of a Hyperscreen and a handful of driver-assist features. It’s great for tech-forward families who like the finer things in life and plenty of space. Only downside? The exterior is a bit meh. As Tim Stevens describes it, “The result is a bit of a blob that absolutely disappears into any parking lot.”
Polestar’s latest software update includes YouTube. Like other similar iterations, users can stream video while stopped, like if they’re waiting for a pickup or charging their vehicles. The Polestar 2 software update also includes an updated version of Apple CarPlay that lets you project Apple Maps onto the instrument cluster.
Rivian has teased its smaller, lower-cost R2 SUV design over the Memorial Day weekend during an Instagram Q&A. CEO RJ Scaringe stood in front of a clay model of an R2 covered with a black cloth, outlining a boxy-looking compact vehicle.
Tesla says all of its Model 3 sedans now qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit.
Toyota has committed another $2.1 billion to its battery factory in North Carolina. The automaker also said its first U.S.-made electric SUV will be built at its Kentucky factory.
Volkswagen has finally debuted its U.S. version of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz minivan after years of teasing. The specs on the U.S. van are, unsurprisingly, much bigger than the European bus. The whole feel of it is retro-meets-cool, and indeed, we have ourselves asking, Can VW make minivans cool? Once factoring in the nostalgia aspect, the answer is undoubtedly yes. And VW will need that as it coasts into EV-land.
Volvo revealed some details about the interior of its new EX30. From what we can tell, that good old Scandinavian design is really pulling through to optimize space in the small SUV.
Miscellaneous
Attending Apple’s WWDC this month? Check out this new website from flight tracking tool Flighty to find others who are traveling to the event and connect with them, maybe even en route!
Delta Air Lines is being sued in a class action lawsuit for allegedly greenwashing. The company made a $1 billion pledge in 2020 to become carbon neutral, but the plan relied on carbon credits to offset the airline’s pollution.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a new rule that would require all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. to be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems.
Tesla has been given the all-clear by NHTSA after the agency closed an investigation into Tesla for allowing in-dash gaming while its vehicles were moving.
Bored of the standard navigation voice on Waze? Now you can have Roger Federer give you turn-by-turn directions, because why not?
Wingcopter and Siemens have signed an MoU to develop and roll out an integrated drone delivery solution to transport lab diagnostics and other medical supplies in Africa.
Ride-hail
Ford launched a new pilot called Ford Drive that will give Uber drivers in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles access to flexible leases on Mustang Mach-Es.
Revel is diversifying its all-Tesla ride-share fleet with about 50 Kia Niro EVs.
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based ride-hail and delivery companies will have to reimburse California gig workers potentially millions of dollars for unpaid vehicle expenses between 2022 and 2023. The backpay comes from a provision in Prop 22 that gives low-earning drivers a vehicle reimbursement fee of $0.30 per active mile driven. That fee was meant to increase with the rate of inflation, but for the past year and a half, it has remained stagnant.
Uber is dropping the 5% discounts on rides that it used to offer members of its Uber One subscription service. Instead, riders can now earn 6% Uber Cash on rides that can be spent on more Uber stuff. It’s a bold move, and one that might see the instant gratification seekers among us ditch their memberships. But if it works out for Uber, the company might see even more spend coming from its subscribers.
* A previous newsletter inadvertently had some missing words in the following write-up. Here is the complete sentence. QuantumScape, the solid-state battery company, is (sort of) pivoting. The company said it is planning to focus more on the consumer-electronics sector in an effort to bring in the capital it needs to commercialize automotive-grade cells.
Elon goes to China, Rivian is selling stock for $3 billion, and Fiat’s cutest tiny EV by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunchLinda Audio Releases FREE Instavibe Effect Plugin
Linda Audio releases free Instavibe saturation plugin for Windows. You might say to yourself: “I’ve got plenty of saturation plugin“- however, we both know that is a wrong statement and there is always room for more. If you’re looking for saturation and distortion with a more creative bent, why not check Instavibe from Linda Audio? [...]
View post: Linda Audio Releases FREE Instavibe Effect PluginVicious Antelope Memory Keys 2 - Memorymode Memory Keys 2 soundbank contains 100 classic synth keys for Cherry Audio Memorymode synthesizer. The sounds are influenced by 80's and 70's music mainly. They fit for cinematic, sci-fi... Read More
Product Profile: Mackie DLZ CreatorMackie’s new DLZ Creator is an adaptive digital mixer for podcasting and livestreaming designed around a 10.1-inch high-resolution touch screen. The colors and screen resolution on the DLZ Creator’s touch screen are exceptionally clear and vibrant. The Touchscreen is designed to be glare resistant, so that it can be clearly seen from any angle. The CPU processor on the DLZ Creator is fast and responsive and helps to make using the DLZ Creator a transparent and enjoyable experience. Three large buttons on the top right of the DLZ Creator are: Home, which gets you back to the top-level screen; Record and Automix (more on the DLZ Creator’s Automix function below).
Mackie’s DLZ Creator features four professional-quality microphone preamps borrowed from Mackie’s Onyx series of professional mixers. Each channel has mute and solo functions. Each of the four available channels has a combo jack capable of accepting microphone or line input. The fact that the Onyx preamps have enough headroom (up to 80 dB) to be capable of effectively capturing content at a high sound pressure level opens the possibility to livestream or capture just about any kind of live content you can think of and opens up some serous creative possibilities. The back of the DLZ Creator has also two additional quarter-inch inputs (channels 5 and 6) designed for plugging in keyboards, turntables or even the outputs of another mixer.
You can with the DLZ Creator stream directly to your DAW or OBS via the available USB C port. While there is no internal memory on the DLZ Creator, you can record to an SD Card. To increase your available recording time, you can also plug a USB flash drive into the DLZ Creator’s USB-A port. The DLZ Creator also has an Ethernet network port that will be supported in a future firmware update.
Mackie’s DLZ Creator features an automated set-up process that walks you through the entire process of configuring and setting up your input and gain levels. The Mackie DLZ Creator has three selectable user modes: Easy, Enhanced and Pro, which unlock progressively more sophisticated audio and routing features depending on the end user’s level of experience.
When you first turn it on, The DLZ Creators Mix Agent walks you through a comprehensive setup process that assists you in setting up the Creator DLZ based on whatever user mode you select. It is important to point out that the DLZ Creator’s full suite of features is available in all three user modes, albeit with progressively more user configurable options depending on the user mode selected during the setup process. (You can go back and change the user level experience setting at any time.)
The DLZ Creator features a full suite of reverb and delay effects available in Expert or Pro modes. The front of the Mackie DLZ Creator has four rotary encoders that adapt to control whatever function that is on screen at a given time.
Once you select your input sources, DLZ Creator’s on-board Mix Agent technology lets you automatically set your levels for instruments or microphones. In Automix mode (selectable from the top left panel), the built-in software algorithm will automatically keep your levels correctly set during your livestream or podcast so that your content is correctly captured. For the novice user or a user who doesn’t know anything about recording technology, the DLZ Creator has been designed to be dead simple to operate. When I mean simple to operate, its icon-driven interface displays icons of different microphone types, and the comprehensive setup script and Automix technology works incredibly well so that virtually anyone can operate it and the chances of user error is extremely low. The Automix function, when selected, will also automatically mute unused channels and adjust the ones that are in use to unity gain to automatically keep all of your mix set at the correct input level throughout the recording process.
While not an industry first, the DLZ Creator’s ability to automatically set your input levels, not to mention keep track of your mix levels while capturing live content, is a huge time saver for experienced users and a big help for anyone who may not necessarily know anything about correctly setting input and gain levels.
For podcasters, the Mackie DLZ Creator has a number of professional features to help in your podcast productions. The mix-minus feature lets you use your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to patch live into your podcast. There are six sample triggers that are fully assignable to playback whatever stored samples are selected (up to four banks of six effects). The DLZ Creator has four headphone outputs, each one capable of its own custom headphone mix and an eighth inch stereo input for plugging in your phone. On the back of the DLZ Creator are two quarter-inch TRS balanced outputs that can be used to connect studio monitors, connect to a PA or even to another mixer, if required.
The Mackie DLZ Creator is a purpose-built podcasting solution. That said, Mackie has incorporated into the DLZ Creator enough technology from their extensive experience designing pro audio mixers to make it attractive to self-producing artists and musicians looking to capture and stream live or studio content.
The flexibility and ease of use of the DLZ Creator is impressive. As with all Mackie products, Mackie’s DLZ Creator offers a strong value proposition relative to competing products. The fact that the DLZ Creator has three user experience modes makes the DLZ Creator a great fit for a wide range of end users both inside and outside traditional MI channels. The touchscreen on the DLZ Creator is fast, responsive, and provides for a genuinely immersive user experience. After using the DLZ Creator for only a short time, the touch screen interface, ease of use and advanced feature set on the Mackie DLZ Creator made me a believer.
The Mackie DLZ Creator is available now for MAP $799.99
Find out more at mackie.com/dlz
Plugin Boutique’s June FREEBIE Is Softube’s Dirty Tape
Plugin Boutique offers the Dirty Tape plugin by Softube as a free add-on with any purchase in June. Clean audio is fine, but sometimes you need some grunge. If you’re feeling a little light in the wallet since it’s the first of the month, then fret not because the fine folks at Plugin Boutique have [...]
View post: Plugin Boutique’s June FREEBIE Is Softube’s Dirty TapeBritish Pedal Company unleash King of Fuzz Tone Bender The King of Fuzz is a limited editon version of The British Pedal Company's Tone Bender effect, and has been produced to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III.
Warren’s alleged work with short-seller shows anti-crypto army heating upElizabeth Warren reportedly took advice from Wall Street short-seller Marc Cohodes, who cashed in on the collapse of Silvergate and Signature banks.
Authentic Soundware Space Age Rhythm Embark on a fantastical musical voyage with Space Age Rhythm! This collection comprises seven core rhythm section instruments that define the sound of the midcentury studio orchestra. Each... Read More
