Digilogue Days 2023 Highlights: Day One of the music tech conferenceDigilogue Days is a new two-day music and tech conference held in Brooklyn, NY, by the organisation The Digilogue. In name, it’s a space created to connect music industry workers, artists, and those who aspire to be. In practice, it’s an entrepreneurial academy for people looking to build their own businesses in the music industry, and a captive audience for the companies that want to sell them services to facilitate that goal.
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The show floor hosted booths from Warner Music U, ONErpm, SoundCloud, the Orchard, Too Lost, Epidemic Sound, EVEN, Symphonic, Indie Flow, United Masters, and Creator SPC, along with useful services like resume reviews with industry professionals, photographers shooting headshots and artist photos, and one-on-one sessions with mentors to help guide budding artists.
The air of ambition
The vibe on the floor was overwhelmingly optimistic; young people floated from booth to booth, grateful to have direct access to people from the Digital Streaming Platforms (DSPs), distribution services, and licensing agencies that can prove crucial to making a living from music. The hustle and ‘grindset’ was out in full force – one attendee had an LED backpack strapped to his back with a QR code promoting his social media marketing business.
Image: Respective Collective
Rising with Tidal
Industria typically serves as a photo studio, with large rooms bathed in natural light, and the main stage that hosted the keynotes, panels and deep dive workshops were typically packed to the brim. On day one, the stage played host to a keynote with Robin Johnson (Indie Creator Society) and Jason Kpana (artist and relations, Tidal), who discussed Kpana’s rise through the music industry, Tidal Rising’s first artist summit at their new HQ in Union Square, how artists are using the tools on Tidal’s Dashboard to help create a sustainable business from their music, and how the DSP’s new ‘Live’ feature is driving users to “favorite” more new music than ever.
Artistpreneurs
A panel on “Artistpreneurship” featured Brianna DeMay (Taste Creators), Jake Posner (The Culture Theory), Mag Rodriguez (EVEN), Piff Marti (Stay Dangerous Productions), and ladidai (LADIDAI PRODUCTIONS). They discussed how artists can organically build fanbases, and how the film model of a theatrical release to streaming could work in the music business.
A mental health panel featuring Andre Mullen (The Paradigm Shift/We Are Paradigm LLC), Jessica McDevitt (More or Less (with Jess)), Marni Wandner (Marni Wandner Coaching), Mike Heyliger (Detoxicity Podcast), Mike Epstein (GoodTalk) discussed ways for artists to take care of themselves while taking care of business (“Keep receipts” and “Remembering ‘No’ is a full sentence,” for starters).
Image: Respective Collective
Creative workshops
In the middle of the day, BandLab’s Kevin Breuner led a workshop on their cloud-based Digital Audio Workstation, with a focus on the Splitter tool –which automatically splits songs into stems – and Forking tracks, which involves building off of an existing track. Breuner shared a song he had created himself, and worked with the audience to “fork” it into something new.
Another panel on marketing with content creation featured Blair Miller (Chaos Creators Entertainment), Damien Ritter (Too Lost), Jacorey Barkley (ContraBrand Agency/No Labels Necessary), Tolu Ayeni (Meta/Instagram), and Drew de Leon (the Digilogue), and discussed ways for to use live broadcasts to organically develop a fanbase, as well as starting the “content waterfall” that sees content trickle down from the lives, repurposed into Reels and then Stories.
Image: Respective Collective
Ayeni pointed out how getting onto new platforms – like Meta’s new service Threads – early allows creators’ content to be “super-served” to the smaller audience of early adopters, and sets them up to grow along with the platform.
Going live
Discussing innovation in the “Live Experience,” Lauren Youngblood (The Elle Word), Michael Schneider (Veeps), and Nick Maiale (jump.global), and VELI (Veli Brand) admitted that during the resurgence of live music after the pandemic lockdown, artist have turned to old-school tactics like meet-and-greets, which emphasize intimacy and closing the gap created by the months-long absensce of live shows. And as touring has become even more expensive, smaller artists are tools both tried-and-true (loop pedals) and next-generation (Kemper Profiler) to be more efficient.
Artistpreneurship // Image: Respective Collective
The final panel of the day explored the intersection of music with sports, fashion, and gaming, featuring Brian Desrosiers (Bashment Management/Sosshouse Records), Brooke Rascoff (Riot Games), Gabrielle Gomes (Dinner Service NY), Jonna Valente (Gotham FC), and Shauna Alexander (SOUND x VISION). They discussed various ways in which they helped artists tell their stories through collaborations with fashion brands, sports teams, and video games; Rascoff also discussed the ways that Riot games uses music to help expand the stories of pre-existing characters from their games, even going so far as to create a virtual pop girl group (K/DA) from League of Legends characters.
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HEDD Audio’s HEDDphone TWO offers improved sound comfort in a more compact package£1,749, hedd.audio
As you may have guessed from the name, the HEDDphone TWO is the second ear-worn monitoring system from Berlin based manufacturers HEDD. It’s been three years in the making and is a major improvement over what was already an extremely accomplished headphone monitor.

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The original HEDDphone – which is still available – attracted much critical acclaim for its superb sound, yet its enormous proportions left many wishing for similar sound quality with reduced size and weight. That wish has been realised with the release of the TWO.
The company’s tag-line for the HEDDphone TWO is “Lighter, better, faster, stronger” and that’s exactly what it is. There’s no minor tweaking of an existing design, however. Rather, it’s a ground-up reworking that addresses all the criticism of the original model, while also improving on sound quality.
HEDDphone TWO
Apart from the shallower earcups, the most obvious change visually is the new headband assembly, designed to accommodate every head size. It’s an ingenious design incorporating HEDD’s smart strap system, which replaces the earlier model’s basic clamp arrangement. Now, you get an eminently adjustable mechanism that allows you to precisely tailor fit, not only in terms of height and width, but also curvature and clamping pressure.
Despite being 25% lighter than the original, the TWO is still a large circumaural (over-ear) design, aimed squarely at the pro-audio market, so it won’t double as a headset you can use while jogging or using public transport, as there is considerable sound leakage from the transducers. This also means that in a recording studio environment, they’re better used for mixing and monitoring rather than tracking, where bleed from the cans might spill into nearby microphones.
As a mixing tool though, the TWO’s performance is nothing short of superb. Like its predecessor, the new model features HEDD’s Air Motion Transformer drivers, however these too have been completely redesigned, according to the company, to improve sound quality.
HEDDphone TWO
These drivers perform differently from conventional dynamic types, which use a piston-like motion to move air with a 1:1 ratio. Instead, AMTs have a folded diaphragm that squeezes air in and sucks it out, like an accordion and at a ratio of 4:1; this makes them four times faster than other transducers.
The full-range AMT is a result of HEDD’s proprietary VVT (Variable Velocity Transform) technology, which allows the AMT principle to be used as a full-range headphone speaker by way of variable diaphragm geometry. Instead of the diaphragm’s folds being equal, as they are in regular AMT tweeters, the folds are irregular, allowing full-range frequency response in a more compact design. Be aware though, that when adjusting the headphones, the drivers emit a crackling sound. This is quite normal and does not harm them in any way.
While AMTs comprehensively outperform ordinary dynamic drivers in the treble region – hence their popularity as tweeters in modern studio monitors – they are not renowned for delivering deep bass. Within HEDD’s designs though, they possess ample low-end quantity, within reason, but more importantly, astonishingly accurate low-end quality.
HEDDphone TWO being assembled. Image: Felix Zimmermann
Vast comfort improvement
Comfort wise, the HEDDphone TWO is a vast improvement on the earlier design, being lighter with excellent weight distribution. With the straps slackened it’s easy to adjust the carbon-fibre HEDDband and earcups to fit as snugly as you wish, then once fastened the ‘phones will remain set to your personalised requirements. The cloth-covered head pad is lovely and soft, without the bulkiness of the older model.
Faux leather covers the memory foam earpads, so they are vegan-friendly and again, the reduced size makes for a less claustrophobic listening experience. High-quality audio cables attach to each earcup, with the option of either standard jack connection or a balanced mini XLR. And the set comes housed in a smart and sturdy hard case.
Sound wise, the TWO has a more laid-back character than many professional monitoring headphones, which sometimes come across as overly forward in the midrange. This isn’t to say it lacks midband clarity though, rather that it doesn’t force information onto the listener in a shouty way. One reason for this is that unlike the lean nature of some ‘phones, the TWO has a decidedly warm character with a full and lush low-end. It never comes across as bloated however, as the ultra-fast response of the AMT drivers ensures that bass notes are impactful without appearing slow or soggy. Bass guitars, for example, are presented with superb accuracy, with no artificial mid-bass bump to mislead you. Transient attack and the heart of each note is presented in perfect proportion, while the tail of each note decays convincingly.

In the midrange, where most of the audio action takes place, the TWO does a brilliant job in keeping sounds distinct and well placed within the stereo picture. The soundstage itself isn’t as cavernous as some though; even hard-panned instruments remain head bound rather than creating the illusion of a panoramic soundscape. In many ways this improves focus, allowing you to hear filigree detail without the distraction of a larger-than-life presentation.
While we wouldn’t go as far as saying the mid-frequencies are scooped, emphasis is placed in the upper treble region, which can add a touch of sparkle that you might not hear on other monitoring systems. It’s a pleasant balance that rewards lengthy listening sessions without fatigue and has the added advantage of making ambient cues, such as reverb and echo repeats, easy to hear and work with.
HEDDphone TWO is a wonderful, if pricey, personal monitoring system. Unlike the majority of headphones, especially more budget-friendly ones, it richly deserves its description as an ‘ear speaker’. Criticism of the original, mammoth model has been addressed and improvements made to every aspect of the design. If you desire full-range sound, with an unforced yet trustworthy timbre alongside ultimate adjustability to fit your head, then look no further.
Once you are used to this style of headphone monitoring, it can make more ruthless, brutally honest designs an uncomfortable listen. The HEDDphone TWO is diligently designed for comfort in every sense.
Key features

Newly designed AMT drivers
Smart-strap HEDDband
PU leather covered earpads
Jack or mini-XLR connection
Sturdy moulded carrying case

The post HEDD Audio’s HEDDphone TWO offers improved sound comfort in a more compact package appeared first on MusicTech.

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BMI to raise cut it takes from songwriters and publishers 50%BMI plans to raise the margin it retains from royalties collected from 10% to 15% or more, according to the PRO’s Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report. In August, BMI said. Continue reading
The post BMI to raise cut it takes from songwriters and publishers 50% appeared first on Hypebot.

Superfans and supine fans: the music industry is getting its priorities the wrong way aroundThe following op-ed comes from long-time music industry journalist Eamonn Forde
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BMI will pay songwriters and publishers a smaller portion of its revenues as a for-profit company – while upping its own margin from 10% to 15% of collections. Will its members tolerate this change?New revelations from Michael O'Neill shows that BMI is planning to increase its retained revenues by a third
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AlphaTheta applies for clearance to acquire SeratoIn the latest AlphaTheta and Serato development, the Commerce Commission, a New Zealand government agency, has received an application for clearance from AlphaTheta to acquire Serato. AlphaTheta has already gained Overseas Investment Office approval for the deal, which is thought to be worth around $70,000,000 (around £57,500,000).

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A spokeswoman for the Commission says that they encouraged AlphaTheta and Serato to file for clearance. However, InMusic owner Jack O’Donnell, a longstanding opponent of the deal, said his company was considering seeking a review of the Overseas Investment Office’s decision.
Founded in 1999, Serato – which is based in Auckland – makes DJ and music production software. Meanwhile, AlphaTheta is owned by Noritsu, which is based in Tokyo. AlphaTheta itself owns the Pioneer DJ hardware brand; part of InMusic’s concern is that AlphaTheta will restrict Serato’s software, or make it more difficult for other DJ hardware brands to access it. InMusic owns a range of brands including Akai Pro, Denon DJ, Marantz, Numark, and Rane.
Last month, an InMusic advert in a New Zealand newspaper protested the sale of Serato to AlphaTheta, claiming that the sale would “buy a monopoly and hurt the DJ community.
“The move brings under the same umbrella Serato and Rekordbox DJ, which together account for a massive 90 percent of market share in the DJ software business,”, the advert – which was shared on Reddit – quotes from an article previously published on MusicTech.
“If this deal goes ahead, then we believe that competition in the DJ market would all but die, driving up prices and quashing innovation,” O’Donnell went on to tell the New Zealand Herald last month.
Despite InMusic’s disagreements with the move, however, it looks as if it could well be going ahead. And, many people who discussed its advert on the Reddit thread disagreed with the company, arguing that InMusic had the option to purchase Serato, just like AlphaTheta.
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