Turn Listeners into Lifelong Fans with Spotify Super ListenersNot all listeners are the same, and a small group can have the biggest impact on your music career. Here's how to grow your Spotify Super Listeners to increase streams, sell more tickets, and build a loyal fanbase that lasts.
The post Turn Listeners into Lifelong Fans with Spotify Super Listeners appeared first on Hypebot.

Roland TR-808 Plugin is 66% OFF until midnight
Roland’s official TR-808 Software Synthesizer is currently 66% off at Plugin Boutique, bringing the price down to just $62.84, but the offer ends today! The TR-808 Software Synthesizer is Roland’s authentic emulation of their iconic TR-808 drum machine, powered by Analog Circuit Behavior (ACB) technology. It faithfully recreates the sound and workflow of the original [...]
View post: Roland TR-808 Plugin is 66% OFF until midnight

SoundExchange distributions topped $242.5M in Q2 2025SoundExchange distributions topped $241.5 million in digital royalties to creators from April to June 2025. Combined with the $253.2 million distributed in the first quarter of the year, ir annual distributions for the first half of 2025 are $494.7 million.
The post SoundExchange distributions topped $242.5M in Q2 2025 appeared first on Hypebot.

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ sing-along re-release tops US cinema, with up to $20M in box office salesThe film outpaced Warner Bros.’ horror film "Weapons," which was reportedly expected to claim the weekend title with $15.6 million.
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The price of FiiO’s new flagship hi-fi music player is a mysteryIf you thought portable hi-fi players couldn’t push things any further, FiiO’s new M27 just turned up to prove otherwise. The reference-class digital audio player (DAP) is billed as the brand’s boldest evolution yet – pairing desktop-grade power with bleeding-edge streaming, storage, and design.

READ MORE: This new app is like Pokémon GO for music lovers

The flagship M27 sits at the top of FiiO’s portable line, joining the JM21, M21, and M23, but upping the ante with some serious hardware. Qualcomm’s QCS6490 chip (built on Snapdragon 770G architecture) anchors the system, offering eight Kryo 670 CPU cores, an Adreno 642L GPU, and Android 13 OS with 8GB of RAM. Translation: the responsiveness and stability of a high-end smartphone, but with hi-fi at its heart.
The star of the show is a dual-DAC setup using ESS ES9039SPRO chips. These deliver expansive dynamic range and detail, capable of handling everything from whispered vocals to full orchestral walls of sound with “life-like realism”. Pair that with FiiO’s new DAPS (Digital Audio Purification System), femtosecond crystal oscillators, and fully balanced output stages, and you’ve got a player chasing true reference-grade playback.
In Ultra Gain mode, the M27 delivers a massive 5,000mW + 5,000mW balanced output – rivaling dedicated full-size desktop amplifiers. Connections cover the bases too: we’ve got 6.35mm, 4.4mm, and 3.5mm headphone jacks plus line-level and digital outs, making it just as at home on the desk as in your pocket.
Credit: FiiO
Storage isn’t an afterthought either. Dual microSD slots support up to 2TB each, alongside 256GB of onboard space, so entire hi-res libraries can travel with you. A 9,200mAh battery and FiiO’s patented Desktop Mode keep playback running long, even during marathon listening sessions.
The M27 is also one of the first DAPs to support Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless codec, via the QCC5181 chip. That means reference-grade wireless playback is no longer a dream; it’s here, alongside LE Audio and Auracast support.
For the first time, FiiO has used titanium alloy for the chassis, giving the M27 a premium feel. A glass fiber rear panel, meanwhile, rounds out the design.
The FiiO M27 will launch globally in Autumn 2025, with pricing still under wraps until September. For now, all we know is this: if your portable rig has been feeling a little underpowered, the M27 might be the upgrade you’ve been waiting for.
Learn more at FiiO.
The post The price of FiiO’s new flagship hi-fi music player is a mystery appeared first on MusicTech.

New Cubase & Reason keyboards from Editors Keys Editors Keys have recently expanded their line-up of application-specific keyboards with new models designed for Steinberg’s Cubase 14 and Reason Studios’ Reason 13.

Favorite One-Album WondersThe concept of a One-Hit Wonder is practically as old as the charts themselves, but what about the albums that hit it and quit? Single albums from bands that changed our worlds and then went silent? AllMusic selects some of our favorite records that rose up from nowhere and then never saw a true follow-up.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov says case going nowhere, slams French govDurov said French law enforcement officials are still "struggling" to find evidence of wrongdoing even one year on from his arrest in 2024.

Bluesky blocks service in Mississippi over age assurance lawIn a blog post published on Friday, the company explains that, as a small team, it doesn't have the resources to make the substantial technical changes this type of law would require, and it raised concerns about the law's broad scope and privacy implications.

ESP32 Sets Sail as a Modern Bus Pirate PowerhouseBus Pirate is nearly a household name in the hardware hacking world. The first version came out way back in 2008, and there have been several revisions since then. You can buy pre-built Bus Pirate devices, but there’s also the option now to build our own. The ESP32 Bus Pirate project has everything you need to turn an ESP32 device into a protocol sniffing/decoding powerhouse—all on a board you may have sitting around from another project.
There are a ton of solutions when it comes to talking to different buses —I2C, UART, JTAG, you name it, there’s a purpose-built device for it. Over a decade ago, Dangerous Prototypes released the Bus Pirate, offering a Swiss Army knife of a tool to interface with this ever-expanding list of communications standards. The ESP32 Bus Pirate project is open-source firmware for ESP32s that gives them the ability to be the multi-tool that lets us communicate with a long list of protocols.
It supports a wide variety of devices, from the straightforward ESP32 S3 Dev Kit available from a long list of suppliers to the more specialized M5 Cardputer equipped with its own keyboard. The original Bus Pirate required plugging the board into a PC to use it; with this being ESP32-based, that’s no longer a limitation. So long as you can supply power to the ESP32, you can connect and control it via WiFi and a web browser. In addition to the Bus Pirate protocols, the project allows us to directly control the pins on the ESP32 board, should you want to do more with it besides interfacing with one of the supported protocols. Be sure to check out some of our other articles about Bus Pirate, as it’s been a fantastic tool for the hacker community over the years.

Film - TV - Theater - Games: PROPSThe Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) is celebrating the passage of the HITS Act, which is designed to deliver long-awaited tax relief for independent music creators across the U.S and align the music industry with other creative sectors such as film, television and live theater. Through the legislation, eligible songwriters, lyricists, composers and music producers can deduct up to $150,000 in recording and production expenses in the year incurred. The SCL, a longtime advocate for the bill, and contributed to coalition efforts to see its passage. With the HITS Act now enacted, independent songwriters, composers, and producers gain crucial financial tools to support their careers in an evolving industry. For more information, contact Ray Costa at rcosta@costacomm.com.Moises, the A.I.-powered music platform with 60 million users across the globe, has announced its 2025 sponsorship of NPR’s Tiny Desk series, in support of a shared mission to uplift musicians. Moises and NPR are launching a major giveaway: one winner and a guest will attend a live Tiny Desk Concert at NPR’s Washington, DC headquarters, with travel, hotel, and NPR+ perks included. All entrants also receive a free five-year Moises Pro license. Open to U.S. and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec), the contest runs through September 12. Contact Emily Frances at emily@rockpaperscissors.biz for details, or visit npr.org/2024/03/14/1235248393/tiny-desk-giveaway. Multi-Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal has been awarded the United Nations-backed High Note Global Prize for the song “We Believe in Hope,” created with renowned Afghan artist and advocate Aryana Sayeed and lyricist Joan Beal for the film Rule Breakers. This marks the first time a song has received the honor, recognizing its powerful message of unity, equality and women’s empowerment. Featured in Angel Studios’ film about Afghanistan’s first all-female robotics team, the anthem—performed by Sayeed and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus—was also dedicated to the UN’s new International Day of Hope. Past recipients of the prize include Cyndi Lauper and John Legend. Find the video on YouTube, and contact Rebekah Alperin at reb@gostoryboard.com for more information. On October 24, the Wild Honey Foundation and the Zevon Family will present Meet Me in L.A.: The Songs of Warren Zevon at the United Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. This all-star tribute concert will feature over 25 songs from Zevon’s celebrated career, performed by the Rob Laufer/Jordan Summers-led Wild Honey Orchestra and Friends and guests including Jackson Browne, Shooter Jennings, Marshall Crenshaw, Jorge Calderón, and more. Proceeds will benefit the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Ed Asner Family Center for the Autism Community. For more information, contact wildhoneyfoundation@yahoo.com.From October 16-18, the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester will present the inaugural Soundtrax Film Music Festival, North America’s first dedicated film-music festival and conference, in Rochester, New York, which is considered the birthplace of motion picture film. Co-directed by Emmy winners Mark Watters and Jeff Beal, the event will feature sessions with Oscar-nominated composer Carter Burwell (Twilight, Fargo, True Grit), Disney's former VP of Music Bambi Moé, and Oscar-winning composer John Corigliano (The Red Violin). Attendees will experience concerts of Interstellar, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and John Williams: Reimagined. For more, contact Luci Paczkowski at lpaczkowski@shorefire.com.The post Film - TV - Theater - Games: PROPS first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Alonso Sound Alonso 18 Year Anniversary PackMarking 18 years of sound design, the Alonso 18 Year Anniversary Pack features 128 presets crafted for Diva, Serum 2, Spire, and Sylenth1 - 32 for each synth. Designed for versatility, this collection spans genres from House and Trance to Synthwave, Hardcore, Progressive, Electro, Techno, DnB, and more. Inside you'll discover a variety of leads, bass, plucks, acid, pads, sequences, and synths. Each preset includes intuitive modwheel assignments, with Serum 2 and Spire patches also featuring full macro controls, providing quick modulation options to customize your sound. Whether you are refining your signature sound or exploring new creative directions, the Alonso 18 Year Anniversary Pack gives you a diverse suite of source sounds to inspire and elevate your music to the next level. Read More

Arturia release Explorations Vol.4  Arturia have announced the launch of a new expansion pack that includes a total of 450 presets for their Pigments and Analog Lab software instruments.

Live Review of Laney Jones and The SpiritsSunset Tavern  Seattle, WAContact: andrew.borstein@redlightmanagement.comWeb: laney-jones.comPlayers: Laney Jones, guitar, lead vocals; Carson Lystad, guitar; Glen M. Hruska, bass, vocals; Brian Dowd, drums, vocalsDuring their debut Seattle performance at the Sunset Tavern, Laney Jones and the Spirits unearthed music’s rootsy, lo-fi past and hurled it into the present, blending gritty guitar tones, gravel-edged vocals, and rock-steady song structures.This was clear the moment the Nashville-based band stepped onto the red-lit stage and dug deep into the hazy, stratified sounds of “We Belong Together” and “Bitch Year.” Both tracks — from 2025’s Our Vinyl Sessions EP—were elevated by Laney’s distinctive raspy vocals, effortlessly shifting between registers, cutting through the songs’ sultry, sway-in-time rhythms.  Riding on shotgun old-school sonics, Laney Jones and the Spirits pulled their West Coast fans further along their retro garage rock adventures, dialing into several backroad songs that could just as easily be heard on a staticky AM station, a spotty FM auto-scan, or a carefully curated aux playlist. The band’s attitude-drenched, flanged-filled single, “Another Rolling Stone”—with a dueling guitar shred sesh—drew from the well of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Americana Noir, while the ebullient Nashville twang on “Not Alone”—from 2022’s Stories Up High—rode the radio-friendly, feel-good waves reminiscent of Sheryl Crow’s smooth voiced grooves.Organic rock tunes made a strong statement during Laney Jones’ set, but were beautifully counterbalanced by intimate, singer-songwriter-centered tracks. The aching atmospherics of “Long Way” (Stories Up High) and the spacey textures of the single “Stay at Home” tapped into boygenius’ wellspring of rich, indie-driven sound. Wrapping up their rock-edged set, Laney Jones and the Spirits threw some love to the crowd with a heartfelt “thanks,” followed by the inspiring lyrics and soaring chords of “Secret Weapon” (Stories Up High).  A fitting finale—part resolve, part rally cry—from a band redefining alt-Americana, boldly throwing it into the future.The post Live Review of Laney Jones and The Spirits first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

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