From UMG’s deal with superfan platform EVEN to Live Nation’s $25B in 2025… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days...
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zazz Phase DistortionPhase Distortion VST plugin using IIR Hilbert filter. Read More

VSL Synchron Wagner Tuba Ensemble Captured on Stage a of the Vienna Synchron Stage, Synchron Wagner Tuba Ensemble presents users with “the noble sonority of four Wagner tubas in a cohesive, symphonic blend”.

Get a free soft piano for Splice INSTRUMENT
Download our free soft piano preset for Splice INSTRUMENT—grab these presets during the drop window and they’re yours to keep forever.

Ewan Bristow releases ANINA, a FREE spectral shaping plugin
Ewan Bristow has released ANINA, a free spectral shaping plugin for macOS and Windows. A new plugin from Ewan Bristow is always good news, like UZU and LOCD, released toward the end of 2025. But ANINA might be a particularly pleasant surprise for some. While ANINA is a new plugin, it is not a new [...]
View post: Ewan Bristow releases ANINA, a FREE spectral shaping plugin

The ambient drone of these supermarket freezers is sending people wild – and you can now listen to a 10-hour loop on YouTubeWhen you’ve got an ear for music, you start picking it up everywhere – even in the freezer aisle at the supermarket.
In fact, the freezers in a Co-Op on Sheffield’s Ecclesall Road have garnered viral attention for sounding so soothing, and have not only received radio play, but have also been turned into a 10-hour long loop on YouTube, so you can fall asleep to sweet sounds of cold and crisp freezer hum.

READ MORE: Chappell Roan loves the “really medieval synth s**t” that is the RuneScape soundtrack

This all originates with a post in the Sheffield subreddit, where a user suggested how nice they sound, comparing them to an “electrical gong bath”, and suggested that anyone with decent field recording equipment should head over to capture the music in all its glory.
Ecclesall road co-op freezers byu/yaxu insheffield

Another post was shared some weeks later, this time with a video that was ultimately reposted on X and went viral. What’s even more amusing is that commenters then began debating what note could be heard across the hum.
The Eccy road Co-op freezer section does indeed sound heavenly byu/Lukeautograff insheffield

“The dominant note you hear is the C# and that is the lowest frequency with the octave very prominent (140Hz approx – C# is actually 138.5Hz), but there is a very strong E# (177Hz) a major third up from the low C# which does not occur there in the standard harmonic pattern, neither is its occurrence an octave above that…” says a Redditor.
“The 5th (G#) occurs where expected (416Hz) but the 7th is much closer to a major 7th (B#, 527Hz) which is odd (it should be the flattened 7th around 493Hz) and the upper octave above that. There is a faint A# too, above the 5th (459Hz, A# is actually 466Hz), again not where it occurs in the harmonic spectrum.”
They conclude, “None of this is unusual with engines like this as various things will be causing resonances, adding into the harmonic series pitches… Personally I hear it as C# major.”
You can catch a snippet of these musical freezers in the clip below, or drift off to the 10-hour ASMR version on YouTube aptly titled ‘The Eccy road Co-op freezer Symphony’. Magical.

The post The ambient drone of these supermarket freezers is sending people wild – and you can now listen to a 10-hour loop on YouTube appeared first on MusicTech.

Sunbunny releases Panoramatone FREE vintage-style vibrato plugin
Sunbunny has released Panoramatone, a free analog-style vibrato plugin for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Panoramatone is a true stereo vibrato effect that adds movement and gentle pitch changes with a vintage feel. The workflow is super simple, and it sounds nice. You can use it to quickly get smooth pitch shifts, a bit of warmth, [...]
View post: Sunbunny releases Panoramatone FREE vintage-style vibrato plugin

Social media virality rarely translates into long-term financial value for artists, report findsA new report from music financing platform Duetti has found that going viral on social media rarely leads to long-term financial value for artists.
More and more artists are turning to social platforms like TikTok to boost their music and go viral, sometimes even with pressure from labels to do so. However, Duetti’s Music Economics Report finds that virality is “almost impossible to achieve”.

READ MORE: Google Gemini can now generate AI music tracks up to 30 seconds long

The report draws on proprietary data from over six million tracks. Its analysis focuses on indie creators earning between $100 and $350k annually and defines a durable catalogue as one with an annual decay of less than 10 percent.
Duetti’s findings suggest that instead of virality, musicians should instead take a strategic approach that “leverages optimal release timing, clear audience focus, and YouTube-led growth”, which is a more reliable driver of catalogues that keep paying.
Despite TikTok being the go-to platform for artists to market themselves, it seems that YouTube is actually the place to start from. Artists who grow on YouTube first are 16 percent more likely to develop a durable catalogue than those whose growth began on any other platform.
Other key data reveals that only 1.14 percent of tracks go viral, and that only 0.11 percent of those tracks sustain virality after six months. Tracks that exhibit slower, steady growth are 60 percent more likely to build durable catalogues.
Interestingly, those who release music more frequently (at least three tracks per year) also benefit from higher revenue, and despite many believing that singles are the way to go, albums are actually more powerful; independent artists that released at least one album per year saw an average of 16 percent higher revenue per track in the first year post-release compared to those who only released singles.

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“Duetti’s Music Economics Report provides actionable insights to help independent artists and songwriters make informed, long-term decisions about their careers,” says Angelo Sasso, Head of Growth at Duetti. “This data is typically reserved for large companies, and sharing it reflects our commitment to provide meaningful information to artists and their teams.”
You can request the full report via Duetti by simply submitting your email address.
The post Social media virality rarely translates into long-term financial value for artists, report finds appeared first on MusicTech.

Laureano Studios releases AURA, a free master bus enhancement plugin
Laureano Studios has released AURA, a free one-knob-style enhancement plugin for macOS and Windows. AURA was created by New York producer and mixing engineer Justin Laureano. It’s mainly for master bus processing, but you can also use it on drum buses, guitar buses, or even single tracks. The plugin uses a spectral EQ curve and [...]
View post: Laureano Studios releases AURA, a free master bus enhancement plugin

IK Multimedia announce ReSing Session Singers Showcase ReSing Session Singers Showcase introduces seven new professional ReSing models, and allows users to hire virtual singers for a one-off session fee.

Arturia releases FX Collection 6, the latest installment in its all-in-one FX Collection seriesArturia has unveiled FX Collection 6, an all-in-one suite of 39 tools and effects designed to help you “transform, enhance and finish” your projects.
Serving as the sixth instalment in Arturia’s FX Collection series, this package promises to “bridge the gap” between more classic and modern audio processing set ups. All 39 tools and effects in the kit are designed to work seamlessly with your DAW, with 34 tools previously included in FX Collection 5 with a few new additions.

READ MORE: Six synths that define Radiohead’s sound

In terms of the newer tools on offer, there’s two new effects to play with. First up, the dreamy Efx Ambient allows you to shape singular soundscapes through 6 different modes to create rich, emotive textures. The other new tool comes in the form of the Pitch Shifter-910, designed to inject some grainy texture, harmony and space to vocal or instrumental recordings.
Credit: Arturia
There’s also a couple of new tools specifically for fine-tuning your drum tracks. The new Bus Transient tool does what it says on the tin, allowing you to shape your transients. It’s the perfect answer if you’re keen to control the attack and sustain of your drums to capture a tighter, punchier sound. Elsewhere, Mix Drums allows you to increase the impact and loudness of your drum tracks, while preserving peak levels.
Another new addition is Tape J-37, which allows you to inject some tube-driven coloration to your track, or fiddle with some harmonic distortion.
Credit: Arturia
In terms of general ease-of-use updates, FX Collection 6 also has an improved browsing system and the ability to add preset comments, which should allow you to navigate through your favourite presets with ease.
Alongside the new additions, the entire FX Collection 5 arsenal is also included – and 24 tools have been reworked, including Efx Motions, Rev Intensity, Delay TAPE-201, and more. The reworking has added 134 new presets across the 24 effects, to get those creative juices flowing.
The suite also boasts the same low latency for live performances, so it’s perfect for people needing a digital multi-tool kit to use during gigs.
Last year, Arturia also released a the latest instalment in its V Collection, with the V Collection 11 boasting 45 quality emulation plugins. While FX collection focuses on effects and production, the V Collection offers an extensive kit of classic analogue synthesizers and acoustic instruments.
FX Collection 6 is available now for £99. For more information, head to Arturia.
The post Arturia releases FX Collection 6, the latest installment in its all-in-one FX Collection series appeared first on MusicTech.

Google Gemini can now generate AI music tracks up to 30 seconds longAI image generators have flooded our feeds, text models are everywhere, and now Google is officially stepping into AI music creation. The tech giant is currently testing what it calls its “most advanced music generation model,” Lyria 3, rolling out in beta inside the Google Gemini app.
The update allows users to generate 30-second tracks from simple prompts, whether that’s a line of text, a photo, or even a short video clip. According to Google, Lyria 3 is a “high-fidelity AI music generator” capable of turning a funny moment, a specific feeling, or even a photo into a “custom soundtrack,” – complete with instrumentals, vocals and automatically generated lyrics.

READ MORE: Traxsource: “Any platform claiming foolproof AI detection is overstating what the technology can currently deliver”

The new model builds on Gemini’s existing ability to create text, images and video. It will also power the updated Dream Track feature in YouTube Shorts, enabling creators to generate backing tracks for short-form videos.
In practice, users can simply describe a genre, mood or memory and Gemini will compose a 30-second track to match, either instrumental or with lyrics. Prompts can be highly specific – for example: “I’m feeling nostalgic. Create a track for my mother about the great times we had as kids and the memories of her home cooked plantains. Make it a fun afrobeat track with a true African vibe.”
Alternatively, users can upload a photo or short video, which Gemini then analyses to generate music and lyrics that reflect the content and tone of the visual.
Google says Lyria 3 improves on its previous audio generation models by removing the need to supply your own lyrics, offering more detailed control over style, vocals and tempo, and producing more “realistic and musically complex” outputs. For now, tracks are capped at 30 seconds.
All music generated in Gemini is embedded with SynthID, Google’s imperceptible watermarking technology designed to identify AI-generated content.
Google is also clear about intent. “Music generation with Lyria 3 is designed for original expression, not for mimicking existing artists,” says the company. “If your prompt names a specific artist, Gemini will take this as broad creative inspiration and create a track that shares a similar style or mood. We also have filters in place to check outputs against existing content. We recognize that our approach might not be foolproof, so you can report content that may violate your rights or the rights of others.”

Learn more at Gemini.
The post Google Gemini can now generate AI music tracks up to 30 seconds long appeared first on MusicTech.

I swapped Ableton Live for Renoise 3.5 — here’s what I learned$88 / €76, renoise.com
Of all the things that impact our creative output, our relationship with our tools is one of the most significant. Whether consciously or not, they shape all our decisions, but these decisions often harden into reflexes. Before we know it, creative control has been quietly assumed by the tool, and we’re stuck in a loop of familiar behaviour.
For me, that tool is Ableton Live. Frequently finding myself on autopilot when I load up a blank project, I’ve pondered for a while how life would look if I’d picked a different DAW, and how my music might sound if I jumped ship after 15 years.

READ MORE: Suno Studio review: Is this AI DAW really the future of music production?

Modern DAWs are broadly comparable, but one still stands as a black sheep: Renoise. Unlike Ableton Live or Logic Pro, it eschews left-to-right sequencing in favour of a vertical tracker that looks a little like an Excel spreadsheet. This retro approach is a radical change to my usual workflow.
Bracing myself, I open Renoise and am transported back to where I started: a helpless beginner staring at an empty session, realising just how much of my process depends on muscle memory.
Renoise 3.5 interface, Image: James Langley
First contact
Upon loading, Renoise immediately presents its biggest difference – the tracker. Fundamentally, it does the same thing as a piano roll, telling the DAW which notes to play, when and for how long.
But the tracker strips away the piano notes, showing note data for what it truly is: a set of instructions to be parsed by a machine. This has an imposing effect on my mindset. I begin to feel like a programmer rather than a musician, writing code that commands the software. Unsurprisingly, there’s immediate friction in my creativity, but this is due to unfamiliarity rather than bad design.
Screen sample editor. Image: Press
Slave to the rhythm
To some extent, Renoise’s reputation precedes it. I’m already aware of the tracker’s cult status among breaks-focused producers, a heritage rooted in Amiga computers running software like Protracker and OctaMED.
Countless YouTube tutorials confirm the DAW’s affinity for detailed drum work, where micro slices of Amen break are deftly sequenced into a frantic performance behind the kit. Naturally, I’m drawn to giving this a try for myself.
I briefly worry. Has Renoise hijacked my autonomy just 20 minutes in, unapologetically steering me towards a specific tempo, aesthetic, even an entire genre?
If so, it’s easy to see why. Even for a novice, the tracker workflow feels incredibly fluid for composing drum parts. The in-line effects commands are where its real power is unlocked. Typing one into the FX column of a track delivers on-the-fly pitching, reversing, and retriggering — all the hallmarks of high-tempo, break-driven genres — in a fraction of the time it would take in the mainstream DAWs.
In-line FX. Image: James Langley
Abandoning notes
Shifting from rhythm to melody, a slightly more surprising nudge from Renoise is towards samples. Going in, I’d imagined myself programming intricate melodies using MIDI instruments, perhaps influenced by trackers’ historical association with early video game music.
Writing a simple bassline is easy enough, but sequencing chords instantly feels like a weak spot. Without a piano roll at my disposal, my rusty music theory is exposed and it’s hard to visualise intervals from note names alone.
Perseverance feels futile, so I throw out the pad instrument and hunt for a sample instead. Freed from note-based thinking, composition becomes more instinctual, relying on my ears rather than my brain.
An eagle-eye view
While loss of abstraction proves a challenge in the case of composing note sequences, it’s a boon elsewhere. This is particularly evident as the arrangement becomes larger, and the Renoise workflow starts to feel like a turbocharged version of Live’s Session View.
In Live, notes and samples are tucked away inside individual clips, each one a small black box. In Renoise, it’s more like being able to view — and more importantly edit — every scene’s clips at once.
Image: James Langley
The practical effect is profound. Rather than jumping between windows and views, I find myself editing more holistically. If a kick isn’t gelling with the bassline, there’s no need to dig through multiple clips or automation lanes, as I can simply tab across a few tracks and adjust the sequence in place.
This extends to automation, too. Although you can draw curves in a separate window, parameter changes can be specified directly on the note line, feeling less like isolated tweaks to discrete elements and more like an intrinsic component of the composition.
Ultimately, this ‘everything at once’ way of working encourages a kind of gestalt thinking, where you’re adjusting relationships between parts of a single, interdependent system. Making changes feels less tentative as a result. What might manifest as vague knob-twiddling in Ableton Live becomes decisive action that drives the creative process forward with Renoise.
Screen pattern matrix. Image: Press
The productive slowdown
When a track isn’t quite working, I’ve developed the unhealthy habit of adding another layer, another device, another idea to compensate for whatever’s lacking. That’s easy in Live, but it rarely solves the problem.
Renoise pushes back against this reflex. Adding new elements is possible, but it’s rarely the path of least resistance, providing just enough pause to force me to confront what’s already there. Instead, refinement becomes the more appealing solution, and parts that don’t work are adjusted or discarded rather than buried under excess.
There’s a historical echo here, where early trackers and the hardware they ran on were defined by strict limits on memory and channels. While those constraints no longer apply, I can’t help but retain a trace of that philosophy — fewer elements, but more carefully considered — rather than my usual kitchen-sink approach to channel count. Almost counterintuitively, that makes reaching ‘good enough’ easier, and often with more compelling results.

Renoise or revert?
In use, Renoise does feel closer to coding than performing. Sometimes, this technical, almost cerebral experience is at odds with my need for speed when making music. My most enjoyable moments tend to arrive in a flow state, and while Renoise might eventually facilitate that kind of fluency, the time required to get there is a tough sell.
That said, this is precisely why I’d encourage others to try Renoise — or a tracker-based workflow more broadly — even if only briefly. For some, this way of thinking may click immediately, and with hardware units like Polyend Tracker and Dirtywave M8 rising in popularity, now feels like a useful moment to experience that mindset first hand.
So, is my Renoise experiment notably different to something I’d make in Ableton Live? It’s hard to say, but my mental approach was undeniably altered, and I found myself slowing down and taking deliberate action far more than usual.
Renoise won’t be replacing Live in my setup, but I’m glad for the lessons it taught me. I’ll be returning to my comfort zone with a renewed awareness of my creative reflexes — and perhaps a little more zen.
Key features

DAW for Windows, macOS, and Linux
VST, AU, LADSPA, and DSSI plugin support
Tracker interface for editing note data, effects, automation, etc
Powerful native sampling
Over 26 native effects included
Meta Devices including Signal Follower and LFO for advanced modulation and parameter control
Graphical envelopes and in-line tracker commands for writing automation
Expandable through user-created Lua scripts
OSC (Open Sound Control) compatible

The post I swapped Ableton Live for Renoise 3.5 — here’s what I learned appeared first on MusicTech.

Signing Stories: Westside CowboyDate Signed: August 2025Label: Island Records/Adventure RecordingsBand Members: Reuben Haycocks, guitar, vocals; James Bradbury, guitar, vocals; Aoife Anson-O’Connell, bass, cello, vocals; Paddy Murphy, drumsType of Music: AmericanaManagement: Alex EdwardsBooking: Carly Goldberg, Andrew Morgna, Wassmerman Legal: Ally HornPublicity: Jaycee Rockhold - Pitch Perfect PR, jaycee@pitchperfectpr.comA&R: James TalbutWeb: westsidecowboy.com

Honing one’s sound and being unique can vastly increase the odds of industry attention. It’s a truism taken to heart by Manchester’s Westside Cowboy. The fast-rising band melds alt-country, punk, Americana, folk, and indie rock into a style they’ve dubbed Britainicana. “Don’t look for [a deal],” recommends drummer Paddy Murphy. “Just write the best music you can.” 

“Which is aggravating to hear,” chimes in guitarist Reuben Haycocks. “We had people say that to us, and I would be like, ‘Fuck off. You’re already signed.’”

Nevertheless, the tactic worked. They first inked deals with a pair of local boutiques, Heist or Hit and Nice One Records. Alex Edwards, who runs Nice One with Pete Heywoode, began managing the blossoming act. Touring then ramped up, and during this period they played London’s Sebright Arms. Edwards had invited a modest throng of record people to the show, but the band believes their performance that evening was subpar. “We thought we’d shagged it,” gulps Murphy. 

Yet it didn’t matter. Word was starting to get around. Edwards, who works with English Teacher and formerly supported Sports Team, both successful Island Records acts, similarly invited label people to a subsequent gig at The Social. A trickle of interest turned into an avalanche. “This sort of weird hype started,” tells Murphy. “It wasn’t engineered. It was a right place, right time type of thing.”

The group that once wanted to be on an indie soon found itself in Island Records’ offices. Before leaving, the president said they were sending over a contract. Chuckles Murphy, “We kind of laughed, because we’d never been in a situation like that. Two hours later, it was in our email.” The agreement with newly minted imprint Adventure Records is especially generous with the timeframe around which it will relinquish their masters.

Being on a sublabel of a major comes with advantages. “It means that smaller bands like us are less likely to get lost in the shuffle,” the percussionist points out. “Hopefully, it means we get the appropriate attention and care.”The post Signing Stories: Westside Cowboy first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

FBI says ATM ‘jackpotting’ attacks are on the rise, and netting hackers millions in stolen cashThe FBI says hacks that trick ATMs into spitting out cash on demand are rising, with hundreds of attacks in the past year alone netting hackers millions in stolen bills.