Positioning Without Satellites Or Base StationsWe’re all used to satellite navigation systems such as GPS or GLONASS, sheer magic in which the combination of a set of reference transmitters and super-accurate timing information can be used to calculate a position to an astounding precision. They had land based predecessors such as LORAN and Decca Navigator which worked in a similar fashion but with fixed land-based reference transmitters. Terra is an attempt to do the same thing without a network of dedicated transmitters, instead using FM broadcast transmitters as its fixed points.
This might seem like an impossible task without access to the transmitters, but they have a workaround using the Internet as a backhaul. Instead of transmitting their timing information like the systems mentioned above, they rely on a set of reference receivers sharing it online to the client’s receiver software. So far they have a demo running in Denver.
The interesting thing about this system is that it’s open-source, and requires only a relatively inexpensive software defined radio receiver and a computer to operate. Now anyone with a group of internet-connected friends to set up reference receivers can have their own positioning system, it’s no longer the exclusive preserve of governments. We like this idea, and we look forward to seeing it being tested more widely.
If you’d like to know where we’ve come from, we’ve taken a look at LORAN before.

Apple’s Hide My Email feature has a bug that’s been exposing real email addresses, researcher claimsResearch appears to reveal a bug that could render the feature effectively useless.

Spotify rival Anghami receives take-private offer from its controlling shareholderOSN Streaming is proposing to buy each ordinary share it does not already own in Anghami for $3.39 in cash, which would cost a little over $10 million.
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Sweetwater & Andertons launch Darkglass Anagram Limited Edition Guitar Essentials The Anagram Limited Edition Guitar Essentials is finished in a sleek matte-black enclosure, and comes loaded with a curated library of classic amp and effects models chosen by Sweetwater and Andertons.

Canvas Audio releases Double Dare, a FREE vocal doubler plugin
Canvas Audio has released Double Dare, a free vocal doubler plugin for macOS and Windows. The freebie marks Canvas Audio’s first anniversary, and Double Dare is available as a free download until September 1st. It normally costs $29. Double Dare is a quick stereo vocal doubler. It can give you anything from subtle thickening to [...]
View post: Canvas Audio releases Double Dare, a FREE vocal doubler plugin

Audio Damage reboots the classic FREE ShinRonin modular filter/delay plugin
Developer Audio Damage has rebooted an old classic with the free ShinRonin modular filter/delay plugin. Audio Damage is a name that has been around for a long time, and the Colorado-based developer shows no signs of going away anytime soon. In March of this year, we covered the release of Evil Otto, a free OTT-style [...]
View post: Audio Damage reboots the classic FREE ShinRonin modular filter/delay plugin

Looking to monetise your sounds? STL Tones’ royalty platform is now open to all creatorsSelling tone packs and signature sounds has long been the preserve of established artists with endorsement deals but STL Tones is here to change that.
The company behind ToneHub and ControlHub has announced that it’s opening its artist royalty platform to everyone, allowing producers, mixers and artists of all levels to upload their own tones and earn recurring royalties whenever their content is used.
Until now, the platform has largely been reserved for invited collaborators, with official tone packs from artists and producers behind some of music’s biggest names. According to STL, the programme has already generated more than US$2.5 million in artist royalties.

READ MORE: Deezer’s new Remix Lab feature is AI-free and “compensates artists accordingly”

The STL ecosystem currently hosts signature tones from the guitarists and producers behind artists including Bring Me The Horizon, blink-182, Slipknot, Paramore, Ozzy Osbourne, YUNGBLUD, Turnstile, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Post Malone, Timbaland, Jay-Z, Chris Stapleton, Jack White and Arctic Monkeys.
Now, independent musicians can publish alongside those high-profile names through the same marketplace.
Creators can upload guitar and bass tones to ToneHub, or mixing and mastering chains to ControlHub. In return, they’ll gain access to global distribution, usage analytics, royalty tracking and automated payouts, while retaining full ownership of their content.
STL says the move reflects a wider shift in how musicians are building sustainable careers, with income increasingly coming from a mix of streaming, touring, merchandise and digital products.
“The platform is open to everyone from independent bedroom musicians and established touring artists, to Grammy-winning producers looking to build long-term recurring income,” says the company.
“Streaming, touring, merch, fan communities, and digital products have all become part of the modern artist business model. STL believes artist tones should be part of that revenue stack as well, transforming them from one-time product releases into long-term royalty-generating assets. It’s a direct line to fans, particularly powerful and engaging during album release campaigns.”
Learn more at STL Tones.
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Tom Wolfe and Luftrum release FREE Omnisphere 3 presets for Synth Vault
Tom Wolfe and Luftrum have released Luftrum x Wolfe, a free preset pack for Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3. The release celebrates five years of Tom Wolfe’s Synth Vault, the free monthly preset club that launched in July 2021. To mark the anniversary, Wolfe teamed up with Luftrum on a small but very focused pack of ten [...]
View post: Tom Wolfe and Luftrum release FREE Omnisphere 3 presets for Synth Vault

This mastering membership is designed for producers without access to big budgetsAs streaming services and social media increase the demand for artists to keep putting out new music, Raff Di Renzo, founder of Eleven One One Mastering, has noticed more and more independent artists either skipping the mastering process or accepting lower standards.
To address this trend, Di Renzo is launching a membership model designed to give independent artists who don’t have big budgets increased access to professional mastering services.

READ MORE: Unusable Engineering adds 4 new plugins to its lineup – all designed to make complex production processes simple

“Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of artists, and one thing has become clear. It’s not the quality of the music that’s the issue. It’s the accessibility of the final stage,” Di Renzo says. “Too many producers are making compromises at mastering because it feels financially out of reach. This was built to change that in a way that is sustainable for everyone involved.”
The membership costs £15 a month with a minimum 12-month commitment, bringing the total to £180. For this price, members get two professional masters done per month with 20% off any additional mastering after that. Di Renzo himself will be available to master as well. After the 12 months, the membership will continue monthly, but can be cancelled at any time. This program is designed specifically for independent artists who are releasing music frequently.
“Independent artists invest significant time, energy, and money into their music, but the final 5%, mastering, is often where compromises happen,” Di Renzo continues. “This initiative is about removing that barrier, not lowering standards.”
Over the last 25 years, Di Renzo has cut his teeth as an artist, label manager, educator, and mastering engineer. He is a sound designer for BandLab Technologies, and he was a lead mentor for the prominent drum & bass label, Hospital Records, from 2021 to 2023.
For more information, head to Eleven One One Mastering.
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Unusable Engineering adds 4 new plugins to its lineup – all designed to make complex production processes simpleUnusable Engineering is anything but, as it launches four new plugins designed to make complex production processes as simple as possible. All of the new VSTs feature a visual guide demonstrating just how every little twist of the knob changes the sound.
The main event in this new drop is Partials and Discrepencies, an eight-voice additive polysynth with up to 128 sine partials per voice. The centerpiece of the interface is a circular graph that contains the sine pattern for each of the eight partials, all controlled by their own additive oscillator.

READ MORE: Tidal won’t remove AI-generated music – it’ll just stop paying those behind it

All eight partials can be stored in slots around the ring of the frame, allowing users to switch between them with ease. While the additive oscillators work to combine the eight voices, the various discrepancy controls make those voices behave against each other in different patterns. For example, increasing the position function changes the start points of the different partials to create a delay effect.

The centerpiece of Binaural Modulator is a room model based on 20x20x20 meters. A fixed listener in the middle demonstrates in real-time how the shifts are affecting the movement of the sound. Users can drag the sound sources up and down or left to right to affect delay or filtering. It works great as an auto pan, but also as a tremolo and chorus.
Geometry Delay also uses a room model with similar draggable functionality. By engaging with delay in a 3D environment, users have more freedom to make slight adjustments to how the delays behave in relation to the source sound.
Geometry Reverb once again calls upon the room model, but this time, the functionality is more familiar to other room-based reverb functions. Adjusting the size and shape of the room will naturally change how the reverb behaves.
Partials and Discrepencies is available for €79, Geometry Delay is €29, and Geometry Reverb and Binaural Modulator are both free. All of them work on macOS and Windows.
For more information, head to Unusable Engineering.
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Applying for Suno’s new Spark artist incubator? Read these terms firstSuno has launched Spark, a new incubator programme designed to help independent artists “bring their music projects to life” through grants, mentorship and marketing support.
On paper, it’s an attractive proposition: Artists with “a creative vision” but limited resources are offered access to funding, industry connections and promotional support while retaining ownership of their music.
In practice, however, Spark comes with a lengthy list of conditions – including mandatory use of Suno, broad promotional rights, a temporary exclusivity clause, and a “Good Vibes Only” non-disparagement policy that prospective applicants may want to read carefully before signing up.

READ MORE: Suno has raised over $400M in its latest funding round – and is now valued at a staggering $5.4B

“Independent artists have always played an outsized role in shaping music and culture,” says Suno. “We want to help create a future where more artists have the opportunity to develop their craft, find their audience, and build sustainable creative careers.”
The AI music company also emphases in its promotional material: “Our role is to support your project, not own it. You maintain full creative control and 100% of your commercial rights.”
Applications are now open to unsigned singers, songwriters and producers aged 18 or over who release music under their own name. Successful applicants will receive a creative grant, additional marketing funding, invitations to writing camps with established artists, and the opportunity to test new Suno features before they’re publicly released.
Now for the small print.
To start, participants are required to create between one and 12 songs using Suno as part of the creative process, publish those tracks on Suno with remixing enabled, and actively promote both the music and the fact it was made with Suno across platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
The agreement also grants Suno permission to use your music, alongside your name and likeness, for marketing and promotional purposes – including in “derivative works” – both during the programme and “thereafter” (which sounds suspiciously like forever).
Applicants must likewise confirm they own or control all rights to the music they submit, including the “master recording, composition and all publishing rights” required for Suno to use the material as part of the programme.
There’s also a 60-day exclusivity clause. After their final Spark release goes live, participants agree not to work in a paid or formal promotional capacity with competing AI music platforms, including Udio, Riffusion, SOUNDRAW, AIVA and ElevenLabs.
Perhaps the most contentious provision, however, is Spark’s “Good Vibes Only” policy. While Suno says it’s intended to foster “mutual respect” and “does not prevent you from speaking honestly about your experience”, the terms also state that participants must not “disparage Spark or its participants”. Violation of that, according to Suno, will be considered a “material breach” that could result in removal from the programme.
Reaction to Spark has been predictably divided. Some artists on the SunoAI subreddit and X have praised the initiative, with one writing, “As someone who only uses Suno to help with my quick demo ideas that I’ve made in my home studio, this is super cool. My only issue is the bad stigma around using AI among my peers and the general public.”
Others, however, were far more sceptical, with much of the criticism centred on Spark’s licensing terms and “Good Vibes Only” clause. One commenter described the programme as a scheme where “aspiring artists can sign their rights away in exchange for absolutely nothing”, while another dismissed it as little more than “cheap advertising”.
TL;DR, If you’re considering applying, it’s worth reading Spark’s terms in full before signing up.

Making it as an independent artist isn't easy. That’s why we’re launching Spark, a new incubator program designed to support the next generation of creators.
Apply today: https://t.co/ik9F5BL2Tw
Spark empowers rising artists with:Project funding & grantsDedicated…
— Suno (@suno) June 25, 2026

Learn more at Suno.
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Tidal won’t remove AI-generated music – it’ll just stop paying those behind itIf you’ve generated an AI album and were hoping to cash in on streaming royalties, Tidal has some bad news.
The streaming service has announced a new AI music policy that allows AI-generated tracks onto the platform, but draws a firm line when it comes to monetisation. From 29 June, music it identifies as “wholly AI-generated” will no longer earn royalties or be eligible for direct-to-fan sales.

READ MORE: Why Jack Dorsey’s TIDAL is focusing on building new DJ tools and content in 2025

“Starting today, AI-generated music will not be monetisable,” says the company. “Tidal’s priority is ensuring royalties go to original works directly produced, written, and performed by people. We will therefore not knowingly attribute royalties to music we identify as wholly AI-generated.”
That doesn’t mean AI music is being banned altogether. Tidal says it will continue accepting AI-generated releases, provided they comply with its content standards and distribution agreements. Beginning in mid-July, tracks identified as 100% AI-generated will also receive a dedicated label, with broader tagging planned (“we will expand this tag to content that is substantially AI-generated”) as AI detection technology improves.
The company is also cracking down on what it describes as “fraudulent” AI uploads. Music generated to impersonate artists, mislead listeners, manipulate streaming activity or flood the platform with mass-produced releases may be blocked or removed entirely.
“We will not tolerate AI-generated music that exploits an individual’s or group’s music, name or likeness, deceives listeners, or diminishes the quality of our service,” Tidal states.
The policy also extends to Tidal Upload, the platform’s self-service distribution tool for independent artists. If Tidal determines that an Upload release is wholly AI-generated, it will still be allowed on the service and tagged as such, but it won’t qualify for monetisation or direct-to-fan sales.
The move comes as streaming platforms continue to grapple with an explosion of AI-generated music. Viral acts like The Velvet Sundown have amassed millions of streams across platforms, igniting debate over AI-generated content, artist compensation and whether streaming services are doing enough to distinguish machine-made music from human-created work.
Earlier this month, Deezer launched a free online AI music detector that allows users to check whether their playlists contain AI-generated tracks. The tool is powered by Deezer’s existing AI detection technology, and is compatible with 20 of the most popular music streaming platforms in the market.
More information is available at Tidal.
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LSO St Luke’s unveils state-of-the-art recording studio after multi-million-pound upgradeLSO St Luke’s, the London Symphony Orchestra’s historic home has unveiled a new state-of-the-art recording studio following a multi-million-pound investment, significantly expanding the venue’s capabilities for music production, spatial audio, broadcast, podcasting and filmed content.

READ MORE: MusicTech is giving away over £1,200 of gear. Here’s how to win a complete studio package

At the heart of the upgrade is a bespoke Audio Control Room (ACR), designed to handle everything from full-scale recording sessions to post-production work. The studio is equipped with a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 reference monitoring system, ATC speakers and an Avid S4 console, while remaining connected to every performance space throughout the building.
Sarah Quinn, Chair of London Symphony Orchestra, says: “The launch of our new Audio Control Room and expanded recording facilities marks an exciting new chapter for LSO St Luke’s. This investment strengthens our ability to support world-class artists and creative teams, while opening up exciting new possibilities for how music, film and broadcast projects are made within this historic space.”
In addition to the new ACR, LSO St Luke’s has also upgraded its Master Control Room (MCR) for high-definition filming, live streaming and broadcast production, while its Clore Rooms have been reconfigured as multi-functional, acoustically controlled spaces supporting rehearsals, creative sessions, recording, production and more.
Acoustic improvements have also been made throughout the venue to provide greater sound isolation without compromising the building’s historic character.
According to Becky Lees, Director of LSO Live, the new facilities are intended to broaden the venue’s appeal beyond orchestral recording.
“These new facilities allow us to open up the space in a new way, welcoming a broader range of creatives alongside our orchestral, community and education work,” she says. “We are excited to support artists, producers, filmmakers and audio professionals of all kinds in accessing everything the venue now has to offer, from recording and production through to broadcast and digital content creation.”
Originally built in 1733 as St Luke’s Church, the venue has served as the London Symphony Orchestra’s music, education and recording home since 2003. Over the years, it has hosted musicians and artists including Elton John, Annie Lennox, Bruce Springsteen, PJ Harvey and Sting.
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The Crow Hill Company release Brackish Pads Bringing together an array of “microtonal, stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones”, Brackish Pads is said to be best suited to heartbreaking, tragic and profound music. 

How Hopeless Records Approaches Influencer and UGC Music MarketingThis week, Ari is joined by Nicole Abea of Hopeless Records to discuss TikTok marketing, fandoms, and building artists today.