What is classical music? A beginner’s guide to history, composers, and key works
Discover the origins of classical music, explore its renowned composers, and learn about the key works that have shaped this timeless genre.

Sony Music buys 49% stake in music unit of Vietnam media giant YeaH1; companies launch new SYE Holdings joint ventureSME, through Sony Music Entertainment Hong Kong, agreed to acquire a 49% stake in YeaH1-owned 1Label for an undisclosed sum last month.
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Converting a Nebra Cryptocurrency Miner To a Meshcore RepeaterAfter the swivel by Helium Inc. towards simply running distributed WiFi hotspots after for years pushing LoRaWAN nodes, many of the associated hardware became effectively obsolete. This led to quite a few of these Nebra LoRa Miners getting sold off, with the [Buy it Fix it] channel being one of those who sought to give these chunks of IP-67-rated computing hardware a new life.
Originally designed to be part of the Helium Network Token (HNT) cryptocurrency mining operation, with users getting rewarded by having these devices operating, they contain fairly off-the-shelf hardware. As can be glanced from e.g. the Sparkfun product page, it’s basically a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ on a breakout board with a RAK 2287 LoRa module. The idea in the video was to convert it into a Meshcore repeater, which ought to be fairly straightforward, one might think.
Unfortunately the unit came with a dead eMMC chip on the compute module, the LoRa module wasn’t compatible with Meshcore, and the Nebra breakout board only covers the first 24 pins of the standard RPi header on its pin header.

The solutions involved using a µSD card for the firmware instead of the eMMC, and doing some creative routing on the bottom of the breakout board to connect the unconnected pins on the breakout’s RPi header to the pins on the compute module’s connector. This way a compatible LoRa module could be placed on this header.
Rather than buying an off-the-shelf LoRa module for the RPi and waiting for delivery, a custom module was assembled from an eByte E22 LoRa module and some stripboard to test whether the contraption would work at all. Fortunately a test of the system as a Meshcore repeater showed that it works as intended, serving as a pretty decent proof-of-concept of how to repurpose those systems from a defunct crypto mining scheme into a typical LoRa repeater, whether Meshcore or equivalent.

DAWJunkie releases LeadOff Jr, a FREE wavetable synth for macOS and Windows
We all know the drill by now with DAWJunkie: we get a nice freebie, with the option to upgrade to a fully-featured big brother for just $1. Their latest freebie is LeadOff Jr, a free wavetable synth for macOS and Windows. We’ve had Lil Miss Doubler, Lil Bottom Jr, and more recently, Craze. This time [...]
View post: DAWJunkie releases LeadOff Jr, a FREE wavetable synth for macOS and Windows

Andi Vax FabFilter PRO-C 3 - 232 PresetsGet a premium collection of 232 expertly crafted presets for all genres! Simply load Pro-C 3 and instantly find the perfect settings for Bass, Drums, Guitars, Vocals, Synths and Mastering. Just select a preset and tweak the MIX knob to taste. Designed for professionals, optimized for beginners - effortless sound, no learning curve. CATEGORIES: Mastering. Smash & Punch. Vocals. Synths. Bass. Keys. Guitars (Acoustic & Electric). Drums (Bus, Kick, Snare, Hats, Overheads, Room, Toms). VIDEO DEMO: https://youtu.be/hHf2Eaopum0 You will need the Fabfilter Pro-C 3 plugin for using these presets. Read More

SoundCloud Distribution Full Review: An Honest AssessmentIn addition to its original discovery features, SoundCloud now offers built-in music distribution to major streaming platforms.

Kid Rock, Live Nation to testify at new Senate Ticketing HearingThe battle over how live events are ticketed is heading back to Washington. On January 28, the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy will convene a high-stakes Senate ticketing hearing.
The post Kid Rock, Live Nation to testify at new Senate Ticketing Hearing appeared first on Hypebot.

Akai x Spitfire Audio: new “strategic partnership” to bring pro-quality instrument libraries to MPC usersAkai Professional has offered more details surrounding its new partnership with Spitfire Audio, after it was alluded to with the launch of its new flagship MPC XL.
At its core, the new “strategic partnership” brings Spitfire Audio’s specialist instrument sampling expertise and virtual libraries into the MPC ecosystem. It kicks off with Spitfire’s Originals Intimate Strings library, which is now available to MPC users.

READ MORE: NAMM 2026 Live: All the news, gear, and innovations from the biggest music gear event

Originals Intimate Strings is a virtual instrument offering the “warmth, emotion and detail” of a small string ensemble. The pack – captured at London’s AIR Studios – first launched in 2020, but is now available to standalone MPC users for the first time.
Spitfire and Akai say more Spitfire virtual instruments will be added to the MPC ecosystem and available to MPC users in due course.
“The brands that form the inMusic family have been with me for most of my professional music career and I’m incredibly excited to be partnering with Akai to distil our approach to expressive, performance-led instruments into a focused, standalone experience,” says Spitfire Audio founder Paul Thomson. [Ed: Akai Professional is part of the inMusic family of brands.
“Whether you’re writing or performing, this collaboration gives you the power for intuitive creation and I look forward to bringing more of this to the industry as this partnership grows.”
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Spitfire Audio bringing Intimate Strings MPC Edition directly into the MPC ecosystem,” adds Andy Mac, brand manager at Akai Professional. 
“By giving producers access to these legendary, expressive sounds at their fingertips, we’re unlocking a new realm of emotional depth and musicality in beat-making and music production empowering creators to blend cinematic richness with the intuitive flow of MPC.”
You can learn more about the new partnership and sign up for updates at akaipro.com.
The post Akai x Spitfire Audio: new “strategic partnership” to bring pro-quality instrument libraries to MPC users appeared first on MusicTech.

China, US sign off on TikTok US deal, but uncertainty remainsBoth China and the USD have signed off on the TikTok US deal, according to multiple sources. But major uncertainties remain for artists, labels and all creators.
The post China, US sign off on TikTok US deal, but uncertainty remains appeared first on Hypebot.

SOS AWARDS 2026 Winners Announced! The votes have been counted, and we are very happy to announce the results of each category on the official results page published in our February 2026 issue.

MasterCheck 2 from NUGEN Audio The latest version of NUGEN Audio’s popular analysis plug-in has arrived, delivering a set of new features that have been designed to meet the needs of modern productions.

My two favorite deals this week come from Solid State Logic and IK Multimedia
Solid State Logic and IK Multimedia have two heavily discounted offers that are well worth your attention if you’re looking to upgrade your creative effects toolkit or guitar setup. I’ll cover both below, but please note that the one from SSL expires very soon (probably a matter of hours at this point). SSL X-Delay & [...]
View post: My two favorite deals this week come from Solid State Logic and IK Multimedia

This app from Sonarworks & Dolby creates you a personalized Dolby Atmos headphone profileSonarworks – the audio calibration company known for its SoundID Reference software – has partnered with Dolby to deliver a better experience to creators working with Dolby Atmos.
The brand is about to launch its SoundID Reference Tools mobile app for iOS and Android, and will enable the creation of a personalised Dolby Atmos headphone profile free of charge. As Sonarworks explains, the app creates an image of the user’s head, ears and shoulders via the phone’s camera, leveraging Dolby tech to create a personalised profile compatible with Dolby Atmos creation tools.

READ MORE: This headless guitar has MIDI and can control your software instruments and hardware synths

This file can then be loaded into the Dolby Atmos Renderer or any compatible DAW. Sonarworks says monitoring with this profile can “improve spatial and timbral accuracy of Dolby Atmos headphone mixes, allowing a more accurate and consistent monitoring experience.
“Every creator’s physical characteristics are unique, which affects how they experience immersive audio over headphones,” says David Gould, Sr. Director of Content Creation and Distribution at Dolby Laboratories.
“By combining Dolby’s technology with Sonarworks’ calibration expertise, the app enables more accurate Dolby Atmos monitoring. We are excited to work with them, and our DAW partners, to bring advanced headphone experiences to Dolby Atmos creators everywhere.”
 “At Sonarworks, our mission has always been to help creators hear their mixes accurately and with confidence, no matter where they work,” adds Martins Popelis, CPO and Co-Founder at Sonarworks. 
“We are thrilled to partner with Dolby to help Dolby Atmos creators make great sounding immersive mixes on headphones as well as deliver more value to the broad community of users who rely on SoundID Reference calibration for accuracy.”
Learn more at Sonarworks.
The post This app from Sonarworks & Dolby creates you a personalized Dolby Atmos headphone profile appeared first on MusicTech.

This headless guitar has MIDI and can control your software instruments and hardware synthsHeadless guitar maker Strandberg has teamed up with Jamstik on a new MIDI-infused guitar, allowing players to control software instruments and hardware synths, while assisting in producing, transcribing and other areas of modern digital music production.
Strandberg makes some of the most forward-thinking electric guitars around right now, so it’s not all that surprising that it would be the next brand to tinker with adding MIDI to its instruments.

READ MORE: NAMM 2026 Live: All the news, gear, and innovations from the biggest music gear event

“By embedding our MIDI technology into Strandberg’s guitars, we’ve built an instrument that supports modern creative workflows while still feeling unmistakably like a world-class guitar,” says Jonathan Keller, Senior Engineer at Jamstik.
“Strandberg’s craftsmanship and ergonomics gave us the ideal foundation to make MIDI feel expressive, musical, and completely natural to play.”
Credit: Strandberg
The guitar itself sports a “chameleon-style” finish – which shifts between purple, green and graphite tones as the light moves – and features a USB-C input for direct computer and DAW integration, TRS-MIDI for controlling hardware synths, and Bluetooth for wireless configuration and real-time setting adjustments.
“Strandberg guitars are designed to remove friction between the player and their ideas,” says Ola Strandberg, Founder and Creative Lead at Strandberg Guitars.
“This collaboration with Jamstik extends that philosophy into the digital domain, giving players new creative possibilities.”
Each Chameleon MIDI Guitar owner will also gain access to Jamstik Creator, software for configuring MIDI behaviour, sensitivity, tuning options and performance settings.
Price-wise, the Strandberg x Jamstik Chameleon MIDI Guitar clocks in at $2,199/£1,799, and is available now for pre-order from both Jamstik and Strandberg. First models will ship in early spring 2026.
If you’re lucky enough like us to be attending this year’s NAMM Show, you can visit Strandberg at Booth #5414 and Jamstik at Booth #9907.
The post This headless guitar has MIDI and can control your software instruments and hardware synths appeared first on MusicTech.

A timeline of the US semiconductor market in 2025From leadership changes at legacy semiconductor companies to wishy washy policy around chip exports, a lot happened last year.