The new soft power and its hidden rulesThroughout the 20th century, particularly the second half, many Western countries – such as the US, UK, and France – increased their global influence through the use of cultural soft power. This was done through tools like Voice of America and the BBC World Service, as well as via movies, TV, journalism, and music. The oft-discussed ‘globalisation’ of culture was, more accurately, a westernisation of global culture. With local-language entertainment growing more popular, audiences fragmenting, and ongoing budget cuts to the World Service as well as (to put it diplomatically) an uncertain future for Radio Free America, the soft power era may appear to be over. It is not. 

Just as the much-heralded end-of-the-gatekeepers was in fact a replacement of human tastemakers with algorithmic ones, so too the human soft power era has been replaced by an algorithmic one. Over the course of the last decade, American tech companies have assumed a dominant cultural and social role in the lives of consumers across the globe. In doing so, the corporate ideologies of these companies (manifested in their algorithms and strategies) now shape the way the world sees itself, just as – if not more than – traditional soft power strategies did. Most pertinently for entertainment, these companies have collectively formulated a new set of rules for cultural success, that stack the deck so that the house always wins.

The leaders of these companies and their investors often have firmly held political beliefs. They often see the companies as tools for furthering their views and agendas – even if those agendas are to manufacture new problems to sell solutions to (which, of course, is part of why the US is so concerned about TikTok). While the old soft power era aimed to propagate (at least in theory) the cultural and political views of entire nations, US tech soft power furthers the worldview of one particular slice of US society.

Sometimes this is done out in the open (e.g., Elon Musk / X) but most often, the implementation is subtler. Because the inner workings of algorithms are closely guarded corporate secrets, not even governments, let alone consumers, are privy to how they are influencing thinking, beliefs, and behaviour. This is unaccountable, social engineering on a literally global scale. The geo-political and social implications are vast, but the impact on entertainment and culture is also profound.

When you are in the midst of change, it can sometimes be hard to understand just how dramatic and significant it actually is. The numbers alone show just how much the influence of US tech companies has increased over the last ten years.

In that time, streaming has come to dominate music and TV revenues, while social has simultaneously given birth to the creator economy and become the collective gatekeeper for entertainment discovery, with often less-than-satisfactory results. It is social’s role that is the most far reaching and that entertainment companies and creators are least able to influence. The result is that entertainment industries have become governed by a new set of rules that they did not write:

Make more content, more quickly

Try fast, fail fast

Chase virality, not longevity

Bring value to ‘discovery’ platforms but extract little or no value in return

Compete with everything and everyone for attention

Accept toxicity as a cost of doing business

What these rules have in common is that the outcomes benefit the platforms more than they do creators and rightsholders. Social and streaming platforms have an insatiable appetite for content, and the burden for meeting that falls on creators and rightsholders. But this appetite is not some unintended consequence, it has been engineered by the platforms in order to meet and increase demand of their users. Pouring gasoline on the viral fire might burn bright, but once the initial flames die down, they often leave behind nothing but scorched earth.

Meanwhile, entertainment companies have been forced to re-engineer their businesses to abide by these new rules. And there are few among them that would argue that the outcome is positive, with a recent quote from WMG’s Elliot Grainge a case in point:

“The whole point of the algorithm is to feed you content that triggers a dopamine response in your brain. It can be really negative and addicting… Those who truly succeed aren’t the loudest; they’re the ones with their heads down, grinding, unsure if it will even work, but going for it anyway… Don’t take the bait and fall for it.”

AI looks set to knock everything up a notch, not least because some of the investors behind the AI companies favour dramatic copyright reform, in some cases even seeing it simply as a hindrance to tech’s future. If you want to take a conspiracy theory approach, you could make the case that one of the reasons the big AI companies have received such massive levels of investment is to provide war chests for fighting precedent-setting copyright cases that will further the ideological ambitions of their investor backers.

So, what can be done? There are two alternatives:

1.    Continue as we are, with tomorrow becoming an even more intense version of today

2.    Begin plotting a different path

Few would want the first option, but the second could seem like a Herculean task. Yet, it might just be that a window of opportunity has presented itself in the shape of the new US tariff regime. More on that in my next blog post! 

New recording studio by Abbey Road, Adidas and Co-op offers “decades of audio expertise and cutting-edge gear”Abbey Road Studios, Adidas, and Co-op Live have opened the doors to a first-of-its-kind recording studio within Manchester’s Co-op Live arena.
Situated inside the UK’s largest music arena, the Adidas Originals Recording Studio is designed as a “vibrant hub for emerging musical talent and young creative communities”.
The space has been engineered by Abbey Road’s own team of technicians and sound engineers, blending decades of audio expertise with the latest workflows and cutting-edge gear.

READ MORE: “A lot of artists need to understand that it’s part of music production”: Myd on overcoming the fear of a blank DAW

Slated to open to musicians this August, the Manchester studio will support up-and-coming talent through a joint effort with several existing creative programmes.
These include Abbey Road’s Amplify and Equalise initiatives – aimed at inspiring the next generation of artists, producers, and creatives while promoting greater diversity in music – as well as Factory International’s Factory Sounds programme, which provides financial support and mentorship to underrepresented groups within the Greater Manchester area.
With on-site access to Abbey Road’s engineers, artists and creative communities will be supported by some of the industry’s most experienced recording and mixing experts – bringing decades of learning and a deep commitment to audio excellence to every session.
Liam Fray, frontman of Manchester-based indie rock band Courteeners, opened the space with a live performance; he also praises the studio for providing opportunities for musicians who may be geographically disadvantaged.
“Opening up a space like this to get people through the door – I’m all for it,” says Fray. “There are obstacles to get into the industry, finance is one of those barriers, but geography is also one. To have something of this level up here that is a focal point in Manchester opens up the industry and takes it to a wider audience. There will be geniuses out there that we don’t yet know about.”
Sally Davies, Managing Director of Abbey Road Studios adds, “The launch of the adidas Originals Recording Studio is a world-first collaboration creating a new, Abbey Road-engineered recording space beyond the walls of our home in London.”
“We are enormously proud to partner with adidas, Co-op Live and Factory International to create a new platform for talent in Manchester and the North-West, expanding our mission to enable and empower the global community of music makers and creators, and shape the future of music making.”
The post New recording studio by Abbey Road, Adidas and Co-op offers “decades of audio expertise and cutting-edge gear” appeared first on MusicTech.

Arturia MicroLab Mk3 announced The latest iteration of Arturia’s ultra-compact MIDI controller boasts an updated design, and comes in at a lower price than its predecessor! 

At $60, Arturia’s MicroLab MK3 MIDI controller could be perfect for bedroom producersArturia has released the MicroLab MK3, a small but seemingly powerful MIDI controller that could fit nicely in your bedroom studio and your backpack. Plus, with licenses for Ableton Live Lite, Analog Lab Intro, and a handful of nifty features, the $60 asking price seems pretty tantalising.
The third model in Arturia’s MicroLab controller series, the MK3 sports a compact, minimalist design with plug-and-play USB connectivity. You’ll be able to hook this up and get playing within seconds, whether you’re in the studio or on the move with your laptop. The wooden panels on the side are a nice touch, too.
Arturia MicroLab MK3. Image: Arturia
You’ll have two octaves to play across on the MicroLab MK3, with velocity-sensitive mini-keys, which Arturia says are “the best quality slim keys on the market at this price point.” There are also two touch strips for pitch bend and modulation (or whatever you want to map them to) and a sustain pedal input on the back. In addition, the Chord Mode lets you play multiple notes of your choice with one finger — “perfect for effortless songwriting”, says Arturia.
If you’re new to music production software, the bundles that come with the MicroLab MK3 will be particularly useful. Ableton Live Lite — an introductory version of one of the world’s most popular Digital Audio Workstations — is included with your purchase. Here, you can record, perform and produce entire tracks using the included sounds and editing functions. Plus, for even more playable instruments, the included Analog Lab Intro package with the MicroLab MK3 gives you hundreds of sounds from Arturia’s V Collection software. Think vintage synthesizers, modelled pianos, lush pads and heavy bass sounds.
Arturia MicroLab MK3. Image: Arturia
You can pick up the MicroLab MK3 in black or white now for €60/$60 from Arturia.
Arturia has been on a run lately, releasing V Collection 11 and V Collection Intro, and receiving a high score in our review of its flagship software synth, Pigments 6. The French brand also just announced a partnership with Native Instruments, which allows KeyLab and MiniLab owners to get more hands-on with NKS plugins.
Find the best deals for the Arturia MicroLab MK3 at Thomann, Sweetwater, Zzounds and Reverb. 
The post At $60, Arturia’s MicroLab MK3 MIDI controller could be perfect for bedroom producers appeared first on MusicTech.

Get the IK Multimedia T-RackS 6 Mix and Mastering Suite for $30
If you’re in the market for a mixing and mastering suite, then you’re in luck as Plugin Boutique currently offers IK Multimedia’s T-RackS 6 Mix and Mastering Suite for $30, representing a 70% saving from the list price of $100. T-RackS 6 is a 64-bit release for macOS (AU, VST3, AAX) and Windows (VST3, AAX). [...]
View post: Get the IK Multimedia T-RackS 6 Mix and Mastering Suite for $30

“Don’t turn the music into the wallpaper in a kid’s bedroom”: Two video game soundtrackers on crafting music that players actually hearTo close out his panel on video game composition for the debut edition of the London Soundtrack Festival, Steve Schnur, President of Music for Electronic Arts, asked the composers on stage the following question:
“What composers have influenced you?”
Sitting on the panel were lauded game composers such as Ludvig Forssell (Death Stranding) and Stephen Barton (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), the latter of whom organised the video game programming for the festival.
READ MORE: Behind the sound of Star Wars Outlaws: a polarising game with a Grammy-nominated soundtrack
After everyone had their turn, naming musical greats from Jerry Goldsmith to Tim Hecker to Ryuichi Sakamoto, Schnur closed by saying:
“The people who are about to study composition, their answers will be the people on this stage.”

Soundtrackers onstage at the London Soundtrack Festival. Image: London Soundtrack Festival
Today, video game music is held in the same esteem as film scores. It’s unsurprising, then, that the London Soundtrack Festival hosted masterclasses with composers such as Gordy Haab, plus performances of music from Baldur’s Gate 3, Battlefield 2042, and Metal Gear Solid, among others.
“[The festival] was in memory of a composer called Christopher Gunning,” Barton says of the programming. “He did TV, he wrote symphonies, he did concert music, he did film — he did everything. He would have undoubtedly done video games if they’d been a thing sooner. Honouring games seemed like a natural thing to do.”
From AAA titles within an iconic franchise such as Star Wars to auteur-driven indie games such as Death Stranding, the music is evolving with the format. But one thing remains true: game music is more grounded in technology than music for any other form of visual media.
“On a film, you deliver your stems, and it goes into Pro Tools at some point to be mixed. It’s no different from our music mix process. Just an extension with dialogue and effects. With games, we’re dealing with a technical architecture and sometimes writing for that architecture,” Barton says.
Within that technical architecture, the central processing unit of the game system or personal computer delivers the music in real time along with the sound effects, graphics, dialogue, enemies, environments, and everything else seen and heard.
The music is woven throughout that library of coding that’s like a Jenga tower; if something is out of place when the audio team implements the music into the game engine, the entire tower could topple over.
“Most of the time, the doesn’t want the composer anywhere near the build because we’re pretty good at breaking it,” Barton says with a laugh, going on to mention that certain game companies require 16-bit audio for every piece of music he writes.
“Game engines are so fragile. I’m in 24-bit, 48 kHz all the time, as is everybody. But that game engine is coded in such a way that it always only puts in 16-bit audio files. If they accidentally drag a 24-bit file into the structure, it will just crash the game, and it’s a major AAA game.”
Composers are also constantly working around sound design in the games. Barton composed for EA’s Titanfall series, in which the player pilots a titan, a giant robot. At these moments, the titan’s massive weapons and mechanical motions swallow the bulk of the low and mid-range.

“Everything [Titanfall] does is loud, so quite quickly I realised tons and tons of bass isn’t going to work here. You’ve only got so much headroom. The sound effects are certainly going to be the thing that takes over. One thing is going to have to win,” Barton says, adding that the HDR mixing function in games will lower the volume on everything else when these big sounds are running. “I found it was better to use higher frequency stuff and find my moments to use low bass-end sounds and then get out of the way, because I’m not being turned down.”
When Ludvig Forssell served as composer and audio director for Death Stranding, the open-world action game from Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions, he made those moments himself because he directed both the sound design and music.
“Having the power to influence in that way as a composer is very unusual and very privileged,” Forssell says. From this privileged position, he spent years “throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks,” as he developed the game’s overall sonic aesthetic.
Games have far more room for ideas to stick because players can spend hundreds or even thousands of hours on one game. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has six hours of music. The composer and the technical team work together on how that music exists within the gameplay.
“That’s often the challenge. Balancing musicality versus something that’s actually going to make sense,” Barton says. “A lot of it is trying to think about why we want to start music or stop music; the way the transitions work and how you go from one musical state to another.”
The in-game music in Death Stranding mostly starts and stops depending on combat. As with Kojima’s famous franchise, Metal Gear Solid, the combat is at the player’s discretion. They can choose to be stealthy, face the enemy head-on, or avoid combat altogether.

To allow the music to naturally shift between these states, Forssell focused a great deal on layering three primary modes: caution, evasion, and alert. Caution means the enemy is suspicious that you are there. Evasion means they saw you, but you’ve escaped their immediate sight. Alert means they see you and they are engaging with you.
Then, each of these states has multiple layers dependent on factors like the number of enemies and the physical distance from enemies. As the danger increases and decreases, more layers fade in and out. This is especially crucial for stealth when players need to hear enemies to avoid being seen.
“I provide the music editors and [implementors] with as much material as I can,” Forssell says. “So I write very, very densely. If we put stuff in that’s supposed to be for the mid-caution tension layer, and it doesn’t feel like it’s intense enough, or it’s too intense, there are always small layers that we can add or take away to mitigate that. We do a lot of balancing after production on the music is done and it’s been implemented to make sure that those different layers of tension are adequately presented to the player.”
Ludvig Forssell (left) and Stephen Barton (right), signing Star Wars: Jedi Survivor and Metal Gear Solid merch. Images: London Soundtrack Festival
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also allows the player to explore the various planets they visit as the protagonist, Cal Kestis. Barton and his co-composer Gordy Haab wrote exploratory music, but they also use music to serve the narrative by creating suspenseful loops as a boss fight approaches or inserting melodies to inform the player they’re going the right way towards their current objective.
By LucasFilm’s directive, the score captures a similar aesthetic that John Williams immortalised in Star Wars. Barton recorded the score at Abbey Road as well, which is where Williams recorded every Star Wars score from The Empire Strikes Back moving forward. But Barton wanted to capture that spirit without biting those iconic melodies. In fact, he only wrote with “Binary Sunset,” also commonly known as the “Force Theme,” twice in the whole game.
“We don’t need the music to perpetually remind you you’re playing a Star Wars game,” Barton says. “Let’s not make the music the wallpaper in a kid’s bedroom.”
Kids have been playing video games in their bedrooms for decades, but only the most recent generation has been exposed to music on par with classic films. Today, one young gamer might just grow up to be one of the most prolific composers of their time.
Read more music production features. 
The post “Don’t turn the music into the wallpaper in a kid’s bedroom”: Two video game soundtrackers on crafting music that players actually hear appeared first on MusicTech.

New Trending Touring Artists Chart powered by BandsintownToday we unveil Hypebot's new Trending Touring Artists Chart powered by Bandsintown led in May by emerging artists Sombr, Will Wood and James Marriott.
The post New Trending Touring Artists Chart powered by Bandsintown appeared first on Hypebot.

How to Use Short Form Video to Promote Music on Social MediaLearn how to use short form video to promote music across social media. It's easier than you think to create scroll-stopping clips that get noticed without fancy gear or endless editing.
The post How to Use Short Form Video to Promote Music on Social Media appeared first on Hypebot.

HEDD Audio unveil the A-CORE Series HEDD Audio's new A-Core Series comprises a pair of two-way designs that employ the company’s Air Motion Transformer tweeter and custom-made woofers, but omit the digital processing found in their MK2 relatives.

Live Nation launches $30 ticket deal for over 1,000 summer 2025 concertsBeen holding off on concert plans because of high ticket prices? Live Nation is here to change that with a limited-time deal offering $30 all-in tickets to over 1,000 concerts this summer.
Going on sale starting 21 May, the “$30 Ticket to Summer” promotion includes access to shows across the US and Canada from artists such as The Offspring, Pantera, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Avril Lavigne, Billy Idol, Halsey, and The Black Keys, among many others.

READ MORE: SoundCloud CEO writes open letter following AI Terms of Use panic and promises more transparency in the future

Fans with early access through T-Mobile and Rakuten can purchase tickets beginning Tuesday, 20 May 10AM EST by visiting the companies’ respective platforms to obtain a presale code. General public sales launch the following day, Wednesday, 21 May at 10AM local time, via Live Nation’s official Ticket to Summer website.
The deal applies to a wide range of performances at Live Nation amphitheaters across the country, with tickets priced at $30 flat – all fees included. Visitors to the Ticket to Summer site can filter their search by artist, venue, or location to find eligible events near them.
More shows are expected to be added throughout the summer as well, so remember to check back regularly for new listings.
The initiative comes at a time when music lovers continue to voice frustration over soaring ticket prices. Last year, a study by global research firm YouGov revealed that UK concertgoers pay an extra £145 million annually to ticket touts, with nearly half of surveyed fans saying they struggle to identify legitimate resale platforms.
Roughly one in five tickets, the report added, end up on a resale platform of some sort.
O2, which facilitates over a million ticket sales annually through its Priority customer reward platform, said of the findings: “We are tired of professional ticket touts abusing the market and stealing tickets out of fans’ hands.”
“Music fans deserve the chance to buy tickets at a price set by their favourite artist, but all too often they are forced to pay a price decided by a stranger on the internet. Consumers deserve more protection and better information about the tickets they’re paying for.”
Check out the full list of participating shows at Live Nation’s Ticket to Summer website.
The post Live Nation launches $30 ticket deal for over 1,000 summer 2025 concerts appeared first on MusicTech.

Ethereum Foundation unveils security initiative to supplant legacy systemsThe Ethereum Foundation has launched a security initiative aimed at supporting the broader adoption of onchain technologies, according to a May 14 announcement. The effort is part of an ongoing push to strengthen Ethereum's role in programmable digital assets.Fredrik Svantes, a protocol security research lead, and Josh Stark from the Ethereum Foundation management team will be the initial co-chairs of the initiative. Three contributors to the Ethereum ecosystem — samczsun, Medhi Zerouali, and Zach Obront — will help guide the project.Called the Trillion Dollar Security Initiative, the effort seeks to analyze, improve, and communicate to Ethereum developers areas where security can be improved, including user experience, wallet security, smart contract security and infrastructure.According to DefiLlama, Ethereum still is the leading ecosystem for decentralized finance (DeFi), having held between 50-60% of the total value locked across all blockchains since May 2022. The network's TVL stands at nearly $80 billion as of May 14. Blockchains by total-value-locked. Source: DefiLlama“Achieving Trillion Dollar Security is only possible with the support of the broad Ethereum ecosystem,” the Foundation said in a statement. “Billions of individuals are each comfortable storing more than $1,000 onchain, collectively amounting to trillions of dollars secured on Ethereum," it added.Related: Vitalik Buterin outlines vision as Ethereum ecosystem addresses hit new highEthereum rebounds with Pectra upgradeEthereum’s struggles during this bull market have been well-documented. It has suffered from low traffic and a lack of attention-grabbing use cases, and its layer-2 chains that make Ethereum faster have been plagued by bad UX. But then came the Pectra upgrade.Pectra, Ethereum’s most significant upgrade since The Merge, has delivered three key improvements, including external accounts as smart contracts, increased staking limits and data blobs per block.Ethereum’s native token (ETH) price has risen significantly since the upgrade, jumping over 43% since May 7. Magazine: Comeback 2025 — Is Ethereum poised to catch up with Bitcoin and Solana?

Loaded Dice Entertainment & Amaze Partner in Strategic Merchandise DealAmaze Holdings Inc. has announced that it has been selected by Loaded Dice Entertainment as its official merchandise partner.  "Loaded Dice empowers independent musicians through artist development programs, transparent revenue-sharing, robust music distribution, and innovative marketing strategies," reads a statement. "As part of the partnership, Amaze will host both Loaded Dice branded merchandise and artist-specific items that will be appreciated by fans worldwide. The first Loaded Dice artist featured on the Amaze storefront is Hudson Thames, whose debut album BAMBINO was recently released and whose storefront includes artist designed sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats."“Partnering with Loaded Dice provides the brand and its artists with unparalleled opportunities for new exposure amongst Amaze’s users,” said Aaron Day, CEO of Amaze. “As Loaded Dice helps artists with their music, Amaze will help artists reach new audiences and easily create and sell merchandise on their own. Merchandise revenue can be a significant support for artists, and we look forward to empowering artists to create and sell items that represent their art and resonate with their fans.”“From day one, Loaded Dice has been committed to creating a distinctive environment where artists can thrive creatively and professionally. As we continue to grow, it’s essential that we align with partners who share our values and vision. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Amaze. Together, we’re empowering our artists to express their authentic style, reach new audiences, and offer fans innovative merchandise experiences that go far beyond the traditional. We’re excited to collaborate with the Amaze team as we redefine what fan engagement and artist support can look like,” said Jeff Z (Zuchowski) and Chad Doher, Co-Founders of Loaded Dice.Find out more at amaze.com.The post Loaded Dice Entertainment & Amaze Partner in Strategic Merchandise Deal first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

YouTube viewers will start seeing ads after ‘peak’ moments in videosImagine you’re watching a highly anticipated video from your favorite YouTube creator — perhaps the moment a famous couple finally gets engaged — when an ad pops up immediately after the clip. This is part of YouTube’s new ad format called “Peak Points.” The company revealed the new ad format during its Upfront presentation on […]

Your Own Core Rope MemoryIf you want read-only memory today, you might be tempted to use flash memory or, if you want old-school, maybe an EPROM. But there was a time when that wasn’t feasible. [Igor Brichkov] shows us how to make a core rope memory using a set of ferrite cores and wire. This was famously used in early UNIVAC computers and the Apollo guidance computer. You can see how it works in the video below.
While rope memory superficially resembles core memory, the principle of operation is different. In core memory, the core’s magnetization is what determines any given bit. For rope memory, the cores are more like a sensing element. A set wire tries to flip the polarity of all cores. An inhibit signal stops that from happening except on the cores you want to read. Finally, a sense wire weaves through the cores and detects a blip when a core changes polarity. The second video, below, is an old MIT video that explains how it works (about 20 minutes in).
Why not just use core memory? Density. These memories could store much more data than a core memory system in the same volume. Of course, you could write to core memory, too, but that’s not always a requirement.
We’ve seen a resurgence of core rope projects lately. Regular old core is fun, too.

Maarten Steinkamp appointed Interim President of Armada Music GroupSteinkamp has worked closely with Armada as an interim board consultant for the past several months
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