It’s Daniel Ek’s World and Musicians Just Live In ItStreaming accounted for 84% of the revenue that U.S. labels and artists receive from recorded music. Total revenue from U.S. recorded music was $8.67 billion based on RIAA stats for the first half of 2024.
The post It’s Daniel Ek’s World and Musicians Just Live In It appeared first on Hypebot.

Band Shirt Day 2024 is coming. Sign up now!Band Shirt Day 2024 is next Friday, September 20. Every musician with merch should sign up now to participate. Band Shirt Day is a single day global fundraising initiative where. Continue reading
The post Band Shirt Day 2024 is coming. Sign up now! appeared first on Hypebot.

Apple’s upcoming AirPods Pro 2 headphones feature a clinical-grade Hearing Aid featureApple has confirmed the launch of its AirPods 4 line up, the “most advanced and comfortable headphones Apple has ever created”.
The new AirPods host an open-ear design, and there are two versions to choose from – the standard AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).

READ MORE: Apple’s new iPhones apparently have four “studio-quality” mics and multi-track recording in Voice Memos

Predictions on the new AirPod line up and what it would entail began making headlines last month, with estimations on an “advanced model” with ANC now confirmed to be official.
There are also some extra launches though which weren’t widely predicted, with Apple now also confirming a slight upgrade for its AirPods Max – these now come in midnight, starlight, blue, purple, and orange, and offer USB-C charging.
This autumn, its AirPods Pro 2 will also introduce the “world’s first” end-to-end hearing health experience, delivering active Hearing Protection, a scientifically validated Hearing Test, and a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature. More on this later.
AirPods 4 – What’s New?
First, let’s dive into the AirPods 4. According to the tech giant, their new design has been built with an “unparalleled data set” that used advanced modelling tools, like 3D photogrammetry and laser topography, to precisely map and analyse thousands of ear shapes and over 50 million individual data points in total.
AirPods 4 also feature a new acoustic architecture, low-distortion driver, and high dynamic range amplifier. Additionally, there’s Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking too.
There’s also Voice Isolation, enabling clearer call quality, and improved Siri Interactions, allowing users to nod or shake their head yes or no to respond to announcements. A new force sensor on the stem now lets you play or pause media and mute or end calls as well.
As for the ANC version, these AirPods mark the first time such technology has been introduced to an open-ear design. The ANC helps to reduce external noise and hosts intelligent features like Transparency mode to keep users aware of their environment; Adaptive Audio, which dynamically blends Transparency mode and ANC based on the conditions of a user’s environment; and Conversation Awareness, which lowers the user’s media volume when they start speaking to someone nearby.
AirPods Pro 2 – Hearing Protection and Testing
According to an Apple study, one in three people are regularly exposed to loud environmental noise levels that can impact their hearing. As a result, Apple has brought Hearing Protection to AirPods Pro 2.
Essentially, the ear tips on this model help to provide passive noise reduction, while a H2 chip helps to actively reduce louder, more intermittent noise at 48,000 times per second. With a new multiband high dynamic range algorithm, sounds at live events like concerts however, remain “natural and vibrant”.
The accompanying interactive Hearing Test feature utilises a standard clinical approach called pure-tone audiometry, and provides a summary of results in a personalised hearing profile. AirPods Pro’s Hearing Aid capability is also described as an “over-the-counter” tool for mild to moderate hearing loss. Using the personalised hearing profile, this new feature transforms AirPods Pro into a clinical-grade hearing aid.
AirPods 4 ($129) and AirPods 4 with ANC ($179) are available to pre-order now, with availability from 20 September. The hearing health features do not yet have a confirmed arrival date, but will launch for AirPods Pro 2 customers in a free software update this year.
Find out more over at the Apple Newsroom.
The post Apple’s upcoming AirPods Pro 2 headphones feature a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature appeared first on MusicTech.

Metal Legacy expansion for DW Soundworks Metal Legacy is a free expansion for DW Soundworks that has been designed for those in search of hard-hitting metal, rock and punk drum sounds. 

5 easy ways to improve your Singer/Songwriter Performance SkillsTransform your show performance skills with these five easy tips that most singer/songwriters overlook. Larry Butler unlocks the secrets to captivating any audience and making every performances unforgettable.
The post 5 easy ways to improve your Singer/Songwriter Performance Skills appeared first on Hypebot.

Former Fyre Festival investor warns of “red flags” for Billy McFarland’s 2025 reboot: “He knows how to pull people in”Andy King, a former investor of the infamous Fyre Festival, has shared concerns over “red flags” for a reboot event currently scheduled for April 2025.
The original Fyre Festival was scheduled across two weekends in April and May back in 2017, with artists such as Disclosure, Major Lazer, Kaytranada, and more listed on the bill. Festival-goers arrived to find all the talent cancelled, and promises of glamorous accommodation and catering were non-existent. The festival became the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.

READ MORE: Man drives car into Berlin nightclub after being denied entry

The festival’s organiser, Billy McFarland was sentenced in 2018 to six years in jail for wire fraud as a result of the failed festival, and was also ordered to return $29m to investors. He was freed in 2022 as part of an early release programme but remains on probation until August 2025.
Speaking to the BBC, King says McFarland is “known for the biggest failure in pop culture and wants to flip the script. But I’m not sure he’s going about it the right way.” In the Fyre Netflix documentary, King became the centre of arguably its most talked about viral moment, in which he claimed McFarland urged him to offer sexual favours to Bahamian customs officials to secure enough bottled water for the 2017 event.
He adds, “I’m just seeing a lot of red flags, and a lot of red lights, and I feel bad. It saddens me… We were going to rent one of the biggest estates in the Hamptons and have a big, swanky party. We ended up having 30 people at a pizza place along the Montauk highway.”
McFarland, however, confirmed on NBC News earlier this month that work on a reboot dubbed Fyre II is underway, with the festival set to go ahead from 25-28 April next year, on a private island off the coast of Mexico.
He claims 100 early bird tickets at a price of $449 have already been sold. Other tickets start at $1,400 but go as high as $1.1m for a “luxury package” supposedly including yachts, scuba diving, and island hopping. He is yet to book talent. McFarland claims “Fyre II has to work”, and that he has spent a year planning it.
The post Former Fyre Festival investor warns of “red flags” for Billy McFarland’s 2025 reboot: “He knows how to pull people in” appeared first on MusicTech.

Nextmidi announce Divisimate 2 Nextmidi's innovative Divisimate software can now control up to 512 instruments, and has gained a built-in arpeggiator as well as powerful performance tools.

“You might sing a take and be like, ‘I feel like an idiot,’ but then you might double the take and poof – it makes total sense”: Jack Antonoff shares tips on vocal productionProducer Jack Antonoff has offered some tips on vocal production in a new video from online recording school Mix with the Masters.
The clip is part of a 30-minute documentary delving into the production process behind The 1975’s Being Funny In A Foreign Language album. In it, Antonoff breaks down his work with the British band, particularly how he double-tracked singer Matty Healy’s vocals on the track Part Of The Band.

READ MORE: Apple’s new iPhones apparently have four “studio-quality” mics and multi-track recording in Voice Memos

According to Antonoff, Healy’s vocals on Part Of The Band were left “completely dry”: “There’s literally no plugins on it,” he says [via MusicRadar].
Instead, the producer opted to double-track the vocals, a technique he says evokes “early Beatles recordings” while still sounding modern: “A doubled vocal cuts out the ‘80s and ‘90s-ness of music and [places it] only before or after.”
“It’s all about the lyrics,” he explains, noting the role Healy’s cheeky lines (I know some Vaccinista tote bag chic baristas / Sitting in east on their communista keisters / Writing about their ejaculations) played in his decision.
“Lines like that, delivered with a single vocal could almost become self-important, but you put the double in, and it almost reads to me like there’s a humour in it,” says the producer.
Antonoff also shares that vocal production and lyrical content are closely intertwined for him: “It’s not like the vocal’s the vocal and the performance is the performance,” he says. “The treatment of the vocal interacts with the lyric in a massive way.”
“So in the most obvious sense like if something is the voice of God maybe it should be Reverb-y. If something’s whispered into your ear maybe it should be dry. Those are like the most basic terms. If something is said from someone screaming on the street maybe it’s coming from over there but it gets even deeper than that.”
He continues: “Any artist who records their own vocal will know this feeling. You might sing a take and be like, ‘I feel like an idiot’, but then you might double the take, or octave the take, and poof — it makes total sense, and the areas in which you felt naked now feel as if you have this army of two. Of yourself.”

The post “You might sing a take and be like, ‘I feel like an idiot,’ but then you might double the take and poof – it makes total sense”: Jack Antonoff shares tips on vocal production appeared first on MusicTech.

Are KIT Plugins’ BB F66 and F67 convincing emulations of classic Fairchild compressors?$99, kitplugins.com
Released way back in 1959, the Fairchild 660 lays claim to being the world’s first intelligent audio compressor. No, it’s not an early example of AI in the studio, but rather an ingeniously designed processor that can adapt its response based upon the dynamic character of the material passing through. This gives remarkably natural and musically-complimentary results, but the 660 (and its stereo counterpart, the 670) are so exquisitely rare that few are lucky enough to ever see one, let alone use one. If you find a 660 for sale, expect to see a price tag of at least $20k, and twice as much for a 670. Ouch!

READ MORE: ‘What does a compressor do in music?’: A beginner’s guide to compression

Thankfully, through the magic of digital modelling, producers today can add any number of Fairchilds (or close approximations thereof) to a track as a plugin for a fraction of the price. It is surprising, given its revered status, that there have only been a couple of 660 models to choose from, namely Universal Audio’s Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection (UAD only) and Waves’ PuigChild 660/670. But KIT Plugins has now joined the party with its BB F66/67 plugin, priced at a reasonable $99.
What is the F66 plugin?
The F66 is modelled on an original Fairchild 660 unit owned and hand-tuned by John McBride, CEO and head engineer at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios. This explains the “BB” in the plugin’s name and the “Blackbird” branding in place of the Fairchild logo on the plugin window. McBride is also husband to singer-songwriter Martina McBride, and the specific 660 unit modelled for the plugin is an ever-present part of her standard vocal chain, hence the “Martina’s F66” labelling on the plugin.
But the F66 isn’t geared only towards mixing vocals. The tube-based compression of the original hardware is famed for its smooth harmonic richness that sweetens practically anything you throw at it; solo instruments, drum kits, stems, and even full mixes. F66 shares this flexibility and ubiquity.
The F66 plugin
KIT has also done a first class job of recreating the 660’s distinctive timing response options. These are selected via the six-stage rotary Time Constant switch and, like the original, each option gives a different blend of attack and release timings. The first two positions are fast, with 0.2ms attack and 0.3ms or 0.8ms release. The next two positions have a slower 0.4ms attack coupled with longer release times of 2s and 5s respectively.
The final two positions are the most interesting. These give a choice of 0.4ms or 0.2ms attack, along with program-dependent release times that vary based on the dynamics of the incoming audio. Occasional forays above the threshold will keep release times low, but regular peaks will lead to longer release times, thereby preventing the ‘pumping’ sound that compressors can sometimes create.
With positions labelled merely as “1” to “6”, it does take a bit of time to familiarise oneself with the options, and to develop a sense of which works best in different circumstances. The sonic variations between each are usually plain to hear, though. It’s just a case of using your ears.
An optional high-pass filter can be applied to the sidechain signal, which is useful for reducing the plugin’s sensitivity to energetic low frequencies. However, the cutoff frequency of this filter only goes as high as 500Hz, which is a bit restrictive. Enabling the external sidechain option, coupled with appropriate signal routing and filtering, can provide a workaround. But all sidechain work – internal or external – would be made simpler by the inclusion of a sidechain listen.
F66’s simple output stage rounds things off with a Mix control for balancing the source and compressed signals, and a Make Up Gain pot with a -20dB to +20dB range.
The F67 plugin
What’s different about the F67 plugin?
The original Fairchild 660 is a single-channel processor, and whilst the F66 plugin will operate in stereo if added to a stereo track, the better option is to load up the dual-channel F67 variant. Sadly, this isn’t directly modelled on a Fairchild 670 but is instead a doubled-up version of the F66 model. We do think this is fair enough, considering the original 670 consisted of a pair of 660s built into a larger enclosure.
F67 can operate in three modes. In Linked mode, the left channel’s settings are duplicated to the right channel. In stereo mode, each channel operates fully independently. Finally, Mid/Side mode enables mid/side encoding and decoding, allowing each of these components to be controlled independently.
Our only complaint here is that setting up mid/side compression is often made easier by the ability to solo each component but the F67 plugin has no ability to do this. Mid and Sides each have an independent Make Up Gain control which can help a bit in this regard, and you can add an M/S encoder/decoder to your channel or monitor stack for soloing, but having the option built into F67 would be far preferable.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KIT Plugins (@kitplugins)

How do the F66 and F67 sound?
As with the original hardware, the plugins’ compression is progressive, increasing in ratio the further the signal exceeds the threshold, from a gentle 2:1 at-or-around the threshold up to an intense 30:1. Adding extra drive with the Input Gain control results in a wonderfully crushed, gnarly sound that is convincingly analogue-like in character. Running cool or hot, the compression sounds incredibly smooth at all times, yet does not choke-off performance nuances and details.
The plugin also adds a subtle sheen of analogue-like saturation that is uncannily complementary to any sound fed through it. Vocals sound crisp and airy. Drums sound energetic and exciting. Mixes sound classy and coherent. And then there’s the space and life F67’s mid/side mode can infuse into pianos and synths.
Does all of this add up to hyper-accurate Fairchild 660 and 670 emulation? It’s difficult to judge given the rarity of the hardware and the uniqueness of the specific unit modelled by KIT. But it really doesn’t matter one way or the other — when a compressor sounds this great, you’re going to want to use it anyway.
Key features

AAX, AU and VST plugin
Modelled on Fairchild 660 used in Martina McBride’s vocal chain
Includes single-channel F66 and dual-channel F67 variants
Sidechain filter and support for external sidechaining
Undo/redo

The post Are KIT Plugins’ BB F66 and F67 convincing emulations of classic Fairchild compressors? appeared first on MusicTech.

Kitik launches FREE no frills sampler Chop Chop!
Kitik just launched Chop Chop!, which is a free sampler for macOS and Windows in AU and VST3 formats. The plugin is available via a ‘name a fair price’ model, and you can grab it for zero dollars or more.  Kitik describes Chop Chop as a creative sampler. The guide for using it is quite [...]
View post: Kitik launches FREE no frills sampler Chop Chop!

Paying To Get on Spotify Playlists Legally?This week, Ari speaks with Dorian Perron, co-founder of Groover, who shares how artists can get their work in front of industry curators.

Producer Fabio Aguilar Signs Publishing Deal With Position MusicPresident and CEO Tyler Bacon announced that Fabio Aguilar has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Position Music in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producer Keanu Beats. On September 5, Aguilar won a BMI Hip-Hop Award for his songwriting on “HOTEL LOBBY (Unc & Phew)” by Quavo and Takeoff, which he also co-produced.

Aguilar is a 22-year-old producer, loop specialist, beatmaker, and multi-instrumentalist. In late 2018, Aguilar sent his beats and loops to Keanu Beats through Instagram and the two quickly began collaborating. Since then, Aguilar has had cuts with Lil Baby, Jack Harlow, NLE Choppa, Roddy Ricch, Denzel Curry, Logic, and more - collectively garnering over 1.3 billion streams.

“Working with Position Music felt natural because they truly get the vision. I’m confident that with their support, I’ll continue to grow and explore new creative avenues,” says Aguilar.

"Position Music’s vision and approach align perfectly with what I see in Fabio,” says Keanu Beats. “He’s an exceptional producer with a unique ability to cross genres effortlessly. I’m confident that with Mike [Torres], Delmar [Powell], and Mark [Chipello]’s support, we’ll elevate his career to new heights and continue to create groundbreaking music together."

Aguilar joins a Position music publishing roster that includes Tinashe, Cannons, Audien, Jack LaFrantz, ¿Téo?, Austin Powerz, Brandyn Burnette, Dru “Falconry” DeCaro, Evalyn, John “Feldy” Feldman, Judah & the Lion, Alex “A-Bomb” Fernandez, KANNER, No Love For The Middle Child, Erik Ron, Yonatan Watts, and more.

"Fabio Aguilar is an exceptionally talented producer who has so much maturity and skill at such a young age. At just 22, he’s already had songs with a range of artists like Quavo, Jack Harlow, Kid LAROI, X Ambassadors, and many more. This is just the beginning for Fabio and he’s off to a nuclear start!” says Mike Torres, A&R at Position Music.

positionmusic.com

The post Producer Fabio Aguilar Signs Publishing Deal With Position Music first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Digital Chamber calls for Congress to address SEC actions against NFTsThe CEO of OpenSea reported receiving a Wells notice from the SEC in August, suggesting that the commission could be taking a new regulatory approach to NFTs.

Neurode wants to treat and track ADHD symptoms through a wearable headbandSydney-based Neurode has come up with a novel way to offer some relief to people with ADHD: a wearable headband that can track and treat ADHD symptoms. And you only have to wear it for 20 minutes a day.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Why have Seven Segments When You Can Have 21?IO user [monte] was pointed towards an 1898 display patent issued to a [George Mason] and liked the look of the ‘creepy’ font it defined. The layout used no less than 21 discrete segments to display the complete roman alphabet and numerals, which is definitely not possible with the mere seven segments we are all familiar with. [monte] then did the decent thing and created a demonstration digit using modern parts.
For the implementation, [monte] created a simple PCB by hand (with an obvious mistake) and 3D-printed an enclosure and diffuser to match. After a little debugging, a better PCB was ordered from one of the usual overseas factories. There isn’t a schematic yet, but they mention using a CH32V003 Risc-V micro, which can be seen sitting on the rear of the PCB.
Maximum flexibility is ensured by storing every glyph as a 32-bit integer, with each LED corresponding to a single bit. It’s interesting to note the display incorporates serifs, which are definitely optional, although you could display sans-serif style glyphs if you wanted to. There is now a bit of a job to work out how to map character codes to glyph codes, but you can have a go at that yourself here. It’s still early doors on this project, but it has some real potential for a unique-looking display.
We love displays—every kind. Here’s a layout reminiscent of a VFD digit but done purely mechanically. And if you must limit yourself to seven digits, what about this unique thing?