FBI reports Americans lost $5.6B to cryptocurrency fraud in 2023The elderly were the most vulnerable, and crypto ATMs have a variety of illicit uses, the report found.

iPhone 16, Apple Intelligence, AirPods 4 and more: Live updates on everything revealed at Apple Event 2024Apple's lineup of announcements echoed many of the anticipated hardware reveals, including the new iPhone 16, AirPods 4, the Apple Watch Series 10 and more.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

This Tiny Steam Engine Takes a Watchmaker’s Skill to BuildWhen your steam engine build requires multiple microscopes, including those of the scanning electron variety, you know you’re building something really, really tiny.
All of the usual tiny superlatives and comparisons apply to [Chronova Engineering]’s latest effort — fits on a pencil eraser, don’t sneeze while you’re working on it or you’ll never find it. If we were to put the footprint of this engine into SMD context, we’d say it’s around a 2010 or so. As one would expect, the design is minimalistic, with no room for traditional bearings or valves. The piston and connecting rod are one piece, meaning the cylinder must pivot, which provides a clever way of switching between intake and exhaust. Tiny crankshaft, tiny flywheel. Everything you’d associate with a steam engine is there, but just barely.
The tooling needed to accomplish this feat is pretty impressive too. [Chronova] are no strangers to precision work, but this is a step beyond. Almost everything was done on a watchmaker’s lathe with a milling attachment and a microscope assist. For the main body of the engine, a pantograph engraving machine was enlisted to scale a 3D printed template down tenfold. Drill bits in the 0.3 mm range didn’t fare too well against annealed tool steel, which is where the scanning electron microscope came into play. It revealed brittle fractures in the carbide tool, which prompted a dive down the rabbit hole of micro-machining and a switch to high-speed steel tooling.
It all worked in the end, enough so that the engine managed 42,000 RPM on a test with compressed air. We eagerly await the equally tiny boiler for a live steam test.

Spain’s recorded music industry revenues reached $269m in H1, up 16.6% YoYMusic streaming revenues in Spain grew 19.1% YoY
Source

Hopeless Records to bring 30th anniversary exhibit to The Punk Rock MuseumOn October 17th, the seminal California-based punk label Hopeless Records will celebrate its 30th anniversary at The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, when the Museum will host the last stop of the label’s traveling road show, the “Hopeless Museum Exhibit.” To celebrate The Punk Rock Museum’s opening of Hopeless’ exhibit, and the start of the When We Were Young festival, idobi Radio will present an opening party at the Museum on Thursday, October 17th, 2024, from 8 PM to 12 AM, featuring special appearances from Hopeless artists, VIP experiences, and more.

The Hopeless Museum exhibit’s visit at The Punk Rock Museum follows its debut at The Valley Relics Museum in Los Angeles, a stop in NYC this June, and a very special visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this August. In addition to hosting Hopeless’ traveling exhibit, the Rock Hall also launched a semi-permanent exhibit last month dedicated to the label, which will be on display indefinitely, and is the Rock Hall’s first exhibit dedicated to a modern indie label, or a label central to the new alternative scene - check out a recap and photos of the Rock Hall’s Hopeless celebrations at Paste Magazine HERE.

The traveling Hopeless exhibit’s 1,000+ unique artifacts from across 150+ Hopeless artists’ careers include everything from All Time Low’s first gold single plaque, Synyster Gates’ guitar from Avenged Sevenfold’s platinum album Waking The Fallen (2002), and lyrics from The Wonder Years' album Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I'm Nothing, to on-stage outfits, instruments, and other items from Hopeless’ new stars like PVRIS, Destroy Boys, Scene Queen, Fame On Fire, LØLØ, NOAHFINNCE, and Point North. Other memorable moments from Hopeless’ last thirty years - like a letter from the estate of Leonard Bernstein praising Punk Side Story (1995) a cover of the West Side Story soundtrack and a signed guitar from the 2008 Take Action Charity Tour - are on display as well.

To kick off the opening of the exhibit and start of the When We Were Young music festival – which will feature notable Hopeless artists and alumni including Taking Back Sunday, Silverstein, Neck Deep, The Wonder Years, Bayside, and We Are The In Crowd – The Punk Rock Museum x Hopeless’ opening party on 10/17 will feature surprise appearances, a tattoo artist, giveaways, and more. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to mingle with key figures from Hopeless Records and enjoy surprise appearances from Hopeless artists in the Pennywise Garage, a unique space within the museum dedicated to iconic punk moments. Hopeless flash will be available in The Shop, offering attendees the chance to get quick tattoos inspired by the label's legacy. Throughout the night, live streams will capture the event for TPRM’s 150,000+ followers, and idobi will host giveaways with artists and guests, offering fans at home a chance to celebrate with the label.

Louis Posen, Founder and President of Hopeless Records, said "Punk Rock is the community that allowed me and Hopeless to get started, grow, and thrive over these past 30 years. It’s more than fitting that our 30th-anniversary museum exhibit will have its grand finale at The Punk Rock Museum. Fat Mike, the founder of the museum was the first person who trusted me with their music, letting me direct a music video for the NOFX song "Bob" and then helping me get Hopeless off the ground.We can’t thank Mike, The Punk Rock Museum and the punk community enough for their long-time support and love."
Fat Mike of NOFX, a long-time friend of Posen and the creator of The Punk Rock Museum, added “I know this might sound a little cheesy, but I am very excited about this exhibit! Why? Well, because I kinda helped Louis start Hopeless. I gave him all of Fat Wreck Chords radio contacts and press contacts and I even gave him a band. 88 Fingers turned out to be their biggest record that year. I'm just so happy to see the success of Hopeless after 30 years... maybe I might end up doing business with them someday... you never know.”The post Hopeless Records to bring 30th anniversary exhibit to The Punk Rock Museum first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson sued for alleged ‘rampant’ copyright infringement by Sony and Universal-owned production music firm APM MusicJohnson & Johnson is alleged to have used APM's music in promotional videos without permission
Source

AmplifyWorld extend Artist Fund deadline AmplifyWorld have announced that the deadline for applications to $500,000 Artist Fund programme has been extended by one month.

One Giant Steppe for Space FlightIn a recent photo essay for the New Yorker magazine, author Keith Gessen and photographer Andrew McConnell share what life is like for the residents around the launch facility and where Soyuz capsules land in Kazakhstan.
Read the article for a brief history of the Baikonur spaceport and observations from the photographer’s15 visits to observe Syuz landings and the extreme separation between the local farmers and the facilities built up around Baikonur. A local ecologist even compares the family farmers toiling around the busy spaceport to a scene our readers may be familiar with on Tatooine.

We assumed Soyuz capsules splashdown somewhere near Russia just like the iconic images of Apollo capsules. While they can land in water, their 13 target landing sites are all on land in the sparsely inhabited Kazakhstan steppe (flat grasslands). According to russianspaceweb.com, the descent is slowed with a single large parachute. When the capsule is about one meter from the ground, solid rocket thrusters fire, “reducing the descent speed of the capsule to between 0 and 3 meters per second.” We learned that the rockets’ force, not the crumple zone on the capsule, causes so much stress that each is only suitable for a single use.
 
A typical final descent trajectory for the Soyuz spacecraft in Kazakhstan (courtesy russianspaceweb.com)
While there is fascinating engineering in the Soyuz landing, from the landing rockets mentioned above to parachute wires acting as antennae for transponders to the multiple automated and backup systems, there is some hacking by the local farmers as well. The cast-off parts of the single-use capsules become scrap metal for use around the farms, leading to haunting images that seem to come from a dystopian future where space flights are as common as commercial air travel but still out of reach for many.
 

“‘But think of the exposure.’ Go f**k yourself”: Internet divided after artist reveals sum offered by Rockstar Games for GTA 6 song featureHow much does it cost to licence a song for a video game? What if it’s for likely the biggest video game in history?
It’s a question many have tried to answer in the last few days, after The Human League and Heaven 17 founding member Martyn Ware was offered what he felt was a measly sum for the inclusion of one of his songs in the forthcoming sixth entry in the Grand Theft Auto series.

READ MORE: Tom Petty’s Love is a Long Road sees 36,979% increase in Spotify streams following GTA 6 trailer launch

Ware feels as though what he was offered for Heaven 17’s 1983 single Temptation pales in comparison to the total revenue GTA 6 is sure to bring in, prompting many to question his grasp of the potential non-monetary benefits such a feature may bring.
“I was recently contacted by my publishers on behalf of Rockstar Games [regarding] the possibility of using Temptation on the new Grand Theft Auto 6,” he writes in a new post on X.
“Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email [regarding] the offer… It was $7,500! For a buyout of any future royalties from the game – forever…
He goes on, “To put this in context, Grand Theft Auto [5] grossed, wait for it… $8.6 BILLION. ‘Ah, but think of the exposure.’ Go fuck yourself.”
MusicTech reached out to Martyn Ware for comment, which he declined.

I was recently contacted by my publishers on behalf of Rockstar Games re the possibility of using Temptation on the new Grand Theft Auto 6
Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email re the offer…
— Martyn Ware (@martynware) September 7, 2024

Many gaming publications estimate that GTA 6 is likely to become one of the best-selling video games of all time. It’s been over a decade since the release of GTA V in 2013 — which is still reportedly pulling over 30 million monthly users — and hype has been building for its sequel for years. Indeed, when the launch trailer for No. 6 dropped on YouTube in December 2023, it garnered over 100 million views in 24 hours and currently sits at 208 million views at the time of writing. You can see why Ware claims that he should be entitled to more than the $7,500 he’s been offered for his song.
But online commenters also feel that due to the sheer number of people who stand to hear it, the “exposure” argument also has legs.
“GTA isn’t out yet, and when it releases [it] will be the most purchased video game of all time. You missed out on millions of listeners,” one user writes.

gta6 isn’t out yet, and when it releases will be the most purchased video game of all time, you missed out on millions of listeners
— beatdropkilla (@beatdropkilla) September 8, 2024

“You were also offered $7,500 for a song out of hundreds on the radio people will hear randomly while driving,” another says. “GTA 5 made $8.6 billion dollars because it’s GTA 5, not because of the soundtrack. Now you get nothing and look dumb for the entire internet.”
It’s also rare that a publisher would pay a flat fee for licensing; a number of factors are at play, like placement within the game, for example. Is it heard at a key moment in the story, which every player will hear if they play the full game? Or is it just one of many songs on GTA Radio, which features many in-game “stations”, many of which are not default, and must be selected to be listened to? The variables quickly stack up, and the fee ultimately paid by the publisher to the rights holder fluctuates in accordance.
As another user points out, GTA 5 had “around 440” licensed songs, and thus the total spent by Rockstar on licensing added up quickly. “Really that fee for one (albeit brilliant) song is normal,” they write. “Might seem low but if they pay $7,500 each then that’s $3.3 million on the music alone. The fee in my honest opinion is irrelevant. 200 million people…”

Martyn is it too late to change your mind? GTA had around 440 songs in the last game so really that fee for 1 (albeit brilliant) song is normal. Might seem low but if they pay $7500 each then that’s 3.3 million on the music alone. The fee imho is irrelevant. 200 million people …
— Simon Raymonde (@mrsimonraymonde) September 7, 2024

Another user asserts that exposure is not a valid form of payment, particularly from a company which stands to make such a large profit from its forthcoming title.
“You did good,” they tell Ware. “That is no way to evaluate art, especially from the creator of a game that will likely make over a billion dollars on its launch night.
“Exposure isn’t payment, because while there’s a chance you could get more famous being included in such a big project, there’s an even bigger chance you’d be treated as just another random song on the game’s radio that people won’t care to Shazam and listen to. Unless they’re willing to offer royalties, it isn’t worth it.”
It’s unclear whether negotiations will be had between Martyn Ware and Rockstar Games, but given Ware’s tone, and the fact he’s aired his grievances about the initial offer on social media, we’d assume at this point that the offer is now off the table.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently set to arrive in autumn 2025, though rumours are floating about that it may be delayed further to 2026.
Visit Rockstar Games to stay in the loop.
The post “‘But think of the exposure.’ Go f**k yourself”: Internet divided after artist reveals sum offered by Rockstar Games for GTA 6 song feature appeared first on MusicTech.

Spotify For Artists survey asks you to ‘Share your thoughts on Spotify’Spotify is sending online surveys looking for feedback to artists and their teams using the Spotify For Artists platform.
The post Spotify For Artists survey asks you to ‘Share your thoughts on Spotify’ appeared first on Hypebot.

Release details
Release title:
In My Wishes
Main artist name:
VLCAM
Release date:
21st May, 2012
https://publme.lnk.to/275081-InMyWishes
#newmusic #Release #Music #indepedent #artist #Electronic #pop

Spotify wins lawsuit over Eminem’s publisher in licensing rights disputeBack in 2019, Eminem’s publisher Eight Mile Style took up a lawsuit with Spotify over unpaid royalties. It sought roughly $30 million [per MusicRadar] from the streaming giant, insisting that Spotify had amassed billions of streams on Eminem tracks without proper licensing rights. After five years, the ruling is in – and Spotify has come out on top.
While it’s true that Spotify apparently doesn’t have the proper licence to stream Eminem’s tracks – more on that later – a Tennessee judge found that the streaming giant will not be liable to cover the unpaid royalty bill. Instead, Kobalt Music Group – which handles rights and collects royalties for artists – will have to pay.

READ MORE: How Eminem used AI to recreate Slim Shady voice on new album, The Death of Slim Shady

The ruling came after Spotify had contested that Kobalt was to blame; Spotify claimed that it had been licensed by Kobalt to “reproduce and distribute the compositions” back in 2020, but it has since come to light that Kobalt did not have the rights to license Eminem’s music in the US and Canada, as those rights had been transferred to Bridgeport Music in 2009, per Music Business Worldwide.
Therefore, Spotify says it was misled to believe it had the rights to Eminem’s back catalogue. The streaming platform has since amassed billions of streams on tracks like Lose Yourself and Without Me, but Kobalt apparently never had the authority to give Spotify the rights in the first place.
“Eight Mile suggests that it was somehow ‘duped’ by Spotify into thinking the compositions were properly licensed to explain away why it knowingly accepted and deposited royalty payments while remaining silent for years,” Spotify contested. “Eight Mile’s story defies logic.”

Tennessee judge Aleta A. Trauger has sided with Spotify. “While Spotify’s handling of composer copyrights appears to have been seriously flawed, any right to recover damages based on those flaws belongs to those innocent rights holders who were genuinely harmed,” Trauger said.
“Eight Mile Style had every opportunity to set things right and simply chose not to do so for no apparent reason, other than that being the victim of infringement pays better than being an ordinary licensor,” she continues.
Trauger deemed Eight Mile Style’s suit to be an effort to rinse Spotify of as much money as possible. “The evidence in this case shows that Eight Mile Style was not a hapless victim, but, rather, a sophisticated steward of its copyrights that was aware that the licensing status… had fallen into confusion and simply allowed its rights to be violated in a way that would be entirely inexplicable other than as a strategic choice to manufacture infringement damages,” she continues.
“The law has long disfavoured plaintiffs who strategically exploit regimes of civil liability to maximise their own recoveries at the expense of the public good and in contravention of basic principles of fairness,” she concludes.
The post Spotify wins lawsuit over Eminem’s publisher in licensing rights dispute appeared first on MusicTech.

7 Music Promotion Alternatives to Short-Form ContentTired of feeling forced to sell your whole music brand under the constraints of short-from content. These music promotion alternatives will expand your reach and elevate your music career, all without following the latest content trends.
The post 7 Music Promotion Alternatives to Short-Form Content appeared first on Hypebot.

Spitfire Audio partner with AI pioneers DAACI Spitfire Audio have announced a new partnership with DAACI, a company who specialise in developing assistive AI tools for music creators.

Minimal Audio Morph EQ is 80% OFF until September 20
Minimal Audio’s Morph EQ is available for just $10 at Audio Plugin Deals, down from a list price of $49.  The deal represents a saving of 80% off and will end on September 20, 2024.  This deal is only available on the Audio Plugin Deals website and not through the Minimal Audio website.  Morph EQ [...]
View post: Minimal Audio Morph EQ is 80% OFF until September 20