Sony announce MDR-M1 headphones Sony’s new closed-back MDR-M1 headphones promise to combine studio-quality sound with exteme comfort and reliability. 

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The post Marketing on Bandcamp Friday: Boost Your Sales with These Tips appeared first on Hypebot.

Sony targets music creators and sound engineers with its new MDR-M1 Reference Closed Monitor HeadphonesSony is hoping to target music creators and sound engineers who wish to produce in any environment with its new MDR-M1 Reference Closed Monitor Headphones.
Featuring a closed acoustic structure with high sound isolation, a newly developed driver unit for this particular model, and a lightweight design, Sony says these cans offer producers a studio experience from anywhere.

READ MORE: Best headphones for music producers, DJs and musicians

And while comfort and ergonomics are certainly positioned as a selling point of the MDR-M1 headphones, Sony’s primary emphasis lies in sound quality. Their exclusively developed driver unit achieves “ultra-wideband” playback from 5 Hz to 80 kHz. Given that the average human hearing range is between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, it’s safe to say these headphones cover all bases, and then some.

Elsewhere, the headphones feature a closed acoustic structure for the elimination of ambient noise, making them suitable for production where such sounds are detrimental to monitoring. There’s also a tuned port ventilation hole to control low frequencies.
Additionally, Sony has optimised the operation of the diaphragm, meaning improved low-frequency characteristics, and therefore better production decisions with regard to bass frequencies.
The MDR-M1 headphones have been developed in collaboration with top engineers in the industry, including Battery Studios Mastering Engineer Mike Piacentini, and Recording and Mixing Engineer of Power Station at Berklee NYC, Akihiro Nishimura.
Credit: Sony
“As engineers, we are often tasked to work in a variety of formats, which are all produced in different environments, on ever-changing speaker systems,” says Piacentini. “Throughout the record production process, I believe it is important to have headphones that provide an accurate reference point, whether you are working on near-field monitors, mastering speakers, or an immersive speaker setup. I’ve worked alongside the incredible Sony’s Tokyo headphone design team, to help create a pair of headphones that are accurate across the frequency spectrum in a variety of use cases. MDR-M1 are a great entry point for any creator who wants to be sure that the sound they are hearing in the studio translates to the end user in the best way possible.”
Credit: Sony
“The tonal balance of the MDR-M1 feels very close to the impression of Power Station’s Studio A control room,” adds Nishimura. “In recording sessions, it is important to care what musicians or singers are listening to when they play or sing. MDR-M1 gives you the same impression of listening in a control room headphone, which makes it easier to create music by listening to each other. The comfort design also makes us focus on music in long sessions. I hope MDR-M1 will become the standard monitoring system for any recording sessions.”
The MDR-M1 Reference Closed Monitor Headphones are available this month, priced at €249/£209. For more info, head to Sony.
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The post How to Boost Engagement with Embedded Release Links appeared first on Hypebot.

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Native Instruments Komplete 15: Release date, specs, price and what to expect from the NI plugin libraryNative Instruments’ Komplete 15 bundle is on the way, packed with a cornucopia of its latest instruments, effects, and sounds.
NI’s Komplete flagship production suite always packs in an array of software instruments, effects and expansions from across its family of brands. For Komplete 15, it offers Kontakt 8, iZotope Ozone 11 Standard, Kithara, and many more. Those who pre-order will also get iZotope’s Neutron 4 mixing suite (worth £239) for free.

READ MORE: Native Instruments Traktor Pro 4 is a game-changing DJ suite for performers

What’s included in Komplete 15?
Like its predecessor, Komplete 14 – which launched back in 2022 – Komplete 15 offers four different versions for varying budgets and needs: Select, Standard, Ultimate, and Collector’s Edition.

Select: A “gateway to professional-grade sound”, Komplete 15 Select offers hand-picked selections of synths, sampled session instruments and other studio-quality effects – curated into three different editions catering to a range of producing disciplines. Beats is aimed at beatmakers working in hip-hop and R&B, Band features sampled instruments for songwriters, and Electronic is angled towards dance music and electronica.
Standard: Comes with “all the sounds you need”, offering more than 95 pro-grade instruments and effects, over 40 Expansions, and over 50,000 sounds.
Ultimate: Has an “extensive array of tools” for professional production, scoring, performance, and sound design. Includes over 150 premium instruments and effects, ranging from cutting-edge synths to symphonic sample libraries, and more than 70 Expansion sound packs.
Collector’s Edition: This tier is described as “virtually limitless”, unlocking “nearly everything” Native Instruments has on offer. More than 165 instruments and effects are available here, along with a total of 120 Expansion sound packs.

Komplete 15 pricing and release date
Komplete 15 is set to arrive 23 September, though pre-orders are available right now at Native Instruments. Its four tiers are priced at $99/€99, $599/€599, $1,199/€1,199 and $1,799/€1,799, respectively. Additionally, users upgrading from a lower tier are able to access reduced prices.

Overall, Komplete 15 highlights include Kontakt 8 – its most “feature-packed version” yet – featuring a new loop playground, interactive idea-generating tools, and a new wavetable modulation engine. There’s also the intuitive mastering plugin, iZotope 11 Standard, with a range of AI-powered tools, and Guitar Rig 7 Pro to put sought-after guitar and bass amp simulators, studio effects, and pedals right at your fingertips.
In total, users will get up to 165 instruments and effects with Komplete 15, including the new Kithara, Vocal Colors, Session Percussionist, Glaze 2, and more.
Komplete 15 will officially launch on 23 September, when pre-orders will be available to use. The full version of the Standard tier is priced at £539, with Ultimate at £1,079 and Collector’s Edition at £1,619.
Find out more or pre-order now over at Native Instruments.
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TK Audio introduce DP3 dual preamp TK Audio's new flagship mic preamp offers a wealth of tonal options thanks to switchable modern and vintage-inspired circuits.

Softube’s Model 77 Dual Layer Synth lets you recreate the sounds of the Yamaha CS-80Softube has unveiled the Model 77 Dual Layer Synth, a virtual instrument that “perfectly captures” the sound of three iconic Japanese synthesizers from 1977.
Model 77 brings you the authentic sound of the legendary CS-80, most famously associated with the Blade Runner movie soundtrack and songs like Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. It also emulates the CS-50 and CS-60 from Yamaha’s classic synth line.

READ MORE: Venus Theory’s free plugin lets you play sounds from the Arturia PolyBrute 12

Softube says it has “component modelled and accurately articulated every detail of the circuits” of the three instruments.” The sound, interaction, and performance remain as close to the hardware units as possible, accompanied by an interface that’s been redesigned for an improved and modern workflow.
Model 77 offers access to two layers directly from the front panel, but the focus stays on one layer at a time. Softube has also redesigned the position of the sections to communicate the instrument’s proper signal flow.
For instance, the Ring Mod section on the interface of Model 77 Dual Layer Synth now corresponds to its location in the signal flow. The balance slider is now found between the upper and lower layers so you easily move between the layers while adjusting parameters for each layer.
If vintage sounds are what you’re after, the new Aging Slider lets you dial in oscillator drift and variations over filter cutoff, pulse width, and envelope time. The original factory presets for all three synths are included as well, offering you those classic CS sounds at your fingertips.
Model 77 also comes with support for Polyphonic Aftertouch, the first of Softube instruments to include the feature. Additional features like stereo processing, DAW sync, and an integrated classic reverb are also included, along with seven modules for Softube’s Modular and two for its Amp Room bass and guitar platform.
The Model 77 Dual Layer Synth is available at Softube’s website at an introductory price of $99 (U.P $159) until 3 October 2024.
Check out the synth in action below.

Learn more at Softube.
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North Carolina musician charged over “brazen” AI music streaming fraud scheme that allegedly faked billions of playsA North Carolina musician has been charged by US federal prosecutors in connection with a scheme to create “hundreds of thousands of songs” with artificial intelligence (AI) and using bots to fraudulently stream these tracks billions of times.
According to New York authorities, 52-year-old Michael Smith from Cornelius, North Carolina, allegedly collected over $10 million in royalty payments through the fraudulent operation, which began in 2017. Smith is now being charged with three counts of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, facing a penalty of up to 60 years in prison.

READ MORE: How will young people learn music and production in a post-AI music industry?

“As alleged, Michael Smith fraudulently streamed songs created with artificial intelligence billions of times in order to steal royalties,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in an indictment on Wednesday (September 4).
“Through his brazen fraud scheme, Smith stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed.”
Smith was arrested Wednesday and will face a US magistrate judge in North Carolina. His lawyer has declined comment, Rolling Stone reports.
Per the indictment, Smith allegedly created thousands of accounts on streaming platforms to stream songs. The “bot accounts” were allegedly used to generate about 661,440 streams per day, yielding annual royalties of $1,027,128. At the height of his alleged scheme, the musician is said to have had “as many as 10,000 active bot accounts” running.
Streams were also allegedly spread across thousands of songs to avoid detection from streaming platforms and music distribution companies. The indictment accuses Smith of enlisting the help of the CEO of an AI company and a music promoter, both of whom are unnamed, to create the songs needed. Smith allegedly emailed his two co-conspirators in 2018, saying: “We need to get a TON of songs fast to make this work around the anti-fraud policies these guys are all using now.”
The indictment also alleges that Smith made numerous misrepresentations to streaming platforms to further the fraud. Smith allegedly repeatedly lied to the platforms when he used false names and other information to create the bot accounts and when he agreed to abide by the terms and conditions that prohibited streaming manipulation. A 2019 email from an alleged co-conspirator to Smith reads: “Keep in mind what we’re doing musically here… this is not ‘music,’ it’s ‘instant music’ ;)”.
FBI Acting Assistant Director Christie M. Curtis said that Smith’s alleged scheme “played upon the integrity of the music industry by a concerted attempt to circumvent the streaming platforms’ policies.”
“The FBI remains dedicated to plucking out those who manipulate advanced technology to receive illicit profits and infringe on the genuine artistic talent of others.”
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How to make samples sound better in your musicSampling services like Splice and Tracklib have made music producers more familiar with sampling than ever before. Many artists are still digging through crates for gems; Jamie xx, The Avalanches, TOKiMONSTA, The Alchemist and more are beloved for their creative flips, but the legal minefield of clearing samples is tough to contend for most beatmakers.

READ MORE: How to transform one instrument’s sound into another with AI–powered plugins

So, Tracklib and Splice are most people’s go-tos — but that doesn’t mean that you’ll reach the top of the Beatport charts by just dropping a few Splice loops into Ableton Live and adding some reverb. We may be past the days of clunky hardware samplers with cryptic operating systems but there’s still an art to sampling, to getting unconnected snippets from different songs to sit well together harmonically and sonically.
Here’s an example of a song with samples borrowed from two different, unrelated songs with some additional instrumentation and production, including filtering, EQ and an LFO tool affecting volume.

One crucial caveat: sampling can be a legal landmine, with all sorts of copyright dangers just waiting to blow up in your face. The long and the short of it is: clear your samples before releasing your track.
Choose high-quality samples
There’s a phrase in computer science that goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” If your starting data is bad, your end product will be too. This works for samples as well. Always start out with the highest quality samples that you can. You can reduce the audio quality later artificially but if a dodgy YouTube rip is your starting point, it’ll be a dodgy end result too.
One way to make sure your samples are high quality is with a site like Tracklib. Essentially an online record shop for sampling, it gives subscribers access to full, high-quality songs to use in their own tracks. And, depending on your subscription tier, they’ll even clear the sample rights for you.To find a sample that gets you inspired, search by genre, year or BPM. You can then loop sections of the song and even audition it with a beat layered on top. This cut, Disco Blue by The Phantoms, has a funky beat and plenty of melodic content to play with.

Arrange the samples
When working with samples, don’t be afraid to use multiple sections from the same source song. Find two parts with some contrast and arrange them on your DAW timeline to create verse and chorus-like sections.
In this example, Disco Blue has been split into two parts with distinctly different energy quotients. The first works well for verse-type sections and builds while the second, with its more intense, horn-led energy, can function as a drop. Try chopping up and repeating certain phrases to create original melodies and fills to act as turnarounds to lead into song changes.

Transpose layered samples
One of the joys of making a sample-based track is finding unrelated samples that work well together. This can require some trial and error, but once you find two that gel, it’s like a strange kind of alchemy at work.
Although there’s something to be said for ignoring music theory and throwing caution to the wind, you’ll probably find that transposing samples to the same key helps them sit better together. It’ll also give you more freedom to add your own melodies and basslines later.
This rap acapella from the 1980s has a lot of attitude and works to some extent when layered on top of the disco loop. However, it’s in D flat minor while the main groove is G minor. To get them in line, you need to transpose the vocal from D up to G. Do this by counting the semitones between the notes (a semitone is every key, white or black). There are six notes between D flat and G, so raise the overall sample by six semitones. The two now work extremely well together, with a palpable increase in energy.

Achieve a cohesive groove
Another way to ensure that samples from different songs gel together is by imprinting them all with the same groove and swing.
Most DAWs can do this. In Ableton, for example, open the loop whose groove you want to capture so that you can see the waveform. Right-click on it and choose Extract Groove(s). The captured groove should now appear in your Groove Pool. Next, go ahead and drag the groove onto the target samples. Now the loops should all swing together. Feel free to adjust the timing for a looser feel.

Stay in key
Now that you have your samples arranged and sitting well together, it’s time to add some original music to the track. This can include basslines, melodies, pads and strings, or whatever your track needs to feel full and complete.
In this example, everything is based on the original disco samples, which are in the key of G minor. Accordingly, any new musical phrases should stay within these harmonic confines, so G, A, B flat, C, D, E flat and F notes are available for use. Although the original sample has a slap bass it could use something with a little more weight, so a synth bassline feels appropriate. An additional melody played on iZotope Iris 2 stands out due to having a very different sonic signature than the largely acoustic sounds of the original sample.

The post How to make samples sound better in your music appeared first on MusicTech.

Strymon’s El Capistan & DIG pedals go virtual The latest addition to Strymon's software line-up places two of their popular delay pedals into the hands of DAW users.

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Torso Electronics' S-4 Sculpting Sampler Provides New Sound Design PossibilitiesTorso Electronics' S-4 Sculpting Sampler continues to achieve ongoing success since its initial launch in November 2023. The S-4, which provides a host of new sound shaping possibilities for artists working across many different genres, has earned the praise of musicians, DJs, producers, and sound designers around the world. While the instrument's third production run is already sold out in most places, hundreds of units from that batch will be shipping in September, with a fourth manufacturing run coming in early 2025. Torso Electronics will continue to provide updates on their website and through its customer newsletters.

Expanding Creative Possibilities with the T-1 Algorithmic Sequencer​While the S-4 Sculpting Sampler continues to redefine sound design, Torso Electronics also offers another powerful tool in its lineup — the T-1 Algorithmic Sequencer. The T-1 exemplifies the company’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of music creation, introducing a generative approach to sequencing that inspires artists to explore new creative horizons. Whether in the studio or on stage, the T-1's intuitive interface and versatile connectivity make it an essential instrument for modern musicians. Explore the T-1 here.The post Torso Electronics' S-4 Sculpting Sampler Provides New Sound Design Possibilities first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.