Illegal synthetic opioids have been advertised for sale on SoundCloud and X, investigation findsIllegal synthetic opioids, which have been linked to nearly three UK deaths a week on average, have been advertised on SoundCloud and X, a new investigation by the BBC has revealed. The drugs, known as nitazenes, were found to have been advertised across nearly 3,000 posts on SoundCloud and more than 700 on X.
SoundCloud is used by musicians both new and established to share music. The investigation reveals that these advertisements were often in the form of brief audio clips lasting just a few seconds, with the drug’s name and dealer contact details appearing as the title of the track.

READ MORE: New earbuds by Teenage Engineering-founded firm Nothing feature ChatGPT integration

When the corporation contacted SoundCloud for comment, it said it had been “targeted by bad actors” and promised to do “everything” it can “to tackle this worldwide epidemic”.
SoundCloud also told the BBC that it uses both human moderation and software to identify and remove content that promotes the sale of drugs. It says it “continues to evaluate and invest in best in class technology to aid in this effort”. X reportedly did not respond to its requests for comment.
The posts on SoundCloud have now been removed. According to the outlet, X has also taken down hundreds of listings on its site despite there being no response from the platform.
Professor Vicki Nash, director of the Oxford Internet Institute (a department at the University of Oxford that researches online behaviour), says: “Finding adverts on this scale, hundreds, thousands of adverts, is horrifying with potentially a very significant risk to human life.” She also states that the investigation has uncovered how criminals have been “blatantly misusing” SoundCloud.
Find out more in the BBC documentary, The New Drug Threat, available now on iPlayer.
The post Illegal synthetic opioids have been advertised for sale on SoundCloud and X, investigation finds appeared first on MusicTech.

Ableton Live 12 dives deep under the hood for its latest milestone Live updateIntro version £69
Standard version £259
Suite version £539
Crossgrade pricing for existing users
ableton.com
When Ableton first released Live in 2001 it offered musicians and DJs a new take on live performance – hence the name – and its developers were early pioneers of beat-matching technology. It’s taken on countless more producer-focused features, but Live 12 in 2024 is still recognisable to those early adopters; its signature one-window grey interface is present and correct, albeit with a lot more going on these days. Even with version 12’s new colour themes and a scalable second window, it still holds closely onto the DNA of Ableton Live version 1 — and is still just as fun

READ MORE: Korg Gadget 3 is a DAW-groovebox hybrid more fun than ever

What is Ableton Live 12?
Live is best described as an all-round DAW system for macOS and Windows with a heavy focus on MIDI clip programming and sequencing, plus audio recording tools that lean extensively on automatic time-stretching and manipulation. As well as supporting third-party instrument and effect plugins, it boasts many stock plugins that are deeply integrated into the system.
The Intro version has a fairly bare-bones setup while the Standard edition has 13 instruments, 16 sound packs and 42 effects, and the full-fat Suite version provides 20 instruments, 33 sound packs and 58 audio effects.
At its heart are two main views: Session, where you can see and play all your clips stacked in Live’s classic fashion, and Arrangement where you can see and edit a more conventional song-based timeline. One of the numerous workflow changes in version 12 is the ability to view the Session mixer in Arrangement view so you no longer have to switch to Session to change levels. Users have been requesting this feature for some time, so perhaps this’ll be one thing to convince them to upgrade to Live 12.
Live 12 Browser
Ableton Live 12 browser and MIDI tools
Another valuable workflow change that will benefit every user is the significant enhancement of Live’s browser.
Now, tags and filters are available for easier searching – for example by creator, key, character or type and you can create your own custom tags. While arguably kind of overdue and not as comprehensive as something like Cubase’s MediaBay, it’s a big step forward for managing our increasingly sprawling collections of sound sources. One new feature that is harder to find in other DAWs is a “similarity search” tool, where your library is analysed and compatible samples, instrument and drum presets are shown with a special icon meaning Live can display others with similar characteristics, and also swap in similar samples to Drum Racks.
MIDI editing gains a ton of new functionality in version 12, starting with new key commands for splitting and chopping notes. A MIDI Note Probability function provides hands-on control of how likely notes or groups of notes are to play back, with randomisation support. There are new MIDI generators to help you make beats and melodies and come up with new ideas quickly and like Live’s other built-in tools they are nicely integrated into the workflow and quick and intuitive to use. There’s Rhythm which generates patterns of notes and velocities, Seed which randomly generates notes, Shape which creates runs of notes based on different curves or ramps, and Stacks which generates chords using sets of rules. All are a lot of fun to use and will be useful for all kinds of electronic music which – generally speaking – Live is especially well suited to.
Live 12 MIDI Note Probability
New Ableton 12 plugins
There are two major new plugins to play with starting with Meld, a synth with two macro oscillator engines and a deep subset of tweakable controls that’s good at creating textures, harmonics, atonal sounds and the like. With a pop-out matrix it’s on the more advanced side but still possible for less experienced users to work with. Then there’s Roar, a dynamic saturation effect for everything from subtle warming to fierce sound mangling that again has expandable windows for more detailed control.
Live 12 now has improved Scale Awareness tools, with the ability to conform individual clips, effects and devices to specific musical scales and elsewhere, pitch and time tools have been split into two sections for more detailed and accurate editing. Of particular note are expanded options for humanising, stretching and quantisation of MIDI and audio, which are very welcome. Live’s MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) support has been expanded too, with the Meld synth in particular able to take advantage of the extra expression generated by compatible controllers.
Aside from the headline new features there have been many smaller but no less important changes, far too many to list but here are some of our favourites, at least a few of which you may be very glad to hear about. Ableton has fixed a longstanding latency issue when recording, with a new Keep Latency option on audio tracks. You can now magnify waveforms in Arrangement view for better legibility as well as editing Return Tracks’ order, reversing MIDI clips and using an expanded set of key commands with “momentary” mode meaning they activate a function only for as long as held. There’s also now a de facto bounce in place available for you to glue down a clip, even if Live doesn’t call it that. When using two screens, each one can be zoomed to different degrees or their zoom levels linked together which is a small but super-useful thing.
Live 12 Meld plugin
Should you switch to Live 12?
If you’re used to a different DAW, switching can be a learning curve and this perhaps applies to Live more so than some competitors, such as Logic Pro, Cubase or Studio One, which offer similar workflows.
Many of those coming to music production afresh may have found their purchase of an audio interface or MIDI controller came with Live Lite – a canny move on Ableton’s part to expand its user base. And the system maturing over the years from a looping tool into a much more fully-fledged production environment has attracted a large number of producers of all levels and in all fields of music. It has its own way of doing things and packs tons of functionality into a remarkably slick and friendly interface.
The developers have pulled off the trick of keeping Live fun and accessible on the surface while providing a great depth of tweakability (much more so now than in the earlier years) and including heavyweight extras like the Max For Live design environment with the Suite edition.
Many users will find that the Standard edition suits their needs perfectly well, since the main thing you gain with the pricier Suite is more instruments and effects – otherwise the functionality is essentially the same.
While some of the updates to 12 are arguably a little overdue they are no less welcome for it and Live remains an excellent music creation platform for all kinds of producers.
Live 12 MIDI Assign
Key features

For Mac and Windows
Up to 76 GB of sound content
Unlimited tracks with up to 192 kHz audio support
Clip-based MIDI and audio stretching and beat-matching
Multiple bundled instruments and audio effects
MIDI generators and processors
Modular, resizable interface
New scale and tuning tools
Deep integration with Push hardware
Max For Live with Suite edition

The post Ableton Live 12 dives deep under the hood for its latest milestone Live update appeared first on MusicTech.

Roland introduce GO:PODCAST mic The latest release from Roland has been designed to let budding content creators start streaming with the mobile devices they already own.

5 mixing tips for modern rap vocals
From applying compression to cleaning up ad-lib tracks, here are five essential mixing tips for modern rap vocals.

Celebrating the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame InducteesEach year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction process is a heated debate about who should go in and "Rock & Roll" even means, but the votes have been tallied and here are this year's inductees.

Here are the 30+ startups showcasing at HAX’s May 1 Demo DayA few weeks back, TechCrunch ventured out to New Jersey to pay an early visit to HAX’s Newark offices. As much as I complained about the 90-minute commute in from Queens, it’s nothing compared to the last time I paid a visit to the SOSV-run hardware accelerator’s Shenzhen space. HAX’s China operations have shrunk considerably […]
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The TEC Awards Bragging Rights Begin HereCall for Entries Now Open!

TEC Finalists will shine bright at The NAMM Show and TEC Awards in 2025. Call for entries is open now through July 12.

And be sure to spread the word far and wide with your industry friends. The bigger the participation, the bigger the honor, the bigger the bragging rights!

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5 mixing tips for modern rap vocals
From applying compression to cleaning up ad-lib tracks, here are five essential mixing tips for modern rap vocals.

Emily Lazar wins MPG Inspiration Award The Music Producer’s Guild have announced that Grammy-winning mastering engineer Emily Lazar has received the 2024 MPG Inspiration Award ahead of this week’s MPG Awards. 

Ancient Cable Modem Reveals Its RF SecretsMost reverse engineering projects we see around here have some sort of practical endpoint in mind. Usually, but not always. Reverse-engineering a 40-year-old cable modem probably serves no practical end, except for the simple pleasure of understanding how 1980s tech worked.
You’ll be forgiven if the NABU Network, the source of the modem [Jared Boone] tears into, sounds unfamiliar; it only existed from 1982 to 1985 and primarily operated in Ottawa, Canada. It’s pretty interesting though, especially the Z80-based computer that was part of the package. The modem itself is a boxy affair bearing all the hallmarks of 1980s tech. [Jared]’s inspection revealed a power supply with a big transformer, a main logic board, and a mysterious shielded section with all the RF circuits, which is the focus of the video below.
Using a signal generator, a spectrum analyzer, and an oscilloscope, not to mention the PCB silkscreen and component markings, [Jared] built a block diagram of the circuit and determined the important frequencies for things like the local oscillator. He worked through the RF section, discovering what each compartment does, with the most interesting one probably being the quadrature demodulator. But things took a decidedly digital twist in the last compartment, where the modulated RF is turned into digital data with a couple of 7400-series chips, some comparators, and a crystal oscillator.
This tour of 80s tech and the methods [Jared] used to figure out what’s going on in this box were pretty impressive. There’s more to come on this project, including recreating the original signal with SDRs. In the mean time, if this put you in the mood for other videotext systems of the 80s, you might enjoy this Minitel terminal teardown.

Hipgnosis Song Management rubbishes criticism over its service to Hipgnosis Songs Fund – while warning it and Blackstone will deploy ‘all means necessary’ should HSF attempt to terminate its dealIt basically says... Hey, HSF board – don't even think about firing us. But just in case you do, know that Blackstone will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
Source

AI + LEGO = A Brickton of IdeasWhat if there was some magic device that could somehow scan all your LEGO and tell you what you can make with it? It’s a childhood dream come true, right? Well, that device is in your pocket. Just dump out your LEGO stash on the carpet, spread it out so there’s only one layer, scan it with your phone, and after a short wait, you get a list of all the the fun things you can make. With building instructions. And oh yeah, it shows you where each brick is in the pile.
We are talking about the BrickIt app, which is available for Android and Apple. Check it out in the short demo after the break. Having personally tried the app, we can say it does what it says it does and is in fact quite cool.
As much as it may pain you to have to pick up all those bricks when you’re finished, it really does work better against a neutral background like light-colored carpet. In an attempt to keep the bricks corralled, we tried a wooden tray, and it didn’t seem to be working as well as it probably could have — it didn’t hold that many bricks, and they couldn’t be spread out that far.
And the only real downside is that results are limited because there’s a paid version. And the app is kind of constantly reminding you of what you’re missing out on. But it’s still really, really cool, so check it out.
We don’t have to tell you how versatile LEGO is. But have you seen this keyboard stand, or this PCB vise?

Thanks to [Keith Olson] for the tip!

Proper, formerly Utopia, tells shareholders: We need $6.4m from youCompany has called on its shareholders to support a round of funding
Source

“We aim to make this an indispensable tool for DJs, independent artists and producers”: New AI stem separation technology secures UK government fundingAudioStrip, a company specialising in source separation technology via machine learning (AI), has been announced as one of six organisations to be awarded grant funding from the government.
A total of £1 million is being awarded to companies as part of an AI in the Music Industry Innovate UK Fund. The assessors of the competition agreed that AudioStrip’s Music-AI innovation would “greatly benefit and strengthen the UK Music Industry” and that “the rewards could be significant”.

READ MORE: Imogen Heap uses her AI voice model, ai.mogen, to create a remix for the first time

According to a press release from AudioStrip, the aim of the competition is to advance the development of Artificial Intelligence products and services within the global music supply chain which benefits the UK Music Sector. Winners must collaborate with industry stakeholders to unlock the full potential of AI while supporting and uplifting the music industry to drive long term creative and commercial success.
AudioStrip is strengthening its partnership with Queen Mary University of London, which will collaborate with the brand on its project to develop new state-of-the-art AI in music source separation. This separates the individual vocals and instruments within a music file.
Basil Woods, co-founder and CEO of AudioStrip, says: “This technology is sweeping the music industry. AudioStrip will offer more advanced tools for precise separation of individual elements in audio files.
“By partnering with Queen Mary, we aim to elevate music source separation technology beyond industry benchmarks, making it an indispensable tool for DJs, independent artists, producers, and licensors. Our goal is to automatically identify musical elements from any given song – including vocal, instrumental, drums, bass, piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and synthesiser – and extract them into independent tracks without losing quality.”
Simon Dixon, Director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence and Music at Queen Mary University of London, adds: “Our Centre for Digital Music has grown into a world-leading, multidisciplinary research group, responsible for numerous spinout companies and business partnerships with companies large and small.”
Find out more about AudioStrip.
The post “We aim to make this an indispensable tool for DJs, independent artists and producers”: New AI stem separation technology secures UK government funding appeared first on MusicTech.

“Voice Memos are a no-brainer” for music production, says TouristCollecting gear is fun, obviously, but sometimes simplicity prevails over all. Just take a look at Fred again.. who recorded the bass sound for his track Jungle from the crackle of a bad cable, or even Tourist who stands by the idea that your iPhone mic and Voice Memos app are “unbelievably useful” tools.
The COVID-19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works for creatives all over, and for producers and musicians, it meant finding new ways to adapt in order to make music remotely and in a simplified manner.

READ MORE: Omnisphere is “one of the most inspiring instruments,” says Tourist

For Tourist, he stuck with his laptop and a phone. Even now, he enjoys working with his phone so much that he chooses one to accompany his dream studio space in MusicTech’s My Forever Studio podcast, delivered in partnership with Audient.
“Would you not want a really nice recorder?” Asks co-host Chris Barker.
“Of course, but I’ll lose it and break it,” Tourist replies. “That phone is going to be used a lot, and the reason is I love sampling from my phone. I love just plugging a jack into it and then into my Mac or into another device. But Voice Memos is just absolute no-brainer.
“I love recording the sounds of nature around me, I love recording ideas melodically. I love recording soundscapes, being on the tube. That stuff finds its way into my music just because it just gives context to everything that you write, and it’s just such an unbelievably useful tool,” he states.
Although Tourist finally decides on the Teenage Engineering TP-7 field recorder after being encouraged to “upsell his dreams”, he still stands by the idea that a simple iPhone mic can hold so much charisma.

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“I mean there’s even a part of me that’s really happy with that built-in iPhone mic because it has such a character. It sounds like the year that the phone was made. And the compression, whatever they do with that compression… I think people can hear an iPhone mic. I like that.”
Check out the full podcast below:

The post “Voice Memos are a no-brainer” for music production, says Tourist appeared first on MusicTech.