OpenAI shuts down election influence operation that used ChatGPTOpenAI has banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that was generating content about the U.S. presidential election, according to a blog post on Friday. The company says the operation created AI-generated articles and social media posts, though it doesn’t seem that it reached much of an audience. This is […]
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Fighting the Scourge of “Screwdriver Mange”We’ve all got our favorite hand tools, and while the selection criteria are usually pretty subjective, it usually boils down to a combination of looks and feel. In our opinion, the king of both these categories when it comes to screwdrivers is those clear, hard acetate plastic handles, which are a joy to use — at least until the plastic starts to degrade and exude a characteristically funky aroma.
But perhaps we can change that if these experiments on screwdriver “mange” hold up. That’s [357magdad]’s unappealing but accurate description of the chemical changes that eventually occur in the strong, hard, crystal-clear handles of your favorite screwdrivers. The polymer used for these handles is cellulose acetate butyrate, or CAB, which is mostly the same cellulose acetate that replaced the more explode-y cellulose nitrate in things like pool balls and movie film, except with some of the acetate groups replaced with a little butyric acid. The polymer is fine at first, but add a little UV light and over time the outer layer of CAB decomposes into a white flaky cellulose residue while the butyric acid volatilizes, creating the characteristic odor of vomitus. Lovely.
In the video below, [357magdad] takes a look at different concoctions that all allegedly cure the mange. TL, DW; it was a dunk in household ammonia that performed the best, well ahead of other common agents like vinegar and bleach. The ammonia — or more precisely, ammonium hydroxide — works very quickly on the cellulose residue, dissolving it readily and leaving the handle mange-free and looking nearly new after some light scrubbing. None of the other agents came close, although acetone did manage to clear up the mange a bit, at the cost of softening the underlying CAB in a process that’s probably similar to acetone smoothing ABS prints.
As for the funky smell, well, the results were less encouraging. Nothing really got rid of the pukey smell, even a roll in baking soda. We suspect there won’t be much for that, since humans can detect it down to 10 parts per million. Consider it the price to pay for a nice-looking screwdriver that feels so good in your hand.

Ariana Grande Partners with HeadCount to Ensure Fans Are Ready to VoteToday, Ariana Grande and HeadCount, a leading nonpartisan nonprofit working to register young voters through the organization’s Good to Vote initiative, launched an exclusive sweepstakes for her fans in an effort to increase voter registration among young people. 

The prize – flying two fans to the U.S. premiere of Wicked with a full glam experience with r.e.m. beauty products – was announced today on Grande’s Instagram, prompting fans to see if they’re “good to vote” by checking their registration status to enter for a chance to win the exclusive prize.

According to a new study from Harvard University, which references HeadCount, leveraging celebrity voices is a particularly effective way to promote civic engagement. The study shows that celebrity promotion translates to higher voter registration rates and poll worker sign-ups. Overall, of the young voters registered digitally through HeadCount in 2020, 78% went on to vote at the polls. 

Grande previously partnered with HeadCount in 2019 and registered over 30,000 fans to vote through onsite registration while on tour. During and following the pandemic, HeadCount adjusted its model to include digital engagement for celebrities to continue to engage their young fans. 

“Young voters have the power to decide the 2024 election. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Ariana Grande again to help get as many young people registered as possible - providing them with the tools they need to make their voices heard at the polls this November!” said Lucille Wenegieme, CEO of HeadCount.

Starting today, fans can enter to win an all expenses paid getaway to the U.S. premiere through HeadCount.The post Ariana Grande Partners with HeadCount to Ensure Fans Are Ready to Vote first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

2024 Tiny Games Contest: Salsa One Handheld Requires No PCBIf you’re thinking about building a single tiny game or even a platform, you might be tempted to use a single button for everything. Such is the case with [Alex]’s Salsa ONE minimalist game console, which is inspired by both the Arduboy and the ergonomics of the SanDisk Sansa music player.
With Salsa ONE, [Alex] aimed to make something that is both simple and challenging. The result is something that, awesomely enough, doesn’t need a PCB, and can be comfortably controlled with just one thumb. There isn’t much to this thing, which is essentially an RP2040, an OLED, a vibration motor, a buzzer, a button, and a CR2032 coin cell. [Alex] chose to program Salsa ONE in MicroPython. Be sure to check it out in action in the brief demo after the break.
Have you got an idea for a tiny game? Don’t hesitate to enter the 2024 Tiny Games Contest! You have until September 10th, so head on over to Hackaday.io and get started today.

Ewan Bristow Releases EB-Resonator Melodic Resonator for FREE via Plugdata
Ewan Bristow recently released the EB-Resonator, a free melodic resonator that runs in the Plugdata programming environment. Plugdata is also free and runs as a plugin or standalone app on Windows, macOS, Linux and more.  Bristow commented on his motivations for the release, saying, “A lot of free melodic resonators I’ve tried sound ringy, bell-like [...]
View post: Ewan Bristow Releases EB-Resonator Melodic Resonator for FREE via Plugdata

VSL Synchron Woodwinds: Free legato expansion The second free expansion for VSL's renowned woodwind library expands its versatility with a pair of new legato articulations.

Ibiza’s Pikes is extending its dancefloor phone ban to 7 days a weekClubbers going to Pikes Ibiza won’t be able to use their phones on the dancefloor anymore, regardless of which night they go on.
The White Isle hotel introduced a policy in April of banning phones on the dancefloor on Monday nights – “Keep your phones in your pocket and your mind on the music,” they said. This ended up being a success in terms of both the atmosphere and the publicity it brought – it “caused quite the stir around the island,” prompting a “positive shift in the way people experience parties in Ibiza”.

READ MORE: Amsterdam venue The Other Side becomes world’s first nightclub to adopt L-ISA Spatial Audio

Now, this has been extended to seven nights a week. Attendees are asked to place a sticker over their phone camera at the entrance to Pikes’ grounds, with staff on hand to remind them they’re breaking rules if they are caught trying to take photos or videos.
“We want you to dance like no one’s watching. We want the very special guests in our booth and our resident DJs alike to feel as comfortable as if they were at a friend’s house party, with the freedom to dance, sing, jump, squeal, shout and celebrate however they like,” the post continues. “We want you to find your new best friends, make memories that live in your mind, not on your phone, and experience the magic of Pikes the way it was always intended to be. After all, what happens at Pikes stays at Pikes…”

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A post shared by Pikes Ibiza (@pikesibiza)

Another popular Ibiza club, Hï Ibiza, has also brought in the policy at its Damian Lazarus Club Room residency and later the James Hype and Meduza Club Room residencies.
No-phone policies have become increasingly popular after being implemented by iconic German club Berghain. Various UK spots have followed suit, including London’s FOLD and fabric.
The post Ibiza’s Pikes is extending its dancefloor phone ban to 7 days a week appeared first on MusicTech.

Watch deadmau5 play the medieval EP-1320 while wearing a suit of armour. No, seriouslyDeadmau5 traded in his usual mouse helmet for an actual medieval helmet to play the medieval EP-1320. We’re not joking.

READ MORE: Deadmau5 “doesn’t enjoy” dance music, but loves “the process of making it” (musictech.com)

The producer test drove Teenage Engineering‘s newest piece of kit in a new video posted to Instagram, in which he suitably dresses for the occasion in some medieval armour. He’s even got a medieval-style painting behind him featuring his distinctive mouse headgear.
Billed as the “world’s first medieval electronic instrument”, EP-1320 sampler is a new take on the EP-133 K.O. II with a new design and packaging plus a new set of effects, a new arpeggiator, and a collection of “craftily captured multi-sampled instruments. It is now available for the same price, $299, as the original sampler.
It has a rather quirky set of features – “hurdy gurdys, lutes, Gregorian chants, thundering drums and punishing percussive foley fx”, according to the company.
Check out deadmau5 testing it out below:

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A post shared by deadmau5 (@deadmau5)

In other news, deadmau5 recently threatened to pull his music from Spotify following controversial comments made by the platform’s CEO Daniel Ek, in which he said the cost of creating content is “close to zero”.
Sharing a screenshot of a headline on Instagram which reads: “Spotify CEO claims ‘the cost of creating content’ is ‘close to zero’, deadmau5 responded in the caption: “Incorrect. The cost of creating content was 25+ years of my life and much of those proceeds going to your company you complete fucking idiot.”
And in response to a user’s comment on his post – which reads: “We hate Spotify so much” – deadmau5 replied, “I feel that, I’m about to pull my catalogue from these fucking vultures, enough’s enough.”
The post Watch deadmau5 play the medieval EP-1320 while wearing a suit of armour. No, seriously appeared first on MusicTech.

From Universal’s Meta deal to a new AI-powered music streaming service… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
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Last chance to vote for SXSW 2025 panelsSXSW Panelpicker voting ends on Sunday, August 18th. Anyone can register for a free SXSW account to vote and help ensure that the best panels are chosen. We've made a list of SXSW 2025 panels worth voting for.
The post Last chance to vote for SXSW 2025 panels appeared first on Hypebot.

Should artists be worried about Melodio, the new generative AI music streaming platform?The day we feared but expected is here. Chinese firm Kunlun Tech says it’s released the “first-ever” music streaming platform for generative AI music. Request a genre, mood, or any other prompt you want, and hear Melodio play non-stop music in the style you’ve chosen.
OK, before we freak out, let’s see what’s up.
Melodio is technically not the first AI music streaming service. Aimi has been around since 2021 and generates music based on material provided by established artists, such as Roska, Black Loops and Shanti Celeste. A similar platform is Endel; specific to mindfulness, focus and sleep, artists including James Blake, Richie Hawtin and Grimes have provided material for the generative soundscape platform.
The key difference with Melodio is the intention and the material. Kunlun Tech says that the platform “revolutionises music streaming” with its prospect of personalised, prompt-focused music. The examples it provides in a press statement include ‘energetic music for a long drive’ and ‘mellow tunes for morning coffee’. You can also change the input prompt at any time during the stream to change the style of the music. As the stream plays, you can save and share your favourite ‘music’ or segments of audio, which presumably impacts the rest of the stream.
But where does this music come from? Aimi and Endel rely on artists and creators to provide material — what’s Melodio’s training data?
It’s called SkyMusic 2.0. Kunlun says in the press release that this engine “leverages LLM technology to achieve an integrated end-to-end music generation process” that “boasts the capability to produce six-minute stereo songs with a 44,100Hz sampling rate and supports lyrics input exceeding 500 words.”
Alright, so no word on where the material is sourced.
We reached out to a Kunlun Tech representative for more information. The company said: “Different from the mainstream path of the industry, SkyMusic adopts the route of self-developed large-scale model music audio generation technology. This route directly realises the integrated end-to-end music generation of instruments, vocals, melodies, volumes, and notes through large model technology, which is extremely difficult technically, and only a handful of top players in the world, including Kunlun, participate.”
Still kinda mysterious — we’ve asked for some further info. If the company (which owns web browser Opera and formerly owned dating app Grindr) is operating similarly to GenAI platforms Suno and Udio, it might be about to face a legal firestorm. In June, the RIAA filed a lawsuit against the two companies for alleged copyright infringement en masse, seeking damages of up to $1.5 trillion from Suno and $1.36 trillion from Udio. Yikes.
Anyway, another crucial question is: Does Melodio actually sound convincing enough to replace anything in your music library? Not exactly. You can’t generate music that’s absent of lyrics, which are often corny and sung by robot-esque vocals, and the instrumentation is generic and ripe with artefacts. It’s not fit for leisurely listening.
However, its potential might not lie in replacing your favourite music, but instead as a supplement for background music. Think coffee shops, in-game music for video games, and other incidental music moments. As Barack Obama said last year, elevator music may be the first to be replaced.
Kunlun adds that, per Statista, “the global music streaming industry reached $19.3 billion in 2023. On Spotify, nearly 50 per cent of users have listened to playlists with mood tags, indicating a strong demand for scenario-oriented music. Compared to traditional music platforms, AI music streaming can tailor exclusive music to each different scenario, redefining the form of music and enabling users to enjoy customised musical companionship anytime, anywhere.”
Melodio probably won’t catch on in the way you’d expect it to, but it may become a powerful tool for certain markets and creators.
There’s more: Kunlun has also announced Mureka, which — similar to Suno and Udio — lets you generate music with a prompt. You can then download the track using Credits on your account; you’ll start with six but can purchase more to download more songs. You can even sell your AI songs on the Mureka Store — Kunlun claims this lets you “explore new business models for AIGC”.
What’s vital here, for everyone’s sake, is that Kunlun is playing fair from a licensing perspective. There’s no doubt that the industry at large will be keeping an eye on Melodio and Mureka to ensure no artists are being exploited.
If you’re intrigued, you can try a demo on the Melodio website. Just type in a prompt and hit that Brat green button stamped with “Let’s Vibe.”
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The post Should artists be worried about Melodio, the new generative AI music streaming platform? appeared first on MusicTech.

Threads tools for creators are improvingThreads tools for creators are improving with some new additions. Just 13 months after launch, Threads has 200 million active users, making it a must-use social media platform.
The post Threads tools for creators are improving appeared first on Hypebot.

5 sources for finding weird samples
We showcase five resources and techniques that will allow you to uncover unusual and at times straight-up weird samples that extend into uncharted sonic territory.

A Guide To Short Video Music PromotionExplore the most effective short video music promotion strategies on TikTok and other platforms. Elevate your career with these expert insights designed to maximize your reach and impact.
The post A Guide To Short Video Music Promotion appeared first on Hypebot.

Cox Communications takes copyright infringement battle with record labels to US Supreme CourtA long-running legal battle between Cox and record companies could end up being decided at the US's top court
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