What would happen if Spotify started charging a ‘modest fee’ for its ad-funded tier… or shut it down entirely?Music Business Worldwide runs the hypothetical numbers following Rob Stringer's suggestion of a modest fee on Spotify's ad tier
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Sonic Temple Festival Brings the Heat to Columbus!

This May, Sonic Temple returned to Columbus, Ohio for it's third and biggest outing to date. For the first time, the festival featured four stages and the biggest layout yet.

As with any festival, band preferences are always extremely subjective. So, when I proclaim that this year's lineup was insanely good, constantly left me both fulfilled and wanting more, know that mileage may vary by customer. That said, there were some extremely familiar acts on the bill that I was excited to see again as well as bands that I haven't seen and/or haven't seen in a very long time. This mix provided such a fun environment for a long weekend of great times with my friends.

The first question anyone always asks is: "How do you do a four-day festival?" or "Isn't four days a bit much?" That's a tough one to answer. The truth is, I live for this stuff! I honestly look forward to this trip every single year, both for the daily lineups of hard rock/metal music, but also the fun that I'm having with my friends. I can honestly say that we've really figured out the secret sauce for this. I'm having an easier time managing four days at 44 years sold than I did three days 33 years old when we started coming (to Rock on the Range) back in 2014.

One major change that's happened over the last few years is the increased level of safety and awareness that seems to be present at the festival. The app has push notifications that constantly remind festivalgoers to stay hydrated etc. Also, there's a great process by which young music fans can locate their parents/guardians that was outlined well within the app. These may seem like small enhancements, but it's fairly common knowledge now that not every festival treats these things the same.

The Original Misfits put on an incredible performance to close out the 2nd night of Sonic Temple 2024

The last few years, we've rented an AirBNB for about six of us, showed up Wednesday afternoon and tried to make a point of exploring the city a bit every night, but really enjoying the scene that first day before the festival begins. There are tons of great restaurants and bars in Columbus!

As for the show, we pull in around 10-10:30am every morning in a familiar spot, set up a tent and just relax for a few hours while we meet up with other friends that travel to the festival. Eventually, we'll fire up the grill for burgers, sausages or whatever the days lunch happens to be.

Anthrax's original bassist, Dan Lilker, joined the band for a few dates this spring

Let's get to the festival itself though. There were a ton of changes this year, once again due to the continued development of the stadium itself. This has necessitated the need for the layout to be flexible. Somehow, the folks at DWP have managed to roll with the punches and provide the best version of this festival to date!

What's 'stayed the same is that the main stage is still within the stadium. You'll still need a "Field GA" ticket to access the floor of the stadium and I'd argue it's worth every penny. On the other hand, maybe you take those main stage acts as an opportunity to grab a seat and relax. In that case, you can get away with a "Stadium GA" pass.

What's different is pretty much everything else. The location that was always the home of the "2nd stage" is now the location of what I'll refer to as stages 3 and 4 (smaller than the main stages). Make no mistake, however, very often these stages showcased bands that rivaled the current main stage performer. I hated choosing between Machine Head and Disturbed (so I chose Machine Head and then headed to the main stage for Disturbed on night 1).

Sum 41 commands the stage as they're touring what is billed as their final tour!

The farther stage is now really considered stage #2 and at times really a second headliner stage. The crowds out there were impressive all weekend including mobs of attendees for Sleep Token, Judas Priest, Kerry King, Sum 41, Rise Against and several others. Additionally, they've built something of a midway out there, in what was the parking lot last year. This area now hosts tons of food and drink vendors as well as the lockers.

With all the exciting growth and enhancements to the festival, there were unquestionably a few things missing this year. Back in the early festival days, FYE had a huge presence with a large tent featuring music for sale (CD's and vinyl) where fans could reference a schedule to see which band would be signing their respective albums. This transitioned into a much smaller store run by Revolver over the last few years, but even that was missing now. There was actual nowhere on site to buy music, nor was there anyplace to meet bands (with a one-day exception of the Dixxon flannel booth, that had a few bands sign).

There also used to be a really cool feature that Zippo used to sponsor, where fans could buy a lighter and get a free ticket to a mystery band's acoustic performance. I caught Stone Sour in one of these performances a few years ago.

Change is inevitable, but those were a few of the features of the former festival I'd really like to see brought back!

As for the rest of the music, I'll hit a few of my own personal highlights:

Anthrax - As a Western, New York native, I was beyond thrilled to hear that original bassist Dan Lilker would be joining the band for a few dates. I'm a huge Anthrax fan, but I also know that Dan can always be found at a local record store manning the vinyl department. It was awesome to see him take the main stage with the band!

Pantera - I've been fortunate to see them three times now, since they began playing again. Of course it's not the same without Vinnie and Dime, but Charlie and Zakk play with respect and Phil and Rex are at the top of their game. I'll never miss a local Pantera show if I can help it! Seeing them perform "Floods" was a dream come true!

The Original Misfits - Admittedly, my expectations were tempered for this. I had no idea what to expect. I was completely blown away by their performance and hope to see them again someday! How did it take this long for them to get back together?

Machine Head - I've seen these guys several times before, but they always put on a great show. They've been away from the festival circuit for ages, so it was great to see them performing in front of fans who weren't necessarily die-hards.

Sum 41 - How is this band hanging it up after this year? Their new release 'Heaven :X: Hell' is fantastic and the pop-punk genre is back on the upswing. I can't imagine this is the end, but if it is, I'll check them out every opportunity I get as well!

Judas Priest - It simply cannot be overstated how incredible this band is after 50 years. The new life that guitarist Ritchie Faulkner has brought to this band is so evident, coupled with the powerhouse vocals of Rob Halford, these guys are an absolute must see!

Kerry King - If you loved Slayer, you'll love Kerry's new band. He retains drummer Paul Bostaph, but adds Phil Demmel, as well as Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda for a familiar yet fresh punch.

Limp Bizkit - I haven't seen these guys since the Summer Sanitarium Tour back in 2003 (including a date at Ohio Stadium here in Columbus). Simply put, these guys are every bit as good as they were back in their prime. Fred Durst still commands a crowd like only he can and I'm so glad I caught these guys!

There were plenty of other massive performances throughout the weekend, but these were the ones I was most looking forward to and/or impressed me the most.

As is the case with every prior trip to Columbus, the festival was amazing. We all left tired but fulfilled. There is no better opportunity to see bands you love and discover bands that you're soon to love. With all of the growth Sonic Temple has undergone over the last few years, I'd imagine what we saw this year is likely getting close to the go-forward version of this festival.

No matter what it looks like, I'm already planning on heading out there again next spring! The post Sonic Temple Festival Brings the Heat to Columbus! first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Logic Pro workflow tips you need to know from SEIDS
Sabrina Seidman (SEIDS) sat down with us to share her favorite Logic Pro workflow tips, shortcuts, and organizational hacks.

Harmonic Table Keyboard Brings Old Idea Back to LifeIf you missed the introduction of the Axis-49 and Axis-64 keyboards by C-Thru Music, you’re definitely not alone. At the time it was a new musical instrument that was based on the harmonic table, but it launched during the Great Recession and due to its nontraditional nature and poor timing, the company went out of business. But the harmonic table layout has a number advantages for musicians over other keyboard layouts, so [Ben] has brought his own version of the unique instrument to life in his latest project.
Called the Midihex, the keyboard has a number of improvements over the version from C-Thru Music, most obviously its much larger 98 playable keys and five function keys. The keys themselves are similar to Cherry MX keys but which use Hall-effect sensors. This style of key allows the device to send continuous key position information to the host computer, and since this is a MIDI instrument, this capability allows it to support a MIDI protocol called MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) which allows each note to be more finely controlled by the musician than a standard MIDI instrument. The PCB is powered by a Teensy 4.1 at the core.
For any musicians that haven’t tried out a harmonic table before, an instrument like this might be worth trying out. The layout provides easier chord and scale patterns, and for beginner musicians it can have a much shallower learning curve than other types of instruments. If you can’t find an original Axis-49 or Axis-64 anywhere to try out, though, we actually posted a teardown of one way back in 2009 when the company was still producing instruments.

Sky Blue EQ4 is a new FREE tone-shaping EQ plugin for macOS and Windows
Sky Blue EQ4 is a free and open-source EQ plugin by Aris Kiriki-Liszt. The Maag-like plugin pays homage to the EQ4M, Maag Audio’s successor to the original NTI EQ3. With the original NTI EQ3 proving hard to find nowadays, the more powerful EQ4M is a fairly sought-after piece of hardware. The significance of both hardware [...]
View post: Sky Blue EQ4 is a new FREE tone-shaping EQ plugin for macOS and Windows

Royalties generated by Spanish artists on Spotify exceeded $133m in 2023Spotify data shows Spain surprisingly weak in exporting music, despite strong domestic growth
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postmarketOS Now Boots on Over 250 DevicesEvery year, as consumers gobble up the latest Android devices, more old, but perfectly serviceable, units end up collecting dust in drawers. Or worse, they end up getting tossed in the trash. One of the most promising tools we have to help keep these older devices useful is postmarketOS, a full-fledged Linux distribution that provides a flexible and up-to-date software environment on devices that might otherwise be stuck with some old and unsupported version of Google’s mobile operating system.
As of the latest update on the postmarketOS blog, the team has announced an exciting milestone: over 250 devices can now boot the stable release of the OS.
Now to be clear, not all devices will be fully functional. In fact, the blog post clarifies that some of them only barely boot. But it’s progress, and now that these semi-supported devices aren’t hidden behind a development version of the OS, it means more folks will be able to put them to use.
For example, if you want to turn your old smartphone into a low-energy headless webserver, it doesn’t really matter if its display, touchscreen, or speakers are supported. You just need it to boot into Linux and fire up an SSH server so you can get in and start working.
But support for new devices is just one of the additions in this new v24.06 release. The blog post also points out several notable software upgrades, including the move to the 6.x branch of KDE Plasma Mobile. This brings with it a long list of improvements and changes, including a rewritten homescreen with enhanced customization options. If you prefer a more minimal GUI, don’t worry. This new release also updates Sxmo, which provides a menu-driven interface for both touch screens and hardware controls.
Among the newly supported devices is a generic x86_64 image that should work on a wide array of PCs. While obviously there’s no shortage of Linux distros you could run on your old computer, being able to install postmarketOS on it is definitely helpful for development purposes. There’s also a new Tegra ARMv7 target which brings a number of new devices into the fold, such as the Google Nexus 7, and Microsoft Surface RT.
Looking to run postmarketOS on your own hardware? The best way to start is to check the Devices page and see how many of those old gadgets you’ve got collecting dust in a drawer are compatible.

“I must say, I’m impressed with it”: Original MPC creator Roger Linn tests out Akai’s MPC Live IIRoger Linn, the original designer of the MPC drum machines, has tested out one of Akai’s more recently launched products to give his verdict on how it’s changed over the years.
Linn worked with Akai when it was based in Japan, and designed products such as the MPC60 and the MPC3000. He eventually had an unfortunate fall out with the company and moved on to making other tech.

READ MORE: Best MIDI controllers for creating music in your DAW

In a new video, Linn tests out the MPC Live II, first launched in 2020. He was curious about how good the newer products were and occasionally gets asked about his thoughts on them. He had never actually tested any out and was never able to give an answer, until now that is.
“By coincidence, recently, I’ve been in touch with the American Akai company and they kindly offered to send me one of their MPC models, the MPC Live II,” he says. “So I thought I’d give it a go and let people know what I think.”
Credit: Akai Professional
He adds, “The short answer is I didn’t expect it to be as good as it is but I must say I’m impressed with it, they really did a very good job. First I was pleased to see that they honoured my original design by keeping most of the original panel controls.”
Linn says the placement of controls were important to him for fast access and easy learning, so users wouldn’t need to spend ages with a manual. Check out the video below to hear him test out the MPC Live II with one of his own creations, the LinnStrument Expressive MIDI Performance Controller:

Linn currently runs small business Roger Linn Design, which his LinnStrument forms part of along with other products such as the Tempest Analogue Drum Machine and the AdrenaLinn III Guitar Processor.
Linn also invented the LM-1 Drum Computer, the first programmable, sampled-sound drum machine in 1979. Manufactured by his company Linn Electronics, the LM-1 and its successors the LinnDrum and Linn9000 provided the drums for many records during the 1980s, from Prince to Madonna, to Michael Jackson and Elton John.
Find out more over at Roger Linn Design.
The post “I must say, I’m impressed with it”: Original MPC creator Roger Linn tests out Akai’s MPC Live II appeared first on MusicTech.

Recorded music revenue is up 8%. Do independents get their fair share?According to the RIAA, recorded music revenues in the U.S. continued growing for the eighth consecutive year, with total revenues up 8% to a record high of $17.1 billion. Streaming. Continue reading
The post Recorded music revenue is up 8%. Do independents get their fair share? appeared first on Hypebot.

Extend MIDI up to 500m with Kenton LNDX Kenton's latest release makes it possible to send MIDI data up to 500m using standard Cat 5e cables.

EDM listeners last the shortest time in bed, according to new studyWhat music do people like to listen to when they do the nasty? That’s the question online doctor and prescription service ZipHealth asks with its new study.
The organisation surveyed 1,000 people on their sex lives and music streaming choices to find out what songs, artists and genres people are listening to when they have sex.

READ MORE: Spotify’s “Supremium” subscription tier to arrive “later this year”, according to reports

The thousand people surveyed consume a wide variety of music while they’re getting freaky, and one key takeaway from the study is that those who listen to EDM music in the bedroom last, on average, the least amount of time: 27.2 minutes. We’re not entirely convinced everyone surveyed was being truthful for the survey to obtain that average, but there we go…
Another insight into the sexual habits of EDM listeners is that over one in three people (37%) who listen to EDM during sex admit to previously having sex in public.
Of the top 10 songs listened to during sex, four are by The Weeknd – The Hills, Often, and Call Out My Name at spots two, three and four, and Earned It at No. 7. The top song is Super Freaky Girl by Nicki Minaj, while Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral banger Closer comes in at No. 5.
Unsurprisingly, the top artist on sex playlists on the whole was The Weekend, those spots were also filled by the likes of Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Taylor Swift, and even Deftones.
To read the full results of the study, head to ZipHealth.
The post EDM listeners last the shortest time in bed, according to new study appeared first on MusicTech.

Understanding Digipak CDs: A Modern Music Packaging SolutionDiscover the eco-friendly and stylish Digipak CD packaging. Here's why artists prefer its customizable and elite design over traditional cases.....
The post Understanding Digipak CDs: A Modern Music Packaging Solution appeared first on Hypebot.

“Why did you do it? Why did you leave us?”: Avicii’s father on dealing with anger and grief after his son’s deathKlas Bergling, father to superstar EDM artist Avicii, has spoken out about the feelings of anger he experiences following his son’s tragic death.
Avicii took his own life in 2018, after which Klas and family, including Avicii’s mother Anki Lidén, established The Tim Bergling Foundation in his honour, using the artist’s real name.
Speaking to the BBC surrounding the release of a picture book to honour his legacy titled Avicii: The life and music of Tim Bergling, Klas explains how his son’s death makes him feel a sense of anger and frustration at times.
“I miss him every minute, of course, I talk to him every day. But I admit, I get angry at him sometimes. Why did you do it? Why did you leave us?” He says. Of the new picture book, Klas adds, “We want to help people see beyond the Avicii fame. That’s also why we named his posthumous album Tim.”

Avicii’s fans still feel a deep connection to his music, including colossal hits such as Hey Brother, Levels and Wake Me Up. Thousands of letters left on his website are a testament to this.“Tim meant a lot to young people – his music, his lyrics, and his person,” adds Klas.
“At first, I didn’t understand why, but then a fan said, ‘Tim was authentic.’ I understood. Many young people relate to that authenticity, his honesty, and struggles.”
Klas’ work with The Tim Bergling Foundation has helped to fund Sweden’s new national suicide prevention hotline. The government is also working on legislation to better investigate suicide. The BBC states that Klas has a 50-year plan to cement his son’s legacy.
“The most important thing is to break the stigma facing young people. [With] a war-torn, unstable world facing the next generation, that’s where I think we can be useful,” he states.
Find out more about The Tim Bergling Foundation. You can also order Avicii: The life and music of Tim Bergling now.
If you need mental health support, you can find help via the following organisations:

Samaritans
CALM
Papyrus
Help Musicians UK

There is further advice available via the NHS.
The post “Why did you do it? Why did you leave us?”: Avicii’s father on dealing with anger and grief after his son’s death appeared first on MusicTech.

QUICK HITS: Borman • BeatStars • Bandcamp + Empire • MusicAI + RoEx • Cakewalk • MusicalAIIndustry veteran Donna Hughes has joined the Borman Entertainment team as VP of Touring/Communications.  She will report to Tour Marketing and Radio SVP Donna Jean Kisshauer and work with Keith Urban, Tyler Hubbard, and Borman's other management clients.....
The post QUICK HITS: Borman • BeatStars • Bandcamp + Empire • MusicAI + RoEx • Cakewalk • MusicalAI appeared first on Hypebot.

Fred again’s sold-out show at the LA Memorial Coliseum met with mixed reviews from attendeesFred again.. played a sold-out show at the LA Memorial Coliseum on 14 June, and fans who attended the gig have shared mixed reactions online.
The gig at the 77,500-capacity venue marked his first-ever stadium show, which he previously said both he and his team had been “working on for months”. Some fans online have since criticised “bad organisation” and the absence of an opening act among other issues.

READ MORE: Deadmau5 says he “doesn’t enjoy” dance music, but loves “the process of making it”

The show followed his hugely successful rave hosted alongside Skrillex at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, which was met with much praise from fans and locals. Although Fred has received positive reactions for his talent, people are mostly unhappy with how the event was conducted.
Some posts in the r/avesLA subreddit have expressed frustration: “Don’t get me wrong, Fred put on a good show and is so talented and I appreciated his use of multiple stages around the coliseum.. but my god the event a shit show,” writes one user.
“I was on the floor and it was nearly impossible to exit up the stairs and back to use the bathroom. There were hoards of people crowding the aisles to the point where it was a fire/safety hazard. I was shocked that there were no security guards to ensure a clear path on the aisles.
“On top of all that, Fred comes on over an hour late?! Starts the show at 9:35pm instead of 8:30pm… And this last part is no fault of the event organisers or Fred but the crowd was absolutely horrible. I mean a whole group of people literally jumped on the side platform and started dancing to the point where Fred had to stop the show until security escorted them off.”
Fred Again show was horribly organized byu/pbandnyan inavesLA

On the other hand, some fans have said the show was “amazing”, and Fred himself has since shared his gratitude. Check out more varying reactions below:
Been a Fred again fan since 2020 and his coliseum fan was the 4th and last time I see him byu/Late-Nail-8714 inavesLA

why did hundreds of people rush the state at Fred again until he had to stop the show what the actual fuck happened to respect ??? pic.twitter.com/n71VzvWPom
— shayda (@ShaydaAliabadi) June 15, 2024

This Fred Again show in LA was probably the best concert I’ve been to since Renaissance pic.twitter.com/hAtCojZNLU
— fully conscious rudy (@Ruudess) June 15, 2024

FRED AGAIN WAS AMAZING WTF pic.twitter.com/SA0hW5K0Oe
— Alexis • pinned tweet (@Amusedbyalexis) June 15, 2024

I will never forget that Thank you pic.twitter.com/vBREvfr7cp
— Fred again.. (@fredagainagain1) June 15, 2024

Find out where you can catch Fred again.. live next.
The post Fred again’s sold-out show at the LA Memorial Coliseum met with mixed reviews from attendees appeared first on MusicTech.