No royalties and "junk tracks"

Penteo 6 now available Penteo Audio Plugins have announced the launch of the latest version of their award-winning upmixing and downmixing plug-in

Leo Z Picks TELEFUNKEN for Handpan Virtuoso Davide FrielloGifted composer, pianist and producer Leo Z has employed his personal collection of TELEFUNKEN microphones to record Italian handpan virtuoso David Friello. The handpan consists of two metal half-shells welded together, a center tone field surrounded by a circle of at least seven tone fields on the upper side, with an opening in the bottom side.

Listen to a preview of Davide Friello's new album "Amplexus"https://www.davidefriello.com/telefunkenhandpan

Davide Friello, born in Florence, Italy, is an acclaimed handpan artist, known worldwide as a prolific touring and recording musician, composer, and percussionist. Friello has three previous studio albums: "Ritmatika", "Violin & Hang" and "5 Elements." The majority of the handpan selections on "Amplexus" were co-composed by Friello and producer Leo Z.

For the new "Amplexus" album, Leo Z employed two M60 FET pencil mics on the side of the pan, two ELA M 260 tube mics with omni capsules above the pan, and an M82 dynamic mic underneath the pan. "The combination of these Telefunken mics beautifully captures the spacious and ethereal sound of the handpan," says Leo Z, "while retaining the unique percussive qualities of this remarkable instrument."

Handpan is the term for a group of musical instruments that are classified as a subset of the steelpan. Several handpan makers and brands have emerged in recent years, resulting from a growing worldwide interest in the sound that is based on the physical properties of the Trinidadian steelpan, Indian ghatam, Thai gong and Indonesian Gamelan.

"The overhead ELA M 260's bring an airiness and transparency to the way we capture sound," says Leo Z, "especially for this type of impressionistic, acoustic, and intimate type of music." The 260 Stereo Set features two perfectly matched ELA M 260 microphones and a custom dual power supply powering both microphones. In previous recordings, Leo Z has used his 260s on piano, viola, violin, and woodwinds. 

Pictured at the Steinway grand piano at EastWest Studios in Hollywood is Leo Z with his matched pair of TELEFUNKEN ELA M 260 microphones. Photo by David Goggin.

IMPALA sides with UMG in TikTok dispute, calls on Spotify, Apple, Deezer to address ‘negative consequences’ of royalty changesEurope’s trade association for indie labels says there is “an urgent need to secure fair revenues” from services like TikTok
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Christian Luiga, veteran of defense firm Saab, named new CFO of SpotifyLuiga will start his new gig at Spotify in October, the company said in a statement Thursday
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3D Navigator for BlenderIf you work with high-end CAD workstations, you may have encountered a SpaceMouse or similar devices. Sort of a mouse with an extra dimension, they aren’t cheap. So [meisterodin1981] decided to build a do-it-yourself version for use with Blender. You can check it out in the video below.
The device uses an MPU6050 accelerometer and a spring. It also has some buttons for special features. The device uses a Teensy 2, although any controller that can provide an HID device could probably do the job. Of course, a nice 3D printed case is part of the design. A printed pair of plates holds a 3D printer bed spring to provide the device’s Z-axis movement. The wires to the encoder are routed through the center of the spring, so neatness counts.
We’ve seen other 3D mice like the Orbion. Your other option is to pick up the old-fashioned serial port versions and convert them. Until you can do your designs in virtual reality, these mice are just the ticket.

Dynaudio unleash Core 5 & Core Sub Compact monitors The latest Core monitors aim to provide an ideal solution for smaller studios, as well as forming part of larger immersive setups.

Trent Reznor: “The terrible payout of streaming services has mortally wounded a whole tier of artists”Did you know that Trent Reznor helped to build Apple’s music streaming service? The Nine Inch Nails frontman once worked as an executive for Beats and later at Apple, and it most certainly opened his eyes to the difficulties that face artists trying to make money through streams.
Although Reznor enjoyed working with Apple, he says the experience made him “realise how much I want to be an artist first and foremost”.

READ MORE: “Songwriters are generating record-breaking revenues via streaming services”: Spotify releases its annual Loud & Clear Report

In a new interview with GQ alongside bandmate and friend Atticus Ross, Reznor says that the opportunity was “unique” and “interesting” adding, “The scale of the people that you reach through those platforms, just the global amount of influence those platforms can have was exciting”. But on the other hand, “the political situation I was dropped into was not as exciting.”
Expanding on the latter statement, Reznor goes on to add, “I think the terrible payout of streaming services has mortally wounded a whole tier of artists that make being an artist unsustainable. And it’s great if you’re Drake, and it’s not great if you’re Grizzly Bear.
“And the reality is: Take a look around. We’ve had enough time for the whole ‘All the boats rise’ argument to see they don’t all rise. Those boats rise. These boats don’t. They can’t make money in any means. And I think that’s bad for art.”

He explains, “I thought maybe at Apple there could be influence to pay in a more fair or significant way, because a lot of these services are just a rounding error compared to what comes in elsewhere, unlike Spotify where their whole business is that. But that’s tied to a lot of other political things and label issues, and everyone’s trying to hold onto their little piece of the pie and it is what it is. I also realise, I think that people just want to turn the faucet on and have music come in. They’re not really concerned about all the romantic shit I thought mattered.”
Apple Music’s royalty rate reportedly sits around $0.007 and $0.01 per stream. Artists such as James Blake are currently trying to think of other ways they can generate income – the electronic musician recently launched his own platform called Vault, which allows artists to upload unreleased music, which fans pay a monthly subscription fee set by the artist for.
Over in the States, a Living Wage for Musicians Act was put to US Congress which would compensate artists at a minimum of a penny per stream.
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CD Baby operations have been merged with Downtown MusicDowntown Music announced on Thursday that it has completed the merger of CD Baby’s operations into Downtown.....
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Infamous Record Stall Crawl returns for a 7-City Comeback TourMusic lovers, record enthusiasts, and audiophiles are checking their collections and ironing their CBGB t-shirts in anticipation of the upcoming Record Store Crawl tour, making a comeback after a four-year pandemic-induced hiatus.....
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Planning a big D.Y.I. Release? Learn from Kohla’s debut album ‘Romance’Independent neo-soul artist Kohla explains the "highs and lows" of planning a big self-release.....
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“I don’t know how much it sold”: General Levy says he never received royalties for his classic track IncredibleGeneral Levy claims he’s never received any royalties from his classic 1994 jungle track Incredible, which he recorded with M-Beat.
The track was remixed a number of times following its release, with the original track peaking at 39 in the UK Official Singles chart in June ‘94, and a later remix rocketing to eight the following September.

READ MORE: GoFundMe launched to support the uncredited vocalist on DJ Deeon’s Freak Like Me after 28 years of no compensation

According to General Levy, despite the track featuring in “so many different compilations” and having been released across a range of countries around the world, he allegedly has not received “one pound” from the labels it was released through.
Speaking to DJ Mag, he says, “I’ve never received a royalties statement from London Records or from Renk Records… London Records saw the potential [of the independently made track], said, ‘Okay, he’s been a bit naughty, but we’re gonna try and negotiate something.’ So they had a meeting with Renk.
“I wasn’t there, nothing to do with me, I’m just the artist. Renk and London Records made an agreement, a licensing agreement, and they re-released the track.”
Following the success of the newly released mix, General Levy says he went to the labels to discuss royalties, but claims they continually passed on the blame in regards to the alleged missed payments.
“Everytime I talk to Renk, Renk says, ‘Well, I gave London all the paperwork, I’ve given London everything, London’s got everything’. They blame London. You go to London, London blames somebody else, and you end up running around in a circle. So I’ve never been able to get a royalties statement.”
He adds, “I don’t know how much money [it made], I don’t know how much it sold. There’s been so many different compilations, there’s been a release in so many countries around the world, and I’ve never ever received not one pound from that song from the industry.”

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VSL unveil Synchron World Percussion The latest library to join VSL’s Synchron range captures an extensive collection of percussion instruments from West Africa, the Middle East and Brazil.

99Sounds Releases FREE Music Loops Sample Library
Our indie sound design label 99Sounds released Music Loops, a free collection of audio loops, samples, Serum presets, and MIDI files.  Music Loops is a 100% royalty-free collection of music loops and one-shot samples created by Monosounds and published by 99Sounds. It’s packed with electronic and hip-hop music loops, construction kits, MIDI loops, Serum presets, [...]
View post: 99Sounds Releases FREE Music Loops Sample Library

Solid State Logic launches all-in-one FX modulation plugin, Module8Solid State Logic has unveiled its latest FX rack plugin, Module8. Designed with versatility in mind, Module8 is an all-in-one tool that will allow creatives to modulate tracks with ease and precision.
True to its name, Module8 has 8 processors. Six of the processors are modulation-based, offering Individual Phaser, Flanger, Chorus, Tremolo, Vibrato, and Pan effects. The remaining two processors are Lo-Fi and Space.

READ MORE: Solid State Logic’s 4K E is a near-perfect plugin emulation of a classic mixing console

Each processor has its own dedicated controls. Users to tweak the LFO shape, including the options of Sine, Triangle, Saw, Ramp and Square, as well as the rate and depth of their sound. Phase offset and inversion parameters will also allow further manipulation. There are also Stereoise and Width controls, allowing users to adjust the stereo field. ​
Users can also re-order and customise their effects by simply dragging and dropping each module into their desired order. Due to the accessibility of the plugin, Solid State Logic hopes to streamline the workflow to allow a focus on what matters: the creative process.

While SSL is an industry leader renowned for its streamlined approach to workflow, the release will be its first modulation FX-based plugin. “We’re very excited to launch Module8 as it brings SSL’s renowned sound quality and advanced workflow to a modulation FX-based plug-in for the first time,” SSL Studio’s Plugins Product Manager Jonathan Sandman says.
“We have taken great care to include features like Global LFO and drag-n-drop reordering, which not only speeds up the production process but encourages experimentation with sound design – grab yourself a demo and find out,” he concludes.
Module8 is available now in several formats, including VST2, VST3, AAX and AU. The plugin is available for a one off purchase of $99, or as part of the SSL Complete subscription package. Subscription prices start at $14.99 per month.
For more information, head to Solid State Logic.
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