How to find and negotiate the right Music Distribution DealDistroKid, CD Baby, TuneCore, Symphonic, The Orchard, Believe, Downtown. The list goes on and on. This guide will help you find what's right for you.....
The post How to find and negotiate the right Music Distribution Deal appeared first on Hypebot.

10 ways to make you and your music easier to find online: SEO For MusicWant your band, brand and music to be one of the first things people see when they search online? Then it's time to learn about SEO (Search Engine Optimization).....
The post 10 ways to make you and your music easier to find online: SEO For Music appeared first on Hypebot.

Apple’s new iPad Pro ad shows hydraulic destruction of music gear – and people are furiousApple just dropped the ad for the new iPad Pro, billed as its “thinnest ever” – and people are furious. That is, because it features a hydraulic press crushing and destroying thousands of pounds worth of music and studio gear.
The ad – which is actually rather ominous in tone, at least in the eyes of us music obsessives – sees a stash of equipment, including a trumpet, piano, guitars, computers, and a host of outboard gear – slowly be flattened under an enormous hydraulic press, soundtracked by All I Ever Need Is You by Sonny and Cher.

READ MORE: Apple unveils Logic Pro 11 and Logic Pro For iPad 2 – with AI front and centre

After a cringe-inducing 50 seconds of hydraulic destruction, the press raises to reveal the new iPad Pro, with the message: “The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest”.

Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced display we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create. pic.twitter.com/6PeGXNoKgG
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 7, 2024

Safe to say, the ad has stirred up quite the storm, with many condemning the Cupertino tech giant for its careless destruction of equipment that would be unaffordable to many.
Sterling Crispin, a software developer and former Neurotechnology Prototyping Researcher at Apple, replied to the ad posted to Tim Cook’s Twitter/X page: “Crushing symbols of human creativity and cultural achievements to appeal to pro creators, nice.
“Maybe for the next Apple Watch Pro you should crush sports equipment, show a robot running faster than a man, then turn to the camera and say, ‘God is dead and we have killed him.’”

Crushing symbols of human creativity and cultural achievements to appeal to pro creators, nice.
Maybe for the next Apple Watch Pro you should crush sports equipment, show a robot running faster than a man, then turn to the camera and say, "God is dead and we have killed him"
— Sterling Crispin (@sterlingcrispin) May 7, 2024

Another user writes: “The symbolism of indiscriminately crushing beautiful creative tools is an interesting choice.”

The symbolism of indiscriminately crushing beautiful creative tools is an interesting choice.
— Kiaran Ritchie (@kiaran_ritchie) May 7, 2024

One user even suggests the ad should have been delivered in reverse, so as to suggest all the musical and creative tools are “expanding out of the iPad rather than being crushed into it”, and shares the ad in reverse to showcase their point.

I think the ad would work much better if it was reversed. All the objects should be expanding out of the iPad rather than being crushed into it
made this edited version in five minutes (thanks iMovie!) pic.twitter.com/TZxzpuYzXu
— kepano (@kepano) May 8, 2024

Of course, in this day and age, controversy sells, and the commercial may very well have been a considered decision on Apple’s part. That said, the tech giant is one of the biggest companies in the world and a household name all over the world, so it’s odd that such a divisive marketing move would be deemed necessary.
It’s also evidence that Apple remains switched on to current trends in an effort to market to younger audiences; anyone who’s perused TikTok lately will likely be aware of the abundance of hydraulic press content on the platform.
To learn more about the new iPad Pro, head to Apple.
The post Apple’s new iPad Pro ad shows hydraulic destruction of music gear – and people are furious appeared first on MusicTech.

People are accusing Spotify’s new AI Playlist feature of being homophobicAs AI advances, users are eager to experiment. From TikTok’s AI Song generator to X’s new AI search assistant available to Premium users, companies are fine-tuning their own unique brands of artificial intelligence.
However, as more companies introduce flashy AI features, the pitfalls of AI are starting to show. While artificial intelligence may be powered by heaps of data, statistics and complex algorithms, it often lacks one crucial thing – common sense.

READ MORE: Apple unveils Logic Pro 11 and Logic Pro For iPad 2 – with AI front and centre

Spotify is one such company that has faced criticism for its implementation of AI. The company has introduced some strong AI features – such as the AI DJ, which utilises OpenAI song-curation and a Sonantic-powered AI voiced MC to craft a personalised DJ set. However, Spotify’s new AI Playlist feature is already causing some issues.
While Spotify’s AI DJ is based on your listening habits, the new AI Playlist feature relies on prompts. It’s not based solely on statistics and data – it first has to register a user’s written command. This means that, while AI DJ has already worked out what to throw at you, an AI Playlist is thinking stuff up on the spot. And it isn’t going well.
An X user has recently shared a screenshot of their questionable interaction with Spotify’s AI. When the user requests “music for gay sex”, Spotify’s AI responds with “That’s a spicy note you’ve hit! Let’s tone it down a notch.” However, when asking just for “music for sex,” the AI promised to craft a playlist of “sensual and smooth tunes” immediately.

new spotify ai is homophobic pic.twitter.com/u3smCHO7iM
— redacted (@jkrwls) May 7, 2024

Another user tried to get a “same sex sex playlist” and was also told it was “too risqué” and that the AI couldn’t provide a playlist for “that activity.” Another got a response from the AI reading “my sensors are blushing! I can’t help you with that.”

https://t.co/Z0sYPn9PqH pic.twitter.com/w8ko52nLBU
— Owain (@orhunt) May 8, 2024

AI is essentially lines of coding, and in this case, simply regurgitates homophobia its algorithm has consumed when processing a given prompt.
An attempt at ‘empathy’ is clearly present – albeit incredibly poorly implemented. One users asked for “music about being disabled” and the AI refused, stating “let’s keep it inclusive instead.” The response has the general idea of ‘inclusivity’, yet it doesn’t understand that refusing the request is, ironically, exclusive.

wtf https://t.co/iJB4AqjsgB pic.twitter.com/jtonUUOTgW
— Bones (@SkittishCat) May 8, 2024

As one person notes on Reddit, “Without access to a users listening history and library, it’s pretty useless.” In theory, access to a user’s listening history could allow the AI to presume more about the user inputting a prompt – meaning there could be less chance of it insulting a queer or disabled user.
X users have responded with anger, one even stating: “I have paid real money for Spotify for almost a decade and if they don’t fix this I will stop doing that permanently and tell all my friends to do the same, unfortunately I’m so serious.”
The post People are accusing Spotify’s new AI Playlist feature of being homophobic appeared first on MusicTech.

Read Steve Albini’s 1992 letter to Nirvana: “Paying a royalty to a producer is ethically indefensible…there’s no fucking way I would take that money.”Today, the music industry is mourning the sad, sudden passing of Steve Albini, a legendary producer, engineer and musician. Known to many as the mastermind of Nirvana’s 1992 In Utero, Albini was beloved for navigating the industry with a unique, no-bullshit approach. His 1992 production proposal letter to Nirvana, which has now resurfaced, illustrates such sentiments perfectly.
Posted to Nirvana’s social media, the four-page letter from Albini to band members Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic — whom Albini refers to as ‘Chris’ in the address — sees Albini advise the trio on how to record their album.
He speaks on payment (“there’s no fucking way I would ever take [royalty payments]”), the suggested recording gear, (“the same Neve console AC/DC’s Back In Black was recorded and mixed on), and his creative methods as a producer (“I’m only interested in working on records that legitimately reflect the band’s own perception of their music and existence”).
Albini seemingly sent the letter several days after a previous meeting with Cobain about recording In Utero.
Speaking on the industry-standard means of paying a producer, Albini says: “I explained this to Kurt but I thought I’d better reiterate it here. I do not and will not take a royalty on any record I record. No points. Period. I think paying a royalty to a producer or engineer is ethically indefensible. The band write the songs. The band play the music. It’s the band’s fans who buy the records. The band is responsible for whether it’s a great record or a horrible record. Royalties belong to the band.”
“I would like to be paid like a plumber,” Albini continues. “I do the job and you pay me what it’s worth. The record company will expect me to ask for a point or a point and a half. If we assume three million sales, that works out to 400,000 dollars or so. There’s no fucking way I would ever take that much money. I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
Steve Albini in his Chicago studio, 2014. Image: Getty
Albini was renowned for speaking his views on the music industry — and payment, in particular. In an article published by The Baffler in 1993, Albini wrote about why he feels the music industry is “a trench filled with decaying shit.”
“[Hypothetical band] decided to go with the producer who used to be in [David] Letterman’s band. He had these technicians come in and tune the drums for them and tweak their amps and guitars. He had a guy bring in a slew of expensive old ‘vintage’ microphones. Boy, were they ‘warm.’ He even had a guy come in and check the phase of all the equipment in the control room! Boy, was he professional. He used a bunch of equipment on them and by the end of it, they all agreed that it sounded very ‘punchy,’ yet ‘warm.’
“All that hard work paid off. With the help of a video, the album went like hotcakes! They sold a quarter million copies!
“Here is the math that will explain just how fucked they are…”
Albini breaks down how the royalties system then pays the band and concludes:
“The band is now 1/4 of the way through its contract, has made the music industry more than 3 million dollars richer, but is in the hole $14,000 on royalties. The band members have each earned about 1/3 as much as they would working at a 7-Eleven, but they got to ride in a tour bus for a month…
“Some of your friends are probably already this fucked.”
Albini went on to record, engineer and produce Nirvana’s In Utero. He was paid a flat fee of $100,000. Still, he offered to produce it for free if Cobain, Grohl or Novoselic could beat him in a game of pool.
“Anyone who’s got the stones to gamble something that large must be amazing [at pool],” said Grohl. “So everyone said no.
“Plus he had his own stick. We didn’t want to fuck around with that.”
RIP Steve Albini.
Read more music tech news.
The post Read Steve Albini’s 1992 letter to Nirvana: “Paying a royalty to a producer is ethically indefensible…there’s no fucking way I would take that money.” appeared first on MusicTech.

Apple Logic Pro 11 incoming The latest versions of Logic Pro and Logic Pro for iPad include virtual bass and keyboard players, built-in stem separation and a new ChromaGlow saturation plug-in.

Tencent Music’s AI-powered tech can ‘predict the next hit song,’ and 5 other things we learned from its latest annual reportTME is also facing 695 copyright infringement lawsuits, and it's negotiating a 10% stake in an 'overseas entertainment company'
Source

Core Scientific sees revenue surge in 1Q24 after emerging from bankruptcyBitcoin miner Core Scientific has posted $150 million in revenue from digital asset mining in the first quarter of 2024, boosting its gross margin to 46% from 26% in the previous year.

Apple’s ‘Crush’ ad is disgustingThe problem is not the media, but the message.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Robotic Platform Turns Shop Vac into RoombaThe robotic revolution is currently happening, although for the time being it seems as though most of the robots are still being generally helpful to humanity, whether that help is on an assembly line, help growing food, or help transporting us from place to place. They’ve even showed up in our homes, although it’s not quite the Jetsons-like future yet as they mostly help do cleaning tasks. There are companies that will sell things like robotic vacuum cleaners but [Clay Builds] wanted one of his own so he converted a shop vac instead.
The shop vac sits in a laser-cut plywood frame and rolls on an axle powered by windshield wiper motors. Power is provided from a questionable e-bike battery which drives the motors and control electronics. A beefy inverter is also added to power the four horsepower vacuum cleaner motor. The robot has the ability to sense collisions with walls and other obstacles, and changes its path in a semi-random way in order to provide the most amount of cleaning coverage for whatever floor it happens to be rolling on.
There are a few things keeping this build from replacing anyone’s Roomba, though. Due to the less-than-reputable battery, [Clay Builds] doesn’t want to leave the robot unattended and this turned out to be a good practice when he found another part of the build, a set of power resistors meant to limit current going to the vacuum, starting to smoke and melt some of the project enclosure. We can always think of more dangerous tools to attach a robotic platform to, though.

ART’s new Solo Series outboard Sticking to ART's tradition of providing versatile, affordable hardware, the new Solo Series units pack in some serious features while coming in at an impressively low cost. 

How to make beats: An in-depth guide to beat production
Learn how to make beats for a song with this in-depth guide, where we cover everything from the tools you'll need to how to sequence your own rhythms.

Much Faster Cold Brew Through CavitationSome coffee snobs might call this sacrilege. Cold brew is supposed to take a long time — that’s part of how it gets its characteristic smoothness. But a group of engineers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) have figured out a way to cut the time down from several hours to a mere three minutes, using ultrasonic waves.
Typically, the cold brew coffee process takes between 12 and 24 hours. Enough time to steep the grounds and extract the flavors without the benefit of hot water. This is how it differs from iced coffee, which is brewed hot and poured over ice.
Interestingly, the UNSW Sydney engineers’ process uses a typical prosumer-grade espresso machine and involves blasting the portafilter with a transducer and a horn. This transforms the coffee basket into a sonoreactor. Sound waves at a frequency of 38.8 kHz are injected at multiple points through the walls, generating acoustic cavitation within. You can read all about it in Ultrasonics Sonochemistry.
That’s not even the most exciting part. The study found that this arrangement is capable of doubling both the extraction yield and caffeine concentration, compared with non-soundblasted samples. The team sent samples of the coffee off to be evaluated on aroma, texture, flavor, and aftertaste. Although the one-minute extraction samples received similar ratings to a 24-hour brew in terms of flavor and aftertaste, they lacked the intensity and dark chocolate aroma of the longer brew. But the three-minute extraction samples scored quite highly in all areas, suggesting that the average cold brew drinker wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
Would you like to roast your own beans at home? You can use a popcorn popper, but you might get tired of semi-uneven roasts and upgrade to a DIY wobble disk roaster.

EastWest Hollywood Strings 2 now available The new chamber strings sample library that EastWest announced in April 2024 has now officially launched.

Steve Albini has died at 61, after a legendary career in music productionSteve Albini, the revered producer behind iconic records by Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Pixies and more, has passed away at age 61.
The rock producer, vocalist and guitarist died of a heart attack at his Chicago recording studio, Electrical Audio. His death has been confirmed by his studio staff, Pitchfork reports.
Known for championing lesser-known talent and his extensive discography as a producer and engineer, Albini was often referred to as an “audio mastermind” for his work on Nirvana’s In Utero and PJ Harvey’s Rid Of Me. Though he is credited as a producer, he always preferred to be known as the recording engineer instead. His prolific work rate saw him work on “a couple thousand” records, most of which are by underground artists.
He was also the frontman of bands Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac. This year, Albini was preparing to tour Shellac’s first album in a decade, To All Trains, which will be released next week.
Outside of the studio, Albini was a staunch critic of the music industry. Refusing to accept royalties on his recordings, as he deemed it unethical for other stakeholders to make money off an artist’s work indefinitely, Albini opted instead for a flat fee when working on a record.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
The post Steve Albini has died at 61, after a legendary career in music production appeared first on MusicTech.