Steinberg update Cubasis and Dorico apps With the arrival of their latest updates, Cubasis and Dorico for iPad now benefit from new built-in instruments powered by the company’s HALion sampling and virtual instrument engine.

MIDiA’s 2024 predictions: The algorithm is not listeningNovember is one of my favourite times of year, as an analyst anyways. Why? Because it is when the MIDiA team pool their collective brainpower to formulate our end-of-year predictions. What gives our predictions their unique angle is that they are constructed within an inter-connected framework, factoring in the cross-industry trends that will shape the coming years. A music industry trend does not happen in isolation of social media trends, nor vice versa, and so forth. We boast a solid track record, with an 88% success rate in both our 2023 and 2022 predictions, following 84% and 79% in the previous two years. The report is available to clients here. Meanwhile, here is a quick look at some of the meta (not the company) themes:

·   The algorithm is not listening anymore: This is our headline prediction and one that we think will have far reaching impact across all forms of entertainment. Algorithms on large scale platforms once super-served users, encouraging them ever closer to their respective niches. Now algorithms are increasingly pushing users to the content that supports platform monetisation priorities over user priorities. Users end up feeling that the algorithm is not listening to them anymore. This trend will accentuate in 2024 among the world’s biggest consumer platforms, resulting in user dissatisfaction and creating a window of opportunity for new, user-need-focused platforms, starting the cycle all over again.

·   Creation as consumption: If the late 2010s and early 2020s were the era of the creator, the remainder of the coming decade will become the era of the consumer creator. The proliferation of consumer-focused creator tools on major social platforms and beyond, will herald the next phase of the consumerization of creation. Not only will this see more content be user created (thus competing for consumption time), creation itself will become entertainment, thus adding to the competition for time.

·   Rise of the threataverse:  The metaverse may feel like a bus that never quite arrives, but something much more tangible is already gaining scale – the threataverse. This is the growing trend of social platforms becoming toxic environments in which diversity of opinion is transforming into intolerance, divisiveness and hate speech. Accentuated by bot farms and clandestine actors, enabled by failing platform moderation policies, social platforms are shifting from places to share opinions, to platforms where more moderate voices no longer feel safe to speak up. Threats, bullying, fake ‘facts’ and aggressive counter-commentary have created the new defining framework of the online social world – the threataverse.

·   The future will be gated communities: Change is wrought as much by reaction as it is by action. The rise of the threataverse creates the foundations for what will come next: the shift from open-social worlds into gated communities, where groups of like-minded individuals can converse safe in the knowledge that they will not be subject to abuse and attack. The early promise of ‘everywhere, everyone social’ has proven toxic and unworkable. Expect more social platforms, to ramp up gated community features. These will also prove to be a boon for fandom. Artists and other creators will be able to converse with fans without having to worry about torrents of negative discourse from users who can currently occupy and even co-opt, their open fan spaces.

·   AI will continue to reshape entertainment: While the rights framework will continue to be disputed and defined in 2024, AI technology will continue to accelerate, both in sophistication and adoption. It will find its loudest voice in the consumerization of creation but its subtler and more pervasive impact will be a steady assimilation into creative workflows, becoming an ever more utilised set of tools for creation across all forms of entertainment, from Chat GPT creating lines of code for games, through Eleven Labs generating podcast narration, to Beatoven creating soundtracks for influencer videos.

Like what you have seen so far? Then come and engage with MIDiA’s stellar analysts as they walk through their industry-specific predictions in our free-to-attend webinar, the algorithm is not listening, on the 11th of January, 2024.You can find the full report here with 32 predictions across music, games, video, social, audio, and media and marketing.

Orchestral Tools announce Benjamin Wallfisch Strings Collections The latest offerings from Orchestral Tools promise to redefine contemporary sampled strings and set a new standard for expression and realism.

IT budgets should increase in 2024, but it still could be tough going for startupsWhat does it all mean for startups entering 2024? It means they have to prove their worth more than ever.
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Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie MusicThis week, our tips and advice for independent artists and do-it-yourselfers covered how to prepare for next year’s trends, what the life of a pro sound engineer might look like,. Continue reading
The post Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: The new music industry’s last week in reviewLast week was a busy week, by any definition. The music industry was no exception, with the year’s top tor report, vinyl sales tracking issues, Spotify testing AI, DistroKid adding. Continue reading
The post REWIND: The new music industry’s last week in review appeared first on Hypebot.

Let 1,000 AI Startups Bloom: Why the Time to Disrupt the Music Industry Is Now [Kyle Bylin]Former Hypebot editor Kyle Bylin argues that artificial intelligence will soon revolutionize the music industry even more than past innovations like MP3s and streaming. AI tools will enable anyone to. Continue reading
The post Let 1,000 AI Startups Bloom: Why the Time to Disrupt the Music Industry Is Now [Kyle Bylin] appeared first on Hypebot.

IsoAcoustics expand Product Selector Wizard The latest update to IsoAcoustics' Product Selector Wizard makes both the browser-based and mobile app versions of the tool available in a total of seven languages.

Google’s Gemini comes to more apps, Cruise slashes its workforce and Tesla issues a recallHey, folks, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter covering the major happenings in the tech-o-sphere — or most of them, anyway. As the world’s largest AI conference, NeurIPS, got underway in sunny New Orleans, Google shared more on Gemini, its flagship AI model family — and lots happened elsewhere. In this edition […]
© 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Completely agree with Bobby Owsinski 2024 prediction. The future should be a mixture of technologies, talent and discovery.
#MusicIndustry #Music #future #Musicians #Producers

Spitfire Audio launch MG Soft Acoustic Guitar Spitfire's new guitar library promises to deliver a remarkably authentic sound whilst helping to demystify the workings of the instrument for non-guitarists.

Two Feet Launches Indie Label 477 RecordsGold-certified rock artist Two Feet has announced the opening of the independent record label, 477 Records. 

477 Records was created with the goal of discovering, signing and nourishing independent recording artists by harnessing the unique authenticity that appeals to audiences longing for connection and creativity under the guidance only a fellow artist can provide.

477 Records offices and studio are located in Tribeca, New York City. 

As one of the few artists of today who still writes, plays, sings and produces all his music in his own studio, Two Feet paired his label announcement with the release of new single, “Kill Anyone” ft Ari Abdul produced by Two Feet via 477 Records. 

In addition to releasing Two Feet’s upcoming music, which fuses rock, blues, and jazz-tinged licks to create an original, atmospheric sound, 477 Records will release music from its powerhouse roster of up and coming talent including Toby Mai, Elvis Drew, and Bec Lauder.

“It’s important to nurture artist’s creativity” shares Two Feet. “I started 477 Records with the goal of helping independent artists hone in on their unique voices to create something true they can share with the world. Here at 477, we can help them make their voices heard all over the world by offering the reach and services they would find at a major label.”  

477records.com

Boston Underground Film FestivalJan. 5 is the extended deadline to submit your work to the Boston Underground Film Festival, which includes the categories of “dark comedy, genre, bleak sci-fi, cerebral and/or psychedelic horror, strange documentary, fantastic music video, mature animation, and/or films that defy description (preferably with a WTF) from all over the world.” More information can be found at bostonunderground.org/submit/.

Apple agrees to pay out $25M to settle lawsuit over Family SharingApple has agreed to pay out $25 million to settle a class action lawsuit over its Family Sharing feature, which lets users and up to five of their family members share access to apps, music, movies, TV shows and books that they purchase. The lawsuit, which was first filed in 2019, alleged that “Apple misrepresented […]
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Union Audio’s Elara.4 is a small window into Andy Rigby-Jones’ legendary career in DJ mixer designAndy Rigby Jones has been silently helping shape the modern DJ booth for almost 30 years. He’s not a household name for the casual DJ, nor likely known by many superstar DJs. But the artists who are deeply dedicated to their craft will be familiar with his vast catalogue of influential DJ mixers.
His expertise and passion led to a collaboration with techno titan Richie Hawtin on the PLAYDifferently Model 1 mixer in 2016, and to his key contributions to MasterSounds, a UK-based luxury rotary mixer brand. He’s also one of the people you can thank for conceptualising those filters on your favourite DJ mixers.
READ MORE: Union Audio’s Elara.4 is an analogue DJ mixer that’s “tiny but mighty” with “exemplary” build quality
But, much like fellow Cornishman Aphex Twin, Rigby-Jones tends to keep his head down and focus on creating what he loves. His latest wonder is the £1,800 Elara.4, released by his Union Audio brand. It’s a compact and understated DJ mixer with an emphasis on high-grade audio, supreme durability and straight-up fun. “I’ve based all of the Union Audio products on what someone else isn’t doing, rather than copying a trend,” he says from his Cornwall workshop. “We’ve always looked to innovate something; to find a niche that we can excel in.”
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
As soon as we unbox the Elara.4, we realise we’re holding something special. It might not be perfect to all (some MusicTech readers bemoan the RCA record outputs instead of quarter-inch TRS outputs) but it is beautifully made. The faders are smooth but firm; the pots and dials are strong and responsive; the design is elegant and not overdone; just how Rigby-Jones wants it.
He wants users to “have the enjoyment of nice aesthetic, good sound quality, and have it fit within their lifestyle… it’s designed as more of a lifestyle product than it is a club installation product.” He teases that a club-grade mixer from Union Audio “might come later,” but we immediately understand why the Elara will work better in plush listening bars or treasured home setups. You’re not exactly going to want an IPA spilt over this during a set.
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
As classy and coveted as the Elara.4 might be, we’re curious to learn how Rigby-Jones arrived at the design. With over 40 years of DJing under his belt and three decades in the mixer-making game, he clearly knows what to strive for in a new product. And it must be nice to be able to make equipment that’s almost custom-built to his needs – “It is a bit cheeky,” he laughs. But it turns out he’s been doing that since day one.
Rigby-Jones happened across DJing in 1970s Cornwall, around the same time the rest of the world became accustomed to headphone-wearing tastemakers commanding the music in clubs.
“I was a teenager in the 70s, when the disco explosion happened,” he explains. “We used to go to the local disco and everything else; I loved the music. DJing was suddenly starting to become a bit of a thing. For some reason, I decided I wanted to be a DJ. But equipment was so expensive back then – it was certainly out of the reach of a teenager. So I ended up building a lot of my own kit – amps, a mixer, speakers and stuff. That’s how I got both into DJing and really into electronics.
Andy Rigby-Jones. Image: Union Audio
“And it wasn’t really until… I mean I started DJing on a regular basis in the late 70s – I got a club residency in 1979 – and I DJ’d at least once a week, most weeks, until the year 2000,” he says with a bashful chuckle. “It was a 20-year career of DJing local gigs. So music has been an integral part of my life, as has electronics.”
Alongside his local DJing gig, Rigby-Jones found himself a job in mechanics, having trained as an engineer following his spurt of DIY mixer making. But he soon found himself in need of a new venture.
“I was suddenly out of work at the beginning of the 90s. And just by coincidence, Allen & Heath were advertising for staff. So I got a job with them and, at the time, I thought it was only going to be a temporary career. I hadn’t particularly thought about it. But the rest is history; I stayed there for an awfully long time – 20-odd years, anyway.”
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Allen & Heath, at the time, was renowned for its live mixers, thanks to musical advocates such as Pink Floyd, The Who and Genesis. Rigby-Jones joined the brand as an assembler on the shop floor, but soon moved into the test department and rose into a junior R&D position in the mid-90s, continuing to work on the live sound equipment while keeping his DJ gig on the side.
“There’s the rub. I wanted a good DJ mixer because there wasn’t anything I liked,” he says. “So I persuaded the powers that be: ‘let me do a prototype DJ mixer!’ It wasn’t that I thought there was a huge commercial value in it, I just wanted to build a DJ mixer that I wanted to play with. And that’s how the original Xone:62 came about. That would’ve been the late-90s.
“We took that to the Frankfurt Musikmesse [a now-extinct music gear trade show], showed it on the stand, and got a lot of interest. And, yeah, then we developed that into a product and launched it in 2000, I think.”

By this point, Rigby-Jones found himself fascinated by frequency filters. He says he “wasn’t really supposed to be” playing with filter circuits, but was “blown away” by the sound.
“Of course, filtering was starting to come into music production at that time,” he continues. “A lot of house tracks had filters on. And I thought ‘wow, a DJ mixer with filters would be super cool.’ So that was the sort of hook with [Allen & Heath’s] Xone range at that time: it had filters.”
Filters were just the first step. Before he knew it, Rigby-Jones was helping design mixers to accompany laptops for digital DJs and was part of a revolution in DJing. “There was a lot of resistance to CDJs,” he says. “Slowly it became more acceptable. But then suddenly, computer laptop DJing came and everyone was like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s cool,’ and there wasn’t that resistance.
“We did the Xone:92, the whole Xone range and the accessories. We were the first company to get into professional DJ controllers – the brand was associated with analogue mixers, but Xone produced one of the first multichannel DJ controllers, the Xone: 3D, which was sort of ahead of the game.”
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Developing such forward-thinking products was seldom intentional. Naturally, Rigby-Jones still enjoys the odd DJ mix or two – so would you if you’d been doing it since the 70s and found yourself surrounded by mixers all the time. While mixing, he finds moments where he’ll conceive a new feature or design quirk, and get a feel for what might work.
“With the PLAYDifferently Model 1, it’s got a fairly unique EQ system, which is nearly all filters – high-pass, low-pass, and then a swept-mid. And [that concept] came from just playing around.”
Union Audio’s Elara.4 is no different. He says that the compact mixer “came about from me playing around at home, mixing. And at the time, I was using a MasterSounds Two Valve, which is a lovely little mix. But it’s only two channels. But I had a tiny little place to DJ in and could barely get two decks and the Two Valve. And I thought, ‘Well, it’d be really nice to have four channels – 2CDJs and my two vinyl decks. But I haven’t got any room – I can’t be alone in having limited booth space.’
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
“That’s how Elara came about. It’s a niche product, you know. A lot of people might say, ‘Not exactly for me.’ But some people will go, ‘Wow, that’s what I’ve been waiting for: a compact four-channel mixer that isn’t gonna take up my booth.’”
The mixer maestro doesn’t allude to why he left Allen & Heath, other than speaking of a stressful time around his departure. But, evidently, he’s found tremendous joy in the freedom of Union Audio, working with Hawtin on the PLAYDifferently series, and with MasterSounds head honcho Luke Shaw on rotary mixers. Shaw said as much in our MasterSounds cover feature earlier in 2023: “Andy is now an integral part of MasterSounds and I’m an integral part of what Andy does. We chat daily and it’s not just a partnership, it’s a friendship.”
But this is only Union Audio’s second product. Its inaugural mixer, the Orbit.6 rotary mixer, was released in 2022 and comes at an eye-watering price of £5,490 – definitely more for the purists and die-hard DJs.
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Thankfully, such purists have sent tons of positive feedback to Union Audio, and MasterSounds’ reputation speaks for itself. With the Elara.4, Rigby-Jones says that the feedback has all been “fantastic”. On the note of RCA connectors for the record out, he notes that “most recorders are gonna use mini-jacks or RCA, so we went with the most common one. But everything else is XLR and quarter-inch jacks.”
For him, his favourite part of the Elara.4 is the aesthetics. “With all the products that we’ve built, we give them a slightly hi-fi look, with the machined aluminium panel front panels. So I love the aesthetics of it. It’s got a really nice EQ. The filter is nice and smooth, and the isolator is interesting. It’s a little bit different to most isolators – it’s got a narrower Q – but you can do some really cool things with it, especially texturing the bass.”
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
Rigby-Jones and his team at Union Audio are working on a plethora of new products, including a multi-effects unit, a bespoke headphone preamp, a new iteration of the Orbit.6, and more. We can’t help but wonder what his vision of a future DJ booth might be like.
“It’s been the question everyone’s been asking for the last 20 or 30 years. ‘What’s next?’ And it’s so hard to predict,” he laughs. “[Pioneer DJ’s] CDJs are so cool. Not just the CDJ, but the media player. I mean, hardly anyone ever uses CDs anymore – we just call them CDJs. But they are such a clever piece of kit, that you can see why everyone wants to use them. And, to be honest, do you really want to take a laptop around with you anymore? Unless you are Richie Hawtin and you’re doing live production work, with 20 channels in the mix. For most people, two or three for two DJs, and you’ve got an awesome set.”
We wonder whether more hefty mixers, such as the Pioneer V10, could allude to a bigger DJ cockpit.
“For most people, that’s probably overkill,” Rigby-Jones retorts. “I mean, when you think of where all the mixers in the world go, they aren’t all going into clubs. And it’s something that I find quite funny, really: lots of our customers, they’re not youngsters. They’re mature, professional people, who have had a successful career, but they still love dance music.
Union Audio Elara.4. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech
“And when you think that house music came in nearly 40 years ago, people who were teenagers, or early 20s, they’re now mature people. But that music still is with them. “It’s almost come full circle… I can remember when house music came out and people were saying ‘It’ll be gone in a year.’ But it’s still here and hasn’t changed that much. Thank goodness.”
Many people’s lust for music equipment is the same – it hasn’t changed that much. Although we’ve got access to iPads, laptops, and other modern music gear, there’s just something all too attractive about a vintage-looking bit of gear. Whether it’s a rugged Fender Stratocaster, a reissue of the classic Minimoog, a fondness for a big vinyl collection, or a retro-style mixer like a MasterSounds Valve or Union Audio Elara.4.
Artists and DJs who have spent years honing their craft will often be curious about what lurks beyond the chunky, battered mixers in the venues they regularly play in. It might just be the Elara.4. Just, c’mon, keep that IPA away from the decks.
Check out the Elara.4 and more about Union Audio’s story. 
The post Union Audio’s Elara.4 is a small window into Andy Rigby-Jones’ legendary career in DJ mixer design appeared first on MusicTech.