TikTok car confessionals are the new YouTube bedroom vlogsYouTube’s first viral scandal took place in what we believed was a 16-year-old girl’s bedroom. In 2006, homeschooled teenager Bree Avery vlogged about her life under the username Lonelygirl15, chronicling her supposedly boring life. But as the videos got more and more outlandish — her parents turned out to be part of a blood-harvesting cult? […]
© 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Renowned Engineer Rich Travali Relocates to NashvilleAcclaimed audio engineer and mixer Rich Travali has officially set his sights on Nashville, Tennessee, marking a significant move for the industry veteran with his recent relocation to Music City. Travali, a GRAMMY®-, Emmy®- and TEC Award-nominated mix engineer with over 50 platinum and gold albums and over 140 million in record sales, has now made Music City his home and is ready for the next phase of his professional life.

With an impressive career spanning three decades and a discography that reads like a who's-who of the music industry, Rich Travali is a sought-after talent in the recording industry, recognized for his exceptional work with a wide array of artists. Known for his meticulous attention to detail and a creative flair that transcends genres, Travali has played a key role in the recordings of some of the biggest names in the industry, including Robin Thicke, Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, Jennifer Hudson, Pharrell and The Neptunes, to name just a few.

Beginning his professional career at New York City’s legendary Hit Factory Recording Studios, assisting world class engineers and mixers like Roy Halee, Travali honed his skills not only at the Hit Factory but prominent New York studios such as Chung King, Soundtracks, Platinum Island and elsewhere, eventually mixing numerous platinum and gold records, with Billboard number-one hits in the pop, R&B and hip-hop genres.

“I was very fortunate to work at the Hit Factory with a lot of different artists, but the real formative relationship that I made there was with Paul Simon and Roy Halee. Roy, being Paul's long-time co-producer and engineer — he’s absolutely world-class,” stated Travali. “If anybody was a mentor to me, it was Roy. I worked with a lot of other producers and audio engineers, but Roy was really the guy who I spent years with and was my main influence on so many different levels, and I’m very happy about that because he’s truly world-class in every way. Just listen to his body of work – it speaks for itself!”

The best sampling software (VSTs and apps) in 2024
We’ve tried our fair share of virtual samplers—here are 16 of our favorites, from VST plugins to mobile apps.

Taylor Swift is now “bigger than jazz” in 2023, streaming data revealsPop mega-star Taylor Swift would officially be “bigger than jazz” if her music was considered as its own genre, data reveals.
Swift’s popularity has risen exponentially in recent years, which has been captured by her iconic Eras tour. Throughout the global stint, which continues in 2024, Swift plays music from each album era of her successful music career so far.

READ MORE: “We couldn’t figure out what to do with it”: Meduza nearly scrapped hit track Piece Of Your Heart

According to new data from Luminate, as reported by Billboard, Swift had reached 15.92 million in album consumption units as of 16 November. Her industry market share at this point was 1.66 per cent – with just six weeks left in the year.
If Swift was her own genre, she’d rank at No. 9 based on the data provided to Billboard, which documents market shares of genres such as R&B/hip-hop, rock, pop and more. Her position falls between Christian/gospel’s 1.76 per cent market share and children’s music’s 1.12 percent. “In 2023, Taylor Swift is bigger than jazz,” the outlet says.
In October, it was reported that major labels were seemingly “overhauling contracts” for newly signed artists, with some restricting their musicians from re-recording their music no earlier than 10 years or more after leaving their label.
The new limits appeared to have been implemented following the success of Swift’s re-recorded albums, which she released as Taylor’s Version cuts. The Anti-Hero singer decided to remake her old music to regain full ownership of her catalogue.
Swift’s Midnights album became the first record to sell better on vinyl than on CD in 35 years back in 2022. She was also named as Apple Music’s Artist Of The Year for 2023, with the brand describing her as a “generation-defining artist.”
View all 2024 live dates for the Eras tour via the official Taylor Swift website.
The post Taylor Swift is now “bigger than jazz” in 2023, streaming data reveals appeared first on MusicTech.

Moises’ Music.AI is a “first-of-its-kind” music creation platform for businessesMoises, the brand behind the AI-powered app for music creation, has introduced a new “first-of-its-kind” ecosystem for enterprise-grade AI services called Music.AI.
As the Moises consumer apps grew to over 40 million users, the company had been “quietly” serving enterprise clients. The launch of Music.AI now allows businesses to quickly build and scale AI products and services, rather than sourcing multiple services from varying providers.

READ MORE: Moises’ AI Voice Studio offers a brand new model for creators to license AI vocals

The AI platform can process more than one million minutes of audio daily, according to a press release. It includes a wide range of proprietary AI models as well as “best-in-class” third-party technologies. Customers can combine any of Music.AI’s models without coding so they can save time in implementation and testing to quickly prototype and bring more services to the market.
Music.AI has already been assisting in voice modelling and audio restoration projects. Similar to the technology used on The Beatles’ last single, Now and Then, Music.AI assisted in the production of Elis and Tom, the documentary about Bossa Nova artists Elis Regina and Antônio Carlos Jobim that debuted in the US this September.
Much of the film consisted of behind-the-scenes footage recorded in 1972. These original recordings were restored using Music.AI’s source separation models. The company also worked with Papa Johns to help localise TV commercials and adapt Hispanic translations featuring Shaquille O’Neal.
“Our models are individually capable unto themselves, but we’ve built a one-stop hub with the ability to combine our various modules with those of third parties to create the powerful solutions demanded by top-tier clients,” says co-founder and CEO Geraldo Ramos. “The market for AI-powered music and audio applications is maturing away from point solutions in favour of broader, more capable, scalable solutions like Music.AI.”
Music.AI is currently powering 1700 applications, serving more than 40 Million musicians and producers.The company will announce additional B2B partnerships with enterprise clients in due course.
Find out more at Music.AI and Moises.
The post Moises’ Music.AI is a “first-of-its-kind” music creation platform for businesses appeared first on MusicTech.

Avid launch Pro Tools 2023.12 The latest version of Pro Tools introduces a built-in Dolby Atmos renderer, overhauls the marker and memory location system, adds I/O colour-coding options and much more. 

Hiring? A list of 600+ ‘smart, talented’ laid-off Spotify staffersSpotify laid off 1500 of its estimated 9000 global workforce earlier this month. That followed a 600-person reduction in January, with 200 more let go in June. Now, a crowd-sourced. Continue reading
The post Hiring? A list of 600+ ‘smart, talented’ laid-off Spotify staffers appeared first on Hypebot.

2024 Music Industry Predictions from Maykel Piron of Armada MusicMaykel Piron, co-founder and CEO of Armada Music, shares reflections on the last year and predictions for 2024. Between now and the end of the year, Hypebot will be publishing a. Continue reading
The post 2024 Music Industry Predictions from Maykel Piron of Armada Music appeared first on Hypebot.

The growth of O.N.E The Duo: A true independent artist success storySymphonic shares the behind-the-scenes success story of helping to guide the growth of independent mother-daughter country music artists, O.N.E The Duo. by Randi Zimmerman of Symphonic Blog Here at Symphonic,. Continue reading
The post The growth of O.N.E The Duo: A true independent artist success story appeared first on Hypebot.

Psycho Circuitry Drops MiniFET+ Comp And FREE MiniFET Version
Psycho Circuitry has just released the MiniFET+ compressor, plus its free little brother – the MiniFET. The + version is available at an introductory price of $19, down from a list price of $29, and both releases are for Windows and MacOS. MiniFET+ is a flexible FET compressor that packs in three action modes to [...]
View post: Psycho Circuitry Drops MiniFET+ Comp And FREE MiniFET Version

Own a unique version of a Disclosure track with Beatport.io and Bronze AIDigital marketplace Beatport.io has collaborated with Bronze AI and electronic music duo, Disclosure, for a “revolutionary” project enabling fans to own a unique version of one of their songs.
As part of Disclosure – Bronze Editions, fans have the opportunity to own a distinct version of the track Simply Won’t Do from Disclosure’s 2023 album, Alchemy. One thousand unique versions of the track have been created, with AI-generated visual artwork accompanying each one.

READ MORE: Five music production tips you can learn from Disclosure’s Alchemy

Disclosure have had hands-on input in how AI interprets and modifies their musical elements, infusing each track with their own distinctive touch. The personalised songs have been made available as digital collectibles, exclusively available on Beatport.io.
This fusion of auditory and visual elements “transforms each piece into a singular, immersive experience for fans” and breaks away from traditional distribution models, according to a press release from Beatport.io.
Each version will remain as an unrepeatable creation, with every purchase granting exclusive ownership. Beatport.io utilises Polkadot blockchain technology, which facilitates the creation of these personalised songs as NFTs.
The paired artwork has been formed in collaboration with German art collective, Studio Grotesk. Bronze’s audio-visual translation process converts sound into sight, showcasing 3D visual forms by translating music frequencies into RGB colour values.

Guy Lawrence of Disclosure says, “We’re thrilled to embark on this innovative collaboration with Beatport.io, Bronze. The concept of offering 1000 unique variations of Simply Won’t Do is a groundbreaking step in music production.
“It goes beyond providing a product; it’s an invitation for our fans to own a piece of our musical history. The diversity and complexity in this project represent an unprecedented level of creativity and fun, and we’re excited to share this unique experience with our audience.”
Disclosure – Bronze Editions are available for purchase at $20 USD per collectible.
Find out more at Beatport.io.
The post Own a unique version of a Disclosure track with Beatport.io and Bronze AI appeared first on MusicTech.

LimeWire unwraps AI Music Studio for crafting ‘fully ownable’ AI-generated tracksThe former illicit file-sharing platform has been reborn as an NFT marketplace and AI content generation platform.
Source

SSL announce PlateVerb plug-in SSL's latest plug-in provides the classic plate reverb sound, but also includes some useful modern features such as built-in ‘ducking’ capabilities and a freeze function.

Independent artists need to generate 5 million streams annually to make US minimum wage, new report findsA new report has found that independent musicians need to generate five million streams annually to make the US federal minimum wage.
The data has been uncovered in the annual 2023 Music Economics Report for Independent Artists from music financing platform, Duetti. The report focuses on streaming income as a primary revenue source, providing key insights and perspectives for artists and their teams.

READ MORE: Teenage Engineering OP-1 tops Reverb’s best-selling electronic gear list for fifth year running

Elsewhere in its annual study, Duetti found that earnings per stream are down by two percent in 2023, despite price increases by the streaming platforms. Independent artists are said to make $2.95 per 1,000 streams.
The decline is driven by Spotify, due to expansion in lower-cost markets, reliance on discounted plans (Family or Duo plans), and proliferation of Discovery Mode, according to Duetti. Spotify’s payout rate decline outweighs the contribution of subscription price increases in 2022 and 2023, which lead to increased payout rates by Apple, YouTube and Amazon.
These top four platforms generate 96 percent of income for independent artists but, interestingly, income varies greatly by genre. Spotify’s genre-based wallet share varies from as low as 38 percent for country artists to as high as 66 percent for rock. Meanwhile, Apple over-indexes in jazz, country, R&B, hip-hop, and Christian, while YouTube over-indexes in Latin, hip-hop and R&B.
One particular tool for sharing music which has boomed in recent years is TikTok. A number of both new and established artists have found their stream numbers rocketing by having a song go viral on the app. With that said, 1,000 TikTok video creations generate just 50 cents for independent artists, almost 13 times less than 1,000 streams on Apple Music.
Overall, YouTube and Apple Music have grown their wallet share for independent artists, but Spotify remains the most important platform in terms of wallet share (by far) with 55 percent.
Earlier this month it was revealed that Spotify’s CFO, Paul Vogel, cashed out shares worth $9.377 million, just 24 hours after the company announced that 17 percent of its workforce were to be laid off in a “hard but crucial step.” Vogel is due to leave the company in on 31 March 2024 as part of a “new phase” for the streaming giant.
Find out more about Duetti, or read the full report.
The post Independent artists need to generate 5 million streams annually to make US minimum wage, new report finds appeared first on MusicTech.

Output’s Sample Pack Generator lets you create samples with text promptsAudio brand Output is aiming to inspire music-makers with a new AI offering – Pack Generator, part of its new Co-Producer service. By using text to describe a sound, genre, or style, you can create a free and unique sample pack that’s all yours and is royalty-free. The catch? Well…That’s for you to decide.
READ MORE: LimeWire aims to “democratise the creative space” with LimeWire AI Music Studio
Pack Generator is the first product from Output’s Co-Producer suite. Co-Producer will soon boast more AI-powered music-making tools, but we’d say that this debut release is a pretty dramatic entrance.
What is Output’s Pack Generator?
OK, so how does Pack Generator work? The Beta software operates in your web browser and the interface is little more than a text box and a big yellow button. Dream up the sound you want – maybe it’s a synthesizer playing a chord progression, a drum beat, or a guitar  – and describe it using text.
You can use language that’s emotion- or scene-driven, or go in-depth with genre, key, tempo and instrumentation, and even ask for stems based on an artist you admire. Hit ‘Generate 4 New Packs’, and wait for the algorithm to analyse the text and create your packs.

That’s it. Do you like the sounds that Output’s AI has created for you? If yes, you can download any of the packs for free, with each one boasting 30 royalty-free samples. Don’t like any of them? Try a new prompt or hit the Generate button again for a fresh offering. You can then import these into any DAW or sampler you like and use them as inspiration to create a new track. Or you can just not use the service; that’s also allowed.
Output says that Pack Generator “stands apart from other AI music tools” because it’s designed to inspire creators, not replace them. The machine learning algorithm is also not trained on copyrighted material but is “fueled by a blend of generative AI and authentic audio samples from real musicians,” a press release details.
Gregg Lehrman, CEO and founder of Output says: “We are a company built by musicians so we are deeply connected to the cultural conflict between AI’s capabilities and our own creativity. We believe that AI can enable us all to spend more time making music and less time dealing with mundane tasks like searching for sounds, for example. Technology should never take away from the creative process for those that want it.”
Is Output’s Pack Generator any good?
So, here’s one of perhaps many catches: it’s not always on point. Here are some prompts we tried and their results.

Prompt 1: synth chords with a slow attack envelope; nostalgic, warm and smooth
Prompt 2: people talking, birds whistling, cars driving by, gentle rain
Prompt 3: four-to-the-floor disco beat, 114bpm, LinnDrum LM-1 drum machine with 55% swing

The sounds are pretty impressive, diverse, and creative, that’s for sure. But the AI model isn’t able to understand and generate everything yet. No doubt Output will continue to update the service and its capabilities, though, considering it’s only in beta.
Pack Generator’s other issue lies in the more ethical realm – what does this mean for producers who are commissioned to create sample packs? And will this really help inspire more music-makers? We’ll be exploring this in an upcoming feature, so be sure to sign up to the MusicTech newsletter to keep in the loop.
In the meantime, you can try out the Pack Generator on Output’s Co-Producer platform. 
The post Output’s Sample Pack Generator lets you create samples with text prompts appeared first on MusicTech.