LimeWire aims to “democratise the creative space” with LimeWire AI Music StudioFile-sharing platform turned NFT marketplace LimeWire has launched AI Music Studio, an online AI music generation tool.

READ MORE: YouTube’s Dream Track could be the tipping point for AI-generated music

The release of the LimeWire AI Music Studio follows the company’s acquisition of AI image generator platform BlueWillow in September. At the time, LimeWire launched its own AI image generator, promising to introduce similar tools for video and music later in the year.
Using this tool, music creators will “be able to generate full-length tracks, create cover images for their work, and publish them all on a single platform”, says LimeWire.
Thanks to the use of open-source AI technologies, you can retain ownership of your created music, too, says LimeWire. This sets it apart from competitors who solely provide AI-powered creation features without ownership privileges or rely on complex prompts and Discord communities, restricting users’ creative possibilities.
This is all part of LimeWire’s efforts to “democratise the creative space, making advanced AI tools accessible to everyone”, it says.
“The launch of LimeWire AI Music Studio represents a groundbreaking technological milestone, symbolising not only a stride forward in our pursuit of innovation but a profound commitment to fostering creativity within the dynamic landscape of modern content creation,” Paul Zehetmayr, co-CEO of LimeWire says in a press statement. “As music continues to evolve, so does our dedication to providing aspiring musicians with cutting-edge tools that empower and amplify their artistic expression.”
Co-CEO Julian Zehetmayr adds: “Our platform is designed to break down barriers, allowing aspiring musicians and creators to unleash their potential with the power of AI. As we venture into the future of music, it is our firm belief that AI technology should be a catalyst for inclusivity, empowering aspiring musicians from all walks of life.
“By providing accessible AI tools, we aim to level the playing field, ensuring that traditional resource constraints no longer hinder the creative journey.”
In 2024, LimeWire plans to launch a fully-fledged AI-enabled audio workstation. This will empower users to craft comprehensive musical compositions, from beats and melodies to lyrics and customisable singing voices. No solid information has yet been revealed about this project, but MusicTech will be keeping an ear to the ground for details.
Learn more at LimeWire.
The post LimeWire aims to “democratise the creative space” with LimeWire AI Music Studio appeared first on MusicTech.

GPU Audio Launch ‘Make Your Sound 3D’ Immersive Mixing Competition 
GPU Audio has just launched a new competition open to anyone called “Make Your Sound 3D”. This isn’t the first contest run by the company, but it may be the first for you to involve immersive mixing. The challenge is to create an immersive mix within the Vienna Power House / MIR Pro 3D software [...]
View post: GPU Audio Launch ‘Make Your Sound 3D’ Immersive Mixing Competition 

Synchro Arts unveil Revoice Pro 5 Revoice Pro 5 has arrived, promising to deliver the most natural-sounding pitch-correction available along with time-alignment tools, doubling effects, sibilance editing, formant shifting and more. 

XiiixxiQ Is A FREE Non-Linear Polyrhythmic Step Sequencer Plugin (macOS)
XiiixxiQ is a FREE non-linear polyrhythmic step sequencer plugin for macOS. After much fiddling with VCV Rack and my own hardware, I have something of an affinity for sequencers as a whole. Now, there is undoubtedly still a place for Serge and Buchla-style sequencers, which very much reward knob-twiddling. Sometimes, you need something a little [...]
View post: XiiixxiQ Is A FREE Non-Linear Polyrhythmic Step Sequencer Plugin (macOS)

Teenage Engineering OP-1 tops Reverb’s best-selling electronic gear list for fifth year runningSwedish brand Teenage Engineering has been one of the hottest brands in music tech in the last five years. And this huge popularity has once again been reaffirmed by music gear marketplace Reverb, which has revealed the overall most-purchased synths and electronic gear (new and used) on its platform in 2023, with Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 topping the list for the fifth year in a row.

READ MORE: Best synthesizers to buy in 2023: 18 of the best synths under $600

The synth and workstation, originally launched in 2011, is closely followed by the Roland SP-404MKII sampler, sampler/drum machine Elektron Digitakt and Arturia’s MicroFreak synth.
OP-1’s success could be partly thanks to the release of the more expensive and upgraded OP-1 Field, released in 2022, Reverb suggests, that helped distance the original from peak-pandemic pricing, leading to the OP-1’s average price dropping by more than $200 since January 2022.

It’s not as if the OP-1 Field hasn’t had its fair share of popularity in 2023, however, managing to just about make the overall list in the 20th position. Another interesting takeaway from the overall list is the introduction of the 2020-launched Polyend Tracker, sitting at 19th spot. The Polyend Tracker, which saw price reductions from Polyend after it launched the Tracker Mini in August, failed to make the list at all last year.
Elsewhere, the TE PO-33 reigns supreme on the list of new – as opposed to used – electronic gear sold on Reverb in 2023. The OP-1 is the overall winner based on both new and used sales.
A Teenage Engineering product that failed to make the list, however, is its $1,559 flat-pack Field Desk. Launched in March, the relatively basic-looking desk sparked debate among in the music tech community when it was revealed, due to its hefty price tag.
Here’s the full list of the overall best-selling synths & electronic gear to have been sold on Reverb in 2023:

Teenage Engineering OP-1
Roland SP-404MKII
Elektron Digitakt
Arturia MicroFreak
Akai MPC One
Teenage Engineering PO-33
Elektron Digitone
Native Instruments Maschine MKIII
Make Noise Maths
Akai MPK Mini MKIII
Korg MicroKorg
Elektron Octatrack MKII
Roland TR-8S
ALM/Busy Circuits ALM017 Pamela’s New Workout
Korg Volca Beats
Elektron Syntakt
Korg Minilogue XD
Moog Mother-32
Polyend Tracker
Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field

To see a breakdown of the most purchased used and new products on Reverb in 2023, head to Reverb.
The post Teenage Engineering OP-1 tops Reverb’s best-selling electronic gear list for fifth year running appeared first on MusicTech.

EasyJet founder is now suing producer-DJ Easyfun for “mimicking” their brandFollowing its recent lawsuit against English indie band Easy Life, EasyJet is now taking electronic producer-DJ Easyfun to court for attempting to “mimic” their brand.

READ MORE: Fans divided over ticket prices for SAULT’s debut live show

Easyfun – real name Finn Keane – has been accused of “alleged deliberate misappropriation” of EasyGroup’s trademarks, including the company’s “well-known orange styling as used by its family of brands”.
The claim was brought by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder and owner of EasyJet’s licensing company EasyGroup. PC Music and its label founder A.G. Cook have also been named as defendants in the legal proceedings.
According to EasyGroup, Keane has “taken unfair advantage of and damaged the significant reputation attaching to easyGroup’s trade marks”. The company also accused the artist of trying to “mimic easyGroup’s famous branding to create instant brand recognition for his ‘DJ’ ing business.”
In particular, EasyGroup took issue with Keane’s cover art for his 2015 EP Deep Trouble, which originally featured swimwear-cladded passengers sliding into the ocean via a plane’s evacuation slide.
The brand claimed it was “seriously concerned” by the depiction of a “serious aircrash”, stating: “Not only is the artwork in bad taste but an association with such a tragic event risks seriously damaging the reputation in easyGroup’s trade marks, in particular easyJet.”
Image: Discogs/ PC Music
Responding to Haji-Ioannou’s lawyers, Keane wrote. “If your client is annoyed at some of the artwork or images that they think mimics the easyFamily get up, that has always been completely tongue in cheek.”
“It’s very obvious that it’s meant as a joke and I really struggle to understand why your client has any reason to be concerned about it.”
“That said, I obviously don’t want to be stuck in a legal dispute with a big company like your client and so I have removed the examples in your letter where I can and will seek to avoid similar artwork in the future.”
Keane has since changed the cover art for Deep Trouble.
The post EasyJet founder is now suing producer-DJ Easyfun for “mimicking” their brand appeared first on MusicTech.

Helicity Space raises $5M to unlock fusion propulsion – and fast travel in deep spaceHelicity Space has closed a $5 million seed funding to accelerate development of a technology that could finally unlock fast, efficient travel in deep space. That technology is fusion propulsion, which has long been the domain of science fiction. The startup says that they have discovered a way to use plasma jets for fusion reaction. […]
© 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Sampleson release Haptic Perc Sampleson's latest creation is a physical modelling percussion instrument that can be triggered by either audio or MIDI.

Death From Below: meet the first SKAA Pro battery-powered subwoofer
Canadian-based Dillinger Labs, a subsidiary of Eleven Engineering, is making moves with the launch of the Death From Below: a new SKAA Pro battery-powered mobile subwoofer. Death From Below works with all SKAA and SKAA Pro transmitters, as well as SKAA Nadja Hubs. That includes the Soundboks 3, 4, and GO, plus virtually any full-range […]
The post Death From Below: meet the first SKAA Pro battery-powered subwoofer appeared first on DJ TechTools.

Helicity Space raises $5M to unlock fusion propulsion – and fast travel in deep spaceHelicity Space has closed a $5 million seed funding to accelerate development of a technology that could finally unlock fast, efficient travel in deep space. That technology is fusion propulsion, which has long been the domain of science fiction. The startup says that they have discovered a way to use plasma jets for fusion reaction. […]
© 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Metallica Announce FOR WHOM THE BAND TOLLS! Marching Band Competition FinalistsWith 450+ colleges and high schools across the U.S. having signed up since its April 10 announcement, the first annual Metallica Marching Band Competition has announced its finalists today at http://metallicamarchingband.com/.

Five finalists have been chosen in each of the following categories by professional judges, furnished by Conn Selmer: 

Collegiate: Division 1 – $75,000 in prizing:

Auburn University

Fresno State University

Iowa State University

University of Iowa

University of Texas at Austin

Collegiate: Division 2, 3 – $40,000 in prizing:

Blinn College

Eastern New Mexico University

Manchester University 

West Texas A&M University

Western Illinois University

High School: Small, Medium & Large – $15,000 each in prizing:

Small High School:Cleveland High School – Cleveland, ALEdinburg High School – Edinburg, TXOakton High School – Vienna, VAOologah High School – Oologah, OKValhalla High School – El Cajon, CA

Medium High School:Boerne High School – Boerne, TXDesert Mountain High School – Scottsdale, AZDeWitt High School – DeWitt, MIKell High School – Kennesaw, GAMalverne High School – Malverne, NY

Large High School:Austin High School – Sugarland, TXDobyns-Bennett High School – Kingsport, TNLambert High School – Suwanee, GALorena High School – Lorena, TXPell City High School – Pell City, AL

The members of Metallica will select the winners in each of the above categories at a date to be determined in early January.  

Additionally, two Fan Favorite winners—one Collegiate (across all divisions) and one High School—will be determined by popular vote and awarded $10,000 each in prizing. Go to https://www.metallicamarchingband.com/submissions/high-school#content to watch submissions and vote anytime up until December 31.

Winners will receive musical instruments and equipment for their school programs at the values listed above, provided by Metallica and sponsors including Tama, KHS America, Zildjian, D’Addario Woodwinds, Evans Drumheads, ProMark, and Gator, in partnership with Sweetwater. 

The Metallica Marching Band Competition promises to be a yearly national challenge to marching bands of all levels to craft their most exciting, unique, and impressive performances of the band's songs. For further information, please go to http://metallicamarchingband.com

Fan engagement and social media platform FENIX360 plans to list on NASDAQ in $610m SPAC mergerSingapore-based FENIX360 to combine with blank check company DUET
Source

Here’s exactly how Spotify’s new 1,000 annual streams royalty policy works…Spotify is introducing a significant update to the way it calculates recorded royalties next year
Source

Arturia update MiniFreak firmware MiniFreak's first oscillator now benefits from 32 wavetable choices, whilst a new effect and enhanced modulation options extend its sonic capabilities even further. 

SampleScience’s free plugin is its most abstract yet – a VHS noise generator to add “lo-fi character” to any audio sourceVirtual instrument and sample library producer, SampleScience, has launched a new free plugin – the VHS Noise Generator. The tool features 26 distinct VHS background noises, each one created using an antiquated VCR and a different tape.

READ MORE: Best freeware instruments in 2023: Nine of the best free drum machines

VHS Noise Generator captures the nostalgic crackle of old VHS tapes, to give your tracks some serious home-made, throwback touches. The plugin has been designed to add “lo-fi character and warmth” to any audio source, including synths, drums, vocals and guitars.
Onboard within the plugin are four effects: distortion, delay, chorus, and reverb as well as amplitude ADSR, multi-LFO, and highpass/lowpass filter. There are also three voice modes to utilise – polyphonic, monophonic, and legato.
Check out the demo below for a clearer idea on how it works:

A range of audio brands have been getting crafty with nostalgic and quirky soundscapes in recent months. Earlier this December, XLN Audio launched its Life plugin which allows users to capture sounds heard in their everyday life – from a dripping tap to an amp crackle – to then use as beats.
With the compatible field recorder app from XLN Audio, Life users can capture sounds and have them automatically appear in the plugin ready to implement into music.
Similarly, Love Hultén and Chase Bliss recently collaborated on a custom, not-for-sale synth which integrates the new Chase Bliss Lossy pedal. The pedal – which is available to the public for purchase – emulates the quirky sounds that occur during audio degradation. It channels the Y2K, nostalgic weirdness of sounds that have been shrunk, transferred, and compromised.
The VHS Noise Generator plugin is compatible with all major DAWs (except Pro Tools), and is available for Windows and macOS in 64-bit VST/VST3/AU formats for free. Find out more or download now at SampleScience.
The post SampleScience’s free plugin is its most abstract yet – a VHS noise generator to add “lo-fi character” to any audio source appeared first on MusicTech.