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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. 
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Techno producer Paradoks uses this EQ “on every channel of every project”Paradoks is a Belgian-Swiss producer who makes enormous-sounding melodic dance music that has fittingly found itself in DJ sets by the likes of Tale Of Us, Lost Frequencies, Tiesto, Vintage Culture and many more. His latest release, The Last Time on Armada Music, is another powerful track that weaves vocals with pads and an almighty lead synth to create a magical dancefloor moment.

READ MORE: “Ambient music is about drawing out the details in the small sounds”: Producer Cephas Azariah on his essential reverb plugins

We speak to Paradoks about why plugins work so well for his production process. He tells us about his obsession with FabFilter’s Pro Q3, and shares his experiences exploring new technologies like Synplant 2’s genopatch feature.
FabFilter Pro Q3
Do you use a lot of plugins when producing?
I mostly work with software plugins nowadays; I never had any hardware in the likes of compressors or stuff like that. The only hardware synths I use are my Sequential Prophet Rev 2, Roland SH01A, and from time to time my Moog Model D. I like the convenience of having software synths, especially when I’m on the move. Plus, I’m a perfectionist, so sometimes I want to be able to tweak the MIDI and the patch again in version 57 of my track, which is a flexibility I can’t get out of hardware synths.
Sonic Charge Synplant 2
What was your latest plugin purchase?
I recently bought Sonic Charge’s Synplant 2. I was already considering buying Synplant after seeing some Flume-inspired sound design videos. Then, out of nowhere, Synplant 2 came out with new “genopatch technology,” which I was really curious and excited about. It’s using AI to try and recreate sounds from samples. Having them as a synth patch gives it the versatility of tweaking the envelopes, filters, effects, and more for automation, as working with samples is very limiting when it comes to developing the sound over time.
I played around with it and created some cool sounds. Turns out the Genopatch works ok, but I enjoy using the seeds-planting feature from the synth more and use it mostly for some ear candy. The presets are cool, but I didn’t spend much time exploring those as I was mostly messing around with the Genopatch and seeds.
Xfer Records Serum
What’s the best free plugin you own?
Voxengo SPAN. It’s an amazing spectrum analyser that gives detailed information about frequencies, especially when you select the high-res mode. I’m currently not working in an ideal, acoustically treated environment, so it really helps my mixing decisions, especially in the low end when working with reference tracks. I use it all the time.
What plugins would your new single The Last Time be incomplete without?
Xfer Records’ Serum and Pro Q3 did most of the work here (arp, bass, pads etc), but the main synth comes from Arturia’s Analog Lab.
Cableguys Shaperbox 3
Is that what comes in at 1:50 on The Last Time?
Yes! This is a preset I tweaked from Arturia Analog Lab, as I just bought the suite in the same period that I produced The Last Time. I played with the pitch modulation rate, and envelopes and added some glide. I then used the Cableguys’ Shaperbox 3 noise module to give it a noise layer, Saturn 2 to saturate it and make it fatter, Pro Q3 to remove any unwanted frequencies, and Valhalla Room Reverb to make it big.
For the delay here, I used a return channel. On the return channel, I first cut out the lows with FabFilter Pro Q3, then used Native Instruments Replika for the delay (any delay plugin would work) and finally used the Ableton compressor to sidechain the wet signal (delayed signal) to the dry signal of the lead so that the delay doesn’t interfere when the synth hits. Quite a classic way of doing it I would say.
Nicky Romero’s Kickstart 2
Do you have any secret sauce plugins?
FabFilter Pro Q3 simply because it’s the most precise and versatile EQ out there. I can remove annoying resonances and use it as a dynamic EQ and check which frequencies interfere between synths. I’m honestly a freak with that plugin and maybe should start actually using it less. I use it on every channel of every project.
What about a guilty pleasure plugin?
Nicky Romero’s Kickstart 2 is amazing for side-chaining kick and bass. I duplicate the plugin as I use the first one in band mode for the low end and then the other one for the rest of the frequencies, generally applying different sidechaining to them. I just love that we can see the Kick waveform to allow precise sidechaining. I could use Shaperbox 2 and skip the need to duplicate the plugin but I somehow just love the Kickstart 2 sidechain.
Check out Paradoks’ website.
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Orchestral Brass from Bitwig & Orchestral Tools Orchestral Brass provides Bitwig Studio users with a range of high-quality brass samples that have been optimised specifically for use within the DAW’s Sampler tool.

Feds want anti drunk-driving tech in cars. Here’s what stands in the way.The in-car tech used by the likes of Ford and GM to make sure drivers pay attention to the road has come a long way. But it’s just not ready to help prevent or mitigate the damage done by drunk driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That assessment is threaded throughout a […]
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Snoop Dogg launches ‘Death Row Pro’ production music unit in partnership with Sony Music Publishing’s Extreme MusicDeath Row Pro to serve as a production music arm of Death Row Records, for licensing newly created music for TV, film, ads etc.
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Universal Music Group is worth more than $50 billion, as firm’s share price hits highest point in 2 yearsUniversal's market cap is currently around $12 billion higher than Spotify's
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DistroKid Launches Mobile App for AndroidDistroKid, the world’s largest distributor of independent music, unveiled today its first-ever mobile app for Android. Earlier this year the company launched its first mobile app for iOS which to date has been downloaded more that half a million times. Like its iOS predecessor, the new Android app puts DistroKid’s powerful suite of tools directly in the hands of artists, enabling them to upload new releases, receive instant payment alerts, access stats from Apple and Spotify, edit metadata, and more–right from their phones.

The DistroKid app is available for download here: https://distrokid.com/app

“DistroKid’s mobile app for iOS has been hugely popular,” said Matthew Ogle, Chief Product Officer at DistroKid. “We’re so excited to give millions of Android users around the world access to the same streamlined experience, so they can distribute and manage their music directly from their mobile device.”

Over the last year, DistroKid introduced other innovations to its platform. Earlier this year, the company unveiled Mixea, an AI-powered intelligent mastering tool that helps artists instantly make their music “radio ready” by optimizing bass, compression, stereo enhancement, EQ, limiting & loudness.

Late last year, the company launched DistroVid, a service which enables users to upload music videos to Apple Music, Tidal and Vevo. DistroKid was the first music distributor to offer this kind of deal to artists – unlimited full length music video uploads for one low price.

These were just the latest in a suite of services developed by DistroKid to help artists work faster & become more prolific. These innovations build upon DistroKid’s basic offering – unlimited music distribution – plus more than 20 free tools that help artists have fun, make music & get heard.

In September DistroKid acquired Bandzoogle, whose powerful tools enable artists to easily create websites and sell their music directly to their fans.

As always, DistroKid pays artists 100% of their earnings.

About DistroKid

Founded in 2013, DistroKid distributes 30-40% of all new music in the world. They have built their business on providing musicians, managers and record labels with online tools and services that are innovative, easy-to-use, and affordable. More than 2 million artists rely on DistroKid, including hobbyists, up-and-coming musicians, top influencers, and international stars. DistroKid’s expanding array of services include music distribution, monetization, metadata customization, storage, and promotion. DistroKid’s skilled staff, coupled with a largely automated backend, has enabled DistroKid to process more than 25 million songs, while simultaneously providing fast, personal & friendly customer service to artists of every size.