Key U.S. user demo is leaving TikTok as new user growth also slowsReal and threatened bans, UMG, and others pulling tracks, mountains of bad press, and increased competition from Meta and YouTube are taking their toll on TokTok, just as the social platform may be forced to look for a buyer.....
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Global recorded music revenue jumps 9.8% after years of slow growth [MiDiA]The music market has doubled in size since 2015, and it continues to grow. But who is getting all this money? A new MIDiA report digs deep for answers.....
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Forever 89’s debut product is here: Visco, a sample-modelling drum machineRikard Jönsson and Svante Stadler’s new music tech company Forever 89 has dropped its very first product.
Last month, the two music tech veterans announced the launch of their new collaborative venture. The new company, Forever 89, will utilise the duo’s 30-plus years of collective experience, channelling it into advancing the state of music technology.

READ MORE: Ableton and Teenage Engineering veterans launch new company and tease first product

“We want to be a source for both playful exploration and a reliable tool for musical results,” Jönsson explains. Over their careers the pair have worked at companies such as Ableton, Cycling ‘74, Reason Studios, Spotify, Teenage Engineering, and XLN Audio – so there’s plenty of knowledge to bring to the table.
Visco is the duo’s first offering. The software is a new sample-modelling drum machine, allowing users to bypass the restrictions of working with raw drum samples. The VST/AU plugin will remove the arduous task of sound modelling, allowing musicians to dive head first into the creative process.
The software promises to be a a drumming multi-tool, packed out with an 8-Voice Drum Engine, an extensive modulation matrix and a plethora of macro controls for performers. Simply put, this plugin can be used in every step of the creative process; it can make beats, fine-tune them, and then work as a live performance drum machine.

Intended for use by both novices and professionals, the plugin is controlled by a handy visual ‘blob’ control. The ‘blob’ is a malleable representation of your track, able to be grabbed and pulled around a 2D grid to transform your sound.
Users can also dip into the toolbox to push their sound even further. Here users can fine-tune their sound, bend and stretch frequencies, or even to merge sounds into one. The software also offers a sequencer, a fader and a mixer section packed out with high-quality effects. Not to mention the extensive library of presets and sounds on offer.
Speaking about Forever 89’s goals, Stadler explains: “We both grew up in a time when technological advances made last year’s innovations look outdated. Our vision is to create opportunities for similar progress again. We looked at our own needs as musicians and based our first product on that. We want to be a guiding star for modern musical instruments and also believe it’s important to contribute with innovation in our sector.”
Visco is currently available on the Forever 89 website. There will be a limited introductory price of €99, before the software rises to a full price of €139 in the spring.
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Katistix Studios Passo Is A New FREE Minimal 3-band EQ For macOS
Katistix Studios launched Passo, a freeware minimal 3-band EQ plugin for macOS.  Passo is available via a ‘name your price’ model, and you can download the 3 MB Zip file with a three-click process from the product page.  Katistix Studios describes Passo as the “only EQ plugin you really need!” While we also recommend using [...]
View post: Katistix Studios Passo Is A New FREE Minimal 3-band EQ For macOS

“Songwriters are generating record-breaking revenues via streaming services”: Spotify releases its annual Loud & Clear ReportSpotify has released its annual Loud & Clear Report, which provides a deep dive into music streaming economics. Over the last year, Spotify says that it “set the record for the highest annual payment to the music industry from any single retailer” in a round up of its key findings.
It also states that it has paid out “record revenues” for rights holders, despite ongoing criticism of the streaming giant for how it currently compensates artists. Spotify’s royalty rate averages between $0.003 – $0.005 per stream, and a Living Wage for Musicians Act has recently been put to US congress in the hopes of making streaming platforms pay a minimum of a penny per stream across the board.

READ MORE: The music streaming revolution is here, thanks to these new streaming platforms

The report also doubles down on comments made by Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek, who compared being a musician to playing sports in a video posted online. It reads, “When it comes to building financial opportunities, we’re focused on those most dependent on streaming as part of their livelihood: these 225,000 emerging and professional artists that are building careers.
“As a point of comparison, FIFA estimated there are hundreds of millions of people who self-identify as ‘footballers,’ but 128,694 people are actually getting paid any amount of money from it. While music and sports are quite different, this demonstrates how widespread the aspiration is to participate in creative and athletic pursuits and make a living from them.”

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A post shared by Daniel Ek (@eldsjal)

Elsewhere in the findings, it says, “Every year, Spotify has paid out more and more money in streaming royalties, resulting in record revenues and growth for rights holders on behalf of artists and songwriters. These rights holders include record labels, publishers, independent distributors, performance rights organisations, and collecting societies.
“Spotify royalties are powering artists’ careers at all stages. In fact, the number of artists generating revenue at every threshold shared on this site – from $1,000 through $10 million per year – has nearly tripled since 2017.”
Spotify argues that as these figures represent revenue generated from Spotify alone, when taking into account earnings from other services and recorded revenue streams, these artists likely generated 4x this revenue from recorded music sources overall, and that they may have made additional revenue from concert tickets and merch sales.
The report also states that Spotify paid out nearly $4 billion to publishing rights holders over the last two years, adding that “Songwriters – through their publishing rights holders – are generating record-breaking revenues, driven by streaming services”. It also says publishers, songwriters and their CMOs (Collective Management Organisations) are seeing “more than 2x the revenue ($5.5B in 2022) in the streaming era than they ever had in the CD/sales era ($2.5B in 2001)”.
Read the Loud & Clear key findings round up over at Spotify.
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Coachella’s new EDM stage, Quasar, will host DJ sets over three hours longA new stage for EDM, Quasar, will launch at this year’s Coachella, hosting longer DJ sets of three hours or more.
The festival is taking place this April on both the 12-14 and 19-21, with Quasar occupying the space where its Sahara stage stood previously. This has been expanded and is now placed between Avenue 51 and Polo Road.

READ MORE: 21 UK festivals called off, postponed or cancelled altogether – with over 100 in danger of disappearing without immediate action

The stage space also hosts two “monolithic” LED walls, which appear mirror-like and can blend into the environment, as well as showing real-time content playback. The lineup for both weekends over on Quasar are as follows:
Weekend One:

Friday 12 April – Honey Dijon x Green Velvet
Saturday 13 April – Michael Bibi
Sunday 14 April – Jamie xx x Floating Points x Daphni

Weekend Two:

Friday 19 April – RÜFÜS DU SOL DJ set
Saturday 20 April – Eric Prydz x Anyma
Sunday 21 April – Diplo x Mau P

Quasar: Coachella’s newest stage pic.twitter.com/alu07U9txJ
— Coachella (@coachella) March 18, 2024

“We’re super excited to introduce Quasar to Coachella,” says Jenn Yacoubian of the festival’s parent company, Goldenvoice. “It’s going to be a stage where we can book talent on it in a way that we haven’t felt like we’ve been able to in the past. We’re looking at it as a traditional kind of DJ stage.”
She adds, “We wanted people to be able to see longer format DJs, we’re excited to have certain artists that have played the festival before, like Jamie xx, play for three to four hours with Daphni and Floating Points.”

Quasar is not a tent and therefore not a desert pic.twitter.com/MLRsw2PQm9
— Coachella (@coachella) March 19, 2024

Over 60 electronic acts are due to perform at the festival this year. Elsewhere in the lineup, Justice will be performing for the first time at the festival since 2017. Peggy Gou, who has also not performed at Coachella since her debut in 2018, will also be making a return.
Find out more about this year’s Coachella Festival.
The post Coachella’s new EDM stage, Quasar, will host DJ sets over three hours long appeared first on MusicTech.

On a Mission from God: The Definitive Story of The Blues BrothersIn Daniel De Visé's in-depth new book The Blues Brothers - An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic, the author goes to phenomenal lengths to detail not just the making of the film, but goes back to the beginning, detailing the upbringings of the two actors, their explorations into a burgeoning comedy scene, their rise at SNL, and all the blues that's fit to print.

MBW (and Skibidi Toilet) just inspired a flurry of TikTok music takedownsTikTok took swift action over a list of videos that MBW identified as 'manipulating' UMG content
Source

Mintlify says customer GitHub tokens exposed in data breachDocumentation startup Mintlify says dozens of customers had GitHub tokens exposed in a data breach at the start of the month and publicly disclosed last week. Mintlify helps developers create documentation for their software and source code by requesting access and tapping directly into the customer’s GitHub source code repositories. Mintlify counts fintech, database and […]
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BMI Spotlights Singer-Songwriters at SXSW 2024BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) was back in Austin, TX, during the 2024 SXSW Music Conference and Festival. As a founding sponsor of the festival for over 30 years, BMI stages and events have been known for consistently presenting the best new music from its incredible songwriters, and this year was no exception. From March 12-15, BMI hosted an exciting lineup of showcases, featuring rising talent in indie, hip-hop, Latin, pop, R&B, rock, country and everything in between, continuing our tradition of being the go-to source for music discovery. Check out details from each of the events below.See below for photos and captions from BMI’s lineup. For more information on this year’s events and featured artists, go to bmi.com/stages/sxsw2024 and use #BMISXSW to join the conversation on social media.

BMI PRESENTS HOWDY TEXAS - CELEBRATING THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF BMI AUSTINTuesday, March 12th at STILL AustinBMI celebrated the 5th Anniversary of its Austin office at the annual Howdy Texas party at STILL Austin Whiskey Co. (440 E St Elmo Rd Suite F). The event, which was free and open to the public, featured performances from nine diverse Texas-based artists, including Alesia Lani, Farmer’s Wife, Nicky Diamonds, RUTHIE CRAFT, Shelby Stone, The Tiarras, West 22nd, West Texas Exiles and Midnight River Choir, with styles ranging from R&B, Americana and rock with western influences to cathartic grunge, Latin pop and that classic Lone Star sound. Howdy Texas was supported by Austin Music Movement.

(LEFT): The Tiarras onstage at BMI Presents Howdy Texas at STILL Austin Whiskey Co. on March 12, 2024 in Austin, TX. Photo Erika Goldring for BMI.(RIGHT): BMI’s Kristen Townsend (L) and Mitch Ballard (R) present Texas Music Office’s Brendon Anthony (C) with a special guitar in celebration of the 5th anniversary of BMI’s Austin office onstage at BMI Presents Howdy Texas at STILL Austin Whiskey Co. on March 12, 2024 in Austin, TX. Photo Erika Goldring for BMI. 

YETI MUSIC SHOWCASE: PRESENTED BY BMIMarch 13th-15th at YETI FlagshipOver the course of three amazing days, the annual YETI Music Showcase: Presented by BMI at the YETI Flagship on South Congress (220 S Congress Ave) played host to eighteen diverse sets from emerging artists spanning the spectrum from psychedelia, introspective pop and contemporary country to modern folk, buzzy indie rock and punk thrash. The event also included drink specials, food pop-ups and other surprises. The showcase was additionally sponsored by George Dickel Bourbon, Karbach Brewing Co. and Liquid Death.3/13: Scott Ballew, Alisa Amador, ALEC MEZA, Vision Arcade, Brainstory, Giovannie & The Hired Guns3/14: Tony Evans, Jr., Chloe Tang, Nemegata, Wolves of Glendale, Winona Fighter, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country3/15: Maddy Davis, Jobi Riccio, wilt, Chance Emerson, Zach Person, Michigander

(LEFT): Alec Meza performs at the YETI Music Showcase Presented by BMI at the YETI Flagship store on March 13, 2024 in Austin, TX. Photo Erika Goldring for BMI.(RIGHT): Michigander perform at the YETI Music Showcase Presented by BMI at the YETI Flagship store on March 15, 2024 in Austin, TX. Photo Erika Goldring for BMI.

(BOTTOM): Chloe Tang performs at the YETI Music Showcase Presented by BMI at the YETI Flagship store on March 14, 2024 in Austin, TX. Photo Erika Goldring for BMI.

BMI SONGWRITERS CIRCLE AT LUCK REUNIONThursday, March 14th at Willie Nelson’s Luck RanchBMI was proud to present the BMI Songwriters Circle under the Revival Tent at Luck Reunion. BMI songwriters Tyler Halverson, Kade Hoffman and Harper O’Neill performed intimate renditions of some of their favorite songs and share stories of the inspiration behind them.For additional photos and captions click here. 

(LEFT): Harper O’Neill, Kade Hoffman and Tyler Halverson perform during the BMI Songwriters Circle at Luck Reunion on March 14, 2024. Credit Alex Parker for Luck Reunion. (RIGHT): Harper O’Neill performs during the BMI Songwriters Circle at Luck Reunion on March 14, 2024. Credit Alex Parker for Luck Reunion. 

BMI BRUNCHHosted by THEBROSFRESHFriday, March 15th at Geraldine’s at Hotel Van ZandtThe BMI Brunch is one of the most anticipated events during SXSW, taking place at Geraldine’s at the Hotel Van Zandt (605 Davis St). This two-stage marquee event featured the eclectic sounds of artists Ethan Tasch, Matilda Marigolds, Tamera, Benjamin Walker, Ashley Kutcher, Choszn, Kylie Frey, Baby Fisher, Britti, Courtney Patton, Swamp Dogg, and Jhariah. The BMI Brunch was sponsored by George Dickel Bourbon, First Horizon Bank, ONErpm, The MLC, Liquid Death, Texas Music Office, Austin Music Movement, and the BMI Foundation.For additional photos and captions click here. 

(LEFT): Jhariah performs at the BMI Brunch at Geraldine’s on March 15, 2024 in Austin, TX. Photo Erika Goldring for BMI.(RIGHT): Tamera performs at the BMI Brunch at Geraldine’s on March 15, 2024 in Austin, TX. Photo Erika Goldring for BMI.

More at bmi.com

Using a Framework Mainboard for a Custom Gaming HandheldThe nearly final prototype case for the handheld Framework-based gaming system. (Credit: TommyB, YouTube)
Building your own handheld gaming console has been a popular project for many years, but recently it has become significantly easier to get a lot of power into a small package. Like many others, [TommyB] made his own Raspberry Pi SBC-based handheld in the past, which results in a rather bulky and underpowered package. A more performant solution would be to stuff laptop guts into a handheld case, but until Framework came onto the scene this wasn’t easy and would get you a sloppy one-off solution. With [TommyB]’s current handheld project he uses a standard Framework laptop mainboard, along with the official battery to get a very capable gaming system.
Getting the ergonomics and fit for the components just right took many tries, but eventually a prototype shell was designed that fits the Framework mainboard, the battery, twin Framework speakers, an 8″ LCD panel from Waveshare (connected via USB-C to HDMI) and mechanical switches for the buttons. These switches connect to an RP2040-based board that runs the GP2040-CE firmware, allowing the operating system to detect it as an XBox controller. Although still far from finished, it shows just how beneficial standard laptop parts are, with a massive gap in the market where Framework could make its own handheld shell available. We’re looking forward to [TommyB] demonstrating the finished version of his Framework handheld, and the inevitable upgrade from the 11th-gen Intel mainboard to one of the sparkling new mainboards with even better specs.
Thanks to [Keith Olson] for the tip.

Proper Routing Makes for Many Happy Return PathsHere’s a question for you: when your PCB has a ground plane layer, where do return signals flow? It seems like a trick question, but as [Kristof Mulier] explains, there’s more to return path routing than just doing a copper pour and calling it a day.
Like so many other things in life, the answer to the above question is “it depends,” and as [Kristof] ably demonstrates in this concise article, the return path for a signal largely depends on its frequency. He begins by explaining current loop areas and how they factor into the tendency for a circuit to both emit and be susceptible to electromagnetic noise. The bigger the loop area, the worse things can get from a noise perspective. At low frequencies, return signals will tend to take the shortest possible path, which can result in large current loop areas if you’re not careful. At higher frequencies, though, signals will tend to follow the path of minimal energy instead, which generally ends up being similar to the signal trace, even if it has a huge ground plane to flow through.
Since high-frequency signals naturally follow a path through the ground plane that minimizes the current loop, that means the problem takes care of itself, right? It would, except that we have a habit of putting all kinds of gaps in the way, from ground plane vias to isolation slots. [Kristof] argues that this can result in return paths that wiggle around these features, increasing the current loop area to the point where problems creep in. His solution? Route all your signal return paths. Even if you know that the return traces are going to get incorporated into a pour, the act of intentionally routing them will help minimize the current loop area. It’s brilliantly counterintuitive.
This is the first time we’ve seen the topic of high-frequency return paths tackled. This succinct demonstration shows exactly how return path obstructions can cause unexpected results.
Thanks to [Marius Heier] for the tip.

Global recorded music revenues grew 9.8% YoY to $35.1bn in 2023, says MIDiA ResearchMIDiA estimates that streaming revenues reached $21.9bn in 2023
Source

Check out VEMIA’s latest auction VEMIA’s latest vintage gear auction is on the horizon, and there’s already plenty of desirable gear set to go up for sale.

Shigeichi Negishi, The Godfather of Karaoke, at 100After a century as the life and soul of the party, the inventor of karaoke, Shigeichi Negishi, has passed away at the age of 100.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal‘s Matt Alt, Negishi’s daughter, Atsumi Takano, reveals that her father suffered a fall on 26 January. He died of natural causes shortly after.
Negishi invented the first-ever karaoke machine in 1967. According to the Wall Street Journal, his original invention started as somewhat of a joke; Negishi loved to sing, so when a colleague joked that he had an awful voice, he started daydreaming about how he might sound with a backing track.
His idea was simple: to create a machine that would play instrumental tapes. It didn’t matter if Negishi had a ‘bad’ voice – he made it his mission to create a machine that would allow him to sing his heart out over a backing track like a real popstar.
The 1967 Sparko Box was the initial karaoke machine prototype. Negishi ran a consumer electronic company, which allowed him access to a speaker, microphone, and tape deck. As Negishi revealed to online publication Kotaku, Negishi tested out the prototype with an instrumental version of Yoshio Kodama’s Mujo no Yume, before heading home and hosting the world’s first karaoke party in his kitchen.
However, Negishi never patented the design. Negishi and his partner believed it would the “cost and headache wasn’t worth it”, Alt wrote for Kotaku. At the time it would have been “extremely expensive and time-consuming to obtain a patent” – not to mention it required instrumental tracks to run, which would each require unique usage rights.

Farewell to another legend: Shigeichi Negishi, inventor of karaoke, has died age 100. By automating the sing-along, he earned the enmity of performers who saw his machine as a threat to their jobs. It's an eerie precursor of the debate surrounding AI's impact on artists today. pic.twitter.com/ZOpLdSisb2
— Matt Alt (@Matt_Alt) March 14, 2024

While Matt Alt was entrusted to relay the news on the Wall Street Journal, Alt also took to X to reflect on Negishi’s passing, stating: “Farewell to another legend: Shigeichi Negishi, inventor of karaoke, has died age 100. By automating the sing-along, he earned the enmity of performers who saw his machine as a threat to their jobs. It’s an eerie precursor of the debate surrounding AI’s impact on artists today.”
Alt also shared a lovely behind the scenes snap of him and Negishi. The photo is from 2018 when Alt was interviewing Negishi for his book, Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World.
Alt reports that Negishi’s family still owns the original – and still functioning – Sparko Box.

What timing! Here's a behind the scenes photo of us from late 2018. pic.twitter.com/C6Nezh3iOW
— Matt Alt (@Matt_Alt) March 14, 2024

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