20,500 Artists made $50K+ from Spotify last yearSpotify just revealed its annual Loud and Clear report revealing some top level numbers with some granular insights from 2023.

ADAM Audio relaunch Authorised Listening Centre programme Those interested in investing in some new ADAM Audio monitors are now able to demo a huge range of the company's products at stores around the world. 

Textural Memories for Imaginando’s Visual Synthesizer Textural Memories is a new VS preset expansion pack created by Perplex On, a German media artist renowned for his inventive audio-visual performances.

“AI has totally humiliated me whenever I’ve gone and asked it to impersonate myself”: James Blunt says he won’t be using AI to write lyrics in the futureLike many artists, James Blunt has asked AI to create lyrics in the style of his own writing out of sheer curiosity. It seems though, the results he got back have taught him “not to use” the tech again, and also that he “must do better” as a lyricist, according to the pop artist.
Outside of his music, Blunt is certainly not one to take himself too seriously, so it’s not surprising that he’s of course experimented with the likes of AI tools for a bit of a laugh. With that said, the Goodbye My Lover singer has some interesting observations on the current limits of its role in music.

READ MORE: “In the future you’ll go to Spotify, you’ll see The Beatles, and The Beatles AI”: Rick Beato shares his worries about AI

Appearing on the I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast, he says, “Every single one of us must have, having heard of [AI], typed in and then written ‘Give me a verse based on this, in the style of, in my case, a James Blunt lyric.’
“The truth is, either AI comes up with something very, very generic or my lyrics are just absolutely mundane,” he laughs. “So AI has totally humiliated me whenever I’ve gone and asked it to impersonate myself. It’s taught me, if anything, not to use AI and [that I] must do better.”
On a more analytical note, Blunt goes on to add: “The thing about songwriting and music generally is, it is your flaws and your failings and your mistakes which make it have character.
“Character is something that is not formulaic or generic and even if I have written something before and I say ‘Let me write it in the style of me again,’ it will be boring to myself, I need to go out and test myself and push myself to do something different. And some of those things I would make by mistake and I don’t think AI can do that yet. I don’t think it can bring in true character flaws and mistakes at this stage.”
You can listen to the full episode below:

James Blunt is currently on tour. View the full list of his live dates.
The post “AI has totally humiliated me whenever I’ve gone and asked it to impersonate myself”: James Blunt says he won’t be using AI to write lyrics in the future appeared first on MusicTech.

Life & Beth Music Supervisor on Placing Music and Getting the JobBrittany Douziech is a film and TV music supervisor with 20 years of industry experience. She has a knack for supervising projects that become festival darlings including the feature film, The Long Game, which won the SXSW Audience Narrative Award in 2023; and the documentary, Body Parts, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca and AFI Film Festivals. Additionally, Brittany has worked alongside veteran music supervisors Frankie Pine and Joe Rudge on a variety of TV projects, including Netflix’s From Scratch, Hulu’s Life & Beth, Amazon’s A League of Their Own and Daisy Jones & the Six, which was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Music Supervision.

Pokemon resets some users passwords after hacking attemptsThe Pokemon Company said it detected hacking attempts against some of its users and reset those user account passwords. Last week, an alert was visible on Pokemon’s official support website, which said that “following an attempt to compromise our account system, Pokemon proactively locked the accounts of fans who might have been affected.” As of […]
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Over half of the artists who generated at least $10,000 on Spotify last year are from countries where English is not the first language"The music industry today is a more diverse and accurate reflection of the world we live in"
Source

Polyverse announce Filterverse early access The final instalment in Polyverse's 'filter trilogy' packs in a wide range of filter types and some powerful modulation capabilities.

Cute CO2 Gauge Tells You When to Crack a Window[Cyrill] has a good home automation scheme going: there are a number of physical switches set around the place that control the essential functions. The only problem is that in the winter time, this results in a great deal of phone checking as [Cyrill] tries to monitor the CO2 level. Tired of all this screen time, [Cyrill] set about to create an incredibly cute (and useful) Co2 monitor that plainly shows the current level and how bad it is, relatively speaking.
A large servo and an ESP32-S2 make up the guts of an analog CO2 sensor.
Behind that adorable face is a DS3225 servo being driven by a Wemos S2 mini, both of which [Cyrill] happened to have handy. Although the 25 Kg servo may be complete overkill for the situation, [Cyrill] reports that it is quieter than your average AliExpress alternatives, which makes it well worth it in our book. Then it was on to Inkscape to make the gauge itself. [Cyrill] says they’re an Inkscape noob, but that face could have fooled us.
Finally, it was time to integrate it into Home Assistant to get readings from the CO2 sensors. This was easier said than done, but [Cyrill] does a nice job of explaining how to get the ESP32-S2 up and working.
If you’re out there monitoring CO levels in your home, beware of fake sensors that cropped up during the height of the pandemic and are likely still at large.

This ‘secret’ composer is behind 650 fake artists on Spotify. His music has been streamed 15bn times on the platform (report)Revealed in a Dagens Nyheter expose: the musician 'behind the world's most listened to network of fake artists on Spotify'
Source

2024 Home Sweet Home Automation: A Piano-Controlled Smart HomeThere’s a scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where a little flap in the wall flips down to reveal a small organ embedded there. Gene Wilder plays a bit of Rachmaninoff on the organ, and the giant door to the chocolate room slowly creaks open.
Once [Nathan Orick] got this into his head, he couldn’t get it out, and had to give it a go in his own home. Regrettably there’s no chocolate rooms in the house, so he’s using various chords and melodies to do things like control the lights and the TV, as you’ll see in the video after the break. Although this one may have started as a joke of a home automation scheme, [Nathan] thinks it turned out pretty solid, and so do we.
He already had the piano and a Raspberry Pi Zero lying around, so getting this up and running was mostly about connections and code. Speaking of connections, [Nathan] was hard-pressed to find a micro-USB to USB-B cord, so he ended up splicing one together. Simple enough. The harder part was getting Linux to recognize the keyboard, but all it took was touching all the pins with a multimeter, evidently. What’s a project without a little magic?
And not only did it show up, Linux went to the trouble of registering it as a MIDI device all on its own. Once [Nathan] obtained the port number, he had data printing to the console every time he played a note. Then it was mostly a matter of writing code to interact with MIDI data and track the notes as they’re played, and put it all together with Home Assistant. Be sure to check out the brief demo after the break.

RED Development Welcomes Fender Musical Instruments Corp. to PVRED Development, an industry-leading commercial real estate company known for its high-performing mixed-use and retail portfolio, is adding Fender Musical Instruments Corp. (FMIC), the world's leading guitar manufacturer, to its best-in-class tenant roster at PV, the highly anticipated redevelopment of the former Paradise Valley Mall, in a single-tenant office building set to open next year.

FMIC will break ground on the 80,000-square-foot, three-story building later this year, which will open to team members in fall 2025. The new building, designed by SmithGroup, will be a dynamic hub for collaboration and will boast an array of cutting-edge facilities, including a dedicated model shop for its guitar and amplifier designers, a state-of-the-art sound room, along with meeting rooms and flexible workspaces strategically designed to foster teamwork and innovation. 

An American icon, Fender was founded in Southern California and has established a worldwide influence extending from the studio to the stage and beyond. Everyone from beginners to the world’s most acclaimed artists have used FMIC instruments, amps and gear, making the company a revered industry leader and a global cultural symbol. 

“Fender’s decision to partner with RED Development reinforces our long-term commitment to Arizona and a local community we have called home since the early nineties. Our building will foster a dynamic environment that attracts top engineering, finance, IT, product development, sales, and supply chain talent. Most importantly, we believe that PV’s mixed-use offerings will enhance Fender’s culture of creativity and innovation and provide our team members with an exceptional workplace experience," said FMIC CFO Matt Janopaul.

Spanning more than 100 acres and situated in the heart of one of the most prominent neighborhoods in Phoenix, PV is a monumental mixed-use development. The master plan for the project features a plethora of dining, entertainment, retail, living and working experiences, which are linked to a more than three-acre, centrally located community open space with heavily landscaped multi-modal pathways. The scale of the project will redefine what live-work-play means.

“Welcoming an iconic brand such as Fender to PV is truly remarkable,” said Mike Ebert, managing partner at RED. “This partnership underscores the groundbreaking innovation coming to PV and the exciting developments that are shaping our community's future.”

The first phase of the massive redevelopment will open later this year, including the 400-residence multi-family building, The Blake, by StreetLights Residential. Also opening in 2024 are Whole Foods Market, Blanco Cocina + Cantina, Flower Child, Trevor’s Liquor, Sephora, Aveda, Wren House Brewing Co. and Frost Gelato.

“The PV development is booming with innovation, showcasing the considerable impact of transforming the landscape of the former Paradise Valley Mall. Adding Fender to PV is just one of the many businesses that bolster the significant changes the development is making for the future of Phoenix,” said Phoenix Community and Economic Development Director Christine Mackay.

“I am excited that Fender, a global brand, chose Phoenix to relocate their corporate headquarters. This move signifies a confidence in Phoenix,” said Vice Mayor Debra Stark, who represents District 3, where Fender will be relocating. “The new high-paying jobs that will come with this move will be a welcome boost to the local economy.”

FMIC was represented by Cresa, a leading commercial real estate advisory firm. Cresa played a pivotal role in the site selection process by conducting a comprehensive search across the Phoenix metro area and will be overseeing the entire construction process. JLL, a global brokerage firm, represented RED.  

For more information about PV and to stay updated on the latest announcements, visit pvphx.com. For more on Fender, visit fender.com.

Arturia V Collection Days sale Arturia are offering exclusive discounts on their flagship V Collection X bundle until 4 April 2024.

The competition is 225K, not 10M artists + More Spotify Loud & Clear report takeawaysSpotify has updated its annual Loud & Clear report to remind artists and labels how much money they make from the streaming platform. While many of the numbers are impressive, a careful reading leads to more nuanced, particularly of independent and D.I.Y. artists.....
The post The competition is 225K, not 10M artists + More Spotify Loud & Clear report takeaways appeared first on Hypebot.

Revenue-sharing initiative Support The Sound launched to make producers’ earnings fairerA collective of clubs, promoters and festivals from around the world have partnered with the DVS1-founded platform Aslice for a new initiative called Support The Sound, wich aims to close the gap between producers’ and DJs’ earnings in a time of rising DJ fees.

READ MORE: The best podcasts for music producers in 2023 

The collective includes Basement and Wire Festival in New York, Bassiani in Tbilisi, Dekmantel in Amsterdam, Fuse in Brussels, 6AM and Synthetik Minds in Los Angeles, Vault Sessions in Amsterdam, and Womb Tokyo.
They are working to promote the benefits of DJs submitting their setlists to Aslice, along with donating the platform a percentage of their fee, to be split among the producers whose music featured in their set.
“We have witnessed significant changes in our industry, where the role of music producers has been marginalised and undervalued,” the collective says on their website. “Without their fair compensation, the vitality and sustainability of our entire industry is at risk.”
They added that from next year, all DJs who play their events will be asked to share their setlists to the Aslice system. “If the artists we book or their agents choose not to participate by sharing playlists, our values might not align, which may affect future bookings and collaborations,” they add.
Credit: Rochelle Brodin/Getty Images
Speaking about Support The Sound, DVS1 – real name Zak Khutoretsky – said: “Since we launched Aslice in March 2022, we have always emphasised the value of community. Support The Sound plans to embrace a culture of sharing and that resonates deeply with the values of our service. Why wouldn’t we support the sound? Our industry would be nothing without the music.”
Aslice was originally founded two years ago to address producers losing out on payments made by PROs to producers through missing metadata, lack of reporting, and other fraudulent submissions. In 2019, it was estimated that producers miss out on up to £100 million in royalties they are entitled to due to them being either lost or incorrectly allocated.
The post Revenue-sharing initiative Support The Sound launched to make producers’ earnings fairer appeared first on MusicTech.