Independent artist files class action lawsuits against Suno and Udio for those “whose rights have been trampled the most”An independent artist has filed class action lawsuits against both Suno and Udio for allegedly using his music to train their AI models.
Both documents make reference to another lawsuit against the two companies that was filed in the United States last year by major labels including Sony, Warner, and Universal. However, this lawsuit claims to fight for the rights of those without such support.

READ MORE: RIAA CEO calls Midjourney a “bad actor” and backs Disney and Universal’s lawsuit against the AI image generator

Filed by country musician Tony Justice and his 5th Wheel Records label, the lawsuits (which can both be viewed via Music Business Worldwide) state that while the major label lawsuit “continues to draw attention in the fight to protect major label music” it is “independent artists whose rights have been trampled the most” and “are the ones left without a seat at the table, unrepresented, and without a meaningful remedy.”
Both documents also claim that “the doctrine of fair use” shields both companies from any liability regarding copyright infringement, despite both having “openly admitted” to using “publicly available” works to train their AI models.
Justice argues that “Independent artists, Plaintiffs, and Class Members will never be able to claw back the intellectual property unlawfully copied” by the companies, and alleges that these platforms “undermine the existing streams of revenue, including licensing markets, for independent music, which the Copyright Office itself recognised as valid and protectable under copyright law.”
Last year’s major label case was backed by the RIAA, which at the time argued against the “fair use” defence, stating, “there’s nothing fair about stealing an artist’s life’s work”. However, Suno seemingly claimed that major labels were threatened by companies like itself and Udio in response.
“What the major record labels really don’t want is competition,” Suno said. “Where Suno sees musicians, teachers, and everyday people using a new tool to create original music, the labels see a threat to their market share.”
More recently, it was reported that the same major labels involved in the 2024 lawsuit are actually now discussing potential licensing deals with Suno and Udio that would not only bring in fees but also include a small equity stake in the companies.
The post Independent artist files class action lawsuits against Suno and Udio for those “whose rights have been trampled the most” appeared first on MusicTech.

How we remixed The Cure: Tips from Orbital, Trentmøller and moreIt might be hard to believe at this point, but The Cure has been around for almost 50 years. Robert Smith’s dusky alt-rock outfit has grown from the streets of Crawley, UK, to goth icons, putting out 14 albums that include bona fide classic songs such as Boys Don’t Cry and Friday, I’m In Love. Today, they still headline triple-headers at famous venues such as Madison Square Garden and The Hollywood Bowl.

READ MORE: Stranger Things composer Michael Stein gets hands-on with the Moog Messenger

The music of The Cure is so universal that when Robert Smith was personally selecting artists for the remix album, Mixes Of A Lost World, the compilation based on their 2024 record, Songs Of A Lost World, many artists to whom he reached out had pre-existing relationships with The Cure — either extreme fandom or previous collaborations.
“I have been a huge fan of The Cure for over 35 years,” Gregor Tresher told MusicTech.
“Robert Smith personally writing to me was surreal. I’ve been a massive fan of The Cure for years, and their music has meant an enormous amount to me throughout my life,” said Trentmøller.
“[I’m] honoured and happy to be working with a band I’ve loved since I was 14 years of age.
I did a remix for Robert and The Cure in 1997, and I remember Robert saying, ‘You made it sound more like us. We wanted it to sound like you.’ To me, that was a compliment and what I wanted to hear,” said Omid 16B.
Orbital. Image: Press
“I worked with Robert on a song called Please for my first solo album,” said Paul Hartnoll of Orbital. “We got on immediately when we first met after we’d both played a summer festival in Sweden. The Cure are one of the seminal bands in our record collection. It’s always a nice warm glowing feeling to be asked to help out in continuing the creative process.”
Needless to say, remixing The Cure carried a lot of weight with these artists. The pressure was on, especially as many of them were reforming alternative rock songs into dancefloor versions. Each artist had their own process, but Sally C commented on the general ethos of remixing as well:
“A good remix will emulate the essence of the original, complementing it but without repetition. You can really go wherever you want to go with a remix, which can be both challenging and freeing at the same time. A good remix will delve into this unknown and come out the other side with something relatable and unique.”
Read on to learn how Orbital, Gregor Tresher, Sally C, Trentmøller, and Omid 16B made their remixes for Mixes Of A Lost World by The Cure:
Orbital – Endsong (Orbital Remix)

(Answers by Paul Hartnoll)
What are the main technical processes and pieces of gear you used on your remix?
We used an old favourite synth of mine, the Oberheim Xpander. My workhorse of a mono synth is the MacBeth M5n. For the drums, we used 808 drum sounds and elements of the original drums. We thinned out the guitars and picked specific bits, then reversées them into each other to get a palindromic effect. We also used a fancy new chorus unit called the Retrogradus Chorus-1, which was our secret weapon on Robert’s ethereal vocals in the intro.
Similar to the original song, your remix has extended sections without vocals. How did the 6-7 minutes of instrumental music in the original inspire the instrumental sections in your remix?
Well, as we are largely an instrumental band, this was easy for us! We just leaned into it in an Orbital-y way, doing a similar idea but with stretched vocal sounds and fast flickering synths, which would definitely tip the hat to firm favourites of ours, Tangerine Dream.
Gregor Tresher – Endsong (Gregor Tresher Remix)

What are the main technical processes and pieces of gear you used to make your remix?
My remix was produced mainly in the box, and a lot of the original parts were heavily processed. I used a lot of glitch effects on the beat and on some of the strings, which I automated pretty extensively. The beats were mainly done in Triaz. For the strings and synth lines, I mainly used a KORG Mono/Poly and a Roland JUNO 60. The final mixdown was done with the help of my buddy Petar Dundov in Zagreb on his SSL desk.
The original version of Endsong is over 10 minutes long, and most of it is a busy instrumental jam. How did you decide which moments to channel into your minimal techno version?
I’m not a fan of remixes that could basically be a track on their own and have nothing to do with the original. I wanted to keep Robert’s vocal recording pretty much untouched, apart from the obvious tempo change, as the original is 80 BPM. So, I had to speed things up to make it work on the dancefloor. I tried to give the remix a rough edge, sound-wise, so I used a lot of glitch effects and distortion on some of the original parts. Also, I wanted to incorporate the amazing guitar lines by Reeves Gabrels, even though the electric guitar isn’t your most typical instrument for a dance track. But in the end, it became a crucial element in the arrangement of my remix and really adds up in the last breakdown. I layered some additional synth and string lines at the end to create a busy-sounding harmonic climax.
Sally C – A Fragile Thing (Sally C Remix)

What are some of the main technical processes and pieces of gear you used to make your remix?
I used the main vocal and guitar stems as the emotional and melodic anchor of the track. To build the harmonic structure, I used the Roland JV-1080 for the bassline and chord layers. It has this nostalgic quality that fits the mood I was aiming for. I used a simple arpeggio with a plugin, which helped to complement the chords and add emotion, in addition to the guitar, which I find super emotional. For drums and percussion, I used the Elektron Machinedrum SPS-1 MK1. It always delivers the crisp and simple drum sounds I love.
Sally C. Image: Press
How did you take the more drone-y emo sound of Robert Smith’s voice and the lead guitar solos and gloss it up to sound so funky?
This was the most challenging but exciting part. Robert Smith’s voice has such an emotional depth, and I didn’t want to lose that. I chopped the vocals up ever so slightly to tease them in, then isolated my favourite emotionally hitting parts and worked around the vocals. I was instantly obsessed with the lead guitar. I knew I wanted to have these two elements front and centre, but also to respect the original. Instead of taking too much away from them or the moodiness, I let it sit in tension with the funk. That contrast created an emotional groove that I really liked. Percussion and breaks helped with the funkiness, too.
Trentmøller – And Nothing Is Forever (Trentmøller Remix)

What are the main technical processes and pieces of gear you used to make your remix?
For the Cure remix, I only used the vocals, nothing else from the original. I wrote completely new chord progressions, played new drums, new bass, new guitar, and synth textures. So, the whole instrumentation was done from scratch. I work mainly in the box, using Ableton Live, but also use a mix of analog outboard gear and lots of guitar pedals! But the heart of it is always the melody, arrangement, and emotional arc, not the gear.
Trentmøller. Image: Sofie Nørregaard
Your remix moves through a lot of different sonic moods, whereas the original is more uniform in relying on the strings. Why did you choose to spread it out as you did, and how did you accomplish that in terms of production?
The original has a beautiful, melancholic-driven atmosphere, but I wanted to take the vocals on a new journey. I treated it almost like I was scoring a short film, building new scenes around it with shifting moods and dynamics, so the emotional tone could evolve over time rather than stay fixed. But basically, I was just inspired by Robert’s amazing, good-sounding voice and the beautiful vocal melody. That shaped the new chords and instrumentation.
Omid 16B – Warsong (Omid 16B Remix)

What are the main technical processes and pieces of gear you used to make your remix?
My bass guitar, guitars, my voice, pads from my Jupiter 6, and a sequencer to put it together.
I like to record a lot of stuff live and then cut it up and use it.
Omid 16B. Image: Press
The original track, Warsong, is a very heavy rock song without any real steady beat. What about this inspired you to make a light and groovy breakbeat remix?
I had to play around with it a lot to realise it needed my own musical input to turn it into something that sounds like The Cure, yet also sounds like me. I decided to replay the melody and get the vocals in key. It wasn’t easy. I did go back and forth but found the structure for the remix and then worked on it until I felt happy enough for Robert to hear it, luckily Robert approved and we only had to turn the vocals up a few dB’s to get it right!
The post How we remixed The Cure: Tips from Orbital, Trentmøller and more appeared first on MusicTech.

Is Spotify’s HiFi lossless streaming actually coming? Leaked code says yesMore than four years after first announcing its plans for lossless audio streaming, Spotify’s long-delayed HiFi tier appears to be back in development.
Newly discovered code in the app’s backend suggests the company is preparing to launch a higher-quality streaming option, potentially as an add-on to its existing Premium service. And while that doesn’t mean you’ll be listening to 24-bit audio tomorrow, it’s the most tangible sign in years that the feature might be inching toward reality.

READ MORE: Is it really feasible to ask Sabrina Carpenter’s army of teenage fans not to use phones at her shows?

Spotify HiFi: A timeline of waiting
Spotify first announced a “Spotify HiFi” tier in February 2021, with bold promises of CD-quality audio arriving later that year. And then… radio silence. Competitors like Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music wasted no time filling that gap, offering higher-resolution streaming options, in some cases at no additional cost.
By 2024, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek pivoted from “HiFi” to promising a more vague “deluxe” tier. Then came a Bloomberg report in February suggesting that a new “Music Pro” subscription could finally deliver higher-fidelity streaming, possibly as a $5.99/month add-on.
The leak: A bit more than just hype
This week, tech product designer Chris Messina shared findings from Spotify’s latest app code on Threads. Key among them? Text referencing “Lossless music, now in Premium,” which implies the long-awaited feature could be rolled into the existing Premium tier – likely as an add-on rather than a separate subscription.
The code also mentions streaming at “up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz”. That’s higher resolution than Spotify originally promised (which was CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz), though still not quite up to the 24-bit/192kHz offered by Tidal, Qobuz, or Amazon Music.
Further confirmation came via Spicetify, a command-line tool for customising the Spotify client. According to the platform’s X account, a new version of the app (Spotify 1.2.66) now “mentions lossless in more parts of the UI”. The post also confirms that “lossless will be available on Spotify Connect & Web Player (per code I have seen).”

Spotify 1.2.66 mentions lossless in more parts of UI #NewSpotify #SpotifyLossless #Spotify
Lossless (pigeon) is mentioned in "Connect to the device" sidebar & under the artist in NPB (Now Playing Bar)Lossless will be available up to 24-bit/44.1KHz (FLAC + Widevine).Lossless… pic.twitter.com/QYbqg1ZKN3
— spicetify (@spicetifyapp) June 19, 2025

What This Means for Everyday Users
Of course, whether users will actually notice the difference is another question. For most listeners – especially those using Bluetooth headphones or everyday earbuds – the jump from 16-bit to 24-bit audio won’t be all that dramatic. But for audiophiles with transparent gear, or simply those tired of Spotify being the only major holdout, the change is both long overdue and cautiously promising.
The post Is Spotify’s HiFi lossless streaming actually coming? Leaked code says yes appeared first on MusicTech.

Nightfox Audio Everything Acoustic is FREE for BPB Readers until June 23
Nightfox Audio is offering the Everything Acoustic plugin, a sample-based virtual instrument for Windows and macOS, free exclusively to Bedroom Producers Blog readers until June 23. Everything Acoustic ($99 list price) comes stacked with ten deeply sampled acoustic instruments that you can layer and shape into hybrid textures. You get an inspiring selection of acoustic guitars, [...]
View post: Nightfox Audio Everything Acoustic is FREE for BPB Readers until June 23

Physical Audio introduce Tetrad Physical Audio’s new Tetrad soft synth uses a combination of physical modelling and granular synthesis to recreate the sound of the sculpture-based synth installation featured on composer and transmedia artist Gadi Sassoon'sModes of Vibration album.

Twist It: Philly’s Rising New Rock Band Hits Octane!      Written by Sammy OritiPhiladelphia’s Twist It is carving out a space in modern hard rock without a manager, record label, or industry backing—just music, drive, and fans. Blending clean vocals with djent-inspired guitars and heavy rhythm, the band delivers rock that’s sharp, focused, and built to move crowds. Their growing success is a clear example of what can happen when the music speaks for itself.Founded by drummer Sara Higgins, who started the band with guitarist/producer Logan Smith who she met at an after-school music program. Shortly after that, they met singer Kayla Hallman who was performing at a local show. From the beginning, the trio had one goal: to make music a full-time job. A real connection—personal and musical—became the backbone of what would become Twist It.Their debut EP Breathe has already pulled in over 1,000,000 streams, with radio support from SiriusXM Octane and a presence on key rock playlists. They’ve earned spots opening for national acts like Taproot, (hed) p.e., and The Millionaires—without relying on any industry gatekeepers.Twist It’s newest single “Undertow” continues to build momentum. The track leans into atmosphere and groove, balancing dark textures with a steady confidence that feels like a natural step forward for the band.With pure and melodic vocal lines, tight guitars and relentless drums, Twist It is proving that there’s still room for rock bands doing it their own way without a manager or a label. Just three young rockers and a growing wave of support. Twist It isn't the finished article, but there's a lot of potential and a huge amount of space for growth. Keep your eyes on them.Spotify - Spotify Website - https://twistitband.com The post Twist It: Philly’s Rising New Rock Band Hits Octane!       first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Bitcoin ‘weak hands’ sell 15K BTC at a loss: Are BTC lows under $100K next?This week, 15,000 Bitcoin were moved at a loss by short-term holders, raising the chance for a BTC price dip under $100,000.

SpaceX’s Starship blows up ahead of 10th test flightIt's the latest in a string of setbacks for the mega-rocket, which SpaceX hopes to use to build Starlink and one day go to Mars.

Fission Simulator Melts Down RP2040We’ve seen a lot of projects based on the Pi Pico, but a nuclear reactor simulation is a new one. This project was created by [Andrew Shim], [Tyler Wisniewski] and another group member for Cornell’s ECE 4760 class on embedded design (which should silence naysayers who think the Pi Pico can’t be a “serious” microcontroller), and simulates the infamous soviet RMBK reactor of Chernobyl fame. 
The simulation uses a 4-bit color VGA model. The fission model includes uranium fuel, water, graphite moderator, control rods and neutrons. To simplify the math, all decayed materials are treated identically as non-fissile, so no xenon poisoning is going to show up, for example. You can, however, take manual control to both scram the reactor and set it up to melt down with the hardware controller.
The RP2040’s dual-core nature comes in handy here: one core runs the main simulation loop, and the main graphic on the top of the VGA output; the other core generates the plots on the bottom half of the screen, and the Geiger-counter sound effect, and polls the buttons and encoders for user input. This is an interesting spread compared to the more usual GPU/CPU split we see on projects that use the RP2040 with VGA output.
An interesting wrinkle that has been declared a feature, not a bug, by the students behind this project, is that the framebuffer cannot keep up with all the neutrons in a meltdown simulation. Apparently the flickering and stuttering of frame-rate issues is “befitting of the meltdown scenario”. The idea that ones microcontroller melts down along with the simulated reactor is rather fitting, we agree. Check it out in a full walkthrough in the video below, or enjoy the student’s full writeup at the link above.
This project comes to us via Cornell University’s ECE 4760 course, which we’ve mentioned before. Thanks to [Hunter Adams] for the tipoff. You may see more student projects in the coming weeks.

Stagecraft Software offers Overdrive 5 distortion plugin for FREE
Stagecraft Software has launched a limited-time freebie deal on Overdrive 5, a distortion plugin for macOS and Windows, which is currently available for free to the first 1,000 users. Overdrive 5 features five high-quality distortion types, each with a variable scaling control that lets you dial in everything from subtle saturation to aggressive, snarling distortion. [...]
View post: Stagecraft Software offers Overdrive 5 distortion plugin for FREE

Is it really feasible to ask Sabrina Carpenter’s army of teenage fans not to use phones at her shows?Sabrina Carpenter might become the next artist to institute a phone ban at her upcoming concerts, following in the wake of the likes of Ghost, Jack White and a growing list of others.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the Taste singer says she had the idea after attending a Silk Sonic show where phones were banned, and thought the experience was improved as a result.

READ MORE: “It’s quite unique for a hard rock band”: Producer reveals the secret trick Ghost use to fill out their low end

“I went to see Silk Sonic in Vegas, and they locked my phone. I’ve never had a better experience at a concert,” she says [via NME]. “I genuinely felt like I was back in the ’70s. Genuinely felt like I was there. Everyone’s singing, dancing, looking at each other, and laughing. It really, really just felt so beautiful.”
She continues: “I’ve grown up in the age of people having iPhones at shows. It unfortunately feels super normal to me. I can’t blame people for wanting to have memories. But depending on how long I want to be touring, and what age I am, girl, take those phones away. You cannot zoom in on my face. Right now, my skin is soft and supple. It’s fine. Do not zoom in on me when I’m 80 years old up there.”
Asked whether she’s considering banning phones at her own shows, she replies: “Absolutely.”
But is it really feasible? It’s no secret that Carpenter’s audience consists, in large part, of teenage fans. And while we’re all glued to our phones more than ever before, this is probably even truer of this demographic. But Carpenter knows this: “This will honestly piss off my fans,” she admits.
Many people almost see their smartphone as an extension of themselves, so banning their use will always come with some degree of pushback, regardless of audience demographic.
When Swedish hard rock outfit Ghost instituted a phone ban at shows on their ongoing Skeletour, it stirred up debate among fans. Some, like Sabrina Carpenter, noted how phone-free shows lead to a more connected experience for attendees, while others viewed the ban as an encroachment.
“Many people want to share their experience and why shouldn’t they?” one fan wrote, adding: “People rely on their phones. You may be on call for your job, have childcare concerns or many reasons why you need to be contactable. Plus, don’t forget lots of people in the audience may not be fans. They are just there with their friends or kids etc.”
Speaking on his own decision to instate a phone ban, Ghost leader and frontman Tobias Forge said: “The face value of not seeing phones was literally like time travel.”
He continued: “I’m not talking about like back to the ’80s, I’m talking about maybe 10 years back in time when people were generally not filming as much, whereas now in modern times it’s just ridiculous. If you’re playing in front of 10,000 people, 8,000 people are holding a phone. I wish it was like this all the time.”
As it stands, Sabrina Carpenter has not confirmed she’ll be banning phones at any future shows.
View a full list of Sabrina Carpenter’s upcoming live dates at her official website. Elsewhere, she recently released Manchild, the lead single of her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend. Check it out below:

The post Is it really feasible to ask Sabrina Carpenter’s army of teenage fans not to use phones at her shows? appeared first on MusicTech.

HarbourView leads $85m investment in AI-powered kids entertainment company AnimajAnimaj reports to have a monthly global audience of 242m unique viewers on YouTube
Source

What does the DEI rollback mean for the music technology industry?“Don’t Give Up On Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”. That’s the proud and defiant message Spotify posted on its HR blog in 2023. Two years later, the term ‘DEI’ has soured. Spooked by the Trump administration’s ‘war on wokeness’, many leading companies are deleting policies aimed at creating a fairer workplace.
So, should we in the music industry be worried about similar rollbacks?

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“I think the entire world is worried about what’s going on,” says Emily Lazar, “What’s happening with DEI right now is going to impact all of us. It already has.”
Lazar is a Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer and no stranger to the fight for equity in the music industry. In her career, spanning over three decades, she says she’s seen “change and contraction, expansion and change again.” More than once, she’s been a key figure in delivering that change herself.
Her first Grammy Award nomination as a mastering engineer was for the Foo Fighters’ album Wasting Light. Incredibly, this made her the first ever woman to be nominated in the category. “How is this possible?” she recalls. “That was in 2011. It was kind of horrifying.”
Emily Lazar. Image: Press
Recognising the need for advocacy, Lazar founded We Are Moving The Needle in 2021, a non-profit that “empowers women, non-binary, and trans tech creators to succeed at the highest levels.”
In the past few years, the movement has driven diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which has resulted in high-profile public campaigns from some of the biggest companies in the music tech space. The Beatport Diversity and Parity Fund was established to focus on “underrepresented groups and promote diversity in the music industry”, and AlphaTheta (formerly Pioneer DJ) launched its Start From Scratch initiative to “provide free access to the DJ industry for underrepresented communities”.
“Even just 10 years ago, talking about gender inequality in music would elicit a yawn from most people in the industry,” explains Isobel Anderson, a UK-based artist, producer, and founder of the podcast Girls Twiddling Knobs. “It was seen as a non-issue at best, if not needlessly complicated and boring. That’s changed.”
Isobel Anderson. Image: Georgina Piper
For Anderson, the benefits to everyone involved are clear. “With increased DEI comes increased prosperity for all, including financially, regardless of gender or other characteristics,” she says. “Industries that lack diversity and inclusion often have lower wages and opportunities for almost all, except those in high positions of power.”
When asked if she is worried about the DEI pushback, her answer is definitive. “Absolutely. And not just because it will negatively impact women, gender diverse people and other minorities, but because it’s not based on any logic or reason. It’s entirely ideological, with no evidence to back it up.”
The evidence we do have tells us that in music production, women and women of colour barely enter the equation. The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which analysed 900 songs from the Billboard Hot 100 End of Year Charts, puts the figure in the single digits. Just 5.9 per cent of producing credits in 2024 went to women. That’s just 14 women, only two of whom were women of colour.
Companies removing DEI language is a mistake. It will have an impact on the diversity of not only an individual company’s workforce, but the culture of music overall.
Prior to 2019, no woman had ever been nominated for an album at the Grammys in the Electronic/Dance category, until TOKiMONSTA was up for an award, to which she also made history by being the first Asian-American to do so.
TOKiMONSTA. Image: Ben Bentley for MusicTech
Since the first Annenberg Report was published in 2017, the numbers starkly outline just how much work lies ahead. Recognising that progress on this issue has been painfully slow, both Lazar and Anderson believe now is simply not the time to give up on creating a more inclusive and diverse music industry.
No matter what they say in public, businesses seem to understand just how much support there is for DEI in general. Speaking anonymously to the Financial Times, one music executive explained that while it’s a “commercial imperative” to continue their company’s DEI efforts, they simply wouldn’t call it ‘DEI’ anymore. In the current political climate, the word has become all but toxic, and simply mentioning it can place a target on a business’s back.
This raises a thorny issue about how much language matters.
“Companies removing DEI language is a mistake,” says Anderson. “It will have an impact on the diversity of not only an individual company’s workforce, but the culture of music overall.
“When women or people from other minorities in music see a job or opportunity that specifically indicates an intentional commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” Anderson continues, “it makes them more likely to apply and take part. Not because they think they’ll have a better chance at being selected, but because they trust that if they were to be, they would be joining an inclusive and welcoming culture where they can thrive and contribute.”
Skye Landgraf, director of partnerships and programs at We Are Moving The Needle, understands the corporate and organisational perspective on the issue. “Scrubbing DEI language and changing how we talk about this work means that we’re losing an important element of accountability. If you don’t tell me what your commitments are, how do I know what your commitments are?”
“This is not the time to shut down a diversity of voices” — Alicia Keys
At the same time, the way people feel about DEI terminology, even those who benefit from it, is complicated. These words can feel like an empty promise or even a scarlet letter. It’s not uncommon to hear stories about being the ‘DEI hire’, that awkward and uncomfortable feeling of only being picked for a role to fill a quota based on ethnicity, gender or other minority characteristics. Lazar, who is a proponent of DEI, makes a point not to dwell on the terminology. “I am very clear that it’s not really about the language. It’s really about the actions.”
When it comes to Spotify, the largest music streaming platform on the planet, it’s fair to wonder where they stand on these issues. On the one hand, its Equity Impact Report states that “inclusion shapes everything we do at Spotify”, and the company consistently funds scholarships for underrepresented groups and sponsors initiatives like the USC Annenberg Report on inclusion in the recording studio.
Yet, at the beginning of 2025, Spotify donated $150,000 USD to President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee ceremony, raising the question of whether this is ‘business as usual’ or a signal that it might change its policies to placate a US administration which has threatened investigations and punishment for private companies who keep ‘illegal’ DEI policies on the books. Amazon, for example, donated $1 million to the inauguration and then promptly rolled back its DEI policies; however, Apple donated the same amount but ultimately voted against an anti-DEI proposal. The picture is not clear-cut.
Asked for comment, a Spotify representative told me: “We serve 678 million users in 180+ markets, so our workforce is inherently global to ensure we have the best people to support the artists, creators, authors and audiences in the local communities we serve.” It is worth noting that Spotify currently supports a number of initiatives, including GLOW With Pride: Amplifying LGBTQIA+ Voices and the Heart & Soul Initiative, which aims to bring mental health support to artists and creators.
Outside of the corporate context, it’s important to remember that artists, producers, DJs, and audio professionals can and do apply their own pressure on this issue.
“This is not the time to shut down a diversity of voices”, said Alicia Keys as she accepted the Dr Dre Global Impact Award at this year’s Grammys. A key advocate for more women in the music industry, Keys spelled it out for everyone in the audience: “We’ve seen on this stage talented, hard-working people from different backgrounds, with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift — and the more voices, the more powerful the sound.”

At the ground level, Lazar is witnessing a lot of positive steps being taken: “We’re seeing people assemble teams of 50 per cent women. We’re seeing touring artists who are intentionally hiring women for their tours and trying to fill the backline of their tours with women. We’re seeing artists who are making an effort to hire women producers and engineers, extending beyond that to look at all of the roles to go into filling out a team from management, to PR, to label services.”
In the past, these decisions were the domain of labels, but with an increasing number of music makers “steering their own ship”, as Lazar says, “Artists are now learning that they have more power.”
Even as DEI undergoes a surface-level rebranding in many corporate circles, public support for DEI is helping to shape actual policy choices. As a result, some businesses are choosing to embed diversity, equity and inclusion into the culture, rather than do away with it entirely.
Ultimately, despite witnessing yet another backslide in culture, Lazar holds a positive view of the music industry and how it might respond. “What matters is how we react and what we do as an industry to stand up for ourselves and our own,” she says. “That’s going to really tell the rest of this story.”
Lazar points to the LA wildfires at the start of 2025 as an example of people in the music industry coming together to support each other during one of the most devastating moments in LA’s music history. Throughout these cycles of change, she says that one thing remains constant: “We are an industry that supports our own.”
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Fuse Audio Labs announce OCELOT Octaver OCELOT Octaver can be used to add some low-end weight to kick drums and basses, brighten up lacklustre synth sounds and more, all while incurring minimal latency and CPU load. 

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