How YouTube Works for MusicThis week, Ari is joined by George Karalexis & Donna Budica, the co-founders of TEN2 Media, to discuss YouTube growth and monetization.

Biden admin’s final rule banning Chinese connected cars also bars robotaxi testing on U.S. roadsThe U.S. Department of Commerce announced a final rule Tuesday that would ban the sale or import of connected vehicles from China and Russia due to national security concerns. The rule would also bar Chinese car companies, such as WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads.  “China is trying to dominate […]
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Ripple execs lash out at SEC’s refusal to postpone appeal filingAccording to Ripple’s chief legal officer, the SEC will continue with its appeal of a judgment in the civil case despite Chair Gary Gensler stepping down in six days.

Audio on a Shoestring: DIY Your Own Studio-Grade MicWhen it comes to DIY projects, nothing beats the thrill of crafting something that rivals expensive commercial products. In the microphone build video below, [Electronoobs] found himself inspired by DIY Perks earlier efforts. He took on the challenge of building a $20 high-quality microphone—a budget-friendly alternative to models priced at $500. The result: an engaging and educational journey that has it’s moments of triumph, it’s challenges, and of course, opportunities for improvement.
The core of the build lies in the JLI-2555 capsule, identical to those found in premium microphones. The process involves assembling a custom PCB for the amplifier, a selection of high-quality capacitors, and designing lightweight yet shielded wiring to minimize noise. [Electronoobs] also demonstrates the importance of a well-constructed metal mesh enclosure to eliminate interference, borrowing techniques like shaping mesh over a wooden template and insulating wires with ultra-thin enamel copper. While the final build does not quite reach the studio-quality level and looks of the referenced DIY Perks’ build, it is an impressive attempt to watch and learn from.
The project’s key challenge here would be achieving consistent audio quality. The microphone struggled with noise, low volume, and single-channel audio, until [Electronoobs] made smart modifications to the shielded wiring and amplification stages. Despite the hurdles, the build stands as an affordable alternative with significant potential for refinement in future iterations.

Ditto hails ‘extraordinary growth’ amid global expansion as firm surpasses 2m registered artistsDitto hit the 1 million user mark in July 2023
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Hackaday Europe 2025 Tickets on Sale, and CFP Extended Until FridayWe’re opening up shop for Hackaday Europe, so get your tickets now! We’ve managed to get the ticket price down a bit this year, so you can join in all the fun for $145. And if you’re reading this right now, snap up one of the $75 early bird tickets as fast as you can.
Hackaday Europe is going down again in Berlin this year, on March 15th and 16th at MotionLab. It’s going to be a day and a half of presentations, lightning talks, badge hacking, workshops, and more. This is where Hackaday hangs out in person, and it’s honestly just a great time – if your idea of a great time is trading favorite PCB design tricks, crafting crufty code, and generally trading tales of hardware derring-do.
In short, it’s the best of Hackaday, live and in person. Throughout the weekend, all the meals are catered, we’ve got live music at night, and the soldering irons will be warmed up for you. It’s going to be great!
If you’re in town on Friday the 14th, we’ll be meeting up in the evening to get together over some pre-event food and drink, sponsored by Crowd Supply. It’s a nice opportunity to break the ice, get to know the people you’re going to be spending the next 48 hours with, and just mingle without missing that great talk or wonderful workshop.
The Badge
The badge is a showpiece of SAOs – the simple add-ons that we were cheekily calling “Supercon Add Ons” a couple months ago. For Supercon, we just exposed the I2C busses and GPIOs, flashed Micropython on the thing, and let you go wild. For Europe, the badge is going to have re-vamped firmware, and the range of SAOs that we’re including in the bag has gone bonkers.
You see, we held this Supercon Add-On Contest, and the winners were insane. Plus, we’ve got the Supercon-issue touch wheel, LED spiral, and CH32V003 prototyping boards. Did we mention that the badge can flash them through the SAO port?

And we would be remiss if we didn’t encourage you to take the step into making your own SAO to bring and trade with others. An SAO doesn’t have to be complicated to be cool. Just a good idea, and some time spent designing a PCB, getting it fabricated, assembling it, programming it, maybe debugging it, perhaps making a jig and some tooling to help you with the short production run… OK, who are we kidding? It’s a low-stakes, lighthearted look at the full-stack of hardware creation. Pick a meme, or do something unique, and get a small batch made. The experience is worth even more than the smiles you’ll put on all of our faces.
CFP Extended
Procrastineers, rejoice! Today marks the official end of the call for proposals, but since we always do, we’re extending it a bit. If you’ve been thinking about giving a talk, and just never reached activation energy, it’s now or never! Draft up an abstract and get it in before the clock strikes metaphorical midnight on Friday.
Everyone Can Participate
But it’s not just speakers who can bring something to show off at Hackaday Europe 2025. We’ve got lightning talks going on Sunday morning after brunch and before the badge hack showcase. The whole event is an informal show-and-tell anyway, because people always bring whatever they’re working on, or have just finished, to demo to a like-minded crowd. And on that note, if you want to bring something that’s cool but takes up more space than a breadbox, let us know by sending an e-mail to editor@Hackaday.com with [Hackaday Europe] in the subject line. We’ll try to find space for you.
But to join in, you’ve got to be there. Get your tickets now and we’ll see you in Berlin!

Sony Music cancels all Grammy Week events, redirects efforts and funds to wildfire relief efforts in Los AngelesSony Music is canceling all of its events during Grammy Week and redirecting its efforts and funds to wildfire relief efforts in Los Angeles. The major becomes the latest to confirm that its Grammy-related events will not be going ahead this year amid the devastating wildfires that continue to burn in Los Angeles County. The … Continued
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Vintage launch Retro Series amps Vintage have announced the launch of a new collection of modelling amps that recreate a range of sought-after classic sounds and include a set of built-in effects.

Chartmetric 2024 Report: new Superstars, Glocalization, MoreDiscover the highlights from the Chartmetric 2024 Report including new superstars, trigger cities, glocalization and more: One of several shockers: of the 11 million Spotify profiles tracked by Chartmetric, only 1.58 million (14%) have more than 10 listeners per month.
The post Chartmetric 2024 Report: new Superstars, Glocalization, More appeared first on Hypebot.

Junk Ticket Fee Protections: NITO Pushes FTC for Stronger RulesThe National Independent Talent Association (NITO) and its member booking agencies and managers and the thousands of artists they represent, has asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand its ticket junk fee protections.
The post Junk Ticket Fee Protections: NITO Pushes FTC for Stronger Rules appeared first on Hypebot.

Side Door helped artists earned $1.7M at small venue gigsSide Door helps musicians and small venues connect, market and sell tickets. The number of shows it facilitates and the dollars earned don't make great headlines.
The post Side Door helped artists earned $1.7M at small venue gigs appeared first on Hypebot.

Get IK Multimedia’s T-RackS Mastering Processor for $29
Until January 23rd, you can grab IK Multimedia’s T-RackS One exclusively on VSTBuzz for $29. This plugin regularly sells for $99, so this deal is a 70% discount. Months ago, we covered the VSTBuzz Closing Down Sale. However, the website was later re-launched with new owners and new deals. T-RackS One is designed to make [...]
View post: Get IK Multimedia’s T-RackS Mastering Processor for $29

“A collection of the greatest reverbs in recorded history”: Softube launches Dimensions reverb pluginSoftube has unveiled Dimensions, a new reverb plugin kitted out with six dynamic, adaptable reverb algorithms.
Dubbed a “transcendent tool for your sound”, Dimensions offers a variety of colours and sounds via six distinctive reverbs: Spring, Plate, Concert Hall, Room, Random Hall, and Cathedral. “From vibey and colourful mechanical reverbs, such as the Spring and Plate reverbs, to recreations of the most coveted reverb designs in music production, such as the ethereal Concert Hall and the famous Random Hall, with its beautiful spatialisation that glues together any source,” says Softube.

READ MORE: What to expect at NAMM 2025

Elsewhere, Dimensions features a Reverb Tail Visualiser, which, inspired by the Fairlight CMI sampler workstation and synth from 1979, and Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album cover, enables users to see exactly what’s happening with their reverb tails. There’s also a Shimmer Effect, which turns any of the six included reverbs into a shimmer reverb, and a comprehensive preset collection which aims to help producers get creative right away.

Each reverb mode can be easily tweaked within the plugin. Users can adjust the bass and treble, as well as the time and pre-delay. There’s also the ability to adjust wet/dry balance, or tweak how dark or bright it feels.
“When it comes to creating equipment that enhances workflow and offers supreme sound quality, our reputation is rock solid and illustriously long,” says Softube. “Our partnerships with premium brands like Tube-Tech, Solid State Logic, Chandler Limited, Weiss Engineering, and Trident have spanned decades.
“Dimensions was built on this legacy of creativity, passion, and obsession with details. Because to create tools that innovate and elevate, you have to have heart, soul, and Rock & Roll Science.”
Dimensions is available now, at an introductory price of €99, down from €149. For more information, head to Softube.
The post “A collection of the greatest reverbs in recorded history”: Softube launches Dimensions reverb plugin appeared first on MusicTech.

The Leverhulme Amplification Project: PhD Scholarships The Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield are currently inviting applications for 12 full scholarships for PhDs as part of the Amplification Project.

Supercritical launch Redshift 6 desktop synth Bringing together the technology behind Supercritical's Demon Core Oscillator and Neutron Flux Filter Eurorack modules, Redshift 6 is said to be a versatile instrument that’s capable of delivering everything from classic analogue polysynth sounds to modern digital tones.