Maximize Impact with a Waterfall Music Release StrategyUnlock the power of a waterfall music release strategy to amplify a reach and build lasting engagement. 
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Spotify is focused on Growth, Video, AI and SuperfansAfter reporting a strong Q3 2024 Tuesday, Spotify focused on Growth, video, AI and superfans during a call with investors and analysts that followed. In after hours trading Tuesday, Spotify. Continue reading
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“I gotta get it on pop radio!”: How Quincy Jones saved Beat It from becoming “too metal”With over 12 million sales worldwide, Michael Jackson‘s 1983 smash hit Beat It is one of the best-selling songs of all time – but it could have sounded completely different.
According to Toto’s Steve Lukather – who played guitar on the song, alongside Eddie Van Halen, who played the solo – Beat It nearly sounded a hell of a lot heavier. In a recent chat with The Guardian, the guitarist and producer reflects on his experience working with the late Quincy Jones to produce 1982’s Thriller, on which the song appears. And Jones wasn’t afraid to tell Lukather when he was wrong.

READ MORE: 10 lessons everyone in music can learn from Quincy Jones

If it had been up to Lukather, Beat It would have been a more gritty, distorted affair. “I played a bunch of really wild guitar parts, because I knew Eddie [Van Halen]’s solo was on it,” he recalls. “I was doing real hard rock, a quadruple-track riff.”
“Quincy wasn’t even there, he was at Westlake doing overdubs on Billie Jean while we were fixing Beat It,” he goes on. “So we’d be on the phone and he goes: ‘It’s too metal, you gotta calm down. I gotta get it on pop radio! Use the small amp, not so much distortion.’”

“Quincy just creates a vibe in the studio,” Lukather explains. “He orders up great food, makes everybody feel comfortable and happy, and that makes for a great creative experience. He didn’t write out parts for us; he gave us free rein.”
“He’d give us a chord sheet and say: ’What have you guys got? Make me look good!’” he continues. “Then, once he started to get a feel for everything, he was a great director.”
Jones’ passing has come with a wave of loving tributes. Lukather’s words paint Jones as an irreplaceable creative force: “Quincy is the only guy that can do a solo album without playing or writing anything. Somehow, no matter what he did, there was a Quincy Jones sound – even if he didn’t play, sing, write or whatever. He was a director.”

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Gentle Keys piano by Splash Sound is FREE for a limited time
For a limited time, Eva Instruments is offering their Gentle Keys Kontakt library by Splash Sound completely free of charge. If you’ve been looking to upgrade your piano libraries while still on a budget, you’ve come to the right place. I was initially unfamiliar with the name Eva Instruments, but it seems to be a [...]
View post: Gentle Keys piano by Splash Sound is FREE for a limited time

Spitfire Audio release Ólafur Arnalds Cells Spitfire Audio have teamed up with celebrated Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds to release Ólafur Arnalds Cells, combining live strings and analogue synths.

“We’ve never been in a stronger position”: Spotify releases its Third Quarter earnings for 2024Spotify has shared its Q3 earnings for 2024, with CEO Daniel Ek celebrating that the streaming platform has “never been in a stronger position”.
The brand says it has outperformed across key metrics, with its subscriber and user growth continuing to climb, and that it is well on its way to its first full year of profitability.

READ MORE: Spotify wins lawsuit over Eminem’s publisher in licensing rights dispute

Across Q3, Spotify’s monthly active users grew by 11 percent year-over-year to 640 million, with subscribers having also increased by 12 percent to 252 million. Total revenue was up across the quarter by 19 percent year-over-year to €4 billion, with its gross margin reaching 31.1 percent. Operating Income has also improved to €454 million.
Within its report, Spotify has additionally summarised how its latest developments and features are continuing to expand around the world. These are as follows:

Music videos: In beta, these are now available in 97 markets for Premium users.
AI Playlist feature: This continues to roll out in the US, Canada, and more, allowing Premium users to let AI curate playlists from their prompts and ideas.
Growing Daylist: This personalised playlist feature, which updates throughout the day, is now available to Free and Premium users worldwide, and is now supported in over 14 languages.
Countdown Pages: Eligible artists can now unlock Countdown Pages, where fans can pre-save albums, preview tracklists, buy merch, and countdown to releases.
Introduction of Livi: A new beta AI DJ, Livi, is now available in Spanish for Spanish-speaking Premium users worldwide.
First-ever on-platform voting feature: T-Pop fans were given the ability to vote for their favourite artists and influence who appeared on the TV show Thailand Music Countdown.

Spotify also launched its own creative hub called Casa Spotify Buenos Aires back in August. The space is dedicated to elevating Argentine artists, and features a podcast studio, listening rooms, and an acoustic performance space.
Alongside its music-focused progression, Spotify has also grown features for its podcasts and audiobooks. Users now have the ability to comment under podcasts to continue discussion, and Premium users in non-English speaking countries including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg can now access over 200,000 titles via Audiobooks.
Ek comments, “I’m incredibly proud of the way we’ve delivered and the progress we’ve made. We’re where we set out to be – if not a little further – and on a steady path toward achieving our long-term goals. This relentless pursuit of innovation and commitment to growth sets us up to deliver the most valuable user experience in the industry, while reinforcing the core strengths that make Spotify unique. I am very excited about what lies ahead for us.”
To find out more, head over to the Spotify Newsroom.
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Turntable Labs’ social music platform Hangout launches with Sony, Universal and Warner dealsHangout launches with a catalog of over 100 million tracks
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Trump allies say he’s likely to reverse TikTok ban (reports)Trump once sought to ban TikTok, but ended up using the app during the recent presidential election
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Smyths Toys’ new iDance XD-301 DJ deck will have your child dropping beats like a proIt’s never too early to dive into the world of DJing, if Smyths Toys’ latest iDance XD-301 DJ controller is any indication.
Featuring a dual player setup and two 50-watt speakers, the iDance XD-301 is the “ultimate setup to showcase your talent” and is designed to help kids “kickstart [their] music adventures”, says the UK toy company.

READ MORE: Fans reacting to Tyler, The Creator’s new album Chromakopia are getting copyright strikes – but he’s working overtime to reverse them

With LED sound pads, a MIC/AUX input, crossfader, pitch bend, bass booster effects and 2 space controllers for airplay, the XD301 DJ station offers “endless mixing possibilities”.
Users can gesture over the space control sensors to start the beats player, play jingles or drums, and add cool effects and a capellas to their tracks. The mix-drop function, meanwhile, allows you to effortlessly add sound effects, and take your mixes to new heights of creativity.
The DJ toy also comes with bluetooth, USB, and MP3 connectivity, and is rechargeable via USB. Each full charge gives you 4-8 hours of playtime. Priced at £59.99 or €69.99, the iDance XD-301 DJ deck is now available for purchase on the Smyths Toys website.
“Get ready to rock with the iDance XD-301 DJ Station at Smyths Toys Demo Days,” the brand wrote in an Instagram post introducing the new deck.
Check out the toy in action below.

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Electronic music toys have been all the rage of late. Earlier this year, Playtime Engineering launched the Blipbox MyTracks, a child-friendly, MPC-style sampler designed to make music production accessible to all.
Blipblox myTRACKS embraces a childlike, colourful aesthetic while also capturing the spirit of a hip-hop groovebox. There’s a built-in microphone for sampling, two FX processors and a slew of over 50 acoustic, electronic and percussion instrumental sounds to play with. You can even download sound packs online, which gives young creators plenty to work with.
Learn more at SmythsToys.
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Origin Effects launch DELUXE55 amp-sim pedal The latest addition to the Origin Effects range pays tribute to one of Fender's most sought-after vintage valve amps. 

Mother Mother's TikTok RenaissanceCanadian indie rock band Mother Mother have come a long way from their days in the attic in Vancouver. A series of well-received albums and the group's sudden bombshell resurgence on TikTok in 2020 has cemented them amidst a new generation of fans, one which embraces the band's alien soundscape as their own.

23andMe cuts 40% of staff in restructuring23andMe announced on Monday it would cut 40% of its workforce, representing more than 200 employees, as part of a restructuring at the company. The genetic testing company is also discontinuing its therapeutics business and winding down its clinical trials; it expects these changes to save $35 million annually. “We are taking these difficult but […]
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Trader who lost $26M to copy-paste error says it’s been ‘max pain’A trader who lost $25 million after accidentally copying and pasting the wrong transfer address is offering a $2.5 million reward to white hackers in the hopes of getting their money back. 

This $22 MIDI gadget turns your smartphone into a fluteZefiro, a new USB-C MIDI controller, lets you use your smartphone as a wind instrument.
The device, which was developed by the Italian startup Artinoise, is a small mouthpiece with a USB-C connector. Simply plug it into the USB-C port of a compatible iOS or Android device and gently blow. The companion app lets you choose from a selection of virtual wind instruments and play them in real-time.
Artinoise is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to release Zefiro. Its goal is to raise a minimum of $5,300 to conclude production. At the time of writing, the campaign has raised $13,858 with a deadline of 12 December 2024.
“We have been developing and manufacturing musical instruments for years; now we just need to collect orders for our latest creation and kick off manufacturing!” says Artinoise on the page for the campaign.

As of now, customers who contribute €22 will receive a Zefiro when they are ready to ship, which is presumed to be February 2025. Early contributors can also get a pro version for €39. This model includes an accelerometer, which can gauge the speed of air entering the device to make the result music more intricate. After development is complete, retail pricing for the standard model is expected to be €42.
The Zefiro’s technology is similar to that of other Electronic Wind Instruments — a term for an electronic instrument that uses functionality similar to a saxophone or clarinet. But since it’s electronic, musicians can explore sounds with the same capability as a synthesizer. EWIs have been pioneered by revered musicians such as the late great wind player, Michael Brecker, and AKAI has developed popular EWI models including the EWI Solo and EWI5000.
In that same vein, Zefiro’s app offers numerous options for music-making. Users can customise the sound and the position of the buttons that make the different notes. There are also built-in backing tracks and recording capabilities. Furthermore, for more advanced creators out there, the Zefiro can be used with any computer that has a USB-C input and is MIDI compatible as well. That means the Zefiro can also be used with DAWs like Ableton Live and Logic Pro.
Find out more at Kickstarter.com. 
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Spotify active users exceed 640 million, Stock jumps 10%Spotify active users now exceed 640 million monthly, the streamer reported on Tuesday. That's up 16 million in the last three months and 11% over the previous year. 252 million of those are paid Premium users.
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