“This is an Omnichord that’s been left out in the rain”: St. Vincent offers a tour of her studioSt. Vincent has offered a tour of her studio, pulling back the curtain on her creative space and her fondness for so-called “terrible” gear.
In a recent studio tour with Reverb, the Grammy-winning artist and producer takes viewers inside her world of songwriting, recording, and the sometimes-questionable instruments she has collected over the years.

READ MORE: FINNEAS on why you should “bail on bad ideas instead of pumping them through $20,000 of outboard gear”

During the tour, the musician — real name Annie Clark — describes how she went through a phase of “thrifting” gear and the occasional gems she discovered while messing around with some of those underappreciated instruments
“I had a period of time where I was [doing] the Reverb equivalent of thrifting,” she says. “I was like, ‘I know people think that these are terrible machines but I’m going to prove that they’re great!’”
One such machine was the Roland MC-303, a groovebox that has often been dismissed by musicians and producers for its limited sound capabilities. St. Vincent admits that while she initially hoped to find hidden potential in the device, reality didn’t quite match her expectations.
“And then you get them, and you’re like, ‘Oh no, this is kind of terrible,’” Still, she found a way to make it work. After “hours of scrolling through presets” on the MC-303, she managed to incorporate a sound from it into Big Time Nothing, a track from her latest album All Born Screaming.
“I can’t show you because it’s totally broken,” she laughs, “but it’s also not worth repairing.”
Elsewhere, St. Vincent also shows off an Omnichord — the cult favourite Suzuki instrument from the ’80s – that’s been “left out in the rain”, though she insists it “doesn’t matter” because like the MC-303, “it’s totally broken”.
“I used this a lot – I overused this – on [my second album] Actor.”
That said, much as she enjoys messing around in the studio, St. Vincent admits that her true passion lies in songwriting.
“Sometimes doing this stuff is a distraction from sitting down and writing the song I know I need to write,” she says. “My main passion, no matter how I get there, is actually writing songs. That is immensely harder than dicking around in the studio all day.”

Last year, St. Vincent told producers to be cautious when relying too heavily on plugins, warning: “They have flashy interfaces that make you think they’re doing more than they’re actually doing”.
The post “This is an Omnichord that’s been left out in the rain”: St. Vincent offers a tour of her studio appeared first on MusicTech.

“Streaming has levelled the playing field for music markets around the world”: No UK artists ranked in Top 10 global bestseller charts for first time in 20 yearsFor the first time in over two decades, zero UK artists have made it into the annual top 10 bestselling singles or albums charts worldwide.
Data from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reveal that no British artists ranked higher than 15th in 2024’s bestselling singles, marking the first instance of this since 2005.
UK artists have consistently appeared in one, or both of the top 10 bestselling albums or singles categories every year since at least 2003.

READ MORE: So…How did Apple Music become a hero of streaming services, and Spotify a supervillain?

In 2022, UK artists accounted for seven of the 20 total spots across both categories. However, last year’s rankings were dominated by American and South Korean acts, including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Seventeen.
This comes after a particularly strong year for British artists like Charli XCX, Central Cee, and Ezra Collective, though none of them made it onto last year’s bestselling charts.
Jo Twist, chief executive of British record industry body the BPI, says: “British artists may have enjoyed stronger years on the international stage, which perhaps isn’t surprising given some of our biggest names were not in cycle in 2024.”
“There was still plenty to be excited about, as a new generation announced itself — not least Charli XCX, who enjoyed a breakthrough year globally, alongside international chart success for emerging artists such as Jordan Adetunji, Artemas and Good Neighbours, while the likes of Lola Young and Myles are now rapidly building an international following.”
Twist adds that “streaming has created many benefits, enabling more artists to succeed, but has also levelled the playing field for music markets around the world, opening up more challenges to the UK.”
It is “undoubtedly becoming much harder to break talent in a hyper-competitive global music economy,” she says.
Global bestselling singles of 2024

Benson Boone – Beautiful Things
Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
Teddy Swims – Lose Control
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Hozier – Too Sweet
Post Malone – I Had Some Help (feat Morgan Wallen)
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer
Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Global bestselling albums of 2024

Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Enhypen – Romance: Untold
SZA – SOS
Seventeen – Spill The Feels
Morgan Wallen – One Thing At A Time
Seventeen – 17 Is Right Here
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
Stray Kids – ATE

Calling out the “rigged” music industry this week, British artist Sam Fender said that “The music industry is 80 percent, 90 percent kids who are privately educated…“A kid from where I’m from can’t afford to tour, so there are probably thousands writing songs that are ten times better than mine, poignant lyrics about the country, but they will not be seen because it’s rigged.”
Read more music technology and industry news. 
The post “Streaming has levelled the playing field for music markets around the world”: No UK artists ranked in Top 10 global bestseller charts for first time in 20 years appeared first on MusicTech.

Noise Engineering introduce Batverb pedal The Batverb is a stereo reverb effect that Noise Engineering say can be considered an instrument in its own right.

Chegg sues Google over AI search summariesEdtech company Chegg has sued Google claiming that the tech giant’s AI summaries of search results have hurt Chegg’s traffic and revenue. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Chegg accuses Google of unfair competition — specifically reciprocal dealing, monopoly maintenance, and unjust enrichment. Google, Chegg claims, forces […]
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OKX pleads guilty, pays $505M in penalties to settle DOJ chargesOKX’s Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd agreed to pay over $500 million worth of fines for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

Atmospheric Water Harvesting With High VoltageOne of the two stakes that make up the electrostatic precipitator system for atmospheric water harvesting. (Credit: Plasma Channel, YouTube)
Atmospheric water harvesting is a way to obtain fresh water in arid regions, as there is always some moisture in the air, especially in the form of morning fog. The trick lies in capturing this moisture as efficiently as possible, with a range of methods available that start at ancient low-tech methods involving passive fog droplet capture all the way to variants of what are effectively large dehumidifiers. A less common way involves high-voltage and found itself the subject of a recent Plasma Channel video on YouTube. The inspiration for the build was a 2018 paper by [Maher Damak] et al. (PDF) titled Electrostatically driven fog collection using space charge injection.
Rather than passively waiting for dew to collect on the collector, as with many of the methods detailed in this review article by [Xiaoyi Liu] et al., this electrostatic approach pretty much does what it says on the tin. It follows the principle of electrostatic precipitators with a high-voltage emitter electrode to ionize the air and grounded collector wires. In the video a small-scale version (see top image) was first constructed, demonstrating the effectiveness. Whereas the passive grid collected virtually none of the fog from an ultrasonic fog maker, with 35 kV applied the difference was night and day. No water was collected with the first test, but with power applied a significant 40 mL was collected in 5 minutes on the small mesh.
With this scale test complete, a larger version could be designed and tested. This simplifies the emitter to a single wire connected between two stakes, one of which contains the 20 kV HV generator and battery. The mesh is placed right below it and grounded (see image). With an extreme fog test inside a terrarium, it showed a very strong effect, resulting in a harvest of 14 mL/Wh for this prototype. With a larger scale version in a real-life environment (i.e. desert) planned, it’ll be interesting to see whether this method holds up in a more realistic scenario.

Tip Jar: Promotion or Emotion?By Darryl Evan JonesAs an artist—especially an indie artist—it’s very easy to find yourself chasing the rabbit of promotion. Don’t get me wrong, promotion is essential to every artist’s career. However, a very common mistake I’ve seen artists make (including myself) is losing scope with their promotion efforts. Too often artists make decisions about promotion based on emotion, rather than on a scientific approach. For example, every recording artist would love to see their name on and moving up the charts. This becomes a problem when it’s only based on the emotion, the high of that accomplishment, rather than having a plan and purpose for seeking that out. If there’s no plan beyond “look mom, I’ve charted,” it’s all emotion and counterproductive. Before long, you’ll find yourself spending thousands of dollars feeding the promo machine and your ego—a good recipe for disaster. If at least part of the plan is to convert charting into something tangible and lucrative like high profile and high paying performances, then have at it!Let’s face it, while an artist is struggling to build name recognition and gain a better foothold in the music game, everyone has their hand out. And sadly, the very last one with any hope of making money in the music business is the artist. While attempting to navigate the promotion gauntlet, most often artists inevitably become trapped on the hamster wheel of promotion versus emotion. What do I mean by that? Very simply, artists become completely distracted from their personal mission and goals and instead find themselves lost in the quagmire of competing in someone else’s vision. That’s very often displayed by spending tons of money in a certain area of promotion that may not quite fit that artist’s goals and vision. Everyone wants to be respected and appreciated for their craft. That doesn’t mean that your respect and appreciation must mirror anyone else’s—neither should it.Before you find yourself in the never-ending cycle of riding the carousel of promotion, I recommend the following:Ask yourself these questions:1. What do I want out of my music career?2. Do I want to be a major act locally, nationally, internationally?3. How do I plan to get people to know about me and my music?Then:1. Refocus. Put some blinders on, if necessary. Don’t completely block out the outside world, but definitely focus on YOUR goals and accomplishments.2. Plan. If you haven’t already done so, write down how you want your music career to look. Remain open and flexible but at least map out your career path and goals.3. Budget. Although the cost of making music has come way down due to constant advancements in technology, promotion costs have not. Your promo budget won’t look exactly like anyone else’s, but should be reflective of the goals and plan you’ve laid out. Your promo will be the highest cost of your venture—if you plan to follow the more traditional music business role.Let’s visit three main arms of music promotion:Radio PromotionIf radio promotion is in your plans, ask yourself why? I’m not at all suggesting you don’t pursue radio promotion. I’m only advising you to understand why it is or isn’t a viable avenue for you. If radio promotion is part of your strategy, you’ll want to vet a reputable independent radio promoter. Things to consider include but are not limited to how long will the campaign (for each song) last; how much does the term of promotion cost; what’s the cost to extend a promotion; what’s the promoter’s track record? (Which charts and chart positions have their artists attained and what’s their reputation in the business?); how many artists and/or songs does the radio promoter represent/pitch at one time; is the radio promoter completely independent or is he/she beholden to a record label? There are ways to get your music to radio program managers without a promoter. The question becomes, are you willing and able to do the tremendous amount of legwork required to accomplish this? Also, be sure to ask yourself why you would consider the expense of radio promotion. The average independent radio promotion campaign can range from $300 per week to $1,000 per week or more, depending on the genre. Is radio a justifiable consideration? Are you trying to earn a place on “the charts”? If so, why? Keep in mind that in an age where “everybody’s got a chart,” not all charts are the same or carry the same weight. Social Media PromotionExtremely vital in today’s world is an effective social media marketing campaign. Again, you could do all the legwork yourself. The question is, should you? There are those out there who specialize in this arena and are very familiar with nuance strategies most artists are not. Plus, how can you be sure you’re posting the right content on the right platform(s) at the right time(s)? Yes, there’s a science to it. Just throwing something against the wall and hoping it sticks is Not a good strategy. In my opinion, a professional, experienced social media marketing manager is a must for any music career. Do your homework and vet any social media people you’re considering working with.PublicityNot to be confused with social media marketing (although the two can sometimes intersect), publicity is also a must for your music career. A good publicist will have access to opportunities and industry gatekeepers the artist couldn’t even imagine. In addition, they have the experience and ability to create effective press releases, networking and interview opportunities, as well as chances to interface with key publications vital to your career. When deciding on a publicist, check their credentials and client roster. Don’t get sucked in by the sparkling social media pics they post, which are easily misconstrued as client representations—which are usually just casual event pics. Publicists and social media marketing managers should become friends to the artist, getting to know them intimately. This builds trust and helps the artist navigate the industry landscape better. A good publicist can easily run you thousands of dollars per month, but if you can afford it—they’re easily worth their weight in gold. In closing, make sure your decisions on promotion are scientific and not guided by emotion. And don’t be afraid to try things that rattle your comfort zone.About Darryl Evan Jones: Bronx-born, classically trained flutist and Ambassador of Instrumental Soul grew up playing in church, has released four studio albums, and has opened for major names like Boney James, Howard Hewett, Jeff Lorber, and Kem. Darryl Evan Jones wrote or co-wrote most of the songs he’s recorded. He has a most unique style and is beloved my his ever growing fanbase. Keep up with Darryl Evan Jones at dejmusic.com.The post Tip Jar: Promotion or Emotion? first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Klamper Audio Simple MixDownThe Simple MixDown is a versatile and intuitive Cabbage-based plugin designed to provide precise control over your audio mixing process. It integrates a variety of professional-grade audio effects... Read More

“We crossed swords a few times and then it turned into a feud”: Fatboy Slim recounts feud with MobyFrom Eminem’s Without Me diss to Aphex Twin apparently calling him an “elitist”, Moby has had a small handful of feuds throughout his career. And it seems Fatboy Slim is the latest to add his name to the pile, admitting that the electronic producer was once his “nemesis”.
Speaking to The Guardian, DJ Norman Cook admits that he and Moby haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. When asked if he had a nemesis, Cook replies: “For a while, Moby. We crossed swords a few times and then it turned into a feud.”

READ MORE: Brian Eno taught me these 10 lessons in his music-making workshop

Cook isn’t exactly the kind of person you’d expect to get into a feud. His acid house mixes are the perfect soundtrack to a good time – but Moby, somehow, managed to grind his gears. “Now, I’m kind of an easy-going person,” Cook admits. “I don’t really get into beefs. But we fell out and we were on each other at that point.”
To some extent, Cook admits that the clash may have been due to how alike they were. Musically, the pair were hugely influential in their own rights, with Cook helping forge big beat as a genre and Moby paving the future of dance music as a whole. “We were quite similar in what we were doing and I think that’s one of the reasons why we got into the feud,” he says.
Over the years, the pair have been pitted against one another by both fans and critics. Back in 2020, Riff magazine noted that Moby and Fatboy Slim embody “turn-of-the-millennium electronica” and “will always be connected”. Elsewhere, the DVD Talk forum has a thread comparing the two DJs, rather hilariously entitled ‘Battle of the Skinny White Boys – Fatboy Slim vs. Moby.’
Admittedly, it’s hard to imagine how Moby managed to ruffle Cook’s feathers. Even when discussing his beef with Eminem with Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast, he’s quick to try and soften any remaining bitterness, asserting that he thinks Eminem is “really talented”.
And Moby is fully aware that the Eminem feud – and any feud, for that matter – doesn’t suit his message. “[At the time] Howard Stern said… ‘who wants to pick on Moby?’” he recalls. “‘It’s like picking on the weak kid who doesn’t know how to tie his shoelaces.’”

The post “We crossed swords a few times and then it turned into a feud”: Fatboy Slim recounts feud with Moby appeared first on MusicTech.

Rick Rubin is “not musical… at all”, according to the Cult’s Billy DuffyThe Cult guitarist Billy Duffy has recalled his time working with producer veteran Rick Rubin, recounting in the process his lack of musical ability.
Despite his stature as one of the industry’s most commercially successful producers, Rick Rubin has made no secret himself of his lack of musical ability. Back in 2023, he famously sat down with CBS’s 60 Minutes and revealed that he knows “nothing about music”.

READ MORE: Jacob Collier disagrees with Rick Rubin’s philosophies: “His audience is non-creative people for whom creativity is novel”

When pressed by interviewer Anderson Cooper, Rubin iterated that his value as a producer lies in his “taste”. “My ability to express what I feel has proven helpful for artists,” he said.
So it might come as no surprise, now, that Billy Duffy is corroborating Rubin’s own statements about his lack of technical ability. That said, he does also confirm that Rubin was helpful to The Cult’s artistic development, nonetheless.
In a new conversation with Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt on their Rockenteurs podcast, Duffy remembers how Rubin was drafted to work on their 1987 record, Electric. Hot on the heels of their previous album Love (1985), Duffy and his bandmate and frontman Ian Astbury sought to develop their sound.
“Long story short, we’d heard of Rick Rubin,” Duffy says [via MusicRadar]. “We’d heard from a friend in Canada. He’d done the Beastie Boys’ Cooky Puss, which is basically [the] Back in Black riff with a beat.”
“And we met Rick in New York, and the whole deal was, Rick was gonna just mix. He said, ‘I’ll remix your whole album, but you must let me record one song from the ground up.’ That was the deal. So we said, ‘Okay.’ The record company [wasn’t] gonna let us re-record a super-expensive album again.”
Knowing his weak spots in terms of musicality, Rubin recruited a team to help him finish the album.
“He did hire Andy Wallace to be the engineer. He’s not stupid,” Duffy says. “And [producer and A&R exec] George Drakoulias was there all the time. Rick and George were like a team.
“I would say Rick was the senior partner, but George and Rick were like literal partners because George was more musical. Rick’s not musical… at all.”

“We literally deconstructed the album on the spot. I went from a Gretsch with the Roland and the chorus and the echoes. And he was like, ‘Well, that’s a Marshall, that’s a Les Paul, off you go.’ It was quite traumatic for me, I gotta tell you.”
The recruitment of Rick Rubin proved to be a good choice for Electric. The album subsequently went platinum in America and is often seen as one of the top rock albums of the late ‘80s.

Rick Rubin is also widely known for his rules-free attitude to music production. “The rules regarding the right way to do it – none of those are real,” he said last year. “You can discard all of them.”
The post Rick Rubin is “not musical… at all”, according to the Cult’s Billy Duffy appeared first on MusicTech.

One of the Bay Area’s top ambient producers has created a sample library for Soundbox – and it’s totally freeLast October, Audiomodern introduced Soundbox. The free, fully customisable MPE sampler allows users to create “bespoke” instruments from scratch – the only cost being any library expansions you may desire. Thankfully, even some library content is available for free.
Ambient music producer Chris Bryant (otherwise known as S1gns of L1fe) has created SPECTRA. This Soundbox instrument offers 30 immersive ambient presets, spanning a rich palette of atmospheric sounds and effects.

READ MORE: Brian Eno taught me these 10 lessons in his music-making workshop

Promising “ambient electronic bliss,” SPECTRA is a perfect addition for anyone wanting to add an extra sense of theatricality to their sound. From drones to vast soundscapes, Bryant’s pack can capture a sense of eerie mystery, or sink you into a peaceful, meditative ambient world.
The virtual instrument is supported by all major DAWs, including Ableton Live, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, FL Studio, and more.

In terms of Soundbox, the MPE sampler continues to grow with every month. Recently they’ve introduced multiple other free virtual instruments, such as VOXMOTIVE and MORPHIA.
A comment on SPECTRA’s promo video hints that Audiomodern is working towards even more updates in the future. “Round Robin modes were our most popular user request, and they’re already here!,” the company writes. “Next up: Time Stretching modes coming soon!”
You’re obviously someone who loves expanding their plugin library otherwise you wouldn’t be here. So why not head over to our best free and paid-for plugins roundup – which is updated weekly, we might add – to browse the latest software for your production arsenal.
SPECTRA is available for free now. Soundbox is also available for free on Windows, MacOS and IOS.

The post One of the Bay Area’s top ambient producers has created a sample library for Soundbox – and it’s totally free appeared first on MusicTech.

10 Approved Ways to Promote Music on SpotifyWant to get more streams, grow your fanbase and promote music on Spotify? These helpful promotion tips will help you optimize your profile, land on playlists, and turn listeners into loyal fans.
The post 10 Approved Ways to Promote Music on Spotify appeared first on Hypebot.

6 Questions with country-folk favorites Wild PoniesWe caught up with country-folk favorites Wild Ponies for this latest edition of '6 Questions With' on their way to Montreal to showcase at Folk Alliance conference.
The post 6 Questions with country-folk favorites Wild Ponies appeared first on Hypebot.

“Daft Punk were deadpan people trying to be techno… It was too gimmicky”: Why John Lydon turned down a collab with the robotsBack in his heyday, you could argue John Lydon was a bit of a daft punk. But don’t get your wires twisted. While the ex-Sex Pistols frontman was happy to wreak havoc onstage, he’s recently revealed he turned down a chance to work with the actual Daft Punk.
In a new chat with NME, Lydon has revealed that he had the opportunity to work with the duo – but says it didn’t feel right. “Daft Punk wanted to work with me a while back, but I didn’t feel the vibe,” he explains. “I felt it was too much of a ‘studio’ thing and gimmicky.”

READ MORE: Brian Eno taught me these 10 lessons in his music-making workshop

While Lydon is primarily a punk, he isn’t averse to jumping on an electronic track. He points to 1993 track Open Up, a prog-house track he worked on in 1993 with with British electronic duo, Leftfield. He “adored” the track so much that he even went on to work with Leftfield’s Neil Barnes again in 2003. The collaboration would result in a dance remix of Pistols classic, God Save The Queen.
Lydon recalls the “fun you could get up to” with the duo. Daft Punk, on the other hand, were quite straight-laced. “They came at me with many ideas, but it was all ‘just turn up, there’s the studio, we expect you to do this. Go!’,” he says. “I can’t work like that. I have to be able to get good and fucking drunk with you before! [Laughs] I have to see your drawers drop!”

Lydon says Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo were “just deadpan serious people trying to be techno”. “I’m not one for fellers that wear helmets as their live performance achievement!” he adds.
Elsewhere, Lydon also unintentionally snubs one of the most acclaimed DJs in the world, David Guetta. In 2023, Guetta came out on top of DJ Mags’ Top 100 DJs poll, falling to number two last year… but Lydon insists he’s “never heard of him”.
“Was that anything to do with Daft Punk?” he asks.
While the Sex Pistols are currently on tour without Lydon, the ex-Pistols frontman will be touring with his current band, Public Image Ltd, this May. Tour will be kicking off in Bristol this May, running til August.

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The post “Daft Punk were deadpan people trying to be techno… It was too gimmicky”: Why John Lydon turned down a collab with the robots appeared first on MusicTech.

$1bn-valued Create Music Group acquires catalog from Pack Records as companies form new JVCMG and Pack's existing partnership is being expanded to include recorded music and publishing
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