HISONG announce the AirStudio S1 Said to be the world’s first “all-in-one recording capsule” for musicians and content creators, the compact system combines a 'high-quality mic with a 'USB-C audio interface, and includes a 'pair of wireless IEM ear buds that can be neatly stored the mic’s body.

Digg lays off staff and shuts down app as company retoolsDigg laid off a significant number of staff and shut down its app, but says it's not giving up on the startup.

Truly Wows the Moroccan Lounge, TrulyThis writer can remember when Seattle trio Truly's sophomore album, Fast Stories... from Kid Coma dropped in 1995. Happening upon it by accident, the opening tracks "Blue Flame Ford" kicked in like a buzzsaw--all fuzzy fury, drone and sludge, but blessed with poetic, incisive lyrics.

The knowledge that bassist Hiro Yamamoto was a founding member of Soundgarden came later, and it proved to be a nice little info-nugget. But Truly was an excellent stand-alone band, and that's still true following Truly's comeback.

That said, it was wonderful to see Yamamoto included when Soundgarden was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year. His contributions to the Ultramega OK and Louder Than Love albums certainly warranted the honor.

Truly's last album, Twilight Curtains, was released in 2000 (26 years ago, incredibly), and the criminally light crowd at the Moroccan Lounge suggests that they have some work to do to remind people of their existence. New material can't come soon enough.

For now, we'll have to enjoy the back catalog, and the band performed the old songs impeccably well in L.A. on a late-Winter Wednesday night. The only complaint was the brevity of the set. They started at 8 p.m. and played for less than an hour. One can only assume that they had to get on the road fast for the next gig.

But the aforementioned "Blue Flame Ford" and other tunes from that second album ("Hot Summer 1991," "Chlorine," "Hurricane Dance") went down beautifully. Frontman Robert Roth can still hold a smooth note, belting out vivid lyrics when required. And both Roth and Yamamoto were visibly thrilled to be briefly joined by keys-man Don Randi (Wrecking Crew, Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made for Walking," much more).

A new song (we didn't catch a title) hinted at good days ahead. But it's just great to have them back. Truly.The post Truly Wows the Moroccan Lounge, Truly first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

BPI targets August for BTC tax relief, but warns time is running outThe Bitcoin Policy Institute said the bipartisan support for a de minimis tax exemption for smaller Bitcoin transactions is "encouraging."

No More Paperweight: This Vintage Brick Phone Is Back OnlineRemember those brick cellphones in the 1990s? They were comically large by today’s standards. These phones used the 1G network to communicate and, as such, have been unusable for decades now. However [Alan Boris] has resurrected this classic phone to operate today.
Originally costing as much as today’s top-of-the-line phones, but instead of weighing just a few ounces this classic Motorola DynaTAC 8000 Classic 2 tips the scales at a hefty 1.5 lbs. [Alan Boris] decided to not just bring the electronics back to life, but to even stuff a modern cellphone inside it to make it fully functional. Given the size of this phone, finding room for the new innards wasn’t much of a challenge. In fact, after the retrofit there was less in the phone than when it started life.
Using a perfboard and some tactile switches he was able to sense the button presses on the phone’s keypad and relay those to a Raspberry Pi Pico 2. The Pico in turn drove a small color LCD to replicate the original screen and controlled a pair of ADG729 boards used to dial the BM10 cellphone within this cellphone. The BM10 is a cellphone about the size of a 9V battery, making it easy to put inside the DynaTAC and bring the handset back to the modern cellular network.
Thanks [Alan Boris] for the tip! Be sure to check out our other cellphone hacks as well as some of our other retrofit hacks.

Animated Instruments Animated EastAn instrument for exploring. Animated East invites you to slow down and design sounds one module at a time. Drag-and-drop modulation, 3D visualization, and menu-free navigation make sound creation intuitive. Microtuning and per-module drift offer up the unexpected. Key Features: 3D Navigable Tunnel: Scroll or use arrows to move fluidly through the signal chain. Dual Oscillators: multiple wave types with dedicated gain, octave, detune, and drift controls. Noise Generator: Level and density (color) controls. Dual Filters: Low-Pass and High-Pass including drive, resonance, drift, and cutoff. Dual Envelopes: ADSR and Auxiliary AR (Attack / Release). AR is loop-able, doubling as a free-rate LFO. LFO: Includes sync and free-rate modes, rate control, and shape (four shapes). Microtuning: 5 selectable modes for moving beyond equal temperament. Why Animated East? Visual Synthesis: 3D interactions on most parameters. Flow-State Design: A user interface that encourages single-module focus. Intuitive Modulation: Drag and drop three sources onto sixteen parameters. Classic Foundation: Built on a classic subtractive synthesis architecture. Read More

UVI introduce Mosaiq 26 Available for the UVI Workstation and Falcon platforms, Mosaiq 26 comes loaded with more styles and more sounds, and kits users out with the tools to create everything from ethereal atmospheres to club-ready grooves.

BRITs Producer of the Year PinkPantheress on how she produces using just her MacBook keyboardGot a laptop and an idea? Then there’s nothing stopping you from becoming an award-winning producer. This year’s BRITs Producer of the Year, PinkPantheress, has shared her creative process when creating 2025 single Tonight – and she just used Logic Pro and a standard QWERTY keyboard.
That’s right. PinkPantheress – real name Victoria Beverley Walker – didn’t hook up a MIDI keyboard or any fancy plugins, just Logic’s Musical Typing option to create the track’s now-iconic chord progression. And even her use of Logic is fancy for her – she was previously crowned Billboard’s Producer of the Year in 2024, when she was still just using GarageBand.

READ MORE: “You can learn how to be a better producer but you can’t learn how to be a genius”: PinkPantheress opens up on the best mentors she’s worked with

The Bath born songwriter and producer shares the process behind the making of Tonight, the lead single from her 2025 mixtape, Fancy That, in a new video. In the video, she explains: “The first thing I start off with is figuring out the chords like this… as you can see, I put them in manually”.
She then adds how “MIDI controllers can be expensive! Inputting [chords] into whatever software you use works just as well”.

The artist also explains that the track’s bassline was put together by tapping out the chords on her laptop.
In the past, PinkPantheress also shared her process working on GarageBand for her Central Cee collaboration, Nice To Meet You. In a TikTok video, she flicked between her old reliable GarageBand and Logic Pro, as she was just in the transition phase to the more up-market software.
But that doesn’t mean she’s ever forgotten her GarageBand roots – when she received her first nod of production recognition as Billboard’s Producer of the Year, she shared a tweet simply reading “love you GarageBand”.

The post BRITs Producer of the Year PinkPantheress on how she produces using just her MacBook keyboard appeared first on MusicTech.

From Chance the Rapper’s courtroom revelations to Live Nation’s DOJ settlement… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days...
Source

K-Whooms by Hansen Audio is a FREE virtual analog synth for Windows and Linux
Hansen Audio’s K-Whooms is a free virtual analog synthesizer available for Windows and Linux. It first appeared in 2024 and was updated in 2025, but we haven’t featured it on BPB until now. I’ve been getting more requests to cover Linux-compatible software on BPB, and K-Whooms somehow flew under my radar. It was mentioned in [...]
View post: K-Whooms by Hansen Audio is a FREE virtual analog synth for Windows and Linux

Fred again.. tested stock plugins against those on the market and felt results were indistinguishable: “It was all the same. It just could not matter less”Fred again.. has been sharing his opinions on plugins, and how saturating your workflow with too many is unhelpful.
Not only does he feel less is more when it comes to the amount of plugins you use, he also feels there’s very little difference between them. To test his theory, he pitted stock plugins from Logic against other sets, presumably from large brands, and found it was undetectable which version of his track featured which.

READ MORE: Watch Fred again.. perform with Thomas Bangalter during final night of Alexandra Palace residency

During his appearance on the Tape Notes podcast, he explains [via MusicRadar], “I’ve spent so many thousands of hours wasted on plugins, getting into the weeds with these things. I’ve made it so that my Logic [has] just got this one menu that only has the 12 plugins I use. It just doesn’t matter.
“You want to do the things that liberate your mind to be hearing well, not whether or not [you’re using] this compressor or this distortion… the thing that’s most dangerous about getting into that is that you’ll forget about whether or not the chorus is wrong, or whether or not the chord progression is actually not serving the feeling right.”
He goes on to add, “I did a few days teaching at some unis last year and I made a session that made a few sounds, a vocal, some drums and a guitar thing. I made the exact same sound with all Logic [stock plugins], the same sound with another set of plugins, the same sound with another one, and I played it for everyone and it was all the same… It just could not matter less.”

He goes on to advise people to just stick to a handful of plugins, and scrap the rest to avoid the overwhelm. He continues, “I’ve seen people make the most incredible-sounding records in every way, so therefore all that matters is the ear. I’ve seen people do it in tape, analogue, SSL desk, and it’s incredible, and I’ve seen Sonny [Skrillex] do it all in a laptop. Clearly, then, it’s most important to just liberate your headspace.”
The full Tape Notes podcast episode with Fred again.. is out now.
The post Fred again.. tested stock plugins against those on the market and felt results were indistinguishable: “It was all the same. It just could not matter less” appeared first on MusicTech.

Live Nation employees joked about “robbing” ticket buyers in internal messages, report claimsMessages between Live Nation employees allegedly show them joking about “robbing” ticket buyers and saying, “These people are so stupid,” in reference to customers paying a high fee for VIP admission to a 2022 Kid Rock show.
The messages have been released following an antitrust lawsuit that Joe Biden’s Department Of Justice filed against Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2024. A settlement has been reached, but internal messaging on Slack between two employees in senior roles has been released.

READ MORE: New Music Venue Trust-backed “ethical” ticket platform prohibits ticket resales above face value

The New York Times reports [via Stereogum], that these messages occurred from late 2021 to early 2023 between two employees who, at the time, were in regional ticketing director roles for Live Nation venues over in the US.
Other messages regarded premium parking prices, with the employees allegedly sending messages such as “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them”, “I have VIP parking up to $250 lol”, and “robbing them blind baby”.
Live Nation has allegedly claimed the messages are “irrelevant”, and that they were “off-the-cuff banter” between friends and “not policy, decision-making or facts of consequence.” It also claims that because the messages were private, it has learned of them at the same time as the public, and will be looking into the matter.
A Justice Department lawyer, however, claims they “provide a candid, contemporaneous look into how they view the prices that Live Nation charges fans for ancillary services at their respective venues”. MusicTech has reached out to Live Nation for comment.
Live Nation’s settlement deal with the US Department of Justice means Ticketmaster (which it merged with in 2010) will be required to open parts of its platform to rival companies such as Eventbrite and SeatGeek, while long-term exclusivity contracts with venues will be capped at four years.
Live Nation will also divest up to 13 amphitheaters across the country and cap Ticketmaster service fees at 15 percent of a ticket’s price. The deal will also require Live Nation to pay roughly $280 million in damages to nearly 40 states that joined the lawsuit. Even so, the settlement represents a far less severe outcome than the government’s original proposal, which sought to break up the company.
Speaking of the settlement, Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino said: “We have never relied on exclusivity to drive our ticketing business, it has simply been the result of having the best products, services and people in the industry. We are happy to take greater steps to empower artists and venues in their ticketing decisions, and are confident we will continue to succeed on the quality of what we deliver.”
MusicTech has reached out to Live Nation for comment.
The post Live Nation employees joked about “robbing” ticket buyers in internal messages, report claims appeared first on MusicTech.

Yamaha Creator Pass brings 21 audio brands under one subscription – including LANDR, Output and GrooverYamaha has launched a new Creator Pass platform that gives musicians and podcasters access to a collection of audio tools under one subscription.
At launch, the Creator Pass is available in 37 countries and regions, spanning across the US, Canada, Europe (30 countries), Australia, Singapore and Japan. There are seven different plan tiers catering to the varying needs of music makers and podcast creators, from beginners to pros.

READ MORE: Bitwig Studio 6 has arrived: Everything you need to know about the latest version of the popular DAW platform

More updates will be rolling out in the coming months, but right now users have access to core tools including Output, LANDR, Riverside, and Groover. Pass holders will also be offered special discounts and incentives upon sign-up from un:hurd, RoEx, Linktree, freebeat.ai, SoundCloud, Steinberg, Adobe, Fourthwall, SymphonyOS, Offtop, DISCO, [untitled], Mogul, AudioShake, and DistroKid.
Over the next few months, subscribers will also be able to purchase add-on features from some of these huge brands. The current subscription tiers are: Beginner, Beginner Plus, Beginner Complete, Producer, Producer Plus, Podcaster, and Podcaster Complete.
“We believe that the creative process should feel inspiring and not complicated. With Yamaha Creator Pass, we’re proud to bring trusted music and podcast offerings under one unified platform so that artists and content creators at any level have access to tools that turn concepts into art,” says Yusuke “Scott” Sugino, President and CEO of YMI.
“YMI’s mission is focused on collaborating with startups and established companies shaping the future of music and audio to ensure the most effective solutions for consumers. By developing Yamaha Creator Pass with key best-in-class partners, we aim to empower the next wave of audio innovators and creators and SXSW provides the right stage to bring it to life.”
Prices start at $14.99 per month with seven-day trials available for Beginner and Producer plans, and 14-day free trials available for the Podcaster plan. Beginner Complete and Podcaster Complete are only available in the US for a limited time and do not include free trials. Groover is also not included in the Producer Plus free trial.
Subscribers can choose from monthly or annual billing, and as a limited offer, creators who choose Beginner Complete and Podcaster Complete plans will receive a Yamaha AG01 USB Mic.
YMI will showcase Yamaha Creator Pass at SXSW from 13-15 March through an interactive studio experience. To find out more, head over to Yamaha Creators.
The post Yamaha Creator Pass brings 21 audio brands under one subscription – including LANDR, Output and Groover appeared first on MusicTech.

IK Multimedia update ARC On-Ear The latest update to IK Multimedia’s ARC On-Ear system extends its functionality to an additional 12 models as well as improving the underlying technology.

Audio Assault offers the Invicto amp sim based on the Peavey Invective 120 for FREE
Audio Assault, the company behind Amp Locker, has been going strong for several years now. In celebration of their 12th year in business, they’re giving away the amp sim Invicto for free for a limited time. Invicto is part of the ReAmp 2 collection inside Amp Locker, based on the Peavy Invective 120, which is [...]
View post: Audio Assault offers the Invicto amp sim based on the Peavey Invective 120 for FREE