A Brief History of Cyrix, or How to Get Sued By Intel a LotIn a new installment on computer history, [Bradford Morgan White] takes us through the sordid history of Cyrix, as this plucky little company created the best math co-processors (FasMath) and then a range of interesting x86-compatible CPUs that would give competing x86 CPUs a run for their money. Even though Cyrix played by the rules of licensing agreements, Intel would keep suing Cyrix repeatedly since the 1980s well into 1990s, for a total of seventeen times until Cyrix counter-sued for patent violations in May of 1997.
This case was settled between Cyrix and Intel, with a cross-licensing agreement established. Unfortunately these mounting legal costs and the stresses of keeping up with the competition (i.e. Intel) was proving too much and Cyrix was sold off to National Semiconductor, who wasn’t enthusiastic about competing with Intel. After this Cyrix got split up into Geode (sold to AMD) and Cyrix Technologies (sold to VIA). Interestingly, VIA’s x86 patent licenses and patents ended up being the foundation of Zhaoxin: a joint venture between VIA and Shanghai’s government which produces x86 CPUs for primarily the Chinese market.
We looked at the Cyrix Cx486DLC processor a while ago, and why their 386 upgrade options were perhaps not that great. Their later CPUs have however left a strong legacy that seems to endure in some way to this day.

These are the music producers up for Grammys in 2025 – from Four Tet to Not Like Us mastermind DJ MustardThe 2025 Grammy Awards are mere months away, but proceedings have already begun, as the official nominations have now been announced by the Recording Academy.
As expected, superstar names like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Billie Eilish are spread across the biggest categories like Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. But farther down the list, many top-tier producers and engineers are being recognised for their work.

READ MORE: The Blessed Madonna: “There’s never been a moment where I wasn’t learning something; this album is the sound of that”

UK producer Four Tet has received his first Grammy nominations for his own music, with his newest album, Three, and its lead single, Loved, listed in the Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Dance/Electronic Recording categories, respectively. Also nominated in the Best Dance/Electronic Album category are Charli xcx, Justice, Kaytranada and Zedd, while the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category also sees nominations for Disclosure, Fred again.., Justice and Kaytranada.
Elsewhere, this year’s Best Remixed Recording category sees nominations for Mark Ronson for his take on Sabrina Carpenter’s smash hit Espresso, David Guetta for his version of Shaboozey’s A Bar Song (Tipsy), Kaytranada for his remix of Doechii’s Alter Ego, and A.G. Cook for his remix of Charli xcx’s Von Dutch.
Producers vying for Producer of the Year include Daniel Nigro – who was behind two of the biggest artists of this year, Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan – DJ Mustard, who produced Kendrick Lamar’s legendary Drake diss track, Not Like Us, Ian Fitchuk, who has worked with Beyonce, Still Woozy, Leon Bridges and Kacey Musgraves, and Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, who has worked with Usher, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and more.
Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well is up for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical against Sabrina Carpenter, Peter Gabriel, WILLOW, Lucky Daye, and Charlotte Day Wilson.
The Grammy Awards will be broadcast on 2 February 2025 from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
View the full list of nominees at Grammy.com.
The post These are the music producers up for Grammys in 2025 – from Four Tet to Not Like Us mastermind DJ Mustard appeared first on MusicTech.

Michael Rapino talks superfans, the secondary ticketing market and more on Live Nation’s Q3 earnings callThe live events company is also 'hopeful' about its antitrust fight under a Donald Trump administration
Source

Musical.AI teams up with China’s Kanjian to deliver licensed music to AI developersMusical.AI says it has built the world’s first secure platform for rights management in AI training
Source

BPB Exclusive: FREE Lachrimae Renaissance Lute for Decent Sampler
Gray Cat Music has released Lachrimae Renaissance Lute ($5), and BPB readers can download it for free! Decent Sampler is a treasure trove of musical riches provided by some awesome developers. One such developer is Gray Cat Music, the name that gave us the utterly charming Uncle John’s Banjo. Kyle Gray, the man behind Gray [...]
View post: BPB Exclusive: FREE Lachrimae Renaissance Lute for Decent Sampler

RØDE RELEASES THE WIRELESS MICRO THE PERFECT POCKET-SIZED WIRELESS MIC FOR SMARTPHONE CREATORSRØDE is excited to announce its smallest, simplest and sleekest wireless microphone to date – the Wireless Micro. RØDE has been the premier brand for cutting-edge, high-quality wireless microphones for over a decade. The WirelessGO was the world’s first compact wireless microphone system, revolutionizing on-camera audio for creators around the world. Its small size, clip-and-go design, professional sound quality and in-built microphones formed the foundation of the RØDE wireless range, which soon grew to include wireless audio solutions for creators at every level and across every category. Now, the Wireless Micro is changing the game again, revolutionizing smartphone content creation by delivering RØDE’s wireless foundation in its most accessible format yet.The Wireless Micro is a pocket-sized wireless microphone system tailor-made for smartphone creators. Available in both black and white, and with versions for either USB-C or Lightning devices, the slimline receiver connects directly to a phone with no need for cables, making for a super compact and tidy recording setup. It features two ultra-compact, ultra-lightweight transmitters with integrated clips and magnetic attachments that are incredibly easy to mount on a subject while remaining discreet on camera. The built-in microphones are housed in acoustic chambers with a patent-pending design, purpose-built to capture exceptionally clear and intelligible audio while mitigating wind noise. Combining this innovative design with RØDE’s legacy of pristine wireless audio transmission and intelligent GainAssist technology, the Wireless Micro delivers perfectly balanced audio, every time. Finally, the super sleek charging case is perfectly pocket-sized and delivers two full recharges for up to 21 hours of battery life, all while keeping the system safe and secure – the ideal grab-and-go solution for smartphone creators.KEY FEATURES OF THE WIRELESS MICRO:In-built microphones and automatic pairing makes it incredibly easy to use

Receiver connects directly to a smartphone with no cables required (USB-C or Lightning version available)

Patent-pending acoustic chamber design purpose-built to capture exceptionally clear and intelligible audio while mitigating wind noise

IntelligentGainAssist technology automatically controls audio levels for perfectly balanced sound in any application

Pocket-sized charging case provides additional two charges for up to 21 hours battery life, making it the ideal grab-and-go companion

Ultra-compact, ultra-lightweight form factor with a sleek design for discreet on-camera presence and elegant aesthetic

Additional furry windshields included

Works seamlessly with RØDE’s free iOS video app, RØDE Capture

Available in both black and white

The post RØDE RELEASES THE WIRELESS MICRO THE PERFECT POCKET-SIZED WIRELESS MIC FOR SMARTPHONE CREATORS first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Key Takeaways from Live Nation Investor Report Q3 2024Live Nation stock hit an all time high on Tuesday after the concert and tickering giant's latest report to investors.
The post Key Takeaways from Live Nation Investor Report Q3 2024 appeared first on Hypebot.

Polyend unveil the Synth Simply named the Synth, Polyend's first standalone synthesizer packs in eight sound engines that offer a vast array of sounds ranging from classic to contemporary. 

Press for Independent Musicians: Strategies for Gaining ExposureLearn proven strategies and practical steps to get press for independent musicians.
The post Press for Independent Musicians: Strategies for Gaining Exposure appeared first on Hypebot.

VoxPlay by Rast Sound is FREE for a limited time
Black Friday is approaching, and we have a brand new deal to look at. Until November 17, Rast Sound is offering their VoxPlay Kontakt library for free. We’ve previously reviewed Rast Sound’s Mad Filter, a very cool free filter and distortion plugin. And now, they are giving away VoxPlay for free, which normally sells for 49€. [...]
View post: VoxPlay by Rast Sound is FREE for a limited time

You can get up to 95% off Waves plugins at Plugin Boutique for a limited timeIf you’re eager to expand your mixing and mastering tool belt, look no further. Plugin Boutique has just announced a huge flash sale on Waves plugin bundles – and you could save thousands.
With prices slashed by up to 95%, you can get Waves’ top-rated Horizon, Diamond, Platinum and Gold collections at a steal of a price. But you’ve only got until 17 November to take advantage of the deal.

READ MORE: 5 of the best new plugins, effects and VST instruments released this week

The Horizon Bundle serves as the biggest saving, with a whopping 95% discount dropping the price from £3,771 down to £186.
Packed out with 93 plugins, Horizon is the definitive Waves bundle. From vocal restoration tools, a bucketload of analogue models such as Kramer Tape and the PuigChild compressor, and the entire Waves Renaissance series of plugins, Horizon offers all Waves’ best mixing, mastering and production tools.

While Horizon is kitted out with just about everything a producer might need, Waves has a bundle suited for everyone. If you don’t need 93 plugins, you can take a step down a tier and grab the Diamond Bundle. Currently sitting at £168, the bundle boasts over 80 versatile plugins, spanning from standard mastering and mixing offerings to vocal restoration and vintage analogue tools.
You can also grab the Platinum bundle for £119, dropping from £1,885. The bundle contains 67 plugins, including all the essential EQ, reverb, delay, and pitch correction plugins you might desire.
The Gold Bundle is also in the sale, slashing its usual £754 price down to £93. The bundle has a slightly more limited offering, with 40 mixing tools. But this kit prioritises quality over quantity.
But the savings aren’t limited to Waves’ complete collections. Plugin Boutique is loaded with Piano & Keys bundles, Restoration bundles, Signature Series Bass and Drums, the Abbey Road Collection, and more.
The flash sale is on ’til 17 November. Head over to Plugin Boutique to find out more.
The post You can get up to 95% off Waves plugins at Plugin Boutique for a limited time appeared first on MusicTech.

Native Instruments release Claire piano library Built using the same engine that powers NI's acclaimed Noire library, Claire promises to deliver a deeply immersive playing experience and an unparalleled sound.

The Blessed Madonna: “There’s never been a moment where I wasn’t learning something; this album is the sound of that”30-plus years into a storied DJ career, Blessed Madonna has finally dropped her debut studio album, Godspeed, on October 18 via Warner Records. 24 house-infused tracks (six of which are playful interludes) feature a diverse group of collaborators including Chicago house OG Jamie Principle, dance pop queen Kylie Minogue, Chicago funk artist Ric Wilson and London dance duo Joy Anonymous, and explore classic house, gospel house, underground rave sounds and beyond.
“Ahh, it hurts when I say it out loud. [30 years] is a whole person,” the Kentucky-born producer, real name Marea Stamper, exclaims on a video call from her home in London. “The great thing is that there’s never been a moment where I wasn’t learning something new. In some ways, this album is the sound of that. It’s me bumbling my way through trying to learn how to make every record that I love.”

READ MORE: “It always starts with the sample”: Laurence Guy is connecting listeners to loops in more meaningful ways than ever

For example, the whistling flutes in the sunny, euphoric rave anthem Serotonin Moonbeams nods to Frankie Knuckles’ 1991 house classic The Whistle Song, while the lyrics (“Ecstasy technology, M-D-M-A-S-M-R”) harken back to Stamper’s youthful rave memories. The experience of creating the song (and much of the album) was as playful and expansive as the track itself. A few days after sharing Thanksgiving dinner together, she sat in the studio with rising dance duo Joy Anonymous, DJ/producer Karma Kid, and dance songwriter Jin Jin — her core creative brain trust on the project — all adding to each other’s ideas and giddily shouting out lyrics.
“When people ask how a song gets made, the real answer is that it shows up and you are kind of a witness to it. That really is what this album is,” says Stamper. “I’m just a product of all of the sounds that I’ve heard before — like that sample on Endtroducing by DJ Shadow — and all the DJs that I’ve loved. These little homages are inside of [Godspeed].”
She cites the wide-ranging six-hour sets from Laurent Garnier and Mr. Scruff in her early Chicago days as deeply influential to her approach to DJing. Now, this omnivorous approach to dance music has bubbled up in her approach to production, as she wove her inspirations together on her debut album.
Image: Aldo Paredes
“I couldn’t not make a house album,” the Happier producer emphasizes when asked if she set out to make a house LP. “But just like a DJ set, we’re going to go from James Ruskin to Patrick Cowley; I just wanted to show how all those things are connected.”
The three-year journey of making the project came with significant growth and exploration for Stamper as a producer. The sessions marked the first time she sat in a room with a group of people to songwrite collaboratively, which she says initially felt like “peeing with the door open” but turned into creative moments and friendships she cherishes. While she’s been tapped to remix major pop stars including Dua Lipa — even executive producing the underground-DJ-heavy remix album, Club Future Nostalgia – Ariana Grande and Florence + the Machine, she hadn’t recorded with vocalists before Godspeed.
“Secretariat [track 20 on Godspeed] was the first time I ever wrote words and melody,” says Stamper. “I wrote all of that myself and then had to walk Shaun [J. Wright] through what I wanted him to do. That was really terrifying for me, but Shaun and I were close enough that I felt comfortable.”
“Before this album, I had [produced] tracks with people but that is a very different process than writing song songs. It was all kind of like, ‘Yeah, sure, I can do that,’ which, of course, you don’t know if you can or not. But I did,” she notes with a chuckle.
Image: Aldo Paredes
Godspeed came with a lot of learning-on-the-go as a producer. A lot of it was made in the box, using esoteric methods to get the sounds she desired. For example, she wanted an orchestra and choir on the gospel house number Brand New, but instead asked every Godspeed collaborator that came through to sing the parts, building her own faux-choir. For the old-school record scratches, Fool’s Gold Records head and champion turntablist A-Trak recorded and sent some over in the eleventh hour.
“Faking an orchestra was wonderful. I went from not writing songs for people to doing proper, professional-level vocal arrangement just by sitting around and watching other people. But also, I grew up in church. If you’re from Kentucky, the four- to six-part harmony is just what we call Christmas,” she recalls with a laugh. “So much of [Godspeed] is just so humble. Whoever was there [in the studio] was working on their laptop.”
As for hardware, Stamper uses an old Roland Juno-106, a Moog Grandmother, a “bootleg” 909 drum machine and was recently, toward the end of the LP process, gifted a Teenage Engineering EP–133 K.O.II sampler by her husband Vadim. (He makes a guest appearance rocking a custom Godspeed belt buckle on the single’s cover art and the back of the vinyl version of the album.)
For plugins, she likes layering Sonic Academy’s Kick 2’s slam and kick drums, and uses a TR-909 emulator. “Pretty much any kick drum on [the album] is like five kick drums. I used a 909 emulator because I couldn’t afford a real 909 and the emulator actually is easier to use, and nobody ever sends me gear. I just want to say to anyone that’s reading: I make records for a lot of people, and it would be super cool if you wanted to send me gear like you do other people, whoever’s listening,” she says with a wink.
The Blessed Madonna with Karma Kid, Pat Alvarez, Jin Jin, Uffie and Joy Anonymous. Image: The Blessed Madonna
She also loves Audiorealism’s emulators — the ABL Pro semi-modular synth and the ABM drum machine, which has sounds of Roland’s TR-606, TR-808 and TR-909 — and has used them since she first started producing. (She admits they were bootleg copies back then, while she’s happy to be able to give them her money now.) Stamper also uses SoundToys’ AlterBoy and Decapitator, plus “all of the Arturia [plugins].”
“Half the tracks on the album are just run through Decapitator 25 times. I also used [SoundToys’] Radiator on everything,” the Strength (R U Ready) producer says. The latter trick came from Atlanta-based wildcard DJ/producer Nikki Nair, and his “complete lack of fear around distortion and saturation.”
“There are little pieces of all kinds of people that changed me forever: Nikki Nair, Dance System, Joy Anonymous,” continues Stamper. “It’s a pretty extraordinary thing to be able to sit with Paul Epworth — he [co-]wrote [Adele’s] Rolling In The Deep — I want to know what he knows, I want to know what James Vincent McMorrow knows.” One of those things is a recording and audio engineering feat that has always fascinated her; the impossibly close and clean claps on D’Angelo’s Black Messiah, a classic album she cites as a reference point for mixing, use of space, placing of mics and more. McMorrow, who sings on Brand New, actually learned the handclap trick from someone who worked on the album and taught her, to her astonishment.
“You put your hand right next to the microphone [and clap quietly]. You record it with high gain, so you’re getting almost no reflection; it [sounds] like the clap is almost inside you. If you get two or three people to do it at exactly the same time, it sounds like this perfect clap,” she explains.

Another musical hero she brought on to the album was Chicago house luminary, Jamie Principle, whose iconic voice takes centre stage on We Still Believe. The original version came out in 2013 — one of the first tracks she ever made — and featured her own voice recorded on a BlackBerry phone, an acid line from a bootleg version of ABL Pro and strings from Apple Logic Pro 9. “I will always be obsessed with Jamie Principle… I wanted to make a record that sounded a little bit like Dan Bell, but what if Jamie Principle was on it?” Stamper reflects, underscoring the personal significance of including him on it later. After meeting and bonding with Principle at a Midsommar-evoking chalet they stayed in for a Sweden festival they both played, she asked him to record the vocals for the track.
Back in 2013, she was excited that anyone wanted to release her music and sold the rights to We Still Believe for just 300 dollars. Later, her management helped her buy it back and, shortly after, she licensed the version featuring the Chicago legend — the same iconic voice behind Baby Wants To Ride and Waiting on My Angel — to Grand Theft Auto, an understandably surreal experience.
“I bought my catalogue back and licensed it to Grand Theft Auto 36 hours later, which was a really nice thing. It felt good to own my own stuff and be able to control it,” the producer says.
She also sent tracks to producers she knows and admires to get another pair of ears on it. We Still Believe is now in its third iteration, after getting the Soulwax touch.”If you want to make a record sound great, send it to Soulwax because their audio chain is great,” Stamper asserts. The legendary brother duo added a chugging, sparkling finish to the tune and uncovered ad-libs (including “We have the right to resist… This racist fascist shit”) from Principle that gave the track an extra kick.

“Dance music can seem so superficial because you are talking about this party, but there’s always this other layer to it, this place just underneath the surface. Think about You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) by Sylvester. Boy. It’s got all the standard lines about being in a dance club, and then it hits, “You make me feel, mighty real.” That line is 1,000 pounds; it has the whole universe contained in it. I’m always wanting to find that feather that weighs a ton.”
“House music, dance music, is about comforting people but also making people uncomfortable.”
For an album that stitches together deliciously hedonistic dance pop, glitchy underground rave tunes, soulful gospel house, and messages of hope, triumph and freedom, it’s safe to say The Blessed Madonna has done that with Godspeed.
“I’m just trying to make records that express what it’s like to be on this earth, in my very, very short time here. Each one of us is a tiny little blip, and I would like my blip to be funky.”
The post The Blessed Madonna: “There’s never been a moment where I wasn’t learning something; this album is the sound of that” appeared first on MusicTech.

IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor Pro: Superb for on-the-go producers; not so great for everyone else£510/$560/€560 pair with MEMS measurement mic, ikmultimedia.com
IK Multimedia created the iLoud Micro Monitors in 2016 as a solution for producers who need professional sound in their studio and on the move. The new Micro Monitor Pro slims down your travelling setup even further than its previous non-Pro version while also offering additional features. But are these really the right monitors for you?

READ MORE: AIAIAI Unit-4 Wireless+ studio monitors prove they are unparalleled

Starting with design, the Pros are slightly larger and heavier than their predecessors, yet they’re still compact for such advanced speakers, weighing just 1.4kg each. They now have an integrated power supply which accounts for some of that weight, but they each require a power cable rather than lugging around an external power supply. It would be nice, of course, if you could power the monitors via battery, but this would significantly increase the size, weight and price.
The speakers can be pole mounted using a screw thread, though you’re probably more likely to use them on a desk or table. Their compact size means you will need to either angle them at your head using their integrated fold-out foot or raise them to a level where they fire at your head while they sit flat. Being small, they remain quite directional so placement and angling are crucial considerations here. IK provides detailed guidelines in the manual on how best to achieve this.
Image: Press
The manual also explains how to use the Pros’ biggest new feature: self-calibration. IK devised the ARC room correction system for adjusting speakers’ output to compensate for the imperfections of any listening space, be it a pro studio or a more acoustically-problematic home studio. The idea is that you can recalibrate for any space you happen to be in, compensating for nearby reflective surfaces and resonant frequencies.
You will need a MEMS microphone — this comes as part of the pair or is available separately, for some reason. The mic connects directly to each speaker and you press and hold the new Calibrate button, having positioned the mic as the manual advises. The speaker plays test tones which the mic captures, storing the resulting calibration on the speaker. The whole process takes just a couple of minutes. This can be further refined with all settings managed using the X-Monitor app for macOS and PC. Communication with X-Monitor is handled by each speaker’s USB-C port, though these only carry this data and not audio.
Despite this software integration, the Micro Monitor Pros are still very much studio-style speakers, with the bulk of their controls first and foremost on-body and as noted, no USB audio. So on the back of each one, you’ll find a volume dial, XLR input, unbalanced RCA input (only one can be used at once) and power controls. This means you’ll need to use an audio interface to transfer audio between your computer and the Micro Monitor Pros.
X-Monitor app. Image: Press
Then there’s the Mode button, which cycles between EQ modes such as Desk (for use on flat surfaces), Flat response and Calibration mode. There are also high- and low-frequency adjustable filters, and an LF extension option to filter frequencies below 50 or 80 Hz if using a subwoofer.
Internally, the crossovers and other components are all DSP-controlled and there’s a Class D bi-amped design with a three-inch cellulose mid-woofer and one-inch silk dome tweeter. They’re front-ported for bass extension and easier placement in small spaces, sharing 50 watts apiece (30 to the low end and 20 to the top).
All of this, with a frequency response of 50 Hz to 20 kHz, the sound these monitors produce is excellent. It’s far richer and more detailed than their compact size would lead you to believe possible, all with plenty of volume in reserve. The low end is rich and tight, the mids feel punchy and the top end sparkles — all the more so post-calibration. Correct positioning is vital, however. Their small size does make them more directional than larger models, but this is not difficult to set up.
Image: Press
The self-calibration is straightforward and makes a real difference to the sound in your particular space. In our home attic studio, with its partly sloped ceilings, we notice a sharpening of the mid-range with calibration on, and a slight lessening of the bass, which usually gets artificially boomy courtesy of nearby walls. Mixing decisions are made far simpler since the frequency response is no longer being affected by the room acoustics.
If you never move your setup, you’re unlikely to calibrate your system often but it’s still a valuable process in any space, from use in home studios or as secondary reference monitors in a larger space. If you do travel and mix or record in different places it’s going to get a lot more use.
USB audio transfer would make a product like this even more portable, though the counterargument is that going via an audio interface provides more flexibility for ins and outs, including headphone outputs, all of which would be sacrificed by using your computer’s main audio path just for the speakers. And since these are ‘Pro’ branded, IK would likely argue that an audio interface is a standard component of most setups anyway.
Image: Press
Adding internal power and the self-calibration feature makes the Micro Monitor Pros more capable and overall more portable than ever before – the extra weight of the power supply is negligible. Calibration for your home studio is valuable and welcome, while for travelling producers it’s a lifesaver.
So who are these monitors for? If you’re on a budget and never use speakers outside your home studio, you can spend less than £500 on compact speakers and still get effective sound. A pair of conventional active monitors would be a more affordable bet in this case. The MM Pros are a relatively niche proposition — while AIAIAI’s Unit 4s are also portable, adding wireless audio for their admittedly higher price of £700, they’re bigger and heavier and don’t have the calibration. They do have a battery power option, however, which the MM Pros don’t.
But for anyone who moves around, the self-calibration of the MM Pros is well worth the extra expense. Correctly positioned and set up, they’re a joy to work on. Whether you’re short on space or mixing in different places, the Micro Monitor Pros offer an awful lot of punch in a portable package.

Key features

Bi-amped, digitally controlled speakers
2 drivers sharing 50W of power
50 Hz – 20 kHz frequency response
Digital self-calibration using MEMS microphone
XLR and RCA input
On-body EQ compensation controls
Angle with foldable foot
Internal power supply
Works with X-Monitor app over USB-C
Weight: 1.4 kg each

The post IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor Pro: Superb for on-the-go producers; not so great for everyone else appeared first on MusicTech.

Black Friday Specials from EastWest EastWest are offering a substantial discount to those who sign up for a yearly ComposerCloud+ plan during their Black Friday Special Offer.