From the ‘secret’ composer behind 650 fake artists to BandLab’s 100m users… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThis week's biggest stories...
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4 versatile songwriting tips from L’FREAQ
In celebration of her new sample pack, L’FREAQ sat down with us to share five versatile tips around songwriting.

YouTuber Builds Onewheel With Tracks Instead And It’s Not GreatThe one-wheel is a triumph of modern sensor and control technology. That made it possible to sense the acceleration and position of a platform with a single wheel, and to control that single wheel to keep the platform stable and level, even in motion. [RCLifeOn] has now taken that same concept and made it more hilarious by swapping out the wheel for a track.
The original idea was to build an electric snowboard, which worked just okay. Then, it morphed into a tank-based one-wheel instead. It’s a bit silly on the face of it, because a track is more stable than a wheel. That’s because instead of balancing on a small flattened spot of a tire, it’s got a wider, flatter footprint. But that means there’s no real need for balancing control as the track is statically stable.
The 3D-printed track assembly is driven by a powerful brushless motor via a gear drive for additional torque. Riding it is difficult on 48-volt power as it easily throws [RCLifeOn] off the board with its raw torque. At 24 volts, however, it was just barely ridable with some practice. But it was ultimately pretty terrible. It was either not moving at all, or jerking so hard that it was impossible to stay on the thing.
We’d like to see this concept tried again, perhaps with a rubber track and a more refined controller. Video after the break.

BandLab hits “pivotal moment” as it surpasses 100 million users worldwideMusic creation platform BandLab has surpassed 100 million users worldwide, marking a “pivotal moment” for the brand and its future.
BandLab was founded in 2015 with the aim to break down the technical, geographic, and creative barriers for musicians and fans. The vast number of BandLab users “means more diversity, more creativity, and more voices” are being heard across the globe, according to the brand.

READ MORE: All the best free loops, music sample packs, breaks, one-shots and synth sounds

Speaking of the new milestone, BandLab CEO Meng Ru Kuok says to Bloomberg: “It’s funny when you get to these large milestones, especially something like 100 million, which is slightly hard to fathom in terms of the scale of the number. I think that’s just the result of how fast things have grown.
“Seeing artists go on to major labels and independent labels is a great, great joy and success for us,” Kuok adds. “Our relationship with an artist doesn’t end when they progress in the industry.”
BandLab adds in a press release: “This story is not just about a number; it’s about the next generation of music creators”. The platform is also set to continue its commitment to “free, innovative” tools to empower creators as it continues to grow year-over-year. Currently, people in the US account for around 30 per cent of BandLab’s users and represent its largest market.

The news follows from comments made by BandLab CEO Meng Ru Kuok in December 2023 when he shared his belief that there will eventually be “over one billion music creators by 2030, potentially even sooner”.
At the time, he told Music Business Worldwide: “I also believe the definition of a ‘music creator’ or ‘musician’ will change, just as the definition of a ‘photographer’ has changed with the advent of smartphones. That is to say, hopefully we can and will both be right.”
In January, the platform launched BandLab Licensing, a new programme to help users monetise their music, all while allowing them to retain full artistic control. It offers a comprehensive licensing solution, covering synchronisation for film, TV, games, and advertising, along with extending streaming licences for exclusive, rights-cleared content.
Find out more about BandLab.
[Editor’s note: BandLab and MusicTech are both part of Caldecott Music Group]
The post BandLab hits “pivotal moment” as it surpasses 100 million users worldwide appeared first on MusicTech.

Build Yourself a Vacuum Tube VU MeterVolume unit (VU) meters are cool — it’s an undeniable fact. For some reason, humans just dig lights that flash along with sounds. You can build a VU meter using LEDs, or bulbs if you’re trapped in 1972. Or, you could use special vacuum tubes. [mircemk] did just that in their latest VU meter project.
The 6E2 vacuum tube is the part for the job in this case. You might think a specialist tube like this is expensive, but they can be had for just a few dollars from online retailers. They were often used as tuning indicators, but here, they’re used as a responsive VU meter instead. However, instead of a single bar going up and down, you get a pair of bars that raise to meet in the middle.
[mircemk] explains all the circuitry required to drive the tubes, and how to hook them up to create a two-channel stereo VU meter. The final circuit largely relies on a transistor, a diode, some passive components, and a DC-DC boost supply to generate 250 V for the tubes.
The final result looks pretty neat, particularly as it’s built into an old-school blue project box. We’ve seen similar projects from [mircemk] before, too.

Aodyo Instruments launch Loom Kickstarter campaign Aodyo Instruments have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of an MPE-capable MIDI ribbon controller.

ZL Audio Releases FREE ZL Equalizer Dynamic Equalizer Plugin
ZL Audio launched the ZL Equalizer, a freeware 16-band dynamic equalizer plugin for Linux, macOS, and Windows. You can install the open-source plugin by downloading the correct installer for your OS from the ZL Audio GitHub page. Until recently, it was easy to recommend TDR Nova as the best freeware dynamic EQ. Competition is always [...]
View post: ZL Audio Releases FREE ZL Equalizer Dynamic Equalizer Plugin

In 1 week, this bot farm generated 5.5M fake streams of 244 songsA Danish man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for using fake accounts and bot-generated streams to defraud streaming services of 2 million kroner ($290,000 USD) in royalties.....
The post In 1 week, this bot farm generated 5.5M fake streams of 244 songs appeared first on Hypebot.

Bandlab passes 100 million usersBandLab has passed 100 million registered users of its flagship social music creation platform, up 40 million in a little over a year. Thirty percent of the platform's creators are based in the US......
The post Bandlab passes 100 million users appeared first on Hypebot.

Why has FIVE set up a music studio in Dubai?Upon stepping inside the music studio at lavish Dubai hotel FIVE Palm Jumeirah — which also has its own private clubs, restaurants and beach — the music from outside the room disappears. Thanks to impressive soundproofing engineering, it’s impossible to hear the pumping house and tech beats coming from DJ Mag’s number one Middle Eastern club, The Penthouse, whose decks are just yards away.

READ MORE: “There’s no other machine that has a sound so remarkable” — Artists give their take on the TB-303

“Acoustically, it’s at the highest technical quality imaginable,” says FIVE Music Studio’s senior sound engineer, Vincent Bruijsten, revealing that the room’s two doors were filled with sand to block out exterior noise. “The room is basically maths and science to get the best experience,” he adds. Even when cranked up to the highest level, the sound of Barefoot’s Masterstack 12 speakers, Neumann KH80 monitors and Neumann KH750 subwoofer remains balanced and accurate.
DJ decks in FIVE’s Dubai studio in Dubai
However, impeccable sound is just one aspect of this very flashy and lavish gear-laden room.
A Mac Studio sits at the centre, while a range of essential guitars — including a Gibson Les Paul, Fender Telecaster, Fender Precision Bass and a Yamaha APX 1000 Acoustic — are propped up against the walls. On the desk, there are Neumann U47s and Shure SM7Bs microphones and a Moog Sub 37. On the outboard side, there’s a Universal Apollo X8, Dangerous Monitor ST, AMS Neve 1073SPX and Tube-Tech MEC1A. And, trust us, there are so many plugins that it’s not even worth getting into.
The green room, meanwhile, is perfect for testing out new tunes thanks to its DJ decks (a Pioneer DJ DJM-900NXS2 mixer and two Pioneer DJ CDJ3000s).
FIVE’s studio in Dubai
What’s most surprising, though, is that the studio room was formerly an indoor swimming pool.
So why did FIVE — a hotel chain that recently opened in Zurich and that recently took over legendary Ibiza-born Pacha Group — want to create a music studio in the first place? And what did the team hope the transformation would bring to the industry?
“It was originally a passion project led by Aloki Batra, chief executive officer of FIVE Hospitality and The Pacha Group,” says FIVE’s Music Manager Katie Maria French. “I remember it being a complete building site. There was dust everywhere, but we made it in the end.”
Since opening in 2023, the high-spec studio has proved popular with the international music industry. Artists like Rudimental and CamelPhat have created music there (the latter reportedly called the studio “pure luxury”), alongside internationally renowned DJs including Robin Schulz and Lost Frequencies. FIVE also hosts an annual writing camp and has welcomed the likes of Lewis Thompson, Bully Songs and Matt James. “Up until recently, it’s mainly been DJs and producers, but now we’re shifting more towards pop artists and singers too,” French explains.
FIVE’s studio in Dubai
The studio is geared towards EDM, as per FIVE’s joint venture with Warner Music Group — a partnership that FIVE says “made perfect sense”. But FIVE assures that no genre is off-limits. Bollywood artist Nora Fatehi recently visited with a team of producers, and FIVE hosted a writers’ camp for American R&B artist Trey Songz, who tested a song during a performance at The Penthouse club just hours after writing it in the studio. “Artists can come in and make magic with our studio engineer and then they have the opportunity to play what they’ve created to an audience here,” French says of the studio’s offering.
Having spent a productive few days in FIVE’s studio making tunes ahead of his late-night live set at The Penthouse, British popstar John Newman describes the studio-within-a-hotel concept as “genius…Time just disappeared.” As an artist who travels frequently and works in a range of music studios, the Rudimental-collaborating artist says he likes the simplicity of FIVE studio and thinks it could be replicated elsewhere.
“Often, when you walk into studios, it’s quite overwhelming,” the ‘Feel the Love’ singer says, citing Westlake’s Studio A — aka the Michael Jackson room — in Los Angeles as one example. While Newman has worked in massive rooms, he’s also used to working in his bedroom at home. He also had his own studio for a time, which he spent a fortune on outboard gear for. However, more recently, he has “stripped everything down to go into the box and just enjoy it.”

Mac Studio and guitars in FIVE’s Dubai studioAs he believes more studios are needed in general, Newman thinks “it’s amazing to bring them into new markets, new places and give people more opportunities”. He’s confident that FIVE’s songwriting camps are enabling that: “to have these places that can find and develop these people, but not just become hangout spots for writing three songs a day, is so key at this moment in time.”
And that’s what FIVE hopes to do. Alongside hosting huge names, it’s keen to support new and emerging artists. “We’re always open to people who reach out to us,” French says, adding that the FIVE team is constantly watching trends in music. “We want to sign the next big thing! In terms of how big and far we’ll go, who knows?” French teases, before describing the studio as “a “shake-up in the industry.”
She adds: “We like to create noise and have a presence. We’re a disruptor in the market, with the FIVE Music Studio being the first and only studio in a nightclub and welcoming the world’s best artists… we look to lead and set trends.”
Moreover, CEO of FIVE Hotels and Resorts — and now The Pacha Group — Aloki Batra says over email that the overall vision is for FIVE to have a “global presence”; for it to become a “mammoth entertainment ecosystem”.
“The next chapter of The Pacha Group is being written by FIVE’s famed and inimitable entertainment, hospitality and luxury lifestyle expertise.”
Having experienced it for ourselves, we understand why a music studio, like that of FIVE, that’s within arm’s reach of the beach or the pool, would appeal to a certain calibre of artist.
Learn more about Palm Jumeirah’s FIVE Studio. 
[Editor’s note: MusicTech’s freelance journalist was a guest at FIVE Studio]
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Will all the musicians leaving CA create new Music Cities in Tampa, Denver, Phoenix & More?Musicians are leaving California in droves as part of a larger exodus from the state, and new live music communities are growing in Denver, Tampa, Phoenix, and elsewhere. Are we. Continue reading
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ELVIS Act protecting musicians’ voices “from the misuse of AI” signed into law in TennesseeNew protection for songwriters, singers and other music industry professionals against the misuse of their voice using AI has been signed into law in the state of Tennessee, USA.
The ELVIS Act, which stands for “Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security” was signed into law on Thursday 21 March by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in Nashville. It will officially go into effect on 1 July.

READ MORE: Roland and UMG partner for a new set of principles of AI use in music

As reported by Music Business Worldwide, the ELVIS Act is a first of its kind law to be introduced in the US and updates existing state rules to protect not only against the unauthorised use of someone’s likeness, but now also their voice. The bill was originally introduced in January to update Tennessee’s Protection of Personal Rights law.
The office of Governor Bill Lee shares in a press release that “while Tennessee’s existing law protects name, image and likeness, it doesn’t specifically address new, personalised generative AI cloning models and services that enable human impersonation and allow users to make unauthorised fake works in the image and voice of others”.
The statement explains,  “Artists and musicians at all levels are facing exploitation and the theft of their integrity, identity, and humanity. This threatens the future of Tennessee’s creators, the jobs that they support across the state and country, and the bonds between fans and their favourite bands.”

Dr. Moiya McTier, Human Artistry Campaign Senior Advisor says, “Fittingly named after one of the world’s most iconic voices, the ELVIS Act marks a history-defining moment – protecting us all from irresponsible and unethical AI. The Human Artistry Campaign applauds this strong, bipartisan effort to stop unauthorised AI-generated deep fakes and voice clones that steal essential parts of our individuality.”
Dr. McTier concludes, “The life’s work and irreplaceable contributions of the creative community to our culture deserve safeguards that allow AI technology to be used responsibly without violating anyone’s rights or appropriating their art.”
Find out more via the Human Artistry Campaign website.
The post ELVIS Act protecting musicians’ voices “from the misuse of AI” signed into law in Tennessee appeared first on MusicTech.

Streaming fraud leads to prison sentence for Danish man in case called ‘historic’ by artists’ groupsStreaming fraud and manipulated audio are two of the biggest headaches in music today, and a criminal case shows how the two go hand in hand
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Why are producers sharing screen captures of their DAW on YouTube?Uploading to streaming services is a breeze in 2024. Opening the DAW to your producer buddies, though, so you can them how you layered that vocal part or created an intricate synth patch, is impossible on Spotify and Apple Music. It’s no surprise, then, that traditional producers are following the moves of their younger peers, who regularly post screen recordings on TikTok from BandLab and FL Studio to show off a new production technique. YouTube is still one place to find long-form tutorials, but it’s also one of the platforms to join in on viral trends.
READ MORE: No, Daniel Ek, the music industry isn’t like professional football
My YouTube homepage is overflowing with videos by Klaus Veen, Virtual Riot, Azali and similar producers. Their videos aren’t influencer-style. There’s no presenter, no dialogue, and no high- (or low)-production camerawork. It’s just a screen recording of a DAW playing a new track and — if you’re lucky — some text that describes what’s happening in the project. So simple, so enthralling.

These videos are racking up hundreds of thousands of plays, some even more, and the comment sections are nothing short of inspiring. People are actually having interesting discussions about the project in the video. Producers are cracking nerdy jokes about the techniques. Others stumbling upon the video are begging for the work to be put onto streaming services (for better or worse).
And it gets better. When one user, ixer, released their video ‘I think I broke the amen’ — a tracker-style chop of the amen break — other producers tried it out for themselves. Virtual Riot got involved, which inspired hundreds more beatmakers to slice up the break, kickstarting a fun trend that brand community managers could only dream of starting.

Another mesmerising Virtual Riot video, ‘I heard you like polyrhythms’, has over one million views and is almost eight minutes of intrigue. The creation is so masterful that it’s encouraged other producers to try and break down how Virtual Riot did it so that you can do it too. It also started another trend, obviously.

Then there’s the Daft Punk Face to Face breakdowns. For several years, producers have been hunting down samples and, every time a new one is discovered, they’ll place it into an Ableton Live session and record the results. Last year, the community of Daft Punk fans finally cracked it.

Education lies at the heart of this movement. Everyone loves a YouTube tutorial. Hell, we’ve made hundreds. TikTok has them aplenty, too, with creators showing viewers how they make tracks in Ableton in just a couple of minutes. Or, in the case of the Soulja Boy Crank Dat speedrunning trend, in 17 seconds.

@prodrobtmb
First ever sub 17 Soulja Boy Crank Dat #producer #producertok #beats #beatmaking #flstudio #rap
♬ original sound – robtmb

But these long-for screen captures are different to your average presenter-style tutorial — they cut the long-winded intro speech and just get into it. They open up their effects chains, show their synth patches, reveal their piano rolls and don’t mess around. You can divulge tons of information from those small acts alone. You might even find yourself asking more questions than you had before, leading you to learn new music production secrets.

Browser-based DAWs and music creation platforms are already fulfilling this demand. BandLab and Soundtrap, for example, let you create and collaborate on projects in real time, giving your friends a free look into your production and recording choices. You can learn from one another, online, as you create a track together. You can share your project with your network of followers, letting them Fork the track (on BandLab) and make edits on their own copy of your project.
Github does this for the coding community, too. You can share your code, take suggestions on edits, and collaborate with peers on improving it.
YouTube has long been the place for people to share their music. Uploading screen caps of a DAW isn’t new either; but it’s encouraging to see producers comfortable using these platforms to collaborate and mainstream the idea that music is better together.

[Editor’s note: BandLab Technologies and MusicTech are both a part of Caldecott Music Group] 
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The new ‘SoundCloud era’ is YouTube screen captures of a DAWRemember the early days of SoundCloud? You’d find a sample, make a one-minute loop at midnight, then upload it to show your producer friends; artists would publish tracks with a list of the gear they used before swathes of commenters asked, hoping to find the secret sauce; dance acts would upload bootleg edits of songs DJs could easily download and spin later that night — even if it wasn’t strictly legal. Of course you remember.

READ MORE: No, Daniel Ek, the music industry isn’t like professional football

Well, I’m starting to think YouTube screen captures are the next evolution of that wonderful iteration of SoundCloud.
Maybe I’m late to the party but, for the past few months, my YouTube homepage has been overflowing with videos by Klaus Veen, Virtual Riot, Azali and more. The videos aren’t influencer-style. There’s no presenter, no dialogue, and no high- (or low)-production camerawork. It’s just a screen recording of a DAW playing a new track and — if you’re lucky — some text that describes what’s happening in the project. So simple, so enthralling.

These videos rack up hundreds of thousands of plays, some even more, and the comment sections are nothing short of inspiring. People are actually having interesting discussions about the project in the video. Producers are cracking nerdy jokes about the techniques. Others stumbling upon the video are begging for the work to be put onto streaming services (for better or worse).
And it gets better. When one user, ixer, released their video ‘I think I broke the amen’ — a tracker-style chop of the amen break — other producers tried it out for themselves. Virtual Riot got involved, which inspired hundreds more beatmakers to slice up the break, kickstarting a fun trend that brand community managers could only dream of starting.

Another mesmerising Virtual Riot video, ‘I heard you like polyrhythms’, has over one million views and is almost eight minutes of intrigue. The creation is so masterful that it’s encouraged other producers to try and break down how Virtual Riot did it so that you can do it too. It also started another trend, obviously.

Education lies at the heart of this movement. Everyone loves a YouTube tutorial. Hell, we’ve made hundreds. I don’t think I would’ve passed my music technology degree without YouTube tutorials. But these screen captures are different to your average presenter-style tutorial — they cut the long-winded intro speech and just get into it. They open up their effects chains, show their synth patches, reveal their piano rolls and don’t mess around. You can divulge tons of information from those small acts alone. You might even find yourself asking more questions than you had before, leading you to learn new music production secrets.

It all makes me dream of what kind of social platform we producers could have. Perhaps producers would revel in a social media platform that enables us to share our projects in a browser, giving peers and fans free rein into our production and recording choices. Maybe that’s the new SoundCloud.

The post The new ‘SoundCloud era’ is YouTube screen captures of a DAW appeared first on MusicTech.