Splice launches new flagship virtual instrument player, with over 1,200 presets available at launchSplice – a platform perhaps best known for its royalty-free samples and other plugins – has unveiled Splice INSTRUMENT, a new flagship virtual instruments player offering creators “world-class recordings with intuitive creative controls”.
Built in partnership with the team at Spitfire Audio – which Splice acquired in April for a reported $50 million – Splice INSTRUMENT comes loaded at launch with over 1,200 playable instrument presets, with many taking inspiration from the gear collections of world-class musicians.
Such presets include Philip Glass’s beloved baby grand piano recorded in his Manhattan home, drums by Abe Laboriel Jr. (Sir Paul McCartney) captured at the iconic Henson Studios in Los Angeles, and strings, woodwinds, and drums from the BBC Symphony Orchestra recorded at Maida Vale Studios in London.

With an accessible interface and full MIDI playability, Splice says more free and premium presets will be added “regularly, alongside feature updates in the months ahead”.
“Splice INSTRUMENT marks a major milestone for Splice,” says Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava. “For the first time, we’re moving beyond samples into full virtual instruments, bringing creative control and world-class recordings to musicians and producers everywhere in an accessible, playable form. This is just the beginning of what’s possible when we combine Spitfire Audio’s artistry with Splice’s innovation.”
“With Splice INSTRUMENT, we’re building on the foundation of LABS: affordable access to inspiring, expressive sounds with intuitive creative control,” adds Paul Thomson, Co-Founder of Spitfire Audio.
“Sounds from this collection have already appeared on Grammy-nominated albums and in blockbuster films. Whether composing for screen or producing the next big hit, this library captures the beauty of real instruments and the character of the rooms they were recorded in.”
Splice Instrument is usable both as a standalone plugin and as plugin within any major DAW. The software comes in two plans:

Free – available to all Splice users, with hundreds of sampled presets including pianos, orchestral instruments, choirs, synths and more. Each month, new free “drops” will be released, and once downloaded, they’ll remain permanently in a user’s library.
INSTRUMENT ($12.99/month) – Unlocks the full catalog of 1,200+ presets at launch, including flagship sounds such as Ultra Soft Piano, orchestral sessions performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, synths designed with Nathan Fake, and global genre packs like Amapiano.

For more info, head to Splice.
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Machina Bristronica: Show Round-up The SOS team went along to Machina Bristronica 2025 to see what’s new, and managed to get some overviews and demos from a handful of the event’s exhibitors.

Sweetwater rock out with GuitarFest Hosted at the Sweetwater's campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana, GuitarFest brought together over 70 manufacturers, more than 20 world-class guitarists and numerous industry leaders for a day-long celebration of all things guitar.

W. A. Production Vocal Compressor is FREE for a Limited Time via Gearspace
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View post: W. A. Production Vocal Compressor is FREE for a Limited Time via Gearspace

Novation Play packs Sequential, Oberheim and Novation synths into a single plugin for Launchkey MK4 ownersNovation has launched Novation Play, a new plugin for Launchkey MK4 users which packs in over 80 sounds sampled from classic Novation, Sequential and Oberheim synthesizers. 
With one-to-one hardware integration with Novation’s Launchkey encoders, pads and buttons, Novation Play offers an “instrument-like workflow”, and is available for free for existing owners of Launchkey MK4 keyboards.

READ MORE: Could the Novation Launchkey MK 4 become the new heart of your studio?

Made in partnership with Swedish plugin developer Klevgrand, Play is designed with hardware integration in mind. It features pre-mapped controls, hardware-based preset switching and visual feedback via colour-coded drum pads, to help “remove dependency on a mouse and keyboard and to keep users in their creative flow”.

“We’re proud to present Novation Play, our expressive and intuitive new instrument that brings decades of iconic, heritage synth sounds to Launchkey MK4 owners,” says Lola Muresan, Product Owner for Novation Play.
“We took a truly hands-on approach, spending weeks meticulously sampling Novation, Sequential, and Oberheim synths in order to showcase the beauty of each model. We’ve carefully shaped and curated each preset, and we’re looking forward to hearing how artists bring them to life in their own unique ways.” 
Included in Novation Play are 80+ sounds, including “expertly-designed” basses, leads, pads, FX and drum kits, sampled from well-known hardware synths including the Novation Bass Station II, Nova and Peak, as well as Sequential’s Prophet 5 and Prophet Rev 2, and Oberheim’s OB-6.
There’s also a host of FX onboard, including four pad FX buttons: Chorus, Cassette, Spinner and Freeze, as well as a lush reverb, spacey delay and powerful single-knob compressor at the end of the chain.
Novation Play works both as a standalone app and as a VST/VST3/AU/AAX plugin within all major DAWs.
New and existing Launchkey MK4 owners can download Novation Play now from the “My Software” section of their Novation account.
For more information, head to Novation.
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Artists, Voice Your Opinion in White House’s RFI on Future AI RegulationThe White House's new Request For Information allows citizens (and artists) to voice their opinion on AI regulation.
The post Artists, Voice Your Opinion in White House’s RFI on Future AI Regulation appeared first on Hypebot.

How streaming scams hurt independent musicians"It's not just you, music streaming is broken," says Cameron Gorham who makes music and videos under the moniker Venus Theory. Learn how streaming scams hurt independent musicians and why he argues, "you don't have to play the game."
The post How streaming scams hurt independent musicians appeared first on Hypebot.

Akai Launches MPC Live III Standalone With 8-Core Processor, Clip Matrix, Stems, and 3D PadsAkai launches the MPC Live III, a standalone music production center with 8-core power, 3D pads, Clip Matrix loop launching, and built-in mic + speakers.
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Introducing Splice INSTRUMENT: Our new flagship virtual instrument plugin
Explore Splice INSTRUMENT, our virtual instrument plugin that puts an ever-growing catalog of free and premium sounds at your fingertips.

“It’s shocking, disheartening and insulting”: Cardiff band speaks out after AI artist trained on their music outperforms them on SpotifyAI music is becoming more and more prevalent, with the likes of Deezer and Spotify both recently announcing measures to combat its rise on their platforms.
Spotify recently announced a crackdown on AI “slop” in a bid to protect the artists on its platform, while Deezer revealed nearly a third of all music uploaded to its platform daily is fully AI-generated.
The potential for fully AI-driven music projects to become successful is strong, as demonstrated by the Velvet Sundown, which, this year, amassed half a million monthly Spotify listeners before being revealed as an ‘artist’ with music generated by AI platform Suno.

READ MORE: Daniel Ek is stepping down as Spotify CEO

With the availability of AI music generators, it was inevitable AI-generated music would find its way into people’s playlists. But what about when it starts outperforming the music of artists upon which it has been trained?
Lucas Woodland, frontman of Cardiff-based band Holding Absence, says this has now affected his band, saying an AI artist by the name of Bleeding Verse has been trained on its music, and has more monthly listeners, at the time of writing.
At present, Holding Absence have just over 851,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, while Bleeding Verse has over 904,000.
Woodland, in a new post on X, has shared his thoughts on Bleeding Verse: “So, an AI ‘band’ who cite us as an influence (ie, it’s modelled off our music) have just overtaken us on Spotify, in only two months.”
He continues: “It’s shocking, it’s disheartening, it’s insulting – most importantly – it’s a wake-up call,” and urges listeners to “oppose AI music, or bands like us stop existing”.
Per Bleeding Verse’s YouTube channel bio, the project is “inspired by artists like Dayseeker and Holding Absence”, and “blends ambient textures, soaring vocals and poetic lyricism to explore grief, identity and healing. Lyrics from the heart. AI-assisted instrumentation and vocals”.
Legislation has yet to meaningfully catch up with the training of AI on copyright-protected material, with many artists and industry professionals concerned about the music on which these models are trained, and whether the appropriate licences have been obtained.
Last year, the big three record labels, Universal, Sony and Warner, sued AI music generation platforms Suno and Udio over “unimaginable scales” of copyright infringement.
The post “It’s shocking, disheartening and insulting”: Cardiff band speaks out after AI artist trained on their music outperforms them on Spotify appeared first on MusicTech.

Eldoraudio releases Stem Splitter, a FREE online stem separation service (beta)
Stem Splitter by Eldoraudio is a new online stem separation service that is available for free use. The service is currently in its open public beta stage, after which, the developer expects to launch a paid plan with premium features (longer audio files, higher quality output, etc.). The good news is that, even when a [...]
View post: Eldoraudio releases Stem Splitter, a FREE online stem separation service (beta)

Get the UVI Dual Delay X creative spatial delay plugin for just $19
You can snap up UVI’s Dual Delay X right now for just $19 (down from $59) in a 68% off exclusive deal at AudioDeluxe.  Dual Delay X is a 64-bit-only release for Windows 10 and later, and macOS 10.14 Mojave and later, available in AU, AAX, VST, and VST3 formats. Taking a gander at the [...]
View post: Get the UVI Dual Delay X creative spatial delay plugin for just $19

Trump nominates acting FDIC chair to officially head the agencyTravis Hill has served as acting FDIC chair since Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, later issuing guidance on crypto-related activities and criticizing allegations of debanking.

OpenAI staff grapples with the company’s social media pushCurrent and former OpenAI researchers seem torn over how the company's Sora app fits in with its broader mission.

Safari Pedals & Karanyi Sounds offer Hawk Phaser plugin FREE for a limited time
Safari Pedals has teamed up with Karanyi Sounds to offer the Hawk Phaser plugin completely free for a limited time. Normally priced at $49, you can grab it right now using the code KARANYIHAWKFREE at checkout. The Hawk Phaser is a vintage-style modulator designed to deliver everything from gentle, shimmering movement to deep, swirling textures. [...]
View post: Safari Pedals & Karanyi Sounds offer Hawk Phaser plugin FREE for a limited time