Universal just launched a claims-free music subscription service for content creators with 50,000 tracks and 200,000 sound effectsThe Universal Music for Creators service starts at $5.99 per month
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The strategic reason HYBE’s Chairman wants to retire in 10 years, and 2 other things we learned from Bang Si-Hyuk’s recent interviewBang Si-hyuk explained the logic behind HYBE's US expansion, the differences between the US and Korean music industries, and his retirement, in recent chat with Bloomberg
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Zero-G Sample Libraries Ethera Gold Atlantis 3 ETHERA GOLD ATLANTIS 3 is a remarkable, innovative instrument designed for crafting soundtracks, cinematic compositions, awe-inspiring music trailers, and any musical piece demanding exceptional... Read More

Spotify adds a personalized multi-artist Merch HubSpotify has made changes in recent months designed to help artists sell more merch, including a Shopify integration and a Merch tab on Artists’ Pages. Now, the streamer has added. Continue reading
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Spitfire Audio announce Eric Whitacre Contrast Spitfire's latest collaboration with Eric Whitacre aims to surpass the boundaries of traditional choral performances and offer a huge range of experimental sound design possibilities.

SoundExchange royalty payments rise 8% to $257M in Q3SoundExchange announced that it paid out $257 million in royalties in the third quarter of 2023, an 8% increase from the same period in 2022. Year-to-date, SoundExchange distribution payments total. Continue reading
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Music has become a ‘just-in-time’ economyThe modern day economy is built upon ‘just-in-time’ supply chains. This framework has enabled the benefits of consumerism that we have come to enjoy, such as next day delivery, out of season foods on our shelves, and the digital devices we live our lives through. Each component of the just-in-time economy works in tightly coordinated partnership, from factories, through transport, to point of sale. The underlying principle is that every component is manufactured and delivered at just the right time, to ensure that there is a continual throughput of production, assembly, and consumption. Gone are the old days of large warehouses containing product, just in case it is needed. Instead, just the right amount makes its way around the world in shipping containers to meet demand. Most of us never even knew this system existed until the pandemic, when it suddenly broke down and we found ourselves short of essentials, like toilet paper. Perhaps without even realising it, the music business has become a just-in-time economy too, and that is not a good thing.

The music business used to be characterised by artists disappearing into the studio for months on end and emerging with an album for expectant fans to get their hands on at some time in the future. Bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers were able to average four years between their albums and still expect their fanbase to be there, waiting eagerly for the next release. Streaming and social media combined to turn that model on its head, heralding the era of the always-on artist. Now, artists fear the consequences of not putting out a single every month. Heck, even Daniel Ek said it is “not enough” for artists to release albums “every 3-4 years” and that they need to create “continuous engagement with their fans”.

Add this to the very real fear that the algorithm will ‘forget’ artists if they do not keep up a steady flow of social posts and releases, and you have the foundation stones for music’s just-in-time economy. The implication, no, the reality, is that if artists do not conform to the always-on model then they will be lost by (not in) the system. Artists (and their rightsholders) have become just-in-time suppliers, with the subtle, yet seismic, shift from delivering art to their fans when they have finished their creative process, at their pace, to filling a slot in the never ceasing supply chain. It is an environment that, unsurprisingly, has created the hit today, gone tomorrow world that today’s music business operates within.

The model works well for platforms, and consumers, but less so for artists, due to misaligned incentives across the industry. The underlying problem with the system is that the content platforms that shape today’s entertainment business (TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Spotify, etc.) value creation more than they do creators. The more creation that there is, the more that the platforms’ algorithms are able to target users with ever more specific and personalised content. The platforms all, of course, talk a good talk about creators, but what matters most to them is that their users get the right content. It does not matter whether that means a thousand creators delivering one piece of content to a thousand users, or one creator to one thousand users. With the pervasive obsession with ‘new’, as soon as one piece of content has been served, another is needed.

This is how we described this dynamic back in early 2021:

“In the attention economy’s volume and velocity game, the streaming platform is a hungry beast that is perpetually hungry. Each new song is just another bit of calorific input to sate its appetite.”

And it is not just the consumer platforms that fuel this fire. Artist distribution platforms play a role too. The unspoken promise of the platforms is that artists have a chance to compete with the likes of Taylor Swift. Of course, 99.99% of the nearly six and a half million self-releasing artists will never get into the same race, let alone win it. 

We are at the point where there needs to be a duty of care to creators, from both distributors and platforms. This starts with selling the right dream. Some artists may only ever have a thousand fans (or fewer) who want to listen to their music. That should be embraced as an aspirational goal, not failure. Service offerings should be geared around helping creators understand what their realistic (but aspirational) goals should be, and helping them achieve them. Not a nudge and a wink implication that they can all become superstars.

If this does not happen, we are heading towards a massive creator backlash, driven by a generation of creators wondering why they are not superstars yet. And that is not in the interest of any of the industry’s stakeholders, except perhaps the homes of superstars.

The just-in-time model in the wider economy has underpinned an unprecedented amount of consumption, and that comes with its own set of challenges, especially with regards to sustainability. It has also contributed to, as the Guardian put it, “the growth of low-wage, often more precarious jobs, with workers recruited only when they would beneeded. This constant squeezing of workers has fuelled our 24/7 work culture and the mental health problems that go with it, while attempts to cut the price of labour have added tothe growth of economic inequality, regardless of who sits in government”. All of which sounds remarkably similar to the plight of many of today’s artists.

4 Steps to a Successful DIY Regional TourRegional touring is definitely a smaller beast than performing nationally, but it is still a beast of a project. These 4 tips will help even the smallest artists make the. Continue reading
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Bob Moog Foundation raffles Memorymoog Plus signed by owner’s manual authorThe Bob Moog Foundation has launched a raffle featuring a fully restored Memorymoog Plus synthesizer, autographed by Dominic Milano, who authored the original Memorymoog manual.

READ MORE: Moog CEO “reached out to Uli Behringer” to try and sell company, Behringer claims

The synth was originally received by Milano in the mid-1980s as part payment for writing the manual. Milano apparently recognised its potential after a recent restoration by renowned synthesizer technician, Wes Taggart saying, “After hearing Wes gush about what a great synth it was… I figured it would be perfect for the [Bob Moog] Foundation.”
The Memorymoog Plus, Moog Music’s successor to the original Memorymoog, boasts six-voice polyphony and three voltage-controlled oscillators, delivering a massive sound. Milano particularly appreciates the 100-patch memory bank, stating, “Being able to use a foot switch to advance through patches was a godsend for live gigs.”
Moog Memorymoog synth signed by Dominic Milano | Credit: Bob Moog Foundation
“The Bob Moog Foundation is proud to be sharing this iconic Memorymoog Plus while also bringing to light Dominic Milano’s unique history as it relates to this synthesizer and the synthesizer community,” says Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation.
“Keyboard magazine was an essential source of information for a burgeoning synthesizer community when the technology was quickly evolving. Thousands of synthesists have Dominic and the Keyboard team of editors and writers to thank for what quickly became an indispensable resource for a worldwide community.”
The raffle begins today on Monday 16 October 2023 at 7 am EDT, and will conclude on Monday, November 6, 2023, at 11:59 pm EDT or when all 5,000 tickets have been sold. Ticket prices are $25 each, 5 for $100, 12 for $200, and 35 for $500.
Buy tickets at Moog Foundation.
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ALM/Busy Circuits’ Pamela’s PRO Workout goes virtual ALM/Busy Circuits have announced that another of their popular Eurorack modules is now available in virtual form for the VCV Rack software platform

“Somebody leaked 85 of my demos”: FKA Twigs axes upcoming album after hackingFKA Twigs has allegedly had 85 demos of her music leaked online, forcing her to cancel the release of her upcoming album, telling fans “no new music for a while now”.

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In an Instagram story posted on Saturday 14 October, the cellophane singer-songwriter shared a screenshot of the 85 demos leaked online, writing “i [sic] got hacked… somebody leaked 85 of my demos… well done. No new music for a while now. bye

Friend Within breaks down how much he gets paid by major platforms, thanks gym classes for paying his rentGym tunes are apparently the way to go if you want to make a living off streaming payouts, as Friend Within reveals in a recent post detailing the royalties he’s received from major platforms for the past quarter.

READ MORE: “I want to apologise for how poorly thought out this was”: Minimal Audio U-turns on controversial subscription-only pricing model for new soft synth, Current

Sharing the information on last week’s #PRSDay, the producer calls it a “very exciting day” that “for some will mean if they can pay the rent this month or not”.
Starting from the bottom of the payout ladder, we have – drumroll please – Apple Music coming in at £0.0002999 per play, followed by Spotify, which offers £0.000329 per stream.
To put things into perspective, this translates to about 3000 plays for a mighty £1.
Next up, we have Soundcloud, which pays £0.00181 per play and while that might not sound like much, as Friend Within puts it, “It’s 552% better than Spotify.”
And most surprising of all, we have “UK Fitness Classes” leading the streaming payout (and livable-wage-for-musicians) game, offering the biggest single payout of £1,399.05.
“The moral of the story is support your favourite artists by buying their music, merch, tickets and join a fitness class,” teased the producer.
Check out the full breakdown below.

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A post shared by Friend Within (@friendwithin)

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AES New York 2023 Coinciding with the organisation’s 75th anniversary, AES NY 2023 will host a comprehensive selection of workshops, panel discussions, demonstrations and more.

Bitcoin signals potential range expansion— Will SOL, LDO, ICP and VET follow?Bitcoin is holding above $26,500 and the price stability could lead traders to take a second look at SOL, LDO, ICP and VET.

NatLife Sounds Tranceworld For Arturia Pigments Tranceworld For Arturia Pigments – is a massive Trance invasion into the Pigments synthesizer. The sounds inside was inspired by golden Trance era between 1996-2008 years.You... Read More