Kenny Beats teases new season of The Cave YouTube seriesGrammy-nominated rap producer Kenny Beats is revamping his popular collaborative music production-focused video series, The Cave for a fourth season.

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The LOUIE producer took to X on Wednesday 11 Oct, to write, “Ok fine […] who wants a new season of The Cave?”
On the show, he invites artists, friends and familiar collaborators to his LA-based studio of the same name to freestyle over beats they make together there and then. The first series started in March 2019, and the show ran for 35 episodes across three seasons, ending in 2022.

Some of the most-watched episodes feature the likes of Thundercat, Marc Rebillet, Slowthai, Lil Yachty, Doja Cat, Vince Staples.
One X user responded Kenny Beats on X, saying, “I was thinking last night “Where did bro go?””
Kenny responded: “You know just 2 Grammy nominations, started one of the biggest discords in music, became #1 music twitch streamer, dropped my first solo album on XL records, a Tiny Desk, Teenage Engineering / Fender collabs, a world tour, produced a few songs and albums etc.. nothing much [sic]”

Ok fine
who wants a new season of The Cave?
— kennybeats (@kennybeats) October 11, 2023

Others have also reacted to the news. SoundCloud even responded simply with “me”. Another wrote, “Yes! I know The Cave fanbase can be annoying but I’m really grateful that you’ve continued to do this show, work with people you enjoy working with on it, and putting me on to so many artists in the process (Remi Wolf, Teezo, and Boldy James to name a few).”
In 2021, Kenny, who’s become appreciated by fans for revealing his production techniques, told Rolling Stone, “In the past, all I ever thought about was making music, but I need to use my platform for something bigger. I need to help give somebody else a shot who might not be getting it.”
One artist fans are asking for another collaboration with is Benny Sings. In April, MusicTech spoke to the Dutch musician and singer-songwriter about the process of Kenny producing his tenth studio album, Young Hearts. Kenny gave the music “that extra slap”, he said.
Kenny Beats touched down at Glastonbury Festival in the UK this summer to deliver a fun and unpredictable DJ set. MusicTech was there to witness it, and during the set, he told the crowd, “Before I get the fuck outta here…If you make music don’t ever fucking stop. Keep going. Make art, you keep going.”
Follow Kenny Beats on YouTube.
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New 2017 Shotgun Microphone from DPA DPA’s 2017 Shotgun Microphone aims to deliver their signature clean and detailed sound whilst standing up to harsh conditions such as cold weather and humid environments.

Tim Bergling Foundation announces 2023 return of Avicii tribute concertThe Tim Bergling Foundation has announced the return of its Avicii tribute concert for 2023, Together For A Better Day, which is due to take place at the Avicii Arena.
The foundation was originally set up in honour of the DJ and producer to advocate for the recognition of suicide as a global health crisis by his parents Klas Bergling and Anki Lidén.

READ MORE: Armin van Buuren says Avicii’s death made him prioritise mental health: “When I started DJing, this was never a topic”

The announcement of the concert was shared on World Mental Health Day (10 October), and it is set to take place on 6 December 2023. Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling, sadly took his own life in 2018 aged just 28.
This year’s event will feature performances from Yung Lean, Griff, Cherrie, Dan Tyminski, Cleo, Jireel, Daniela Rathana, Adaam, Jelassi + Ayan Ahmed, Hurula, Thomas Stenström, Wermland Operas Orkester and more. Plus, there will be a performance from a secret artist who has not been announced publicly.
The first tribute concert took place in 2021, and offered longtime Avicii fans an opportunity to celebrate his life and legacy, right in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden at the very stadium which was re-named to honour the EDM hit artist.
Avicii’s 2013 track Wake Me Up hit two billion streams on Spotify back in August. It became the fourth ever dance track to hit such a huge milestone. It was also announced earlier this year that a documentary about Avicii was in the works.

It was said to include previously unreleased footage and fresh interviews with Avicii’s family and friends, as well as fellow stars of the EDM world like Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell of Swedish House Mafia. No further details have since been released.
Find out more and get tickets via The Tim Bergling Foundation.
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“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, CurrentMinimal Audio has backtracked on the controversial subscription-only pricing structure of its new soft synth, Current, issuing an apology to its customer base.
Launched this week, Current’s “unified sound design ecosystem”, five “powerful sound engines”, numerous modulation options, expressive MIDI effects and more weren’t enough to convince users of its subscription-only model, which would have them paying $15 per month, or $10 a month if paid annually.
Many users bemoaned the pricing structure on social media, with one writing on X: “If I had rented Serum for $15/mo for as long as I’ve owned Serum I would have spent $1,410 on Serum.”
Another stated: “I would much rather purchase a perpetual licence with few to no presets than pay for something I will not use. I’m sure a lot of people would agree.”

Now, Minimal Audio’s Jake Turpin has issued an apology, and clarified a restructuring of Current’s pricing model.
“There were a lot of things that went wrong with the release of Current – definitely poor communication from us to our creator community, definitely poor communication to our customers, and honestly just a poor decision on pricing, with regards to what our intention with Current is,” he says.
“Our goal with Current is really to build this constantly evolving, vastly improving synthesis ecosystem over time. And we wanted to make sure everybody experienced what our vision for that product is.
“But obviously after everybody’s feedback we realised that it doesn’t make sense when if you want to leave the system you lose access to all that stuff after being on it for such a long period of time.”
Turpin goes on to outline a new pricing structure for Current which will take effect after the product’s free trial period ends, with both a one-time purchase perpetual licence and an RTO plan available.
“Obviously everyone’s in free trial right now – no one has spent a dollar on Current,” he continues. “By the time the free trial has finished, we will have a perpetual option of Current up on the website that’s $200, one-time purchase without the cloud integration.
“Now, the subscription: we’re killing the subscription, no more subscription. We’ll assign a value to every single thing in the stream – all of the standalone effects plugins, everything.
“When you sign up for Current, you’ll be signing up for an all-access RTO (rent-to-own) programme. And while you’re on the RTO system, you get unlimited access to everything inside of Current, and all of the effects inside of current as standalone plugins as well. Just everything that we have to offer.
Turpin explains that for every year a user is on the RTO plan, they’ll get “every dollar” they spend back in the form of store credit to unlock any perpetual licences that Minimal Audio has to offer once they cancel the RTO plan.
“We think this is great because it still allows everybody to experience the expansive vision we have for Current, but as soon as that vision stops being valuable to you, you can take just what you want and leave with it.”
“It’s great for us, too, because it means that we need to continue to add so much value above and beyond that you want to stay on the RTO plan so that you can continue to use everything.
“So that’s pretty much it: subscription dead, RTO unlimited access is the future for this product, and that will allow us to keep the low barrier of entry we want, as well as allow everybody to experience the ecosystem, and for people that are truly uninterested in it, and just want to spend $200 and get the synth, we’ll have you covered as well.”
“I want to apologise again for how poorly thought out this was,” he adds. “We have no problem with perpetual licences, we like them too. We were just so focused on the product and building this huge thing that we just lost, kind of, really a business vision that made sense in terms of pricing, and the products on the website and the value to the user. It was kind of a moonshot moment where we just thought we’d add so much value that everybody would love it.
“So we will fix it, and I hope that you guys will give us another chance.”

You can check out Current over at Minimal Audio.
The post “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 appeared first on MusicTech.

House committee chairman threatens SEC chair with subpoena, but not over cryptoU.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee chair James Comer thinks Genlser is stonewalling him. Crypto supporters know the feeling.

XCHANGE Celebrates 2 Million TransactionsXCHANGE Market Corp. has achieved a remarkable milestone, surpassing 2 million transactions in music software digital distribution.

Before XCHANGE, music software was normally packaged, shipped, and stocked physically in music retail stores and their warehouses, all for a simple code printed on paper. Launched in 2009, XCHANGE was created as a better alternative to selling audio software in the retail environment. The company serves as a business-to-business purchasing platform for music retailersto order products from manufacturers and then sell these products to its customers online. This strategy allows retailers and manufacturers to expand and scale their businesses globally by networking and connecting to deliver digital software licenses. While simultaneously serving the needs of retailers, XCHANGE offers manufacturers a portal to manage their retail connections, set prices, import digital codes for immediate sale, and create and distribute promotions, all within a centralized interface.

This setup represents a paradigm shift in the way music software is sold and delivered, enabling customers to purchase and receive licenses in seconds rather than days and weeks and eliminating costs associated with manufacturing, shipping, warehousing, and shrinkage. The company boasts of saving countless trees, gas, time, and energy. 2 million transactions on XCHANGE means they have saved the MI industry from creating 2 million packaging boxes for music software.

“Congratulations to XCHANGE on 2 million transactions! It’s been a strong partnership for Sweetwater for over a decade and we look forward to continuing our partnership for many more years. Our shared passion for helping customers achieve their musical dreams as quickly and easily as possible has created amazing growth over these last 11 years.”

- John Hopkins, CEO, Sweetwater

Businesses can participate in this music software boon by joining XCHANGE today. Its digital delivery platform, with an emphasis on automation and integration, as well as subscription and rent-to-own features make it a desirable tool for retailers to deliver countless software titles to customers instantly. There are more than 7,000 products to sell, no reseller fees, no inventory stocking requirements, and products are delivered in seconds anywhere in the world 24/7. More sales, more profits.

Learn more or sign up for free today at www.xchangemarket.com

Ford’s joint EV battery venture increases wages at planned factories amid UAW strikeFord and its joint venture partner SK On, will increase wages at two planned EV battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee in an effort to assuage striking autoworkers. That offer might not be enough. The joint venture, known as BlueOval SK, said it’s offering higher wages for maintenance technicians and associate maintenance technicians, ranging from […]

Cymatics Releases Deja Vu FREE Time-Warping Effect Plugin
Cymatics released Deja Vu, a freeware time-warping effect plugin for digital audio workstation software on Windows and macOS. Deja Vu is a time-warping plugin that completely changes the vibe of any loop, and it’s available to download for free now. It is the latest plugin from Cymatics, the developer behind Diablo (drum enhancer), Space (reverb), [...]
View post: Cymatics Releases Deja Vu FREE Time-Warping Effect Plugin

Major record companies hate AI voice-cloning platforms that don’t pay. The one they hate most was created by a 20-year-old UK student.How the RIAA is tuning its legal attention towards a 20-year-old UK student who is making "quite a lot" of money from his AI site
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Superfan platform Fave raises $2m in strategic funding from Warner Music, Sony Music and moreCompany says that it expects the ongoing funding round to reach $6 million
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AudioThing Lines Lines is an effect plugin that crosses borders: it can be used as a creative mangler of all kinds of signals, ranging from lo-fi telephone sounds, lush phasing, warm distortions, crushing... Read More

Akai Pro introduce APC64 Ableton controller As well as offering deep integration with Ableton Live, Akai Pro's new APC64 can be used to control hardware instruments thanks to a built-in sequencer and CV/gate connectivity. 

Ardour 8.0 Released, What’s New?
Free and open-source digital audio workstation Ardour is updated to version 8.0, including several new features and improvements. Fans of the free and open-source digital audio workstation Ardour have plenty to celebrate this week! October 8th marks the release of Ardour 8, and the new version brings a bevy of interesting and useful features to [...]
View post: Ardour 8.0 Released, What’s New?

Minimal Audio’s Current is a powerful soft synth – but producers bemoan subscription-only optionMinimal Audio has been met with disappointment from users over the release of its new flagship subscription-based synth.
The new Current synth has been billed as a “unified sound design ecosystem”, featuring five “powerful sound engines”, numerous modulation options, expressive MIDI effects, FM synthesis and innovative filtering. It also boasts a freely loadable and re-arrangeable effects rack containing all of the company’s standard presets.
There’s also a granular sample, “capable of completely reshaping samples into endless clouds, undulating grain sequences, dense textures, and everything in between”.
Despite its attractive feature set, however, the decision to make the new product available for a subscription costing $15 a month – or $10 a month if you pay upfront for a year – has been widely maligned on social media and on forums.
“It was going to be an instant buy, as I’ve loved everything else they’ve put out, but a subscription-based synth is a hard pass,” one user on the KVRAudio forum. “There is way too much competition for that route.”
“I have no interest in a sub service for a synth – the content update stuff that seems to drive the subscription is of no interest to me,” another agreed.
A third added: “Really hoping Minimal Audio rethinks the subscription or offers some kind of alternative permanent license that gives you less samples or something but gives you the full featured synth. Otherwise I’m not interested.”
Meanwhile, on X/Twitter, one popular comment read: “Looks great, but… $15/month? I really do not care for the presets at all, and I would much rather purchase a perpetual licence with few to no presets than pay for something I will not use. I’m sure a lot of people would agree”.

looks great, but… $15/month? I really do not care for the presets at all, and I would much rather purchase a perpetual licence with few to no presets than pay for something I will not use. I'm sure a lot of people would agree
— voltra (@voltra) October 11, 2023

Another user points out that a subscription-only model renders long-term users paying far above what would be a fair price for a plugin. “If I had rented Serum for $15/mo for as long as I’ve owned Serum i would have spent $1,410 on Serum,” they write.

if i had rented serum for $15/mo for as long as i've owned serum i would have spent $1,410 on serum
— gater (@gater) October 12, 2023

It’s not the first time the use of subscription models in the music tech world has been looked upon unfavourably. Earlier this year, Waves put a stop to plugin sales in a move to a subscription-only model but U-turned just days later following poor customer feedback.
“We understand that our move was sudden and disruptive, and did not sufficiently take into consideration your needs, wishes, and preferences. We are genuinely sorry for the distress it has caused,” they said in a statement.
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“We went into the darkness looking for something”: Pharrell recalls studio sessions with Daft PunkIn a new interview, Pharrell reveals how studio sessions with Daft Punk opened his eyes to the magic that comes from doing things “over and over and over and over again”.

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Speaking on episode six of Daft Punk’s Memory Tapes documentary series, the musician shares some of his takeaways from working with the legendary duo on their final album, Random Access Memories.
“I’ve always been like ‘okay I’m gonna go in there and once it feels good to me that’s it.’ But it’s really not, that’s just the beginning,” says Pharrell, who co-wrote and featured on the tracks Get Lucky and Lose Yourself to Dance.

“I’ve never went in there to perfect it and he continued to push me. So it might have been written, but he’s like ‘Okay now record it again. Okay cool. Now record it again. Okay cool take this again. Okay cool stack this again. Okay do it again, do it again, do it again.’”
“It was like over and over and over and over again which is the right way to do it, right? You get all the knots out and for me that’s what I learned in working with the robots,” he says.
“Now I understand the value of just taking the time to iron it out – that it could be perfection. That’s the difference between a human and a robot.”
Describing his songwriting process with Daft Punk as “all feeling”, Pharrell says: “We went into the darkness looking for something.”
“Working with them is just very magical because I feel like we all see music the same way. We saw music as just like, gift that was given to us to connect with people and set people free and liberate people.”

Also in the chat, Pharrell recalls how the band surprised him by using his recorded vocals on the final versions of Get Lucky and Lose Yourself To Dance.
“I didn’t know who was gonna end up singing it. I left the studio thinking, ‘Okay, can’t wait to see who sings and what it sounds like,” he said. “I didn’t hear it for a year, so I forgot what the song sounded like – both of them.”
The post “We went into the darkness looking for something”: Pharrell recalls studio sessions with Daft Punk appeared first on MusicTech.