Spotify launches SongDNA in beta for Premium subscribers, tracing how songs connect through shared producers, samples and coversSongDNA lets subscribers trace how one song connects to another through shared producers, samples and covers.
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US FCC Prohibits Approval of New Foreign-Made Consumer RoutersThe US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is tasked with regulating both wired and wireless communications, which also includes a national security component. This is how previously the FCC tossed networking gear made by Huawei and foreign-manufactured drones onto its Covered List, effectively banning it from sale in the US. Now foreign-made consumer routers have been added to this list, barring explicit conditional approval on said list that would exempt them during a ‘transition phase’.
As per the FCC fact sheet, this follows after determination by an interagency body that such routers “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States [..]”. This document points us to the National Security Determination PDF, which attempts to lay out the reasoning. In it is noted that routers are an integral part of every day life, and compromised routers are a major risk factor, ergo it follows that only US-manufactured routers are to be trusted.
These – so far fictional – US-manufactured consumer routers would have to feature ‘trusted supply chains’, which would seem to imply onshoring a large industrial base, though without specifying how deep this would have to go it’s hard to say what would be involved. The ‘supporting evidence’ section also only talks about firmware-related vulnerabilities, which would imply that US firmware developers do not produce CVEs.

Currently there do not appear to be any specific details on what router manufacturers are supposed to do about this whole issue, though they can continue to sell previously FCC-approved routers in the US.
Although hardware backdoors are definitely a possibility, this requires a fair bit of effort within the supply chain that should generally also fairly easily to detect. Yet after for example Bloomberg claimed in 2018 that Supermicro gear had been infested with hardware backdoors, this started a years-long controversy.
Meanwhile actually verified issues with Supermicro hardware are boringly due to software CVEs. In that particular issue from 2024 two CVEs were discovered involving a lack of validation of a newly uploaded firmware image.
All of which is reminiscent of an early 2024 White House ‘memory safety appeal’ that smelled very strongly of red herring. Although it’s easy to point at compromised hardware with scary backdoors and sneaky software backdoors hidden deep inside firmware of servers and networking devices, the truth of the matter is that sloppy input validation is still by far the #1 cause of fresh CVEs each year, especially if you look at the CVEs that are actually being actively exploited.
As for this de-facto ban on new routers being sold in the US, this will correspondingly not change much here. The best defense against issues with networking equipment is still to practice network hygiene by keeping tabs on what is being sent on the LAN and WAN sides, while a government could e.g. force consumer routers to pass a strict independent hardware and software audit paid for by the manufacturer.
Speaking as someone who used to run DIY routers for the longest time built around FreeSCO and Smoothwall Linux, there’s also always the option of turning any old PC into a router by putting a bunch of NICs and WNICs into it and run SmoothWall, OpenWRT, etc.. A router is after all just a specialized computer, regardless of what the government feels that it identifies as.

Audio Damage releases Evil Otto, a free OTT multiband compressor plugin
Audio Damage has released Evil Otto, a free OTT-style multiband compressor for desktop. The iOS version is a separate $2.99 purchase in the App Store. To download the desktop version, you just need to join the Audio Damage mailing list (or log in if you are already a member), and you will receive a download [...]
View post: Audio Damage releases Evil Otto, a free OTT multiband compressor plugin

Electro-Harmonix release Oceans Abyss editor Previously limited to preset management only, EHXport App now presents all of the Oceans Abyss' controls and settings in a dedicated software editor with a user-friendly GUI.

Akai Pro unveil the MPC Sample The MPC Sample draws its inspiration from the likes of the MPC60, and allows users to sample, chop and arrange beats anywhere with no computer required. 

INTERSECT is a free open-source sample slicer plugin
INTERSECT is a free, open-source sample slicer plugin for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It has been steadily improving over the past several releases. BPB reader bmovie suggested I give it another try in our community section (thank you!), and I have to say I am impressed with how polished it has become. If you need [...]
View post: INTERSECT is a free open-source sample slicer plugin

UVI Sparkverb algorithmic reverb plugin is FREE on KVR until April 12th
UVI’s Sparkverb algorithmic reverb is available for free on KVR Audio for a limited time. The plugin normally costs €79, and the giveaway runs until April 12th. Unsurprisingly, to claim your copy, you need a free KVR account. I made my first steps in the world of music production there, so if you ask me, [...]
View post: UVI Sparkverb algorithmic reverb plugin is FREE on KVR until April 12th

Renowned mastering engineer Chris Athens has diedMastering engineer Chris Athens has sadly passed away due to complications following a planned heart surgery.
The news has been shared in a statement posted on social media by his wife, Judi Krant Athens. She has confirmed that his successful mastering company, Chris Athens Masters, which he founded in 2010, will continue on in honour of his legacy.
Athens ran his company alongside engineers Kurt Bradley and Dave Huffman. Together, their work has reached over 288 billion streams, achieved 833 platinum records, and 54 diamond records. You can view Athens’ discography via the Chris Athens Mastering website.
“Dear Friends, Clients, and Collaborators, it’s with profound sadness that I share the passing of my husband, Chris Athens, after complications following a planned heart surgery,” Judi says.
“Chris dedicated his life to music and to the art of mastering. He felt privileged to spend his days (and nights) working on music he loved with artists he deeply respected. Those who knew Chris know he was more than just those bionic ears, he was singularly funny, kind, and generous.
“In honouring his legacy, Chris Athens Masters will continue operating, carrying forward the standards and sonic sensibility Chris built throughout his career. Although Chris was the founder and namesake of the studio, it wasn’t a one-man operation, it has always been a team.”
She adds, “Over the last decade and a half, Dave and Kurt have been an integral part of Chris’s process, instincts, and approach to mastering. We’re grateful for the trust so many artists and labels placed in Chris, and we remain committed to continuing the work he loved. We’ll share information about a celebration of life at a later date. Thank you for being part of his journey.”

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Athens had over 30 years of experience in the industry. His career began at Sony Music Studios, followed by 13 years as a Senior Mastering Engineer at Sterling Sound in New York City. He went on to relocate to Austin, TX, where he founded Chris Athens Masters.
He also received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Record of the Year for his work with Drake on Views, Scorpion, and God’s Plan, and has three Latin Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, and Best Engineered Album for Rosalía’s El Mal Querer and C. Tangana’s El Madrileño.
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The MusicTech Magazine March/April 2026 issue is coming: here’s how to get your copyThe MusicTech Magazine March/April 2026 issue goes on sale this week, bundled with NME Magazine. Here’s how you can get a copy.
Last April, we announced the relaunch of the MusicTech print edition after a four-year hiatus, and we’ve since had producer Blake Slatkin and artist Sudan Archives on the print cover. Now, we’re gearing up to launch the March/April 2026 issue, which will as always come bundled with a copy of NME Magazine.
Mark your calendars for Thursday March 26 at 2pm GMT – that’s when the cover stars of both magazines will be revealed and the mags go on sale exclusively via retailer Dawsons. The waiting room is open, so check it out now.
Besides MusicTech, Guitar.com has also returned to print. Guitar.com, MusicTech and NME are sister publications under NME Networks. The new Guitar.com and MusicTech print editions alternate with every bi-monthly edition of NME Magazine – which itself was relaunched in 2023 – meaning three print editions per calendar year for each brand.
Subscribe here for more information about MusicTech Magazine and to receive an exclusive queue jump opportunity, where readers can get their hands on a copy before anyone else. MusicTech will send out queue jump tickets shortly before the magazine goes on sale to subscribers.
The post The MusicTech Magazine March/April 2026 issue is coming: here’s how to get your copy appeared first on MusicTech.

Fraudster earned millions with AI songs no humans ever even listened toA 54-year-old man from Cornelius, North Carolina, has pleaded guilty to music streaming fraud, which earned him over $8 million in royalties through AI generated songs and bot streamers.
Michael Smith was charged by US federal prosecutors in 2024, when it was reported that his fraudulent operation began all the way back in 2017. Smith has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and has also agreed to pay $8,091,843.64 in forfeiture.

READ MORE: “Play an instrument – now more than ever”: Flying Lotus says AI-generated music will make demand to see real musicians go up

A press release shared via the Department of Justice website states that Smith created thousands of bot accounts across streaming platforms and used software to cause the bots to continuously stream songs that he owned. He used AI to create “hundreds of thousands” of songs for which he could manipulate the streams.
Smith spread his automated streams across thousands of songs to avoid anomalous streaming as to any single song, which would have likely caused the streaming platforms to discover his scheme, the press release also states.
A statement from U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton reads, “Michael Smith generated thousands of fake songs using artificial intelligence and then streamed those fake songs billions of times.
“Although the songs and listeners were fake, the millions of dollars Smith stole was real. Millions of dollars in royalties that Smith diverted from real, deserving artists and rights holders. Smith’s brazen scheme is over, as he stands convicted of a federal crime for his AI-assisted fraud.”
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced in July this year.
In other AI news, Mikey Shulman, the CEO of AI music platform Suno, has reflected on his controversial statement that most people “don’t enjoy” making music.
Shulman made the comment during an interview on the 20VC podcast last year, when he claimed that most people don’t enjoy the majority of the time they spend making music because of how time consuming it is, but also because it “takes a lot of practice” and “you need to get really good at an instrument or really good at a piece of production software”.
Looking back on the controversy in a new interview with Billboard, Shulman admitted: “I really wish I had chosen different words.”
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MQA Labs Inspira and Endura fix one of the oldest problems in digital audio conversionInspira: $249
Endura: $349
mqalabs.com
When zooming in on the start of a waveform in your DAW, have you ever noticed that the initial transient of the recording is preceded by a wobble of waveform activity? It almost looks like the waveform is revving-up for the big jump of the transient. This strange signal is extremely low in level, so most of us ignore it, but if you were to stick a mic in front of a drum and feed its signal to an old-school analogue oscilloscope, you’d see nothing of the sort, but just a clean, crisp transient.

READ MORE: The best free synth plugins you can download right now

So what’s up with those DAW waveforms? Are they actually a bigger problem than we realise? With the release of the Inspira and Endura plugins, MQA Labs certainly thinks so.
Endura. Image: Press
What is pre-ring, and why does it matter?
What you’re seeing is known as time smear or pre-ring; an artefact of the delta-sigma oversampling design used in (practically) every audio analogue-to-digital (AD) converter that’s ever been on the market. If you’d like to understand why pre-ring occurs, check out MQA Labs’ white paper on the topic, but be warned — it gets rather technical!
Pre-ring doesn’t only affect the first transient in a recording, but is an ever-present pre-echo of the upcoming audio. With extremely low amplitude and an extremely short time offset (around 150µs at 48 kHz), you may assume it has no discernible impact. But overlaying audio with a time-offset copy of itself results in phase interactions that amplify some frequencies while attenuating others, and pre-ring causes this to happen.
The actual sonic impact is exceptionally small, but if you know what to listen for (and are able to compare to an analogue source with no pre-ring) it can be heard as a slight over-emphasis of the mid range and coinciding muddying of upper-mid and high frequencies. It can also blur the apparent position of individual sounds within stereo sources.
Inspira. Image: Press
What are Inspira and Endura?
So, where do MQA Labs Inspira and Endura fit into this picture? The company’s goal is to improve conversion technology, and it has developed systems that eliminate pre-ring by preserving the time-domain accuracy lost in delta-sigma converters. Inspira and Endura harness this technology in a way that brings its benefits directly into your DAW, and that works no matter what converters your audio interface employs.
The plugins look incredibly similar (although not identical) to each other, but are intended for different purposes. Inspira is for use on individual parts and tracks, although can be used on submix and mix buses too, if desired. Endura, on the other hand, is only for the master mix bus, where it should be applied as the last processor in the chain after the master fader (although not all DAWs allow inserts following the master fader).
Looked at another way, Inspira deals with pre-ring stemming from the analogue-to-digital (AD) side of things, while Endura applies processing that mitigates pre-ring in the DA conversion process.

What do the plugins do?
The first stage of both plugins shows a single Align control and a graphical representation of an impulse waveform. When the Align dial is in the zero position, no alignment processing is applied, and the graphic shows both pre- and post-ring surrounding the impulse (post-ring equates to decay and reverberation in real-world acoustics and so is considered a natural part of the sound – i.e., we can ignore it). Increasing the Align value shifts the pre-ring forward into the post-ring area; decreasing the value does the opposite.
This pre-ring shift is reflected in the graphic, but this is only an indicator and not something that’s actually being measured from the audio passing through the plugin. Achieving the best Align setting, then, means listening closely to the results… and I mean very closely! I’ve already mentioned that the sonic impact of pre-ring is subtle, and so it follows that the impact of the corrective processing is equally subtle. Accordingly, this makes finding the sweet spot, where the mids are least plummy, and the upper ranges are spacious and detailed, tricky. If it’s possible, MQA should add a real-time pre-ring visualiser.
The second stage of both plugins is dedicated to dithering. Dithering adds a low-level random noise that eliminates the ugly distortion caused by digital quantisation errors. It’s an important stage in any digital signal processin,g but we normally only pay attention to it at output — for example, when your pristine 24-bit mix may be heading for a 16-bit playback format. Having control over dithering in Inspira – essentially the input stage – is therefore unusual but helpful. Still, I find what makes this particularly useful is that it allows control over noise shaping, a key part of both plugins’ dithering stages.
Noise shaping is an EQ curve applied to dithering noise to move the dithering energy away from the frequencies at which our hearing is most sensitive, thus giving the perception of improved sonic detail around those frequencies. Inspira’s dithering, then, is more about using noise shaping to focus accuracy and detail than it is about reducing bit depth. It can have an impact even when the dithering Depth control (expressed in terms of the number of bits being effectively removed) is at zero, while increasing the Depth value (removing bits, in effect) imparts a form of dynamic compression that can be useful too.
Each plugin offers a slightly different choice of six noise shaping curves. Inspira has a flat curve, three Air curves that lift high-end detail, and two Psy curves designed to focus detail where the human ear is most sensitive. Endura trades one of the Air curves for an extra Psy curve, and also has a Learn function that measures the noise floor of a mix from which to produce an appropriate curve. These options are accompanied by a visual readout that overlays the chosen noise shape on a real-time frequency analysis.
Endura Export and Verify view. Image: Press
What on earth is Assurance Metadata?
One of the reasons Endura needs to be placed at the very end of the mix chain is to ensure the proprietary Assurance Metadata generated by the plugin isn’t corrupted by further signal processing. This is data encoded into the audio stream, its primary function being to verify the exported audio is a bit-perfect match to what the DAW is producing.
The metadata is inaudible, and the export/mixdown procedure of most DAWs will leave it intact; if the metadata is corrupted, it means the exported file will not be bit-perfect. Endura can check the metadata and, if it turns out your DAW is not creating a bit-perfect export, you can use the plugin’s built-in export functionality instead.
MQA Labs’ QRONO d2A converters also respond to the metadata, applying specific filtering tailored to settings applied in Endura. This means QRONO-equipped playback systems, which are already gaining a reputation for delivering excellent results, can do an even better job of turning the digital audio data stream back into accurate, realistic, analogue audio.

Do I really need these plugins?
As I’ve mentioned, the impact of Inspira is subtle, but its benefits have a cumulative effect. Mixes take on an analogue-like quality, with the airiness and high-end detail associated with classic recordings from the pinnacle of the analogue era. However, while not a bank-breaker, Inspira isn’t the cheapest of plugins, so it’s perhaps something that will be of most interest to pros, although anyone’s mixes will benefit from it.
Adding Endura to the brew ensures Inspira’s analogue-like detail and naturalness remain locked into final mixes and masters, but it’s aimed primarily at mastering engineers and studios, with a steeper price tag to match.
It’s undeniable that the sonic benefits wrought by these plugins are delicate, but if we sound engineers and producers were unconcerned with audio quality, we’d still be clustering musicians around a ribbon mic connected directly to a wax master cutter!
Key features

VST3, AU and AAX plugins
Compatible with macOS 10.13+ (Intel or Apple Silicon) and Windows 10/11
Realigns time-smear and applies advanced dithering
Supports MQA Labs Assurance Metadata system

The post MQA Labs Inspira and Endura fix one of the oldest problems in digital audio conversion appeared first on MusicTech.

How We Remixed Fred Again..: Tips from HAAi, Oppidan and HamdiAfter Fred Again.. put out USB 002, his latest longform instalment to the ongoing USB release, notable collaborators such as Young Thug, Sammy Virji, and Floating Points joined the ranks of previous entrants, Skrillex, Four Tet, and Romy.

READ MORE: How we remixed Steve Aoki: Tips from Laidback Luke, Dani Thorne and Nostalgix

But before the dust had settled around the 16 new songs, Fred Again.. announced USB 002 Remixes to keep the roster growing with more diverse talent. Across six new tracks, he welcomes an eclectic crew to rework music from USB 002. Burgeoning dubstep champion Hamdi contributed alongside the modern UK garage purveyor KETTAMA, the intuitive electronic artist HAAi, and the respected groove machine Oppidan.
MusicTech speaks to Oppidan, HAAi, and Hamdi about how they made their remixes and what it’s like to be a part of the continuing USB legacy.
the floor – HAAi remix

What do you think makes a good remix?
Having recognisable elements. The thing that I’m always trying to achieve is where you’re in the club, and you hear this track coming on, and then you get a real payoff on the hook.
the floor technically exists as two remixes, Fred’s and Skin on Skin’s. What was it like working with both sets of stems?
It was quite the beast to take on. There were so many elements I really loved. The first version that I did came out so easily. I worked on it in my kitchen obsessively all day and night, but even though it sounded completely different, it probably had a few too many of those elements. Fred’s feedback was, “I feel like you’ve respected me too much.”
Where did you go from there?
I did seven entirely different compositions, which is probably more work than I’ve ever done on my own music. I did a session with two different pals. The first was Manny D, who is a longtime friend. Then I reached out to this up-and-coming producer called Skybreak who I’ve been working with. His sound design is insane.
Then I took the stems away and rebuilt the whole thing two times. I was still just trying to find what was gonna work in the club. And then it got to the final, but I wasn’t quite ready to hand it over for mixing. So I called Jon Hopkins. He is a very dear friend of mine and a longtime collaborator.
For the first time, I’ve got so many extra credited people. But it has been a real testament that even though I feel very confident as a producer, composer, and songwriter, I also am not afraid to just call up pals sometimes when I’m doing my head in on this.
What are some key plugins, synths, or other pieces of gear you used to make your remix?
We worked across three different DAWs. I work in Ableton Live, Manny D works in Logic Pro, and Skybreak works in FL Studio. A lot of that stuttering vocal stuff I do manually, and I used a Moog Sub 37 and a lot of Serum 2.
One of my favourite two plugins that I used a lot on this is Infiltrator by Devious Machines. In the distortion section called In Your Face, the dial is 0 to 100. I use it on 1, and that is more than enough. I use it mostly on kicks and bass because it adds upper, mid-frequency artefacts, which adds so much more detail to the texture.
There’s another gating plugin that I’ve been using called Duck. It’s so simple, but it adds so much more groove. If I’ve got something like a string section, I can make it into a trance kind of pattern. That’s been really fun to play with.
OK OK – Hamdi remix

What do you think makes a good remix?
I like it when remixes build on the original rather than being a completely separate thing. I always prefer the remixes that don’t veer too far from the original track.
What was your reaction when Fred reached out to you for a remix to be part of the ongoing USB legacy?
I was very gassed when I got the call-up. Funnily enough, I’d actually thought of doing an edit of the track before Fred had even asked me, so I already had some ideas of where I’d take the remix. I love what he’s done with the USB series and the different styles he’s been making on it, so I was very honoured to be a part of the project.
What are some key plugins, synths, or other pieces of gear you used to make your remix?
Most of the basses I made were done in Serum. I usually make most of my bass patches in Sytrus, so it was a bit of a departure for me and a nice change.
Fred has been a champion of the UK dubstep sound for years now. Did that make you feel any pressure when you were making your remix?
I was pretty nervous, I can’t lie. I knew that Fred had a lot of shows coming up, so I really wanted to make something for the clubs that would make crowds go crazy. It took a good few days to get it right. The idea came quite quickly, but it really took a while to fine-tune it and make it sound how I wanted it to. There were a few days when I wasn’t sure if I was going to get it to a good spot.
Your remix has a much harder-hitting bassline than the original. Can you give a quick overview of how you made it in the studio?
I actually built that sound off of a sound I’d made for a drum and bass track. I knew I wanted it to have that of formant-y type sound to it, so I was aiming for that sort of vibe.
..FEISTY – Oppidan remix

What do you think makes a good remix?
Re-contextualising songs in your own style and in a way people wouldn’t have been exposed to before. It’s good to treat remixes like a one-way collaboration.
What was your reaction when Fred reached out to you for a remix to be part of the ongoing USB legacy?
Obviously, really exciting, but also slightly nerve-racking. It felt important for me to fly the flag for UK Garage on this one, which I didn’t end up doing, and I’m glad I didn’t. I’m finding it increasingly difficult to stay within that box. I’m inspired by a lot of different genres.
What are some key plugins, synths, or other pieces of gear you used to make your remix?
There are two bass synths in this track, both made on Serum. One’s a simple sub patch, and the other is a plucky saw style bass with quite a bit of automation to make it feel more organic. I spent quite a bit of time playing with the filter cutoff on the LFO and the decay to create a bit of pull and push on certain notes and emphasise the bassline between bars.
The main synth for the chords is a S.K.Y Keys patch, which samples a bunch of analogue synths. Like most of my tracks, this remix started in a hotel room, so S.K.Y Keys can be my go-to for getting ideas down on the move. The main melody patch is from my Moog Matriarch. I used XLN RC-20 to automate the pitch wobble.
The original track chops up the vocal into precise, minimal pieces. Why did you decide to create smooth melodies, chords, and basslines for your version?
I love recontextualising a song using chords and creating a whole new feel. Usually, this translates to vocal melodies because you can change the way every word feels with each chord change. In this one, though, there’s no direct melody in the vocal, so I had to change my thinking a bit. The vocal is dark and moody, and I guess in a kind of absurdist way, I wanted to flip it on its head and make the vocal feel light, then sweeten the rhythms as much as possible by adding chords and drums.
The post How We Remixed Fred Again..: Tips from HAAi, Oppidan and Hamdi appeared first on MusicTech.

The Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano Discusses Misunderstood Songs and Unexpected InfluencesFrontman Gordon Gano spoke with AllMusic about the Violent Femmes' ongoing anniversary shows, the surprising ways fans interpret his lyrics, and why some of the group's darkest songs receive the biggest reactions live.

Despite bitter rivalry, Kalshi, Polymarket CEOs back $35M predictions markets VC fundAs prediction markets explode, the new firm called 5(c) Capital, will back startups supporting the burgeoning category.

Bitcoin’s battle for $70K continues as data shows traders avoiding bullish positioningRising inflation concerns weigh on Bitcoin’s breakout as traders refuse to take on bullish positions, despite Monday’s 4% price bounce.