The company’s latest virtual synth is focused entirely on the low end. It’s purpose-built for EDM wubs, tuned 808 thumps, and even some heavy gabber kicks. It’s not a subtle instrument, that’s for sure. But it’s plenty of fun if you like rattling the walls.
As AI infiltrates the electronic dance music scene, a callout culture is brewing.
Her family announced that Parton died peacefully at home today in Nashville, TN. A singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, among a long list of other titles, she released over 3,000 songs and has sold over 100 million records.
Parton also donated $1 million in 2020 to assist in the early development of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, and the family has asked that donations in her memory go to her Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 332 million books to help young children learn to read.
After an AI-produced song reached number four on two separate charts in July, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has now updated its Code of Practice to require that songs made with generative AI tools are “substantially human made.” ARIA admits it can only detect AI usage if “you tell us,” however.
[Australian Recording Industry Association]
The Beats by Dre pair spoke to the New York Times briefly, with former Interscope head Iovine saying AI companies have terrible communication skills but that “I’m very pro-A.I. in music creation. I don’t see the downside at all. There will be some crappy music. There’s crappy music now.”
Dre called anyone against it similar to those who pushed back against drum machines or synthesizers, and said, “I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating.”
[New York Times]
That’s according to an email seen by The Hollywood Reporter. They’re seemingly visible versions of the voluntary “Transparency Tags” that Apple Music introduced in March. Apple doesn’t say how it will enforce the labels, but it did clarify what they’ll apply to:
“Content providers will be required to include AI Transparency Tags in any instance where AI was used to create a material portion of the content, including tracks that are AI platform generated.
Amp Crash is the latest from the proud lunatics at Death By Audio and Rainger FX.
Plenty of incredible artists have stepped behind the Tiny Desk at NPR’s DC headquarters, from Juvenile and T-Pain to Soul Glo, Tyer the Creator, and even the cast of Sesame Street. But Weird Al Yankovic has now joined the illustrious list of performers invited back for multiple sets.
The feature, which initially launched on iOS, offers preset playlists for running. It’s available to Premium subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden on both mobile platforms, Spotify says.
DOOMED! pairs Eagle’s deeply personal lyrics with some of Segal’s most commanding beats.
I keep coming back to the criminally slept-on Model:Samples and Model:Cycles.
The duo recently brought their deep dives on the art of pop music to Netflix.
The rapper admitted to using AI on his ’80s-tinged $TARFACE project and received a rare zero. Jet was the last to receive the dishonor in 2006 for Shine On. Pitchfork pulls no punches, saying:
$TARFACE is smug and complacent, an amalgam of ’80s synth-pop and disco slapped together by someone who’s seemingly never cared to listen to one synth-pop or disco record in his life … Stream it out of morbid curiosity if you must, but know that even a single listen runs the risk of making it profitable and therefore encouraging the music industry to commit such atrocities again.
[Pitchfork]
“Together, the companies will develop entirely new music experiences that reimagine how artists and fans can connect,” according to a press release. “The agreement ensures that BMG artists and songwriters who choose to participate have their rights protected and are compensated for their music, while also settling prior use of BMG recordings and publishing works.”
The two companies are also signing the deal ahead of the launch of Suno’s planned music model developed “in partnership with the music industry.”
Now if only they’d give us some new episodes.
Arturia’s Pigments is my go-to synth plugin. It’s powerful, versatile, and shockingly easy to build complex patches in. It’s currently marked down to $129 from its usual price of $199. But if you’re hesitant to commit even that much, the company just launched Pigments Play, a free stripped-down version.
[Arturia]
The Sleevenote creator is ready for the offline resurgence, but wants to move on from CDs and cassettes.
It will be going away in 24 hours, but to celebrate 8/08 Bjooks, the company behind Beat Gems and Pedal Crush, is making Inspire the Music — 50 Years of Roland History free to read. The company is also offering 15 percent off the hardcover version for the day.
[Patch & Tweak]
I’m eyeing Boatshoes, the new album from Baltimore’s Brian Ennals (who collaborated with Infinity Knives on last year’s incredible A City Drowned in God’s Black Tears) and frequent Aesop Rock producer Blockhead. Don’t forget, Bandcamp skips its cut and every penny goes directly to the artist today.
It’s the first platform to adopt Musixmatch’s new Sentinel detection service designed explicitly for generative AI. Its sizable database pulls from over 200,000 publishers, including the big three, to identify copyrighted lyrics and compositions. And importantly, it doesn’t just scan prompts and inputs, but also the resulting outputs.
[Music Business Worldwide]
He’s continuing his post-helmet media whirlwind and stopped by the Chanel Connects podcast, where the topic briefly turned toward AI. “I’m not really interested in the creative usage of artificial intelligence,” he says, noting that part of the creative process is experimentation and discovery, “The number one goal of this process is surprise.”
A new partnership with licensing house Merlin has given artists on labels like Sub Pop, Warp, Epitaph, Domino, Stones Throw, Ninja Tune, Mad Decent, Polyvinyl Records and more the “option to participate” in Spotify’s “superfan” remix tool, which launched in May with UMG as the first participant.
Bud Cole has been catching some flak over comments he made to T3 about AI’s role in music. Now he’s attempting to clarify what he meant. You can read his full statement provided to The Verge at the bottom of our post from this weekend, but here’s the gist:
If AI has a role, it should only be as a tool that helps beginners learn and gives seasoned artists new ways to explore, refine and experiment with their own creative ideas. If it can help a beginner understand a difficult chord or practice one more day instead of putting the guitar back in its case, then that’s something worth exploring. But let me be clear: every creative idea starts with people, and music starts and ends with people. It always will.
Bud Cole also compared learning cover songs to AI training data in a controversial interview.
Design firm Pen & Pixel was behind more than 20,000 album covers between the early ‘90s and 2000s. They were the go-to for Cash Money and No Limit, creating the gaudy diamond-encrusted covers for Master P’s “MP da Last Don” and Juvenile’s “400 Degreez.”
Music-playing robots are nothing new. It’s been 13 years since Compressorhead went viral, after all. But this DIY project from Reddit user MegCell is still pretty impressive. The melody isn’t hard-coded, either. Instead, the robot can read MusicXML files, meaning, theoretically, it can play almost any song you want.
The German licensing organization GEMA filed suit in January of 2025. The court found that Suno didn’t have the rights to train its models on artists represented by GEMA, and now it has to disclose any “illicit revenue” and pay unspecified damages. The company can still appeal the ruling.
The iconic media player of the Napster generation has partnered with Deezer to power Winamp’s own “premium music subscription service,” which is set to launch in the first half of 2027. The new Winamp Player will combine Deezer’s music catalogue with users’ local music libraries, internet radio stations, podcasts, and more. And yes — the interface will be “highly customizable.”
