Why New Platforms Can No Longer Access Spotify’s Artist Data ft. Oskar Eichler On My Latest Podcast

On this week’s episode, reliable music data is getting harder to access, and Oskar Eichler explains why the artists and companies that know how to interpret it now have a serious advantage. As CEO of Songstats, Oskar has helped build a real-time music analytics platform that tracks streaming, playlist, chart, radio, and social media performance […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: Waves Atlas Reverb Plugin

Like many mixers, I tend to reach for reverb as a way to place things so that it feels like it belongs to the song and not like something bolted on afterward. That’s what to expect from the new Atlas Reverb from Waves, a flagship algorithmic reverb built around a brand new engine and tuned […]

Continue reading

If You’re Using AI For Music Generation, You Might Be Violating The EU AI Act

There are so many ways that AI is now being used almost every day in music production and creation. From reducing noise to separating stems to fixing dialog to even creating whole songs, chances are you’re using it more often then you think. That said, it’s now time to be aware that some of the […]

Continue reading

Meet Anukari, The Totally Unique 3D Physics Synthesizer ft. Evan Mezeske On My Latest Podcast

On this week’s episode, indie plugin developers who want to launch a genuinely new synthesis tool will recognize their own blind spots in Evan Mezeske’s story. Evan left Google after 11 years building large-scale fraud systems to create Anukari, the first commercially available 3D physics modeling synthesizer that runs in real time. He discovered that […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: PSP BBDelay Analog Ambience Processor Plugin

There’s a reason so many mixers still reach for an old bucket brigade delay pedal instead of a pristine digital one. The repeats drift a little, the top end softens, and every echo feels slightly different from the one before. Like with many early effects, that imperfection is exactly what makes a track feel alive. […]

Continue reading

Into Space Music? Then You’ll Want The Extraterrestrial Guitar Thing

Yeah, I scratched my head too . . . but you can’t take your eyes off it. The Extraterrestrial Guitar Thing came from the mind of Swedish designer and experimental instrument builder Love Hultén, and it’s really more of synthesizer rather than guitar. There are no strings, but you have a touch sensitive neck, and […]

Continue reading

Oeksound’s Hannes Andersson Talks Soothe 3 and More On My Latest Podcast Episode

On this week’s episode, you’ll hear how audio plugin developers who assume machine learning is the right tool find the process used by Hannes Andersson and the team at Oeksound genuinely surprising. Hannes is CEO of Oeksound, the creator of Soothe, the dynamic resonance suppressor that became so dominant on Spotify’s Top 50, yet it’s […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: KIT Plugins BB Chamber D Reverb Plugin

Every producer chasing a great reverb sound eventually runs into the same problem. Algorithmic reverbs can get close, but nothing quite matches the sound of a real chamber. The trouble is that almost none of us have access to one. That’s part of why Nashville’s Blackbird Studio has become such a destination for engineers, and […]

Continue reading

Studio Etiquette When Your Session Ends That Will Be Appreciated

I’ve covered studio etiquette rules here in the past, but they were primarily for when a session was in progress. When the session, or your part in it, is completed, the etiquette doesn’t stop though, as this excerpt from The Studio Musician’s Handbook (written with ace studio bass player Paul ILL) illustrates. It’s perfectly natural […]

Continue reading

Why Your Voice Memo Proves Nothing in a Copyright Dispute ft. Nadim Rahman On My Latest Podcast

Song copyright protection for musicians who record ideas with a voice memo at 3am proves nothing in a dispute. That original moment completely unverifiable. On this week’s podcast episode, I speak with Nadim Rahman about Songproof, a dual-blockchain platform that recognizes that musicians needed an irrefutable timestamp at the exact moment inspiration strikes, not after […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: Baby Audio SubCulture Plugin

Getting a bass to sit right in a mix is one of those jobs that looks simple until you’re actually doing it. Boost the low end and it turns muddy. Add a sub layer and it fights the pitch of the note that’s playing. Most bass enhancers are stuck using a fixed frequency or a […]

Continue reading

Native Instruments, iZotope, And Plugin Alliance All Have New Homes

You’ve seen and heard me rail against the evils of private equity over the years, but I’ve been especially focused on Francisco Partners acquisition of Native Instruments. After that happened in 2019, Native then acquired iZotope and Plugin Alliance during Covid when everyone was at home buying and creating to fill up the time. Predictably, […]

Continue reading

Labels, Streaming, YouTube, And Gear News And Views On My Latest Podcast

Music industry professionals still betting on major labels to develop artists should know the system has structurally exited that business. On this week’s podcast episode, I break down the data showing UMG and WMG now redirect spending toward catalog acquisitions rather than new careers. . . . . . have made AI licensing deals explicitly […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: Heritage Audio Mix Buddy Instrument Mixer

If you’ve ever tried to run a rig full of synths, samplers, and drum machines into a standard mixer, you already know the problem. Regular mixers are built around mic and line inputs, and while they’re fine for those sources, they usually do a mediocre job with instrument level signals. That means DI boxes, adapters […]

Continue reading

These 8 Indicators Tell You Your Mix Is Finished

One of the hardest things for many mixers to determine is when a mix is finished. In fact, engineers new to mixing may think a mix is ready in an hour, but a pro will usually take considerably longer in most cases. How much longer? Well, some big hit maker mixers that I know may spend up […]

Continue reading