Technology

Arturia has released the MicroLab MK3, a small but seemingly powerful MIDI controller that could fit nicely in your bedroom studio and your backpack. Plus, with licenses for Ableton Live Lite, Analog Lab Intro, and a handful of nifty features, the $60 asking price seems pretty tantalising. The third model in Arturia’s MicroLab controller series, the MK3 sports a compact, minimalist design with plug-and-play USB connectivity. You’ll be able to hook this up and get playing within seconds, whether

To close out his panel on video game composition for the debut edition of the London Soundtrack Festival, Steve Schnur, President of Music for Electronic Arts, asked the composers on stage the following question: “What composers have influenced you?” Sitting on the panel were lauded game composers such as Ludvig Forssell (Death Stranding) and Stephen Barton (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), the latter of whom organised the video game programming for the festival. READ MORE: Behind the sound of Star

Been holding off on concert plans because of high ticket prices? Live Nation is here to change that with a limited-time deal offering $30 all-in tickets to over 1,000 concerts this summer. Going on sale starting 21 May, the “$30 Ticket to Summer” promotion includes access to shows across the US and Canada from artists such as The Offspring, Pantera, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Avril Lavigne, Billy Idol, Halsey, and The Black Keys, among many others. READ MORE: SoundCloud CEO writes open letter follo

SoundCloud’s CEO Eliah Seton has penned an open letter to its users following suspicion that it was using artists’ content to train AI. Earlier this May, SoundCloud users raised concerns about the platform’s Terms of Use, which seemingly suggested that their content “may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence”. However, there was a misunderstanding about what this actually meant. The term had been in place since February 2024, but had garnered new attent

Electronic producer Isaac Baden-Powell, AKA Waz-u, has become acutely attuned to spinning many plates. As well as the release of his latest album, Preludes: Duck Psalms, Baden-Powell also runs a studio alongside his brother and fellow producer, Mali Baden-Powell, and is the drummer for alternative soul project Monzanto Sound and experimental punk project Nexus_0. READ MORE: Myd locked himself in the studio for 168 hours and livestreamed every minute — but did it really help him finish an album

Like it or not, AI is here in music, and it’s changing things fast. And while many musicians and industry figures are strongly opposed to the greater presence of artificial intelligence in all stages of music creation and distribution, others are more accepting, and say artists should simply adapt to the changing times. In a new conversation on MusicTech’s My Forever Studio podcast – which sees producers and musicians choose items to go in their fantasy forever studio – production prodigy Charl

MQA Labs has launched two new plugins to give producers “unprecedented control” over the “critical details” in their recordings. The new plugins – named Inspira and Endura – both offer a different set of tools which each address different challenges in digital audio. They were previously teased during NAMM back in January under different names (simply called Input and Output plugins). READ MORE: The Magnolia might be the most alluring synth launched at this year’s Superbooth Inpsira is desi

For a limited time, you can save up to 25 per cent off Ableton Live 12 Standard and Suite purchases, including upgrades, at Sweetwater and Thomann. That equals a saving of up to $225, so now is probably the best time to download the DAW if you’ve been holding out. Deals on Ableton Live don’t come around often, with the last one happening over Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024. This flash deal isn’t hanging about long, either — you’ve only got until 19 May 2025 to get your hands on it. In cash

The deadmau5 and James Hype feud is far from over it seems, as deadmau5 is now truly flexing his muscles when it comes to showing his CDJ skills. How? By using it as a controller to play Elden Ring. The disagreement began as Hype shared a promotional video to his Instagram earlier this week to promote his new live show, SYNC. In it, he references old comments made by deadmau5 (which he has since claimed were taken out of context) during a livestream in 2021, when he suggested that most DJs play

Spotify’s AI DJ feature has been given an update, and you can now personalise the music it plays using voice control. Up until now, DJ X – who commentates between plays – has not been interactive, with only the ability to change the music it plays by skipping tracks using regular controls. Now, by simply using your voice, you can ask the DJ for requests to match whatever mood you’re in. READ MORE: Best Spotify alternatives in 2025 for music listening and discovery Spotify’s DJ feature is av

Despacio – the mighty sound system created by James Murphy, Soulwax, and audio expert John Klett – is coming to Portola music festival this September. The sound system is not like any other out there, and MusicTech went as far to call it the “world’s greatest” when we got to take a look inside the system itself back in 2019, prior to its appearance at Meltdown Festival. READ MORE: “I need to build the room I want to play in”: Floating Points has created his very own sound system that he’ll us

The great pre-recorded DJ set debate has risen once again, and this time, it’s among artists James Hype and deadmau5. The beef between the two was ignited as Hype shared a promotional video to his Instagram page for his new live show, SYNC. Within it, he references old comments from 2021 made by deadmau5 where he claimed DJs were often required to play pre-recorded sets at large scale events and festivals. READ MORE: The best rotary mixers to buy in 2025: 15 best mixers for DJs The video in

French producer Myd wants you to know that even the best musicians are intimidated by a blank DAW. The artist, real name Quentin Lepoutre, recently wrapped up a week-long Twitch livestream from his LED-drenched studio in France, where he cooked meals, did yoga, slept, hosted DJ sets, and – importantly – made music in front of a live audience. While the stream was partly born out of necessity (he’d lost two key tracks and needed to finish them before a label deadline), it became a real-time exp

Allan J. Hall had no intention of building synthesizers for a living when he first created the MiniMod. It was a DIY project purely for himself. He’d played guitar and dabbled in keyboards for years as a hobby, but it wasn’t a career. Then, he sold the company he owned and, suddenly, Hall says, “I didn’t really need to do much and I had a lot of spare time.” Free from the responsibility of running a 25,000 square-foot factory building decorative fireplaces (and a few million dollars richer), he

In this episode of My Forever Studio, brought to you in partnership with Audient, we speak with self-taught production prodigy Charlie Deakin Davies. After kickstarting their professional career as a teenager recording in their shed, Davies went on to become the youngest producer ever to get BBC Radio 2 airplay, and has worked with huge artists like Fred Again, Laura Marling, and other My Forever Studio guests, Gary Barlow and Ellie Dixon. But our guest wears more than one hat, and takes to the

Steve Albini’s estate is selling some of his belongings, a year on from his death at the age of 61. The esteemed producer, who famously worked with Nirvana as well as PJ Harvey and the Pixies, died of a heart attack last year. He worked on over 2,000 albums across his career. A generous portion of his belongings are currently being sold via a website called Steve Albini’s Closet, with all proceeds directed back towards his estate. READ MORE: Read Steve Albini’s 1992 letter to Nirvana: “Paying

Music is probably the most subjective art form there is, and what sounds like a masterpiece to some may sound like, well, “atrocious shite” to others – as proven in jazz pianist Matthew Shipp’s response to André 3000’s new piano EP. The new piano-based release, titled 7 Piano Sketches, landed on 5 May, shortly following the former Outkast creative’s bold Met Gala outfit featuring a grand piano strapped to his back. The release also follows on from his 2023 flute album, New Blue Sun, and Shipp i

Musicians uploading to SoundCloud recently raised concerns that their content could be being used to train AI, but according to the music sharing platform, there’s been a misunderstanding. An extract from the Terms of Use , which is publicly outlined on the SoundCloud website, began to cause alarm among artists last week, as it states that “in the absence of a separate agreement that states otherwise, you explicitly agree that your content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input

UK tech company MOTH has developed a new “quantum-powered” AI music generator which it says respects the rights of those whose songs it has been trained on. Dubbed Archaeo, the platform uses strictly artist-provided data, as opposed to “ethically murky, scraped datasets” which some AI platforms have been criticised for using. READ MORE: Will GTA 6 change the way gamers discover music? MOTH also claims the platform is enhanced by quantum computing, marking a “breakthrough in quantum’s real

Myd is still donning the sporty, dark Ray-Bans he wore during his seven-day live stream in his LED-lit recording studio. With these sunglasses on, Myd recorded music, collaborated with friends, cooked meals, attended 1-to-1 yoga and massage sessions, hosted DJ parties, spoke with fans on the phone, and triggered smoke machines, all within the walls of his studio in France. Only when he was asleep, still streaming via a night vision camera, could the tens of thousands of Twitch viewers see him wi

While Frap Tools is typically known for its Eurorack modular synths, the Italian company is branching out. Magnolia comes as Frap Tools’ very first keyboard synthesiser, and it’s rammed with all of the brand’s signature analogue sounds, from the Brenso to the Cunsa. The Magnolia boasts an eight-voice polyphony, with two ‘Carrier’ and ‘Modulator’ oscillators. The pair of oscillators are derived from the company’s 30HP Brenso, reworking the module’s two triangle-core oscillators. READ MORE: My F

A collection of studio gear belonging to late British DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall is now up for auction. His family is selling 12 pieces of his production arsenal via Soundgas, including sequencers, vintage synths and pedals. The auction is now live, and is scheduled to end Sunday May 11 at 11pm BST. Highlights of the collection include a Roland Juno-60, Moog Rogue, Dunlop TS-1 Stereo Tremolo pedal, and an Ensoniq DP/4 parallel effects processor. There’s also a Roland Rhythm TR-77 drum ma

In search of gear that matches your studio’s dark, minimalist vibe? Look no further, for Teenage engineering is giving its ultra-portable Field System a fresh look. Starting 10 June, three of the tech company’s compact audio devices – the TP-7 recorder, TX-6 mixer, and CM-15 microphone – will be available in a sleek black finish. While the internals remain unchanged, the updated exteriors give the devices a distinctly different vibe, adding a chic twist to the company’s signature retro-futuris

LANDR Sampler is a new AI-powered sample organising plugin described as the “smartest way to play your sample library”. Building off the Montreal-based company’s reputation for integrating AI into music production tools, LANDR Sampler functions as both an instrument and a sample library organiser. READ MORE: Will GTA 6 change the way gamers discover music? Users can drag in their entire collection of samples – whether they are from LANDR’s sample collection or not – and the plugin uses AI

Arturia and Native Instruments (NI) have confirmed a new product partnership under the ongoing NKS Hardware Partner Program, making it easier to use NKS plugins with Arturia hardware. From here on out, the mainstay NI integration technology, Native Kontrol Standard (NKS), will be integrated into Arturia hardware. So far, Arturia has confirmed that three machines will be part of the initial rollout: KeyLab MK3, KeyLab Essential MK3, and MiniLab. READ MORE: Arturia V Collection 11: New plugins,