Audio Chronicle

How Bogus Streams Dilute Your Royalty Share

As Michael Smith’s scheduled sentencing approaches, pro-rata royalty math explains how steady listening can still yield a smaller share of the pool.

Tape-Treated Samples Need a Soundcheck

MusicRadar’s 485 free tape-treated samples offer a starting point for fitting worn textures around guitar, from the recording desk to rehearsal.

Warner’s Culture Hire and the Value of an Honest No

Nici Ochmann’s move from Adidas to Warner Music Central Europe raises a practical question about how much taste survives a paid campaign brief.

Kneecap, Tom Morello and the Job of a Rap-Rock Riff

Their “Unconquered” collaboration offers a cue for guitarists to work on vocal space, clean stops and parts that hold up in rehearsal.

Insights

Sony’s AI Deepfake Tally Needs an Outcome Column

Sony says it has sought removal of more than 260,000 AI deepfake tracks, a tally that calls for clear reporting on what platforms resolve.

Gear

The 7 Best IEMs for Musicians in 2026, and the One That Made {{ usd:400:rough }} Models Hard to Justify

After comparing mix separation, passive isolation, fit, comfort, build and total package, one quad-driver newcomer delivered the strongest all-around monitoring experience without the flagship price.

Music

Let the Album Chart Mess With Your Queue

A reissue-led return and two top-10 debuts are an invitation to give the album chart a job beyond keeping score.

“You have a choice: to create, or not to create.”

— Henri Temianka
Music

In Clubland and the Trouble With Perfect Memories

A new book spanning 35 years of club culture prompts a reader’s guide to the famous cameos, local details and fragile evidence a scene leaves behind.

Gear

A Better Replay Routine for YouTube Music Lessons

The Benjamin controller report puts a familiar nuisance in focus: returning to the same phrase without disrupting your playing position.

Insights

Choose the Guide Before You Align the Vocals

VocAlign 7’s reported workflow changes put fresh attention on the guide track and the parts of a vocal stack worth leaving loose.

Culture

Give the House Loop a Second Draft

A new Todd Edwards interview offers a prompt to rethink familiar grooves without treating musical influence as a fault.

Music

EVEN’s New Appointment and the Crowd Behind Direct-to-Fan

Josh Remsberg’s partnerships role is a cue to examine the team behind direct music sales and the promises that should survive checkout.

How to Read LANDR’s Reported 95% Drop in Flagged Streams

The distributor’s Spotify figure raises practical questions about scale, detection errors and the records artists keep around a release.

Elektron’s Firmware-Sharing Ban Draws a Line at the Forum

The Elektronauts restriction raises practical questions about support and how producers keep an experiment from stranding a song.

Ireland’s Teen Culture Voucher Needs to Pass the Bus-Stop Test

For young listeners, the value of Ireland’s reported plan will depend on reachable activities, straightforward redemption and room to choose for themselves.

Dance Music’s Gender Gap Starts Before the Poster

Martha Bolton’s new interview turns attention to early opportunities, working conditions and the DJs who get invited back.

Insights

‘Ethical AI’ Music Tools Need an Evidence Trail

Check what a provider actually documents before a promising generated part becomes difficult to remove from the arrangement.

Music

Curly Castro’s ‘Yaphet’ Puts the Posse Cut Up Front

The six-guest opener ‘Black Don’t Crack’ offers a way to follow underground rap’s connections without turning discovery into homework.

Insights

Notes.fm’s Raise and the Gap Between Royalties and Cash

As the royalty platform funds development and marketing, artists need a clear view of when reported income can support the next session.