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Startup Muru Music sees billion-dollar potential in 'first AI DJ brain'

“I think we have the opportunity to be a billion-dollar company if we attack all verticals…”<p>For a startup with just two full-time employees and …

Content isn't king

Chance The Rapper Declares "SoundCloud is here to stay," Debuts Track With Young Thug Exclusively On Streamer

____________________________________<p>After a call with SoundCloud CEO Alex Ljung , Chance The Rapper tweeted: “Just had a very fruitful call with Alex …

After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is now to ‘take back control’

SoundCloud co-founder Alex Ljung gave his first major public interview to me today at Tech Open Air Berlin.<p>In the interview, he batted back claims that SoundCloud (SC) is facing tough times, insisting that by drastically cutting headcount by 173 people recently and closing two major offices, SC is …

Welcome to the future: Spotify poaches AI music expert from Sony

On any given day, this is interesting news. In the context of what we’ve previously reported this week, this is <i>fascinating</i> news.<p>MBW has learned that …

Fixing SoundCloud

SoundCloud is in dire straits. Some ideas to fix its broken business model.<p>I love SoundCloud. It’s a great service. As a music fan, I use it to dig …

Does Music Played in a Metadata Void Actually Make a Sound?

<i>This is the concluding entry in a four-part series of essays about how sound is inscribed.</i><p>There’s a CD in my laptop’s disc drive. I’m enjoying the …

Will My Kids Make Any Money Off My Vinyl Collection? I Asked Experts to Find Out

'It’s a fluctuating market — and that’s what makes it interesting.'<p>A few months ago, a neighbor died and his adult kids were having an estate sale. I …

Spotify denies it's playlisting fake artists. So why are all these fake artists on its playlists?

Well… this is awkward.<p>Last summer, MBW ran a widely-read story which blew the lid off the fact that Spotify’s platform was being deliberately clogged …

2 Years In: What Will It Take For Stems To Go Mainstream?

It has been two years since Native Instruments announced their open multi-track audio format: Stem.mp4. Since that time, the format has shown steady …

From 'Baby Driver' to 'Atomic Blonde,' Streaming Has Saved the Movie Soundtrack

John Houlihan's mission seemed impossible. The music supervisor for <i>Atomic Blonde</i> had to win over George Michael, New Order, <i>and</i> Public Enemy, with …

Songs as skills

“Alexa, please play the <i>Moana</i> soundtrack.”<p>That’s how my five-year-old daughter makes music play in our house (and yes, she says please).<p>Alexa then …

How Spammers, Superstars, and Tech Giants Gamed the Music Industry

A few weeks after the release of Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble,” the hard-charging lead single on his fourth album <i>Damn.</i>, the song landed at No. 1 on</i> …

Overtones: Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitars? Exploring the Future of Musical A.I.

Here is a song called “Daddy’s Car.” If it appeared in some YouTube ad for Bounty paper towels, you probably wouldn’t blink. It sounds like a fourth-generation photocopy of the Beatles. Under normal circumstances, I would probably listen to it once, deem it “successfully generic” and move on.<p>But …

Music Industry Didn't Learn From Its Digital Destruction - Bloomberg

The music industry is having its "Mission Accomplished" moment.<p>For the first time since Americans were prowling for compact discs at Tower Records, …

Nsynth: Sound Maker

website<p>https://aiexperiments.withgoogle.com/sound-maker/view/<p>Make unusual new sounds with machine learning.<p>Nsynth: Sound Maker

MelodyVR strikes partnership with Microsoft – funding included

Music-focused virtual reality startup MelodyVR has announced its latest partnership: with Microsoft.The pair are describing it as a non-exclusive …

Sony to once again produce records after stopping vinyl production in 1989: Report

In 1989 when Sony pulled the plug on its LP production, the superior sound quality, lower cost, and portability of the compact disc had seemingly …

Why 2017 Is The Year Of Reckoning For The Streaming Music Business

Can Spotify make a profit? Will Tidal and SoundCloud survive? Streaming music is on the verge of its moment of truth.<p>There are few industries more paradoxical than streaming music. On the one hand, it’s exploding: The boom in paid subscriptions is driving the music industry’s first real growth in …

Electronium

close<p>What is going on?<p>This is an audio visual experiment consisting of a virtual synthesiser and an audio visualiser. Dragging alters the pitch / …

The Secret Lives of Playlists

Not all Spotify playlists are created equally. To begin understanding this, look at them closely. Literally. Choose a playlist in Browse, and look at …

Oskar Fischinger: Google Doodle lets you salute the animation pioneer the Nazis couldn’t stop

To view the mesmerising art of Oskar Fischinger is to hear it, and to listen to one of his films is to see it. In his hands, sight and sound engage …

Spotify Wants You to Create Playlists on Facebook Messenger

Two months after Spotify added a bot inside Facebook's wildly popular Messenger app, helping users search and share songs, the music streaming …

Connecting To Music

Everyone’s connection to music is different. Some generations started with vinyl, while others are just beginning with Musical.ly. Regardless of the …

Projecting Trends: How Chatbots and Blockchain Will Converge to Shape the Future of Music

I want to make this Projecting Trends instalment more personal, since it’s the last regular edition in the series. I’d like to talk about the …

TheWaveVR could let online music subcultures thrive

Last week, at <b>Sónar+D</b>, I finally got to try out <b>TheWaveVR</b> as the founders were there to demo and pitch in the startup competition. The company has …

Contributors | The Next Web

All stories in Contributors<p>Retailers should embrace technology, but be careful of gimmicks<p>For today’s retailers, understanding shifting consumer trends can make the difference between a successful quarter or a ...<p>Maya Mikhailov<p>Advances in Pain Relief Technology Welcome to Millions of Chronic …

This 'Twitter for voice' app is the most fun I've had on social media in years

I had more fun with HearMeOut, a social-network built around 42-second voice recordings, than I’ve had with any other social media app to date, though I might be using it wrong. The app is designed to be the Twitter-for-voice, which I’ve heard before over the past few years.<p>The app appears, on the …