Unsurprisingly, while there has been an incredible outpouring of support following Dolly’s passing, there have also been a lot of people trying to exploit it. Stella Parton has finally had enough of the “insensitivity from strangers,” which she said has “been challenging to absorb and or ignore.”
Every dollar you spend on the site today goes straight to the artist, as is tradition. I’ll be celebrating by picking up the new Chat Pile record, Who Loves the Sun, another blast of noise-soaked existential dread from the Oklahoma City quartet. Let me know what you’re snagging in the comments.
An ad for the AI music generator Suno showed Blige interacting with an AI song that seemed to use her own voice, while calling the output “dope.” The singer received backlash for the ad online, and now a Suno spokesperson tells Variety that the company canceled the campaign because it didn’t get proper approval:
We entered into a business deal with someone who presented themselves as Ms. Blige’s official representative. As soon as we learned this was not the case, and that Ms. Blige was uncomfortable, we terminated the advertising campaign.
He filed the suit alongside Guy Forsyth, Eduardo Calle, and Camper Van Beethoven’s David Lowery. Interestingly, rather than filing a straightforward copyright case, the plaintiffs claim Suno imitates their voices and styles without permission. After a long intro that involves the Borg for some reason, the complaint says:
The $749 FP-40 connects to the company’s Piano Sphere app for “personalized learning, feedback, and motivation.”
It’s basically mid-aughts Brooklyn in audio form.
I recently started running again. And, as I started building back to my first half marathon in almost a decade, I realized — my running playlist is hopelessly out of date. Nothing on there is newer than 2018, so tell me what keeps you motivated to power through the pain.
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.”
