Tech – Climax Play – Mixing Music and Data

Pioneer DJ and Serato merger blocked by NZ Commerce Commission

fedefra — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 19:19:45 +0000

Alpha Theta, the parent company of Pioneer DJ, proposed a merger with DJ software giant Serato in July 2023. However, the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) has blocked the acquisition, citing concerns over reduced competition in the DJ software and hardware markets.

Dr. John Small, chairman of the NZCC, explained that the merger could substantially lessen competition. The Commission found that Serato and Alpha Theta’s rekordbox software are significant competitors. Allowing the merger could lead to dominance by a single entity in the market, potentially resulting in higher prices and lower quality for consumers.

The NZCC’s investigation indicated that other DJ software providers would not sufficiently counterbalance the competitive impact of the merger. The Commission concluded that this consolidation could diminish competition, affecting both pricing and innovation in DJ software.

Both companies are expected to appeal the decision. Yoshinori Kataoka, President and CEO of AlphaTheta, expressed disappointment with the ruling. He emphasized that the merger could have leveraged the strengths of both companies to enhance products for DJs and producers globally.

Despite the setback, Kataoka highlighted the long-standing partnership between AlphaTheta and Serato, and reiterated the companies’ commitment to advancing DJ technology.

In a related development, the UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) conducted a “phase one” investigation into the merger in May. The CMA’s initial findings echoed similar concerns, noting that the deal could create a dominant supplier, affecting price, quality, and innovation in the DJ software market.

Earlier this year, AlphaTheta Corporation announced its new brand for DJ products, continuing its commitment to innovation and leadership in the DJ industry.

For more updates on the global electronic music market, visit the Climax Play news page.

Spotify to launch high-fidelity audio subscription tier

fedefra — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 12:28:09 +0000

Spotify is reportedly planning to introduce a new, more expensive subscription tier featuring high-fidelity audio. While the streaming platform has not yet publicly confirmed the plans, Bloomberg reports that current subscribers could expect to pay around $5 more per month should they opt in for the audiophile-grade sound quality. The report also states that the new subscription tier would give users access to new tools to manage playlists and their libraries.

Plans to introduce high-fidelity streaming audio have been in the works since 2021, when the company said it was “consistently one of the most requested new features by our users.” At that time, it was suggested that music would appear in lossless audio format.

Premium subscription prices for US users increased this month for the second time in the past year. Subscription charges were also raised in around 50 other markets globally at the same time. In April, the Premium subscription price increased from £10.99 to £11.99 per month in the UK and from AUD $12.99 to AUD $13.99 in Australia.

This move came just a few months after the streaming giant demonetized tracks with under 1,000 streams.

For more updates on the global electronic music market, visit the Climax Play news page.

AI app simplifies music contracts and royalty agreements for artists

fedefra — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 12:42:37 +0000

A groundbreaking new app, powered by artificial intelligence, is set to assist artists in navigating the often convoluted terrain of music contracts and royalty agreements. The revolutionary AI app simplifies music contracts and royalty agreements for artists, offering a free service where users can upload their documents for a comprehensive analysis. The software identifies potential red flags, such as errors, omissions, and concerning clauses, ensuring artists are better informed about their agreements.

This cutting-edge tool, which supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, French, and Japanese, was developed by Daddy Kev, also known as Kevin Moo, a Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, producer, DJ, and record executive. The launch of this revolutionary AI app, musiclawyer.ai, was announced this week on social media, with Moo discussing its capabilities in an interview with Resident Advisor. He highlighted that the technology will soon be able to draft basic contracts for users.

Musiclawyer.ai leverages advanced generative AI technologies, including ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini chatbot. This revolutionary AI app simplifies music contracts and royalty agreements for artists by accurately extracting text from any image, such as scanned documents, and then analyzing the content to provide feedback. While Moo emphasizes that musiclawyer.ai is not a substitute for professional legal advice, he describes it as a valuable resource for clarification and insight. “Most independent artists I know cannot afford to hire an attorney, so in lieu of no other viable options, my hope is the app is useful,” Moo stated.

In addition to its current features, the revolutionary AI app will soon include a new royalty audit statement analysis. During its trial phase, this feature identified over 30 significant issues, such as missing ISRC identification numbers, which are crucial for tracking individual recordings. Royalty disputes often hinge on statements from various parties, which can be unreliable, making this new functionality particularly beneficial.

Moo, who co-founded the influential experimental hip-hop event Low End Theory and has been featured in DJ Mag, also announced another app this week. Originally created for his Alpha Pup label catalogue, Spotstats is currently in BETA mode and aims to estimate streaming revenue on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. This revolutionary AI app, Spotstats, allows users to perform independent audits on Spotify for Artists data and project future streaming numbers.

With these advancements, musiclawyer.ai and Spotstats promise to empower artists by providing them with essential tools to manage their careers more effectively. The revolutionary AI app simplifies music contracts and royalty agreements for artists, making it easier for them to focus on their creative pursuits.

For more updates on the global electronic music market, visit the Climax Play news page.

AlphaTheta unnveils rekordbox 7

fedefra — Wed, 15 May 2024 17:48:31 +0000

AlphaTheta, the parent company of Pioneer DJ, has just revealed rekordbox 7 features, the latest iteration of its renowned music organization and performance software. This new release marks a significant overhaul, boasting a complete rebuild from the ground up.

One of the standout features revealed of rekordbox 7 is its enhanced performance, with AlphaTheta claiming a remarkable 56% reduction in CPU processing load and a 38% decrease in power consumption during startup. This version now fully supports Silicon chips on Apple computers, ensuring seamless compatibility across platforms.

Beyond performance improvements, rekordbox 7 introduces a sleeker and more intuitive user interface. The tree view has been streamlined with icons for quick navigation between collections, playlists, and other functions. Additionally, the browser has been optimized for streaming services, offering enhanced music discovery tools such as Beatport Streaming integration, allowing users to explore the latest releases and recommended tracks with ease.

A standout new feature is Streaming Radar, which analyzes music characteristics and recommends similar tracks from streaming platforms like SoundCloud, TIDAL DJ, and Beatport Streaming. This version also introduces Intelligent Cue Creation, enabling automatic cue point generation based on user preferences and crowd-sourced cue information.

Collaborative Playlists allow multiple users to edit and contribute to playlists, facilitating seamless collaboration among subscribers to the same streaming service. However, some of these features are only available to users subscribed to rekordbox’s Creative and Pro tiers, priced at €15 and €30 per month, respectively.

With rekordbox 7, AlphaTheta continues to push the boundaries of DJ software innovation, offering a comprehensive suite of tools tailored to the needs of modern DJs and music enthusiasts alike. For more information on the latest update, visit the official rekordbox website.

In addition to rekordbox 7, AlphaTheta has also recently announced the OMNIS-DUO standalone DJ device, further expanding its portfolio of cutting-edge DJ solutions.

For more updates on the global electronic music market, visit the Climax Play news page.

TikTok Strikes Licensing Deal with Universal, Music Returns to Platform

fedefra — Fri, 03 May 2024 14:20:31 +0000

TikTok users rejoice as music makes a comeback following a new licensing agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG).

After a temporary hiatus due to the expiration of its licensing agreement, UMG’s music catalog, featuring artists like Taylor Swift, Björk, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Aphex Twin, Skrillex, Knife Party, and more, will once again grace TikTok videos.

The previous rift stemmed from UMG’s concerns over compensation for its artists and songwriters, with accusations leveled at TikTok for undervaluing their contributions compared to other social platforms. Despite TikTok’s significant user base and revenue growth, UMG claimed it accounted for only a fraction of its total earnings.

Now, with a fresh agreement in place, UMG’s Chairman and CEO, Sir Lucian Grainge, emphasized the importance of music and the creative community, heralding a new chapter in their partnership. TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew, echoed this sentiment, underlining music’s integral role within the platform’s ecosystem.

In addition to welcoming back UMG artists, the agreement addresses concerns surrounding generative AI in music. TikTok and UMG pledge to collaborate on AI development to safeguard human creativity and ensure fair compensation for artists and songwriters. Unauthorized AI-generated music will be removed, with enhanced attribution tools to credit creators properly.

Furthermore, the deal promises new monetization avenues for artists, leveraging TikTok’s expanding e-commerce capabilities. Artist-centric features are in the pipeline, including an “Add to Music App” option, improved analytics, and integrated ticketing services.

The agreement comes amid broader regulatory scrutiny, with the US Senate passing a bill compelling ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the app within a year or face potential bans. Meanwhile, in the UK, data reveals a surge in content removal requests related to UK drill music, highlighting ongoing challenges for platforms like TikTok in managing content moderation.

For more updates on the global electronic music market, visit the Climax Play news page.

Warner Music Group has signed a licensing deal with TikTok

fedefra — Sun, 10 Jan 2021 20:37:34 +0000

TikTok has recently signed a licencing deal with Warner Music Group, marking the popular social media platform’s second large licence deal in the last few months. Back in November of 2020, TikTok had agreed to another major licence agreement with Sony Music Entertainment in order to make the songs from major influential artists around the globe more widely available to the users of TikTok.

The news of TikTok’s deal with WMG means that the company only has one major label deal left to secure (publicly, at least): Universal Music Group.

WMG Chief Executive Officer Steve Cooper told analysts in November that, “With an expanding number of partnerships including Facebook, TikTok, and Snap, among others, social media is already a meaningful nine-figure revenue stream for us and is growing at a faster rate than subscription streaming”.

TikTok published its first ever US Music Report in December, in which it claimed that in the past year alone, over 70 artists that have broken on the platform have signed major label deals.

SOUNDCLOUD LAUNCHES DJ SOFTWARE INTEGRATION WITH VIRTUALDJ

fedefra — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 10:31:51 +0000

Stream and mix the platform’s entire catalogue of tracks…

SoundCloud has launched new DJ software integration with VirtualDJ.

The new offering allows users to stream and mix the entire SoundCloud catalogue of tracks on the fly, building mixes within Virtual DJ once they have enabled the functionality, providing they have a SoundCloud Go+ subscription.

The move is part of a wider family of direct streaming offerings which we reported were in the pipeline last year as the platform looks to increase its appeal amongst the dance music community. More proof that streaming is poised to take over DJ booths across the world.