RCRDSHP – a new marketplace for electronic music collectibles – has launched, and subsequently sold out, its first drop of NFTs from a range of artists, labels and festivals. RCRDSHP styles itself on being NBA Top Shot for music, focussing on collectibles delivered as NFTs, covering everything from exclusive tracks, a video clip from backstage, visual artwork and more.

Aimi is an app that uses AI to create generative electronic music for different moods such as ‘Serenity’, ‘Chill’, ‘Lounge’ and so on. Now, Aimi+ has teamed up with producers like Black Loops, Cassy, Fred P, Shanti Celeste, Catz ’n’ Dogz, Jimpster, Joseph Ashworth, Roska and more to create an even more realistic and dynamic AI music-making experience that never ends. Using real stems provided by artists, Aimi generates a never-ending mix designed to create something totally new and dynamic with every listen.

Three music brands and two retailers have been fined a total of €21m for price-fixing and colluding over minimum pricing from 2014 to 2018. As reported by Music Tech, a German Federal Cartel Office statement read that Yamaha, Roland and Fender would “contact Thomann and Music Store and ask these retailers to adjust their sales prices, which they also did in many cases.” The practice is illegal under EU consumer law. 

Spotify is trailing a new 99¢ subscription that still includes ads but allows users unlimited skips and on-demand listening. According to The Verge, the new tier combines elements of its free and premium options, and it “doesn’t impose any limits on the number of tracks you can skip per hour. Users are also free to pick which specific songs they want to listen to, rather than mostly being limited to shuffling within albums and playlists.” 

Sam Battle, aka master of custom-built music gadgets, Look Mum No Computer, has opened a museum of audio and tech oddities and weird instruments in Ramsgate UK. This Museum is (Not) Obsolete – to give it its official title – features many of the instruments Battle has built and modded on his popular YouTube channel, as well as other “experimental, obsolete, scientific and musical technologies”. 

Apple has announced a new update for Garageband iOS and iPadOS that includes sound packs, template sessions and music-making tutorials from artists like Boys Noize, Tom Misch and TRAKGIRL. Alongside the sound packs, Apple is also adding new ‘Art of the Remix’ templates with Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga, which let users open Garageband sessions full of stems from each artist with step-by-step “remix instructions”. 

A-Trak has teamed up with RANE on a new Signature edition of the Seventy battle mixer. The DJ and producer teased the mixer on his socials last week, which is a re-branded and re-plated version of the flagship and popular Seventy mixer. According to RANE, “A-Trak himself played an integral part in the mixer’s creation, handpicking the features, signature sound, and look of what he considers to be the ultimate mixer for the future of turntablist performance.” 

BandLab, the online DAW and music collaboration platform has announced version 10.0, the biggest update since 2015. BandLab 10.0 brings with it a new sampler that lets users select sounds from over 15,000 included, royalty-free sounds, or import their own. There’s also the usual sample editor to get creative with your sounds. 

DJ hardware and software company Hercules has updated DJUCED, their own bespoke DJ software to version 5.2, and with it added compatibility for SoundCloud streaming. 

Holly Herndon has launched a new ‘digital twin’ version of herself called Holly+. The new virtual alternative is built using machine learning and AI and can sing any song or melody uploaded to the Holly+ website in Holly’s voice. Anyone can upload any audio file and the AI instrument – made in conjunction Never Before Heard Sounds – will attempt to recreate it based on thousands of hours of machine learning.