Septer Media Group

By Markus Burger - Septer Media Group 

I've been busy experimenting with a piece of technology I first previewed at this year's #NAMM, that happens to be one of the more exciting gear releases I've come across in recent years.

For those of you, like me, who have been looking for a system to connect your #MiniBrute synthesizer, the #Moog and the #iPad, the wait is finally over.

#Arturia's #BeatStep Controller and Sequencer does all of the above plus more.

The unit, which retails at a very affordable price point of $129, also has gate and pitch control voltage outputs and it can be a compact part of a mobile music-making rig.

BeatStep is, in a nutshell, is an agile, multi-functional missing link between your analog and digital gear. Check out the demo video below:

Knobs for your #iPad ? Genius, right? Just found #tunadjgear @TunaDJGear. We think it's huge! pic.twitter.com/hC0GYoH2iY

By Septer Media Group

Those of you on the hunt for a portable DJ solution might want to take notice as we've just been introduced to a great little gadget worth checking out.

Anymode has introduced a palm-size DJ pad that really packs a punch. Working as a standalone DJ solution, this portable, touchscreen-based pad, comes with two decks and a mixer. Each screen is a turntable, with physical dial controls and a crossfader.

Some drawbacks include a tight on-screen real estate which makes the controls tough to maneuver, sample loading tops at 16-bit and the drum sequencer leaves a lot to be desired.

By Cibelle Burger

Septer Media Group

Indie Pop Nation

Global music, film and technology crowfunding site, Indiegogo, has secured additional investment commitments from none other than Sir Richard Branson, Max Levchin, Maynard Webb and a group of investor heavy-weights.

This latest round follows a colossal $40 million Series B commitment the company had already landed.

By Cibelle Burger

The rise of streaming technologies, coupled with continued growth in the popularity of major platforms including Pandora, Spotify, iTunes Radio and, most recently, Beats Music, are once again shaking up the music industry and generating the perfect storm for heavy acquisition activity, with a shift away from existing business models.

To this point, a survey conducted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIIA), an industry trade group, revealed that streaming services accounted for 21 percent of all music revenues in the United States in 2013 – a whopping 49 percent increase from 2012.

More jarring perhaps was the continued downfall of physical album sales, which dropped 12 percent between 2012 and 2013 alone.

by Cibelle Burger  for Septer Media Group

Music and audio identification app, Shazam, has just received a large cash infusion from three of the world's largest record labels - Universal, Sony and Warner Music.

Each of the label giants will contribute $3 Million a piece, for a combined $9 Million total in the investment deal.

London-based Shazam, which is already backed by a number of prestigious firms including DN Capital, Acacia Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is currently valued at $500 million, and word has it that it might be headed for a lucrative IPO in the near future.

At stake for the three music giants is the ability to tap into Shazam's marketing and consumer data capabilities, while solidifying the investment path already seen with label investments in streaming platforms such as Spotify and Beats Music.

This latest deal comes on the heels of an A&R partnership formed earlier this year between Shazam and Warner Music Group, in which Shazam's own label is set to scout and sign new talent via a combination of traditional A&R tactics and its own app's fan activity. Shazam will also be marketing WMG's own artist roster.

Shazam currently has 450 million global users, with an estimated 90 million monthly active users.

By Prof. Markus Burger

for Septer Media Group

As an Electronic Music educator and clinician, one of my constant and trusted companions in synthesis is Reaktor, by Native Instruments.

One of the reasons I like to work with this particular tool is because of its building blocks, which to me seem almost analogous to virtual, sonic LEGOS®.

Reaktor provides access to a vast library of Ensembles (a term it uses  for virtual synths, effects and samplers).

For educators wishing to show their students how synthesizers are built from scratch, Reaktor allows for teaching everything from signal flow to the architecture of synthesizers, samplers, romplers, sequencers and everything having to with Electronic Music audio setups.

For those considering Reaktor, it can be purchased as a stand-alone tool or as part of the Native Instrument's Komplete 9 package. Either way, the clear advantage is the ability to tap into a broad collection of sonic tools that can be applied to just about any musical genre, from classical scores to cutting-edge EDM sounds and effects.

By Cibelle Burger

Just when you thought that anything remotely analog had gone the way of landline phones and the steam engine, Sony announces that it has resurrected a 50-year old technology, with some brand new added tweaks.

The music and electronics giant has unveiled a cassette tape capable of holding an extraordinary 148 gigabytes per square inch, or 185 terabytes of data - that's 64,750,000 songs.

The announcement, and the tape, were unveiled at the International Magnetics Conference in Dresden, Germany.

By Professor Markus Burger

Whenever I'm speaking at industry conferences and events, or teaching music technology workshops, I'm often asked to recommend resources for learning Electronic Music and Sound Design.

Those of you wanting to get into the nuts-and-bolts of EM, and maybe even Max and Msp, check out "Electronic Music and Sound Design Theory and Practice", volumes 1 and 2. 

The books were written by Alessandro Cipriani and Maurizio Giri, both from Italy, and are quite possibly the best resource for MAX and MSP out there. For those less familiar, Max MSP is the holy grail of audio design, and was developed by Miller Puckette, PhD, in the late 1980s at one of the major think-tanks of modern music and audio research, the renowned IRCAM in Paris.

By Markus Burger

Septer Media Group

The latest version of the cross-platform DAW is slated for launch at this year's NAMM show in Anaheim on January 23-26. 

The makers of the software promise an enhanced workflow for this latest version, at the very affordable price point of $29.99 (upgrades) and $59.99 (new licenses).

Tracktion 5 can be downloaded directly from the Tracktion website beginning January 23.