LOS ANGELES, Calif. — When Scott G began to mix The G-Man’s new album, “Audio Takes a Stand” produced by Songs and Soundtracks, he was shocked to see that an unseen entity had completed it for him. “I started to assign levels to the separate tracks of bass, drums, keyboards and guitars — the process [...]

Buena Park, Calif. — Yamaha Corporation of America announces a new operating system (Version 1.10) for their flagship Motif XS line of music workstations, adding new functionality and features and bringing more flexibility and creativity to their users. New functionality includes seamless switching in Pattern and Song Mixing providing instant access to 16 Voices or [...]

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – “Fantastic!” “Let me bow to you!” “I walk out of here tonight a blues fan because of you.” “Why am I talking and you guys aren’t playing?” “After hearing just two songs, I want to buy your CD!” Members of the band Aunt Kizzy’z Boyz, who went on [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Neotrope(R), an entertainment and brand marketing company, will officially sponsor the Los Angeles Music Network’s Rock and Urban Music Contest “LAMN Jams” which launched June 9th and runs through August 11th. Taking its popular LAMN Jams to a new level, LAMN invites rock artists to submit original music to perform for [...]

Berlin, Germany — Native Instruments today released URBAN ARSENAL, a powerful collection of production-ready sound material for contemporary hip-hop and similar music styles. Created in collaboration with established urban music producers and sound designers, the latest entry in the KORE SOUNDPACK range provides a versatile assortment of professional hip-hop grooves, drum kits and instrument sounds [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Get a Life Childcare Foundation, the only non-profit foundation in the nation dedicated to caring for children whose parents or siblings are living with chronic or terminal illness, will be holding their first annual “Jazz to Support Life” event benefiting the foundation’s second child care facility in West Los Angeles. The [...]

REVIEW: New Jersey based Phoenix Block’s new CD “Chemtrails” nicely combines ’80s flavored world alt-rock with modern rock and sits nicely in various places if you happen to like artists as varied as U2, Bon Jovi and Remy Zero. Once I got past the hand addressed envelope with the phony “you requested it” note on [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Giving musicians and music lovers more power and flexibility than ever before, BETA Records (www.betarecords.com) has launched a newly expanded site combining search-and-match music selection, virtual commerce, and social interaction. Technology partners took part in a global 2-year effort to transform BETA Records into a music ecosystem to accommodate the way [...]

London, UK — The first ‘Great EDIROL VJ Challenge’ recently took place at the London International Music Show with nine of Europe’s best VJs performing live in a bid to win nearly £2,000 worth of EDIROL gear. Winning the first ever EDIROL VJ Challenge is a dream come true for Christian Scullion from Belfast. Not [...]

Adelaide, SA — Crysonic today announced the release of SINDO V2, a hybrid stereo image expander (widener) / Narrower with new features offering a high level of mono compatibility with minimal side effects. SINDO V2 offers a uniquely powerful stereo toolkit for digital editing, mastering and tracking for all stereo audio material. SINDO V2 allows [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Following up on the success of their debut album “Beat Hustlers,” Barcelona Spain’s production trio - known as Pachecos - return with “Fear Of A Green Planet,” an album that pays tribute to the classic Public Enemy album (Fear Of A Black Planet), while also promoting the legalization of their favorite [...]

PARIS, France — The E²Transienter brings a unique, simple and powerful approach to transient processing. In fact it is far more than a simple transient designer, and it can be used in many situations, including high demanding mastering jobs. The E²Transienter is available now for Mac OSX in TDM, AU, RTAS format with iLok support. [...]

LONDON, U.K. — EDIROL Europe celebrated their first decade in business at the London International Music Show (LIMS). As well as putting on a glittering party and boat trip, the company marked the occasion with an impressive, feature-packed stand in the heart of the main exhibition space. There was a dazzling array of hardware and [...]

MIAMI, Fla. — With the music industry desperately needing a new business model, and the gap between the major and indie labels getting smaller and smaller, a new breed of indie is making waves in a big way: Heavy Air Music, Inc. With such heavy hitters as Pharell Williams, Scott Storch, Tom Lord-Alge, Missy Elliot, [...]

Beijing, China — CME, makers of the BitStream 3X MIDI Controller, have released version 1.8 firmware for the unit, adding new features and enhancing its functionality. As the world’s first 3 axis MIDI controller, CME Bitstream 3X is a completely new direction in MIDI controllers and is perfect for controlling Virtual Instruments, DAWs, and even [...]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Dee Dee Phelps, the original member of the Warner Bros. Records duo Dick and Dee Dee, and singer/actor Michael Dunn, will re-create the hits of Dick and Dee Dee and other ’60s recording artists on Sunday night, June 22nd at Theatre Palisades, 941 Temescal Canyon Road, in Pacific Palisades, California at [...]

BERLIN, Germany — Native Instruments today released FM8 TRANSIENT ATTACKS, a new collection of highly expressive synthesizer sounds for use in FM8 as well as in KORE 2 and the free KORE PLAYER. Carefully created by FM sound design specialists, the 200 distinctive new presets in this KORE SOUNDPACK are specifically tailored for the sound [...]

BERLIN, Germany — Native Instruments today released DEEP TRANSFORMATIONS, an innovative KORE SOUNDPACK that turns KORE 2 and the free KORE PLAYER into a creative sound processor for live performance and studio productions. Utilizing the powerful sound engines integrated in KORE, the new sound pack provides 150 sophisticated multi-effect combinations that can colour, transform and [...]

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Music Network presents the URBAN & the ROCK Music Contests launching June 9. Taking its popular “LAMN Jams” to a new level, urban and rock artists are invited to perform original music for a panel of industry experts and receive live critiques. Monthly winners move up to the finale [...]

RACINE, Wis. — Suite Imagery, LLC has announced the completion and release of three new royalty free animation volumes in the Nature’s Motion series. The new volumes, Nature’s Motion 5, 6 and 7, each contain 20 new animations in full HD resolution. These animations serve as professional looping motion backgrounds useful in all levels of [...]

UPLAND, Calif. — Before the “Go Green” movement began, well known hit songs such as “Country Roads,” “Rocky Mountain High” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders” tied music together with the environment years before it was socially popular. Long before “carbon foot printing” became a household word, John Denver created “Plant It 2000,” a nonprofit foundation [...]

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The nation’s leading CD / DVD duplicator, replicator and printer has joined forces with Hitt Music Group, one of the industry’s most buzz-worthy licensing and submission firms. The idea is to offer high quality replication services, at a discounted rate, to all HMG clients. After several weeks of motivated negotiation, Disc Makers [...]

CHICAGO, Ill. — GameBeat Studios is pleased to announce they have been awarded the contract to produce the music for the Illinois State Lottery’s 2008 summer campaign. Having beaten out several competitors, this is the second year in a row this award winning music production team has been chosen to do the music for the [...]

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — To commemorate the first annual anniversary of the Angora Fire, Think Tank Promotions, in association with Net TV Broadcasting, present “The Angora Benefit Concert.” Gates open at noon at the Horizon Casino Outdoor Concert Center, 50 Highway 50, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, June 24, 2008. This all-day benefit concert will showcase [...]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — SelectRadio data shows that listeners using its Windows Mobile smartphone software are taking full advantage of recently added features to discover new music while enjoying their favorite Internet or satellite radio channels. When SelectRadio users hear a new song or artist of interest, they can click one button to retrieve detailed information [...]

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Bands and solo artists no longer need to feel intimated by the competitive music industry now that Hitt Music Group and Media Riot Productions have joined forces. The two met at this year’s music and media conference South by Southwest and since then have collaborated to meet the growing needs of music [...]

INTERVIEW: When you hear the name DoubleVision, you may think it’s a byproduct of too much drinking. Instead, DoubleVision is a singing duo of identical twins from South Australia. Recording in a country-pop style, Candice and Nadinne are making waves down under and having a blast doing so.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — iZotope, Inc., a leading innovator in audio signal processing technology, has released iZotope RX(TM) audio restoration plug-ins, featuring the essential tools for cleaning and restoring audio. Available for VST, Audio Unit, MAS, ProTools (RTAS, AudioSuite), and DirectX, the plug-ins are now included with the award-winning standalone version for the same price of $349.

BOONTON, N.J. — Streaming video and music distributed across the Internet, an IPTV network, or a mobile handset will generate $70 billion in network-derived and content-derived revenue into the US markets over the next six years, according to a new market research study from The Insight Research Corporation.

COLUMN: One of the most hilarious things I’ve seen online lately is at the online music store, Musicians Friend, which is selling a “mislabeled” version of the Tascam DP-02CF Portastudio, which has a mis-print on the actual recorder of “Portastud.”

BARDSTOWN, Ky. — An acoustic rock musician from Bardstown, Kentucky will embark on a month-long tour of laundry mats, spanning a number of cities in six states. Matthew Fogle kicks off the promotional expedition, aptly entitled “Spring Cleaning Tour ‘08″ on Monday, March 24th in his hometown of Bardstown. The tour then visits nearly 20 laundry mats in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and other stops in Kentucky.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Underground Mexican hip-hop artist/entrepreneur, SOLOW13, breaks the music game wide open by establishing his own label, TRUTH LOVES LA WFAMILIA, LLC or simply LAWFAMILIA, LLC. The new imprint is a collaborative partnership between SOLOW13 and famed West Coast label, Latin Thug Records - best known for being founded by Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog and home to the Reyes Brothers, B Real’s “Gunslinger” albums and many other notable releases.

COLUMN: Scott G says we shouldn’t be too hard on Maxim magazine for reviewing an album they hadn’t heard. They are pioneers in a new form of rock journalism.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The law firm of Rukin Hyland Doria & Tindall LLP has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the former CFO of Signatures Network Inc. (SNI) in California Superior Court (Case No. CGC-08-472337) charging that SNI wrongfully terminated him after he protested allegedly fraudulent practices at the company that deprived its musical artists of millions of dollars in royalty payments.

COLUMN: Scott G was happy to ogle the tons of software, DAWs, gadgets, guitars, and gear galore at the NAMM show, but an Apple demo seemed to predict the way the industry is moving.

AUSTIN, Texas — American icon Willie Nelson says he supports efforts to impeach President Bush and “throw the bastards out,” adding that the administration will do anything to stay in power, including staging an event to cancel the election. In his second appearance this month, Nelson told The Alex Jones Show today that he supported Dennis Kucinich’s attempt to impeach Bush.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Music Network’s “LAMN Jam” heads for the Big Apple. Launched three years ago in Los Angeles (where performances continue), LAMN Jams go beyond traditional showcases by featuring artists performing original songs, followed by instant professional critiques from a panel of industry experts. This year, artists will perform for $20,000 in prizes.

COLUMN: Proving once more that bigger does not mean better, the 50th Grammy Awards event was bombastic, bumbling and bloated. Scott G watched and would have been appalled if he wasn’t so bored.