SAMPLED▌ FRONT AND CENTER
Is LUNA Really Free? The Free DAWs Worth Downloading on Mac, Windows and iPad
Universal Audio's LUNA now costs nothing on Mac and Windows. Here is what that gets you, plus the other free DAWs worth your time, including Sampledex on iPad, Mac and Windows.
// also right now
GearWhat Equipment Do You Need to Start a Video Podcast at Home?
A home podcast studio built from gear I actually use: a 4K webcam, a pair of tracking PTZ cameras and the headphones every broadcast booth already owns.
FeatureIs Sampledex for iPad a Real Free DAW, and What Can It Do?
Robert Clemons has brought Sampledex from the Mac to the iPad as a free download. Here is what it does, what it can't do, and who it's for.
// from the dispatch
Beatport drew a line on AI music — here is exactly what it bans and what it tags
The dance-music store will refuse tracks that are wholly or substantially machine-generated, and label the rest. Here is what uploaders need to change.
Serum 2 has a Linux build now — what to check before you install it
Xfer Records put a Linux beta in front of registered users. It is a real port with real system requirements, not a wrapper.
Free, local stem separation has quietly gotten good enough to rehearse with
Open-source separation tools now run on your own machine — no upload, no queue, no account. Here is where that helps and where it still falls apart.
A Chinese tech giant just entered AI song generation — with a label already attached
Alibaba launched a beta song generator built with a major Chinese label partner. The interesting part is not the model, it is the licensing posture.
The 2026 VMA nominations are a reminder that the video budget still decides the narrative
Madonna leads the field, Taylor Swift follows. Underneath the names is a fairly blunt lesson about where visual money goes and what it buys.
Small rooms are the new platform marketing — and that is good news for local promoters
A streaming service is putting established artists in tiny hometown venues. The format is old; the reason it is back is data.
A 20th-anniversary single is a business decision as much as a reunion
BIGBANG marked two decades with a new digital single. Anniversary releases work because they solve a problem catalogue marketing cannot.
Merlin bought a royalty accounting company — and that says more than most catalogue deals
The independent licensing body and an investment partner completed their acquisition of Curve Royalty Systems. Accounting infrastructure is the quiet fight in independent music.
When a visa disappears mid-tour: what actually happens, and what an artist can do
A U.S. run was pulled this week after a visa was revoked. The mechanics are worth understanding before it is your routing.