YouTube is trying to make it easy for its creators to remove songs from their videos and resolve copyright claims. In a new Creator Insider video, the website has announced that it has released an upgraded "erase song" tool that has the capability to remove music from video segments without deleting other audio, such as conversations, as well.
When creators get a copyright claim for music, YouTube gives them the option to trim out the affected segment or to replace the song with an approved one in its audio library. Creators can't monetize that particular video until they resolve the claim. The website has been testing its "erase song" tool for a while, but in the video, the company says it hasn't been as accurate as it would like. To solve that problem, it redesigned the tool so that it now uses an AI-powered algorithm to accurately detect and remove copyrighted music from videos.
Still, YouTube admits that the tool might not always work. If a song is particularly hard to remove, presumably due to audio quality or the presence of other sounds while it's playing, creators may have to resort to other options. In addition to being able to trim out the offending segment or to replace its song, creators will also be able to mute that part of their video through the new erase tool.
The website's upgraded erase song tool will be available in YouTube Studio in the coming weeks.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-upgrades-its-erase-song-tool-to-remove-copyrighted-music-only-140032261.html?src=rss
The earbuds’ answer to open-ear headphones is the clip-on style that doesn’t sit deep in the ear canal, therefore less chance of permanent hearing damage if you listen to music at high levels. Bose Ultra Open earbuds created quite the buzz at CES 2024 for this new earbuds design but a price tag of $300 only attracted enthusiasts.
Now JLab has come up with a similar open clip style design called Flex Open earbuds. The pair offers most of what the high-end earbuds offer and that too at a fraction of a price. Being only $50 makes this open-ear accessory worth the try if you are eager to try out new audio accessories.
For those who want to be aware of the ambient sounds around them, the open-ear design is perfect. That’s where the Flex Open excels for a sixth of the price offered by the best in the industry. They even manage to beat the Bose’s earbuds with an IP55 rating and multipoint connectivity right out of the box. Battery life is also impressive at seven hours on a single charge and 21 more hours on the charging case. Compare that to the Ultra Open which lasts a couple of hours less in real-life testing. While you cannot expect the audio quality to be anywhere close to Bose, still the 12mm drivers deliver a thumping sound.
The only thing you can complain about is the lack of spatial audio with head tracking, but most people like me don’t bother much. Call quality in noisy environments can be a bit of a hit-and-miss with these, but if you’re using them majorly for music listening, they are a bang for the buck. After all for that price, how much wrong can these go? One thing that’ll make you ditch these earbuds is the lack of the latest lossless Bluetooth codec from Qualcomm if you care about those things.
The companion app for the Flex Open lets you toggle the sound signature to stay close to the preferred curve. In a way, these earbuds tick all the right boxes if you are on a budget and want to try out this new open-ear earbuds trend for once without breaking the bank.
Teenage Engineering has become an inseparable part of the music community in the past decade. Ever since their OP-1 synth debuted on Swedish House Mafia’s music video for their song ‘One’, the company has been on a rise, launching Pocket Operators, recording/playback gear, turntables for children, and even venturing into phones for Nothing and the R1 AI device for Rabbit. Their position in the new-age music industry, however, remains cemented for the next few years to come – but if there’s one device missing from their music-making tech repertoire, it’s a great DJ console. While most people love making music, there’s a case to be made that if you want to connect with your listeners, you need to perform your music too – and deejay consoles help artists do just that. Designed to bridge this product gap, Chris Matthews designed the OP-J, a Teenage Engineering-inspired console for disc jockeys looking to play and remix tunes.
Designer: Chris Matthews
Deejay consoles don’t really need to be portable, but there’s an understated beauty to how sleek the OP-J is. It’s about as thick as its synthesizer sibling, with the same design language running through. You’ve got two rotating discs, knobs, keys, buttons, cross-faders, a speaker, and two screens that guide you through playback as well as effect settings.
Keeping in theme with the company’s focus on music creation, the OP-J allows you to do more than just play and merge tracks. Sure, it’s a pretty capable DJ console, with everything a disc jockey would need to get on stage and drop the bass… but you’ve got 8 keys and 8 more buttons to record/trigger loops, play melodies, or activate certain intros/outros to spice up your songs. Although it isn’t shown here, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could hook the OP-1 to the setup and take your performance to even higher levels.
Color-coded knobs let you control effects and envelopes, while a dedicated display just for the effects lets you monitor what you’re up to. It’s unusual for a DJ console to come with its own speaker, but just in case you want to practice in the privacy of your home or hotel room, the OP-J lets you nerd out without needing a separate speaker system. Yes, audio jacks on the bottom let you hook external speakers if you can, or headphones so you can preview tracks before cueing them.
The OP-J is just a fan-made concept for now, but if someone from Teenage Engineering reads this, we all could use an OP-style deejay console! Besides, let’s also take some time out to appreciate the Darth Vader-esque black and red version below?!
This takes Pavlov’s bell to a completely different level!
Pets react to different music in different ways. For instance, my doggo would curiously nod his head from left to right and right to left at every note he heard. But he would instantly forget it all and run for the bowl on the first note of his food dropping into it.
Food is dearer to music, but music is a certain entertainer: this is not only true for humans, but for cats and dogs as well. If you agree, there is a musical way to keep your pet entertained and fed when you’re at home or away with the Pet Piano, a cross of an automated pet feeder and a piano.
Essentially a DIY project carried out by YouTube channel Smart Solutions for Home on the behest of YouTuber Aaron’s Animals, the smart piano pet feeder is now a buyable product, available on preorder from the pet piano website. If you’re a DIYer, you can still follow the step-by-step instructions to build a piano for your cat (as it was initially intended to be), otherwise, you can buy a ready-to-ship product and get your pet trained to play Beethoven while keeping her fed even when you are away.
The interesting pet piano is created to release a measured quantity of food whenever the pet presses the key(s). Treat from creating music will be a phenomenal experience for your pet considering that a reward mechanism inculcates a behavioral change in a dog or cat’s cognitive development and mood. So, a reward (food) in return for pressing keys – that make melodious sounds – a positive behavior can in inculcated. As a safety measure, the Pet Piano is created to dispense treats at a moderate pace, which also promotes healthier eating habits.
Further, your pet can also leverage the auto tutoring mode of the pet piano, which automatically trains your pet to level up her piano skills over time. And for days when the pet is not in the mood to play the instrument, the feeder can be scheduled to dispense food – at a scheduled time – through the dedicated mobile app which can also be used to control and monitor the meal portion and other features.
In comparison to other plastic and visually jarring pet feeders, the Pet Piano is made from durable MDF wood in a matte black finish so it can easily merge with your home aesthetic. Usable with cats and dogs of all shapes and sizes, it is provided with a locking mechanism to prevent break-ins and runs off batteries or can be plugged into a power source for nonstop functioning. We can’t guarantee your pianist pet will trend on TikTok, but it’s worth a shot, no?
Choosing IEMs over TWS earbuds is a no brainer if you appreciate the good things in life. Campfire Audio has stood out amongst the sea of IEMs that promise reference-like sound signature. The premium audio company has won the trust of professional music creators with successful products like the Fathom and Andromeda. Now they have yet another IEM to reinstate their top position.
This striking in-ear monitor called Moon Rover is a limited edition creation that levels up the audio performance and design to become the prized collection of audiophiles. Only 888 units will be created of the Moon Rover, so you better gets your hands on them. The monitors are priced at a mind-numbing $1199 making them a choice for avid listeners with fat-pockets.
The brand claims that the pair has a neutral and analytical sound signature that’s better than any of their current IEMs. Moon Rover is identified by its crystal clear sound and wide soundstage, with exciting upper frequency, a balanced mid delivery and a punchy low end. This is made possible with a newly developed 12mm magnetic planar dynamic driver that has a fast delivery for peppy sonic sound. So, you can expect it to outperform the competition when it comes to playing hard rock or club beats.
Design of the IEM is not understated either in the shape of a hand-crafted, encased titanium shell that’s flame-treated for a distinct look. The awesomeness doesn’t stop there as they have a PVD steel spout and gold-plated screws. The namesake comes courtesy of the shell having a cosmic theme drenched in hues of blue, purple and yellow that change color depending on the amount of light falling on them. The monitors are bundled with a 3.5mm cable, silicone eartips (small, medium and large foam size) and waxed leather case.
Much of the conversation about AI has revolved around the use of copyrighted materials to train models. YouTube is allegedly taking steps to avoid this issue, offering major musical labels payment to license their songs for AI training, the Financial Times reports.
Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records are all reportedly involved in talks with the Google-owned platform. However, it's unlikely the companies will get the last word as it would reportedly be up to each artist whether they participate.
Many musicians are far from thrilled about allowing AI anywhere near their work. In April 2023, over 200 artists signed an open letter stating, "We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators' rights, and destroy the music ecosystem."
In November, YouTube launched Dream Track, a tool that allowed select creators to pull from the lyrics and voices of singers such as John Legend and Charli XCX. However, only ten artists participated in the tool's test, and YouTube apparently aims to have "dozens" participate in an AI song generator.
Record labels have taken a stand against companies they see using their copyrighted content. On June 24, the trio of Sony, Universal and Warner filed a suit against music generators Suno and Omio for "massive scale" copyright infringement. They demand injunctions against further use and up to $150,000 per work.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-reportedly-wants-to-pay-record-labels-to-use-their-songs-for-ai-training-125052503.html?src=rss
Major music labels are taking on AI startups that they believe trained on their songs without paying. Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group sued the music generators Suno and Udio for allegedly infringing on copyrighted works on a “massive scale.”
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) initiated the lawsuits and wants to establish that “nothing that exempts AI technology from copyright law or that excuses AI companies from playing by the rules.”
The music labels’ lawsuits in US federal court accuse Suno and Udio of scraping their copyrighted tracks from the internet. The filings against the AI companies reportedly demand injunctions against future use and damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work. (That sounds like it could add up to a monumental sum if the court finds them liable.) The suits appear aimed at establishing licensed training as the only acceptable industry framework for AI moving forward — while instilling fear in companies that train their models without consent.
Udio
Suno AI and Udio AI (Uncharted Labs run the latter) are startups with software that generates music based on text inputs. The former is a partner of Microsoft for its CoPilot music generation tool. The RIAA claims the services’ reproduced tracks are uncannily similar to existing works to the degree that they must have been trained on copyrighted songs. It also claims the companies didn’t deny that they trained on copyright works, instead shielding themselves behind their training being “confidential business information” and standard industry practices.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the lawsuits accuse the AI generators of creating songs that sounded remarkably similar to The Temptations’ “My Girl,” Green Day’s “American Idiot,” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” among others. They also claim the AI services produced indistinguishable vocals from artists like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and ABBA.
Wired reports that one example cited in the lawsuit details how one of the AI tools reproduced a song that sounded nearly identical to Chuck Berry’s pioneering classic “Johnny B. Goode,” using the prompt, “1950s rock and roll, rhythm & blues, 12 bar blues, rockabilly, energetic male vocalist, singer guitarist,” along with some of Berry’s lyrics. The suit claims the generator almost perfectly generated the original track’s “Go, Johnny, go, go” chorus.
Suno
To be clear, the RIAA isn’t advocating based on the principle that all AI training on copyrighted works is wrong. Instead, it’s saying it’s illegal to do so without licensing and consent, i.e., when the labels (and, likely to a lesser degree, the artists) don’t make any money off of it.
The recording industry is working on AI deals of its own that license music in a way that it believes is fair for its bottom line. These include an agreement between Universal and SoundLabs, which allows the latter to create vocal models for artists while still allowing the singers to control ownership and output. The label also partnered with YouTube on an AI licensing and royalties deal. Universal also represents Drake, whose diss track against Kendrick Lamar from earlier this year used AI-generated copies of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg’s voices.
“There is room for AI and human creators to forge a sustainable, complementary relationship,” the filing against Suno reads. “This can and should be achieved through the well-established mechanism of free-market licensing that ensures proper respect for copyright owners.”
According to Bloomberg, Suno co-founder Mikey Shulman said in April that the company’s practices are “legal” and “fairly in line with what other people are doing.” The AI industry at large appears to be attempting to race towards a threshold where its tools are considered too ubiquitous to be held accountable before anyone can do anything about how it trained its models.
“We work very closely with lawyers to make sure that what we’re doing is legal and industry standard,” Suno’s founder said in April. “If the law changes, obviously we would change our business one way or the other.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/record-labels-sue-ai-music-generators-for-massive-infringement-of-recorded-music-172915925.html?src=rss
Those who are trying to learn how to play their favorite songs on their musical instruments have it a little easier now. They can just search for chords and arrangements or if they’re lucky, there might even be YouTube tutorials out there. But there are still those who prefer to play it by ear while playing the piano, guitar, or other instruments but playing the song from their phone or computer while learning is a bit of a hassle.
Designer: Hélène Bert
Analist is a tool that can be used by those trying to learn songs by playing it by ear. Unlike phones and computers where controls and precision are a bit hard, this gadget allows you to optimize your workflow when trying to play your instrument as you listen to the song you’re trying to learn. You will be able to control things pause and play, speed, repetition, and other things you may need to adjust while you’re playing it by ear.
Based on the product renders, this is how it works. You add a song onto the device, edit the parts that you need to learn if needed, and then save it. You can adjust it according to your preference (speed, pitch, equalizer, volume, etc). You hold it in one hand while playing the song on it and playing your instrument on the other. The device has easy to access controls that lets you pause and play, speed up or slow down, volume up and down, etc. You also get to play it in loop so you can master the song.
You can even do more if you connect it to the app, although what this “more” is wasn’t really specified. You might be forgiven for mistaking the Analist for your aircon’s remote control but on paper, the functionality of the device will be pretty helpful for those who are learning to play songs.
In this installment of What We're Listening To, Engadget editors dive into some of the recent music releases we've been playing on repeat. Yes, Brat has us in a chokehold, too.
Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats - Nell’ Ora Blu
When I first heard Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats was putting out an album inspired by 1960s-70s giallo films, I felt like my interests, personally, were being targeted. It’s the kind of crossover that now seems like it had to happen at some point, but I never realized my need for it until this moment. (One person on Reddit, though, was really onto something with the idea last year). Lo and behold, Nell’ Ora Blu dropped last month and it scratches a very specific itch in my brain.
It is not at all the usual fare you’d expect from Uncle Acid, very much taking on the structure of a soundtrack with a lot of ambient instrumentals and short dialogue tracks voiced by genre regulars Edwige Fenech, Franco Nero and Luc Merenda (it pulls influence from the poliziotteschi crime/action films as well). The scores in these movies often feel like psychedelic horror experiences in themselves — with heavy moments that really drag you in, only to be offset by something so delicate it’s almost disorienting — and unsurprisingly, Uncle Acid absolutely nails this. This is the perfect album to pop on in the background while you’re trying to get some art or writing done, ideally as a thunderstorm rolls in. It's pretty long, coming in at around an hour and 17 minutes, but I almost always replay it at least once per sitting.
Nell’ Ora Blu isn’t necessarily going to be an automatic hit with Uncle Acid fans. It’s more for the person who watched Deep Red or The Bird with the Crystal Plumage or anything of that ilk and immediately sought out the soundtrack afterward. Still, I expect there’s a fair amount of overlap between those groups, considering the band does generally have the whole sleaze horror vibe going anyway. Honestly, I want more. We don't need to stop at giallo — give me Uncle Acid's take on Jean Rollin and the fantastique next (please).
— Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor
Nathy Peluso - Grasa
Admittedly, I’m late to the Nathy Peluso bandwagon. I was first introduced to her after falling down a rabbit hole of BZRP Music Sessions (collab tracks made by Argentine producer Bizarrap and various Latin music heavyweights) and listened to hers (#36). Her second album, Grasa, just dropped and represents her latest full body of work released since the Grammy-nominated Calambre came out in 2020. Grasa is likely my album of the summer — and certainly a top pick for the whole year — thanks to its engaging experimentation and its marriage of a bunch of different styles including hip hop, latin trap, bolero, salsa and straight-up pop. There are no skips on this album, at least half a dozen bangers and I personally love the transitions from the snarling, fast-paced tracks to the few ballads and slower songs peppered throughout.
Peluso already proved she was a great singer on Calambre, but I think her vocal performances on this album, particularly in ballads like “Envidia” and “El Día Que Perdí Mi Juvendtud,” standout as high points. And then there are the bangers, as it were: “Aprender a Amar” gets in your face with fierce rapping and blaring horns; “Legendario” might be the most obvious potential single off the whole album thanks to its signature pop tempo and sound; and “La Presa” is basically a salsa IV straight to your veins. There are plenty of others I’m not naming here, but anyone who has even a passing appreciation for Latin pop (regardless of if you speak Spanish or not — I don’t) shouldn’t sleep on Grasa.
Young Miko - att.
Puerto Rican artist Young Miko’s first full-length album, att., is the definition of “a vibe.” After collaborating with Karol G, Bad Bunny and other Latin superstars, Miko has solidified her space in the Latin pop scene with this project. While I don’t think it’s a career-defining album, it’s a great showcase of her laid-back, Spanglish-style rapping that marries genres like reggaeton and Latin trap, and her ability to create a clear mood with such fusion, plus a healthy dose of great beats. Ultimately, it’s simply easy listening from front to back. Personal highlights include “arcoíris,” “tamagotchi” and Feid collab “offline.”
Charli XCX - brat
Brat is 100 percent worth the hype. Eloquent music critics and writers have bestoweda lot ofpraise onto this album already, so suffice to say that I agree with most of them (and you should go read their analyses). Standouts include “Club classics,” “Sympathy is a knife,” “So I,” and “B2b,” but arguably my favorite is the closer “365.” A riff off of the opener “360,” this track ups the ante in every way, and the transition to it from the penultimate “I think about it all the time” is so satisfying and euphoric.
It's been 10 years since Norwegian producer and DJ Todd Terje declared that it was, finally, album time. He had made a name for himself as a DJ and remixer in the 2000s, but It's Album Time marked his first (and sadly, only) full-length collection on which he is the singular driving force. It's a gloriously oddball collection that flips between dramatic, movie score-style symphonic pieces and true dance-disco bangers. (After a recent listen, I convinced myself that Terje could help Dua Lipa make the best album of her career.)
For my money, the 10-minutes combo of "Straandbar" and "Delorean Dynamite" encapsulate the best things about the album. It's a gloriously funky build-up with intricate percussion, fat synths, bouncing bass lines and a ridiculously simple but incredibly infectious guitar lick that comes in halfway through "Delorean Dynamite" that makes me want to run through a brick wall. You'll know it when you hear it.
And, of course, there's "Inspector Norse," a song that caught fire in 2012 and paved the way for the rest of It's Album Time. If Terje never makes another album (he's only 43, so there's plenty of time!), "Inspector Norse" serves as seven perfect minutes of his career. Maybe he'll swing by and take us to his planet again, but it's hard to be sad about his lack of output when It's Album Time is so damn perfect.
— Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor, News
XG - Woke Up
Cocona shaves her head in this video. Just because she wanted to. This song is great. XG is life.
— Aaron Souppouris, Executive Editor
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-were-listening-to-nell-ora-blu-grasa-brat-and-more-130028558.html?src=rss
No, they aren’t the Nothing Headphones we’ve been waiting for all this while… but they are pretty spectacular-looking. Meet the Mondo Headphones by Defunc, a pair of over-ear cans with wireless audio and beefy sound that boast a gorgeous transparent body design. Equipped with clear covers on the left and right, the Mondo Headphones are yet another example of the rise in transparency in design. Whether it’s Nothing launching transparent phones and TWS earbuds, or even Beats making a see-through version of their StudioBuds +, it seems like there’s a rise in companies being more transparent with their consumers… literally. The Mondo Headphones come with a design that bares all, allowing you to see the circuitry, drivers, microphones, and batteries underneath the hood. The headphones come with dual-drivers and dual-mics, Bluetooth 5.2, and Environmental Noise Canceling. Plus, a highly affordable price tag of sub-$150 makes them almost a no-brainer to add to your tech gear collection.
The Mondo’s design language feels very reminiscent of Nothing x Apple. The headphones themselves are styled with the air of the AirPods Max, boasting metal stems, and comfortably rounded earpieces that cushion you in your own audiosphere. The headphones fold flat too, making them ideal for traveling with, but don’t expect an Apple-style carrying case with these. (Which may as well be a good thing given how unappealing the AirPods Max case is)
The over-ear headphones come with a dual-driver design, delivering balanced full-range audio. Each earpiece is equipped with a 1.6″ and a 0.4″ driver, delivering a respectable frequency range of 20 Hz – 20 kHz for punchy lows, rich mids, and crisp highs. Dual mic arrays also ensure the headphones have great ENC or environmental noise cancellation, allowing you to listen to music, make calls, or even record voice notes with minimal interference from the world around you.
The headphones boast Bluetooth 5.2, offering quick and reliable pairing, and come with a battery that offers 45 hours of constant playback on a full charge – a feature that’s further enhanced by how comfortable the over-ear plus earcups are to wear for long periods of time. The Mondo has 430 hours of standby time, so your battery doesn’t drain too much when not in use (take that, AirPods Max), and a USB-C port lets you charge your headphones from 0-100 in 2 hours.
The Mondo headphones weigh just 9 ounces, undercutting most brands like Microsoft, Sony, Sonos, and Apple which range anywhere from 11 to 13 ounces. The price is a pretty compelling factor too, with a $144.9 tag for a pair of plush headphones with ENC. On the other hand, you do have controls for volume on the Mondo, and there’s a palpable lack of a dedicated button for your phone’s Voice AI like Siri on the AirPods Max. That shouldn’t be a deterrent though, for the budget range. The Mondo Headphones also ship with a USB-C charging cable and a coiled 1/8-inch audio cord for versatile listening options.
