https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/ai-mastering-equals-human-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/ai-mastering-equals-human-myth-check The idea that AI mastering has caught up with human engineers rides on vendor marketing and fast results. The best public blind test we found put two human engineers first, and both a major reviewer and iZotope itself stop short of saying the tools replace an engineer. Our verdict: misleading. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-myth-checkmasteringai-masteringlandrozone https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/analog-sounds-warmer-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/analog-sounds-warmer-myth-check Producers and vinyl fans repeat that analog is always warmer than digital. "Warmth" is real, but it is added colour (tape saturation, valve and transformer distortion), not a property every analog chain has or digital cannot reach. And in 2022 audiophiles learned that celebrated "analog" MoFi records had a digital step all along. Our verdict: misleading. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-myth-checkmixingproductionplugins https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/loudness-normalisation-kills-dynamics-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/loudness-normalisation-kills-dynamics-myth-check A common worry is that streaming normalisation compresses or squashes dynamic tracks. Spotify documents the opposite for its default setting: a plain volume change at playback, with no processing of your audio. The one exception is the Premium "Loud" setting, which runs a limiter on soft, dynamic tracks. Our verdict: misleading. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-myth-checkloudnesslufsmasteringstreaming https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/sampling-under-three-seconds-is-legal-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/sampling-under-three-seconds-is-legal-myth-check The idea that a sample shorter than a few seconds is automatically legal or fair use. Our verdict: false. No country we checked has a safe length, and courts in the US, the EU and India judge each use on its facts. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers copyrightsamplingmusic-businessformat-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/you-need-a-label-for-playlists-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/you-need-a-label-for-playlists-myth-check The claim says only labels or paid pluggers can get a song in front of Spotify's playlist editors. Our verdict: false. Spotify says all artists can pitch through Spotify for Artists, one unreleased song at a time, at least 7 days before release, and that you cannot pay to get on an official Spotify playlist. Spotify also says services selling guaranteed playlist placement break its terms. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT We are the music makers spotifyplaylistsmusic-businessformat-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/is-spotify-mostly-ai-music-myth-check https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/is-spotify-mostly-ai-music-myth-check The claim that Spotify is flooded with, or mostly made of, AI music spreads through headlines and listener complaints. The upload numbers are real and large; the listening numbers are small, and no platform publishes a figure showing AI is most of what people hear. Our verdict: misleading. Tue, 27 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers format-myth-checkspotifyai-musicstreaming-frauddeezer