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 Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/behringer-jn-80-juno-60-clone-569 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/behringer-jn-80-juno-60-clone-569 Behringer's JN-80, an analog Juno-60 recreation with eight voices, 49 keys and a BBD chorus, is now reaching buyers at about \$569 outside the US. It undercuts Roland's own Juno revivals on keys and voices, but Behringer's own spec sheet contradicts itself on memory and is vague about aftertouch. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releaseshardwaresynthsbehringerrolandworkflows https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/tod-machover-already-and-not-yet-bso-live-ai https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/tod-machover-already-and-not-yet-bso-live-ai Tod Machover's "already and not yet", a BSO commission conducted by Kent Nagano, puts a purpose-built "Live AI" system from the MIT Media Lab inside a full orchestra for three performances on 22-24 Oct 2026. It is the opposite of prompt-to-track AI, and it shows what a composer-directed, credited use of the technology can look like. Thu, 22 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasesai-musiclive-performanceclassical https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/roland-jupiter-08-n-vision-boutique https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/roland-jupiter-08-n-vision-boutique Roland has added two Boutique synths, a JUPITER-08 that can run up to 32 voices and n/vision, the line's first wavetable synth, both with batteries, a speaker and a bundled K-25m keyboard. The JUPITER-08 is the polyphony fix the old JP-08 needed; n/vision is the more interesting buy. Tue, 20 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releaseshardwaresynthsroland https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/ua-empirical-labs-fatso-native-plugin-licensing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/ua-empirical-labs-fatso-native-plugin-licensing Universal Audio has released its Empirical Labs FATSO tape-simulator plug-ins in native form for Mac and Windows, 17 years after the DSP version. The price is easy to compare with a subscription; the licence terms behind it are the harder part. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasespluginsuniversal-audiolicensing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/arturia-astrolab-2-free-update-front-panel-editing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/arturia-astrolab-2-free-update-front-panel-editing Arturia's free AstroLab 2.0 firmware adds front-panel sound editing and 60+ new sounds to a keyboard line that first appeared in April 2024. It's a good example of hardware getting better after purchase, and it shows that the real product is Arturia's software catalogue. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releaseshardwarearturiafirmwaresynths https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/elektron-outbox-8-syntakt-twinshot https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/elektron-outbox-8-syntakt-twinshot Elektron's $349 Outbox 8 adds eight audio or CV outputs to a groovebox, and free Syntakt firmware has added Twinshot, a two-sample player, plus Outbox 8 support. For a Syntakt owner the pairing fixes the two things the box couldn't do. If you record into a DAW, you can probably skip the breakout box. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releaseshardwareelektroncvfirmware https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/suno-speech-beta-voiceover-narration https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/suno-speech-beta-voiceover-narration Suno opened a public beta of Speech on 1 Oct 2026, a model that generates a spoken voice and an original score as one track. It is the company's first speech product since Bark, and it points straight at narration, meditation and voiceover, the steady work that pays many musicians' and voice actors' bills. Suno hasn't said where the voices come from. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasessunoai-musicvoiceartist-rights https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/reaper-2026-spectral-repair-fx-containers-dark-mode-still-60 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/reaper-2026-spectral-repair-fx-containers-dark-mode-still-60 REAPER 7.81 landed on 28 Sep 2026 with experimental dark mode on Windows, the latest of 25 point releases this year that added sample editing, spectral repair and multi-mono FX containers. The licence is still $60 for most independent musicians, with updates through version 8.99. Mon, 28 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasesreaperdawpricing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/suno-v6-licensed-era https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/suno-v6-licensed-era Suno's v6, launched on 9 Sep 2026, is the first model it built with Warner, BMG and Believe, and every older model was retired. The labels have deals; the opt-in products that would pay individual artists don't exist yet. And people who had built a sound on v5.5 lost the instrument they were playing. Wed, 09 Sep 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasessunoai-musiclicensing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/fender-studio-pro-8-moises-ai-stem-tools https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/fender-studio-pro-8-moises-ai-stem-tools PreSonus's Studio One became Fender Studio Pro 8 in January, and the 8.1 update in June built Moises's stem separation, stem generation and voice conversion into the DAW. The catch for anyone who prefers to own their tools is that a DAW you can buy outright now comes with a monthly AI allowance. Tue, 09 Jun 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasesdawai-musicfendermoises https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/stable-audio-3-open-weights-licensed-data-local https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/stable-audio-3-open-weights-licensed-data-local Stability AI's Stable Audio 3.0 family puts music models that make up to 6:20 of audio onto ordinary laptops, with open weights for Small and Medium. The "fully licensed" training set is stock library and Creative Commons audio, not label catalogue, and the free licence ends at $1M in annual revenue. Wed, 20 May 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers ai-musicreleasesstability-aiopen-weightslicensing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/akai-mpc-xl-mpc-sample-standalone-beat-machine-price-range https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/akai-mpc-xl-mpc-sample-standalone-beat-machine-price-range Akai launched a $2,899 flagship MPC in January and a $399 battery-powered sampler in March, and two months later its parent inMusic agreed to buy Native Instruments. The two machines show how Akai is building a ladder into one software platform, and the NI deal raises the stakes on what runs on it. Sat, 09 May 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releaseshardwareakaimpcnative-instruments https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/komplete-26-year-names-absynth-returns-izotope-split https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/05/komplete-26-year-names-absynth-returns-izotope-split Native Instruments released Komplete 26 on 5 May 2026, renaming the bundle by year and putting Absynth back in it, three days before inMusic agreed to buy the company. The bundle is still good value, but iZotope, whose plugins are part of every paid edition, now belongs to a different buyer. Tue, 05 May 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasesnative-instrumentspluginsindustry https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/04/pro-tools-2026-4-speech-to-text-track-pin-mpeg-h https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/04/pro-tools-2026-4-speech-to-text-track-pin-mpeg-h Pro Tools 2026.4 makes its on-device transcription survive bounces and edits, adds MPEG-H broadcast mixing with Fraunhofer, and gives every tier a Track Pin. Most of the new work sits in the Studio and Ultimate tiers and points at post-production and broadcast, which tells you where Avid sees its paying customers. Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasespro-toolsaviddawimmersive-audioai-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/bitwig-studio-6-automation-clip-aliases-project-scales https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/bitwig-studio-6-automation-clip-aliases-project-scales Bitwig Studio 6, out on 11 Mar 2026, is a workflow release with no AI headline. It rebuilds automation around an overlay mode and clips that move with their music, adds linked clip aliases and gives every project a key and scale. It comes free to customers with an active Upgrade Plan, on a perpetual licence rather than a subscription. Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasesdawbitwigworkflow https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/11/cubase-15-ai-stem-separation-pro-only https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/11/cubase-15-ai-stem-separation-pro-only Steinberg's Cubase 15 adds a melodic pattern sequencer, six new modulators, Yamaha-powered Omnivocal and built-in AI stem separation. The stem tool is Pro-only, so getting it means the $579.99 edition, $250 more than Artist. Wed, 05 Nov 2025 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers releasesdawstem-separationcubaseai-music