State Champ Radio tech
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Steve Lacy wants to bring fans into his universe through a new collaboration with Bose. The partnership aims to put a “retro spin” on the tech brand’s new Ultra Open Earbuds, as well as the Quietcomfort Headphones featuring a vintage-inspired colorway boasting style and quality sounds.
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When it came to designing the Bluetooth earbuds and over-ear headphones, the Grammy-winning artist took inspiration from what was already out there.
“I love applying the old approach to newer things,” Lacy said on the official campaign page. “And I think we created something that felt like vintage and modern, which is always something that feels good for everyone, I think, and classic. So I’m really happy with how it came out, and I like how it goes with my outfits.”
Steve Lacy X Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Courtesy of Bose
The Billboard Hot 100-topping “Bad Habit” singer wanted his exclusive colorway to boast vibes reminiscent of vintage mixing boards from the 1970s. While the base of the case and earbuds are light gray, you’ll notice accents of pink, blue and green for some subtle pops of color, which Lacy noted is “very me, right now” in a press statement.
A limited amount was made for the collaboration, and while it’s sold out online, you can still take advantage of all that the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have to offer.
Billboard Shopping had the opportunity to test out the brand-new wireless earbuds and love the unique fit and its ability to let you seamlessly have a conversation without having to constantly pause and play your music — or take out an earbud. While the collaboration earbuds are priced at $399, you can save $100 with the first version, which is available in a black or white colorway.
Keep reading to shop the earbuds below.
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds
Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds use a cuff-like design that helps leave your ear open to hear noises around you whether it’s a bicycle or your name called to notify you your morning coffee’s ready. You can switch between immersive audio that’ll provide some noise-cancelling capabilities and they’re waterproof to help prevent rain or dirt from damaging the acoustics.The wireless earbuds have been ranked a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon for open-ear headphones with reviewers praising the long battery life (up to 7.5 hours of play time!) and comfort.
Bose’s official campaign video was creative-directed by Lacy and aims to show just how “powerful” the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds can be. It follows the “Dark Red” singer as he’s taking a walk while listening to music. Along his journey, he completes good deeds within his community using his superhuman strength, which he obtains whenever he’s wearing his Bose earbuds.
Check above to watch the official campaign for Steve Lacy x Bose, premiering exclusively on Billboard.
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Source: Ivan Pantic / Getty / Black Twitter
Unsurprisingly, there is a documentary about Black Twitter, but actual Black Twitter, or Black X, should we call it that? Nah, we’re going to stick with the original name, is on the skeptical side about who is involved.
The docuseries from former Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny coming to Hulu is not even out yet. Still, a trailer for it is being met with an enormous amount of skepticism due to the people who will be involved and speaking about the influential and popular subsection of Twitter, now unfortunately known as X, thanks to Elon Musk.
According to a press release. The series will take its cues from Jason Parham’s 2021 Wired cover story, “A People’s History of Black Twitter,” and “charts the rise, movements, voices, and memes that made Black Twitter an influential and dominant force in nearly every aspect of American political and cultural life.”
To help break down Twitter subsection’s rise to popularity and eventually carry the social media platform on its back will be Roxane Gay, Jemele Hill, Sam Jay, Amanda Seales, Kid Fury, April Reign, Raquel Willis, Apple Music’s LowKey, Chris Foxx aka @FoxxFiles, and more.
The Reactions To The Black Twitter Docuseries Are Already Pouring In
Therein lies the issue: many feel many people are being left out in this docuseries and are giving it the mean side-eye.
One X user wrote, “The real meat and potatoes of Black Twitter is everyday people. Not B-list Black celebrities and pseudo intellectual Talking Heads.”
Fair.
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Another user on X pointed out just how crazy this debate is, writing in the post, “Black Twitter arguing over whether that Black Twitter documentary is gonna include all the right people and topics, is the most Black Twitter thing ever.”
Prentice Penny also got involved in the debate, adding: “I’d like to think after 20 years of holding the culture down, y’all would trust I got #blacktwitterhulu best interest in mind. But lowkey, I also love black Twitter mad hesitant and petty ’bout it, too! LOL!”
When this documentary arrives on Hulu on Thursday, May 9, it seems likely that there will be a lot of hate-watching and live tweeting.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Damn, that’s how y’all feel?
2. The video, lol
3. She’s right
4. Good chance they are going to be hate-watching
5. Always late to the party.
6. Very accurate
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Source: Anna Moneymaker / Getty / TikTok
Content creators might want to start working on their Instagram Reels skills after the GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill that could end TikTok’s run in the United States.
In a rare act of bipartisanship, the House agreed on a measure calling for TikTok’s owner, the Chinese-owned company ByteDance, to divest the TikTok app or risk a US ban.
The bill passed with an eye-opening 352-65 vote and one member voting present, but it still faces uncertainty when it reaches the Senate.
Per CNBC:
The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was introduced March 5 by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Two days later, House members on the Energy and CommerceCommittee voted unanimously to approve the bill, which refers to TikTok as a threat to national security because it is controlled by a foreign adversary.
The bill now heads to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future as senators appear divided about the legislation, and other federal and state-led efforts to ban TikTok have stalled.
TikTok Repsonds To The Bill Passing The Senate
As expected, the folks at TikTok were not happy about the developments.
“This process was secret, and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban,” a spokesperson for TikTok said after the vote was passed. “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”
President Joe Biden has already expressed that he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk. Ironically, President Biden has an official TikTok account that his administration created in February as part of his re-election campaign.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration would provide “technical support” in crafting the bill and noted in a March 6 briefing, “It’s on legal standing, and it’s in a place where it can get out of Congress, then the President would sign it.”
The House claims the bill “does not ban TikTok” and demands ByteDance to divest from TikTok within 6 months” “to remain available in the United States.”
If the bill passes its final hurdle and gets Biden’s signature, Apple, Google, and other internet-hosting companies can no longer support TikTok or any other ByteDance apps.
Donald Trump Thinks He’s Slick
While most lawmakers agree that TikTok threatens the country’s national security, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump feels otherwise.
In an interview with CNBC, he claims that getting rid of TikTok would only make Facebook and Instagram’s owner Meta more powerful.
“Without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people,” Trump claims.
His comments are hypocritical because, in 2020, he signed an executive order banning TikTok and WeChat “transactions” and eventually giving his approval of a $10 billion and $30 billion acquisition involving Microsoft that eventually fell through.
The Biden Administration would revoke his executive orders.
Content Creators Are BIG MAD
Content Creators are BIG MAD about the ruling and were present at Capitol Hill to let lawmakers know that this ban will affect their livelihoods.
Social media is also reacting to the news, and can’t believe the only thing lawmakers can agree on is that allowing a company possibly owned by the Chinese communist party company access to your data is bad, while other pressing issues like the minimum wage, “border crisis,” inflation, which is cooling, but still high in some areas due to various reasons, health care remains unsolved.
Remember that the GOP controls the House of Representatives and decides what bills come to the floor.
Just saying.
Anyway, TikTok has even reached out to its followers in anticipation of the bill passing the House.
We shall see if the Senate agrees with the House on the matter; there is no guarantee that this will happen.
You can see more reactions to TikTok’s possible banning below.
2. Howling
3. Fair question. But lets direct this question to the Republicans in the House who think thoughts and prayers are effective gun control measures.
4. They can always bring the content to Instagram Reels
5. Damn, we are doomed.
6. The TikTok debate has been going on since 2020. So we can’t say this accurate.
7. We’re not opposed to Trump being banned.
8. He is singing a different tune, so maybe they already did.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Messy and tangled cords create an eyesore, but they’re essential for keeping our commuter gadgets and appliances powered. If you can’t […]
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Source: Spotify / Spotify Music Videos Feature
Spotify is finally getting a feature it should have had: the ability to instantly watch music videos.
Today, Spotify announced that its music video feature is rolling out in “beta” and will feature a “limited catalog” in 11 markets.
As for the supported artists, Spotify users can see videos from Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, Ice Spice, Aluna, and Asake. Per Techcrunch, the company’s global head of consumer experience, Sten Garmark, says that users can expect Spotify’s entire music video catalog to include “thousands” of songs.
Per Spotify:
“So many times in my own experience and for countless others, music videos play a key role in hooking you: taking you from being a listener to leaning in and becoming a fan,” says Charlie Hellman, Vice President and Head of Music Product at Spotify. “They’re an important part of so many artists’ tool kits, and it’s a natural fit for them to live in the same place that more than half a billion people choose to listen to music.”
Users can access the music videos by hitting the “Switch to Video” icon above the song title for the songs supported by the feature.
When you hit the icon, the track will restart, and the video will appear in the center of the screen. You can flip your Android or iOS device to switch the aspect ratio to full screen.
The feature will also be available on desktop and the Spotify smart TV app, and it is currently live in the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya.
Genmark says those markets specifically chosen were “based on a number of criteria, including market size and the availability of local content support.”
LONDON — Sweeping new laws regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe, including controls around the use of copyrighted music, have been approved by the European Parliament, following fierce lobbying from both the tech and music communities.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act by a clear majority of 523 votes for, 46 against and 49 abstentions. The “world first” legislation, which was first proposed in April 2021 and covers a wide range of AI applications including biometric surveillance and predictive policing, was provisionally approved in December, but Wednesday’s vote formally establishes its passage into law.
The act places a number of legal and transparency obligations on tech companies and AI developers operating in Europe, including those working in the creative sector and music business. Among them is the core requirement that companies using generative AI or foundation AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude 2 provide detailed summaries of any copyrighted works, including music, that they have used to train their systems.
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Significantly, the law’s transparency provisions apply regardless of when or where in the world a tech company scraped its data from. For instance, even if an AI developer scraped copyrighted music and/or trained its systems in a non-EU country — or bought data sets from outside the 27-member state — as soon as they are used or made available in Europe the company is required to make publicly available a “sufficiently detailed summary” of all copyright protected music it has used to create AI works.
There is also a requirement that any training data sets used in generative AI music or audio-visual works are water marked, so there is a traceable path for rights holders to track and block the illegal use of their catalog.
In addition, content created by AI, as opposed to human works, must be clearly labeled as such, while tech companies have to ensure that their systems cannot be used to generate illegal and infringing content.
Large tech companies who break the rules – which govern all applications of AI inside the 27-member block of EU countries, including so-called “high risk” uses — will face fines of up to €35 million or 7% of global annual turnover. Start-up businesses or smaller tech operations will receive proportionate financial punishments.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s vote, which took place in Strasbourg, co-rapporteur Brando Benifei said the legislation means that “unacceptable AI practices will be banned in Europe and the rights of workers and citizens will be protected.”
Co-rapporteur Dragos Tudorache called the AI Act “a starting point for a new model of governance built around technology.”
European legislators first proposed introducing regulation of artificial intelligence in 2021, although it was the subsequent launch of ChatGPT — followed by the high-profile release of “Heart on My Sleeve,” a track that featured AI-powered imitations of vocals by Drake and The Weeknd, last April — that made many music executives sit up and pay closer attention to the technology’s potential impact on the record business.
In response, lobbyists stepped up their efforts to convince lawmakers to add transparency provisions around the use of music in AI – a move which was fiercely opposed by the technology industry, which argued that tougher regulations would put European AI developers at a competitive disadvantage.
Now that the AI Act has been approved by the European Parliament, the legislation will undergo a number of procedural rubber-stamping stages before it is published in the EU’s Official Journal — most likely in late April or early May — with its regulations coming into force 20 days after that.
There are, however, tiered exceptions for tech companies to comply with its terms and some of its provisions are not fully applicable for up to two-years after its enactment. (The rules governing existing generative AI models commence after 12 months, although any new generative AI companies or models entering the European market after the Act has come into force have to immediately comply with its regulations).
In response to Wednesday’s vote, a coalition of European creative and copyright organizations, including global recorded-music trade body IFPI and international music publishing trade group ICMP, issued a joint statement thanking regulators and MEPs for the “essential role they have played in supporting creators and rightsholders.”
“While these obligations provide a first step for rightsholders to enforce their rights, we call on the European Parliament to continue to support the development of responsible and sustainable AI by ensuring that these important rules are put into practice in a meaningful and effective way,” said the 18 signatories, which also included European independent labels trade association IMPALA, European Authors Society GESAC and CISAC, the international trade organization for copyright collecting societies.
When 21-year-old singer ericdoa released the song “ >one” last March, he had an unusual collaborator: Valorant. That’s not another artist; it’s a popular shooter game that attracted millions of players in February. Riot Games, the company behind Valorant, used “ >one” — which references the game in its lyrics — in a trailer that introduced a playable character named Gekko. The track is now ericdoa’s second-most-popular song on Spotify, with over 36 million streams.
“That was a huge spiritual win,” says Maria Egan, global head of music and events for Riot Games. “Can we do that over and over again?” she asks. “How do we unlock our platform and other gaming platforms to be the new place that new artists can find audiences?”
It’s a question often asked in the music business as well. In recent years, the industry has struggled to find reliable ways to ensure that its songs reach a wide listenership. The gaming community is massive, youthful and interested in music — in other words, an ideal target for labels. Yet there have been few notable recent instances of games helping new artists break through or driving music discovery on a mass scale.
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“Like music, gaming is global and has significant cultural relevance, but scalability at this intersection is still a challenge,” says Geoff Sawyer, an agent in gaming and esports at UTA. “Players and revenue are scattered across an endless web of product categories and consumer affinities, and not all in one big bucket. While there are incredibly cool, bespoke integrations happening between games and musicians, the music industry would need to upend its licensing model to truly achieve scale in this category.”
In truth, gaming does not need more labels’ music to thrive — the gaming industry earned around $184 billion in 2023, dwarfing music (around $26 billion, according to the IFPI). As one prominent music tech executive puts it, “the business model for games doesn’t need to support music.”
And even within the popular games that foreground music, space remains highly competitive. “There are still a limited amount of slots in FC, a limited amount of slots in NBA 2K,” says Steve Schnur, president of music for Electronic Arts (EA).
The music industry would presumably benefit if there were more games with more slots for its songs. But gaming executives say the opaque licensing system makes this unlikely. “Every time I speak to a games publisher, they’ve always got at least one horror story about trying to navigate music rights,” says Ben Sumner, managing director at Feel for Music, which helps games and brands with music supervision.
One recording may have multiple master owners and writers, each of which could work with a different publishing company, and gaming companies have to get everyone’s approval. Vickie Nauman, who has licensed music for many games in addition to founding the music-tech consultancy CrossBorderWorks, once had to get 143 agreements complete to clear 20 songs.
This may simply take too long for a game’s timeline, explains Gavin Johnson, director of sync and partnerships at the electronic music label Monstercat. “Typically a game developer is creating content that’s quarterly or bi-weekly or even weekly,” he says, especially in the world of “live services games,” which are free to play and dynamic, updated on the fly to rejuvenate player interest and maintain consistent engagement. (Several of the most popular games of 2023 — as measured by monthly active users — were live service games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Minecraft.)
In addition, the music industry usually requires large upfront payments to license songs. “Incorporating music is often an experiment for games, and they don’t want to pay millions of dollars for an experiment,” says Alex Tarrand, co-founder and COO of STYNGR, a company that offers games precleared music.
Between multiple rights holders impacting timelines and steep up-front fees, many game developers find it far easier and more fiscally prudent to commission music in-house. “If anything creates more cost in ways that aren’t really driving what a game is going after, they tend to think, ‘We probably shouldn’t be spending time and resources on that,’” gaming consultant Toa Dunn says.
Tarrand’s company STYNGR is working to reduce the friction between gaming and music companies by putting blanket licenses in place with all the major labels and publishers so game developers can come to STYNGR and pull music into their titles. Instead of paying STYNGR upfront, developers cut revenue-sharing deals.
Another company, Game Over, takes a very different approach, targeting gamers who watch live-streams on Twitch or enjoy gameplay montage videos on YouTube or Instagram. This allows them to sidestep the industry “arm-wrestling match” around rights altogether, according to partner Zach Katz. Labels are “still in the mindset that winning in the gaming space is tied to interacting with the [gaming] platforms,” Katz says. In his view, that’s “a mistake.” “The victory is ultimately to get the gaming audiences” and serve them music, which can be done in other places where gamers congregate.
Still, executives in both music and gaming dream of more in-game opportunities. “Licensing needs to be made easier and more scalable for games so that it’s not only huge franchises that can do it,” says BandLab CEO Meng Ru Kuok.
“What I’m hoping to do is create a dialogue where we can understand that, although synch relationships bear enormous amount of fruit, they still are limiting us,” Schnur adds. “Let’s take a look at what the term ‘synch’ means and what it should mean going forward.” He acknowledges, however, that music rights holders may be content with the current system — and wary that any calls for change could disguise a campaign to undervalue music.
For now, many creative ideas to bring more music into gaming “are just not coming to market,” Nauman says, “because of rights issues.”
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Source: Hangar 13 / 2K / TopSpin 2K25
2K continues to build its sports video game library. The video game publishing company is looking for an ace with TopSpin 2K25.
It’s been several years, 13 years to be exact, since Hangar 13 released 2011’s TopSpin 4 on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii consoles.
Flash forward to 2024, and 2K is resurrecting the franchise and adding its signature flare to the famed tennis video game franchise with TopSpin 2K25.
I had the opportunity to get hands-on with TopSpin 2K25 while visiting Palm Springs, which also happens to be the home of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
I didn’t know what to expect, especially since I had never played a TopSpin game. My only video game tennis experience came from SEGA’s Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast in 2000.
Yeah, I know, don’t judge me.
After my 2 hour experience, I walked away with plenty of thoughts.
The 2K Presentation Is Very Present
Source: Hangar 13 / 2K / TopSpin 2K25
Hangar 13 linking up 2K is very evident the moment you look at this game. It screams 2K’s touch thanks to the on-point presentation, beautiful arenas, and, of course, gorgeous and damn near life-like player models.
We saw several arenas during our demo, including Indian Wells and Arthur Ashe Stadium. As expected with any 2K Sports game, the attention to detail is on point.
Hangar 13 fully utilizes next-generation consoles and PCs to bring the arenas, crowds, and players to life while delivering authentic tennis action in video game form.
You will notice everything from how the players move on the different court surfaces to their grunts when hitting the ball, the crowd reactions, and even their signature celebrations.
TopSpin 2K25 isn’t as visually impressive as the NBA 2K series, but in its simplicity, there is still something to marvel at, and it still has that signature touch we expect from a 2K Sports game.
TopSpin 2K25 Is Fun & Challenging
Source: Hangar 13 / 2K / TopSpin 2K25
During the preview, of course, before I hopped on the court with any of the pros, I went to school to learn the ABCs of the game with the legend John McEnroe serving as my instructor.
Once I was done with training, I started with a singles match; of course, I picked Serena Williams and faced off against Steffi Graf.
From the onset of the match, I was getting my ass handed to me, quickly going down two sets. This was on the normal difficulty. But once I got into a flow, I did mount an incredible comeback, something Serena would do in real life, and it was pretty rewarding to walk away with the victory after it looked like the computer had my number.
For my next match, I decided to bump the difficulty up to the hard setting, this time running with Coco Gauff and facing Serena Williams, and it wasn’t close.
On hard, you almost have to be a picture of perfection, making sure every return hits the green on the NBA 2K-like shot meter that tells you if your swing is either bad, good, or perfect.
It’s not disheartening on the harder difficulties. Instead, it makes you want to step your game up.
I also played a doubles match, and those matches are very challenging and much harder to win, being that you’re playing with a controlled teammate. It was fun to see the small volley back and forth that took place at the net while also being sure to stay vigilant because the ball can come your way.
I didn’t win the two doubles matches I tried, and I would have gone for a third, but my time ran out. I definitely wanted to run it back to get a W because it was so much fun.
The Controls Are Buttery Smooth
Source: Hangar 13 / 2K / TopSpin 2K25
As far as controls, TopSpin 2K25 looks as good as it feels. I’ll even go as far as to say the game feels more responsive than the latest NBA 2K video game.
You never feel like you don’t fully control your player. Navigating the court, running toward the ball, and returning shots all feel buttery smooth.
The real question is, how does that feel when you play the game online? NBA 2K can be a miserable experience when lag is introduced. I imagine the same can be said if you’re playing in a TopSpin match and your opponent’s connection is causing some severe lag, leading to annoying input delays.
But we’ll have to wait until the game drops to get that question answered.
Game, Set, Match?
Source: Hangar 13 / 2K / Top Spin 2K25
Based on the small sample size I experienced, TopSpin 2K25 looks like it’s back and better than ever. It seems to be checking all the boxes for what a next-gen tennis video game should look and feel like.
During our preview, we saw a signature MyPLAYER feature and a mode allowing you to take your amateur to tennis greatness and become a Grand Slam champion in the MyCAREER mode.
For those who would rather play the game with established tennis greats, TopSpin 2K25 boasts an impressive roster featuring tennis legends like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Steffi Graf, and Andre Agassi.
You can also play as current stars like Francis Tiafoe, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Świątek, and others. Hangar 13 boasts a roster of 24 superstars available.
TopSpin 2K25 features four editions of the game: Standard Edition, Standard Cross-Gen Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Grand Slam Edition.
Source: Hangar 13 / 2K / Top Spin 2K25
The Standard Edition and Standard Cross-Gen Edition launch Friday, April 26, 2024; Deluxe and Grand Slam Edition owners get three days of early access.
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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Corbyn Besson has entered his solo career with the release of his first single “Love Me Better,” which offers just a hint of what’s to come. Getting those crisp, quality sounds don’t require a professional studio though. According to the former Why Don’t We member, an at-home studio can capture professional-quality audio if you have the right equipment like studio headphones and tech similar to podcast equipment.
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“You can go jot [songs] down professionally and kind of get the hardest part of creating your idea out of the way very quickly, which is really nice and you have access to it 24 hours a day,” Besson tells Billboard.
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Plus, he adds if you have a spur-of-the-moment idea, then you can go straight to your in-house studio and put it down rather than have to wait until you can get into a professional studio.
To help you create your own quality at-home studio, the “What Am I” singer broke down how to set up your own home studio, tips on getting started and what to expect from this new chapter in his music career.
What Are the Best At-Home Studio Equipment?
Building your own at-home studio will most likely be different for everyone, Besson says.
“Music equipment is expensive,” he says. “It’s crazy, I’ve been discovering that a lot more lately after building our home studio and me and my boys have been just really trying to budget and make sure that we need these pieces.”
If you’re looking for the absolute necessities, the pop singer recommends six pieces of at-home recording equipment that he deems are absolutely essential below.
Amazon
Shure SM7B Dynamic Vocal Microphone
$399
$399.99
The Shure SM7B microphone has gained not only Besson’s stamp of approval, but pop singer LÉON as well for its quality, versatility and handheld design that allows you to take it basically anywhere. “People use it for podcasting, live streaming, but it’s also a really amazing demo microphone — and it’s handheld, so you can walk around with it,” he explains. “You can be super casual with it, so if you do need to record a finished vocal or even a guitar or really anything, the SM7B is very processable. I’ve gotten some really great recordings out of that microphone.”
Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor
$398.99
$572.00
30% off
$398.99
The singer also believes a good pair of monitors to be “super important because you want to be able to hear what you’re doing.”He personally uses the Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitors, which is eight inches and comes with an eight inch cone woofer to help prevent sound distortion and has a power consumption of 60 watts. It’s also been labeled as an Amazon Choice for studio audio monitors by Yamaha.
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen Audio Interface
An absolute non-negotiator is to include an audio interface. If you’re new, then the Scarlett interface is very entry level, according to Besson. “The interface is super important because you plug the microphone, the computer and the monitor speakers into it, and it becomes the hub for all of your audio controlling,” he explains. “Without it, you have nothing to plug the microphone into or the speakers into, so you can’t do anything.”
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)
$199
$249
20% off
$199
$249
20% off
Not looking to splurge on speakers? Besson suggests investing in a pair of quality headphones as it’s important for listening to any audio your record. He personally uses AirPods, but also advises you should playback your audio on a variety of listening devices like computer speakers, headphones and monitor speakers to get a fell for how it sounds out of various music players. “When I finish a song, I listen on my AirPods, I listen on my [AirPod Max], I listen to my car, I listen on my regular phone speakers, I do a listen on just my computer speakers and then I listen on my monitor speakers,” he says. “It just gives you a lot of perspective on how your song is going to sound to a wide variety of listeners. And if it sounds good on all of those, then you’re in business.”
Fender Squier Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Sunburst Bundle
Aspiring singers, according to the “Let Me Down Easy” singer should also consider picking up an instrument. Besson has been playing the acoustic guitar as well as dabbling in a nylon string guitar to test out sounds and melodies. Beginners can take advantage of this guitar bundle by Fender that includes a guitar, carrying strap, guitar picks and a tuner to kickstart their instrument learning. “I start most of my tracks on the guitar, I like playing acoustic, but I’ve just started experimenting a little bit more with nylon string guitars because they have a little bit of a different flavor, and they’re pretty cool.”
Apple 2023 MacBook Pro
$1,399
$1,599
13% off
Investing in a computer is also a must-have for Besson as that’s where song files and mixing lives. In his opinion, a MacBook is easier for iPhone users to send and transfer files with ease. “I think the MacBooks are just super powerful and super easy, especially if you have an iPhone,” he says. “My favorite thing about working on a Mac with the iPhone is how easy it is to sync files and final bounces and final masters of stuff. I save all of my songs in my files app, and it’s all synced to my iCloud, so if I save something on my computer I can leave, go get in my car, and it’s already on my phone. I can go listen to my car, and I don’t have to do anything else. I think with PCs sometimes it gets dicey because you got to email yourself links.”
What At-Home Recording Equipment Is Worth the Splurge?
If you’re looking to really spend money on one piece of equipment, the “Fallin’” singer has two tech essentials he would recommend picking from.
“Having a powerful computer really makes it easy to create without having to worry about your computer exploding,” says Besson. “The second, for singers, is investing in a great microphone. A great microphone can make all the difference in the world for a singer, because recording is all about confidence, and if your microphone sounds great, and if you think you sound great coming through that microphone, it makes your performance so much easier.”
Where Is the Best Place to Set Up An At-Home Studio?
Besson emphasizes that anyone can set up their own studio even if you live in a small space. The
“I’ve set up studio equipment on kitchen tables, I’ve set up studio equipment on the kitchen island, I’ve set up on an outdoor pool table,” he explains. “Really anywhere that your laptop can fit because nowadays, what’s really cool about just music creation software and just technology in general is companies are doing their best to make creating music easy. We live in a time where, as musicians, we’re very lucky to have the technology that we do because a long time ago, it was not possible and it was very expensive. Nowadays, you can make really great music for pretty cheap, which is really cool.”
Any Tips for Beginners Just Starting Out?
The biggest piece of advice the singer has for both aspiring and more experienced artists is to not take your in-studio moments too seriously.
“I think the more that I create, and especially now as I create from a much more personal place than I had in [Why Don’t We], is it can be very easy to get lost in the moment,” he says. “And if lyrics aren’t coming to your mind or if you’re singing a bunch of melodies, but none of them really feel good, it can be really easy to kind of fall into this, like, ‘oh my gosh, am I even good at music? Should I keep doing this? Do I suck?’ I’ve had this kind of philosophy for a long time, and it’s that no idea is a bad idea. In my experience, some of the objectively worst ideas have turned into some of the best ideas, because you just never know what you might say or think or sing into the room.”
Who Are Your Biggest Music Inspirations Right Now?
As a pop singer, Besson has a mix of current and classic artists that continue to influence and inspire his music.
“I’ve always listened to Justin Bieber. He was, like, my biggest inspiration growing up,” he says. It’s like, how do I be that guy? I listen to a lot of Post Malone — huge influence, he’s amazing. Then I’ve been listening to some more R&B music to kind of find what’s popping these days and what people are making that’s new. The new Justin Timberlake records are really cool. Been listening to some Ne-Yo classics, even some Troye Sivon — and then SZA is one of my favorites forever. She’s just so incredibly good, it’s ridiculous.”
How Does It Feel to Have Your First Solo Single Out & What Can Fans Expect Next?
“I’ve had [‘Love Me Better’] in my vault for almost two years, so it’s just been sitting there and I’ve been waiting for the people to hear it,” Besson says. “It’s been a little nerve wracking because the project I’m building now is much more personal to me than really any of the Why Don’t We stuff was. When you’re in a group, you’re storytelling from a different perspective. It’s very tailored to be like, you’re the boy band and you’re writing love songs for your girlfriends. Although we did write from personal experience a lot, it’s just a different perspective. Now being solo and writing from a place that’s 100% just me, my opinion, my stories, my words, there’s a vulnerability to it that I hadn’t experienced in music before.”
And in terms of new music, the “Just Friends” singer teases fans can expect his songs to express his maturity as an artist and person as he shares his real-life experiences.
“There will be some love stories, there will be some stuff about feeling the pressure of the world,” he says. “I really want people to feel good when they listen to my music. A lot of this stuff is pretty positive and happy and just fun. It’s going to feel a little more mature than some of the stuff that the group had done in the past. I’m working on a couple of moments to tug on the heartstrings and also just tell the truth about growing up and feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders and trying to figure it out. I think a lot of my fans, and even the group’s fans, have gone through a lot in the last seven, eight years.”
For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best portable recording booths, best speakers and the best over-ear headphones.
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / TikTok
TikTok’s run in the US over? The social media platform is trying its best to remain on smartphones in the States, but the US Government is working really hard to end its stranglehold on social media content creators.
Spotted on The Verge, TikTok is relying on its users to contact their local congress members as a bill calling for the app’s ban gains support in Congress.
The social media platform sent out a push notification warning users about the ban, claiming the government is trying to strip their constitutional rights from them.
Per The Verge:
TikTok sent users in the US a push notification on Wednesday, warning that “Congress is planning a total ban of TikTok” that would “[strip] 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.”
The page says that a ban would “damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deny artists an audience.” The alert includes a way for users to find their representative and call their office.
The notification comes shortly after the White House expressed support for a bipartisan bill directed at TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
The bill — called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — is in response to the perceived national security risks of TikTok, particularly around how the company collects user data.
The bill would require that TikTok break off from ByteDance or risk being removed from app stores in the US.
The Irony
The White House’s support for the bill is ironic due to President Biden’s presence on the platform under the handle @BidenHQ.
Congress has been trying for years to ban the app, with some states successfully banning the app from government devices, and Montana became the first state to ban it successfully.
A judge put a halt on the ban, which is the subject of numerous court challenges. If the government is successful in passing the ban, the American Civil Liberties Union is already pointing out that it will be a violation of the First Amendment.
TikTok has been having a rough year, with UMG (Universal Music Group) pulling music off the platform after both entities did not extend their licensing agreement.
It sounds like TikTok is in danger. There’s always Instagram Reels. Just saying.
