The tech industry laid off more than 73,000 workers in the first four months of 2026. In a classroom inside a Hollywood recording studio, a 51-year-old hip-hop artist was teaching 75 college students how to build the AI agents that are replacing them. …
Spotify is expanding its DJ feature in beta to Premium users in over 75 markets and adding four new languages, French, so more listeners can make voice requests in their own language.
The latest version of Native Instruments’ Komplete music production bundle is here with 62 new additions, including the wonderfully weird Absynth 6. Komplete 26 comes in several flavors, starting with three $99 Select bundles: Beats, Band, and Electronic. Prices jump pretty steeply from there, with Standard costing $549, Ultimate costing $1,249, and the Collector’s Edition […]
The Telepathic Instruments Orchid has been unavailable for a few months now. But a new batch is ready to drop on May 11th for $649, and the company is celebrating with a limited edition clear Orchid: Arctic, which will cost slightly more: $699. The Orchid was designed in part with Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, […]
Spotify is launching a new verification program to combat spam, fakes, and AI. Some artists will now have a “Verified by Spotify” badge and a green checkmark on their profile, indicating that the company has confirmed a real person is behind the music and the profile. At least at launch, Spotify says that AI personas […]
Expressive E is making its Osmose MPE keyboard (comparatively) more affordable by ditching the synthesizer and making it a simple MIDI controller. The new Osmose CE comes in two sizes, 49 and 61 keys, for $999 and $1,199, respectively. Now, $999 is pretty expensive for a MIDI controller, but it’s far less than Osmose’s $1,799 […]
Taylor Swift has been at the center of AI imitation controversies for years, and now, she’s become the latest celebrity who’s escalating attempts to protect herself from AI copycats. As usual, however, the legal system intersects with technology in complicated ways – and Swift’s efforts may be a long shot. In trademark applications filed last […]
Spotify has half a billion listeners, a recommendation engine that knows your mood better than your therapist — and apparently, no real plan to tell you if what you’re hearing was made by a human or a chatbot on a Tuesday afternoon.
Before Coachella, Tomora wasn’t on my radar at all. It’s actually only by chance that I stumbled upon them – I opened the wrong stream because my TV was lagging like a MFer. I paused for a few moments, entranced by the two ethereal Nordic women banging on giant drums to a techno beat. I […]
This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the original iPod. With its monochrome display, mechanical scroll wheel, and 5 GB hard drive, Apple’s pioneering music player now looks like the […]