Three pins, and nearly every signal in this business passes through them.

The magazine is named after the cable: the microphone in the booth, the line to the desk, the DMX run that fires the lights. Studio, stage and rig share the same cable. Most magazines pick one of the three. This one covers all of it, because the people we read do too — the engineer mixing a record on Tuesday is on front of house by Saturday.

Around a hundred and sixty sources, in English, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Chinese and Italian: makers and their release notes, reviewers who put a hand on the thing, studios and touring crews, the producers and collectives surfacing this month and the scenes they came out of. Synths and modular, plugins and DAWs, guitars and drums, microphones, monitors, PA and lighting. What the trade is talking about is counted and plotted. The editor's letter has just started; it will find its rhythm.

For each story: a headline, a short excerpt, one picture and the link out. We never reprint the article, and the picture belongs to the maker or the photographer. A German review appears in German and a Japanese one in Japanese, as the writer published it; the link goes to the original.

Nothing is sold on this site. When a link leads to a shop, it is the maker's shop, not ours.

← XLR MAG Archive

Ari's TakeIndustry

How This Indie Publishing Company Got Over 100 #1 Hits

10.28

Listen on your favorite podcast platform: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Acast This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Chris Farren, Grammy-nominated songwriter and founder of…

Read at Ari's Take ↗

One letter a week, starting soon.

Latest

How This Indie Publishing Company Got Over 100 #1 Hits

More from Ari's Take on XLR MAG

IndustryBest Music Distribution Companies in 2026 – Full Comparison Chart Ari's Take

IndustryHow the Major Labels Use AI Fans To Market Music Ari's Take

IndustryIs Mogul Music Royalty Accounting and Auditing Platform Worth It? (My Full Review) Ari's Take

IndustryHow To Build An Independent Artist Career From The Ground Up Ari's Take

IndustryHow Deezer is Approaching AI Music And Payments Ari's Take

IndustryHow This Classical Piano/Cello Duo Built a Sustainable Career For Their Family Ari's Take