Adoption of AI Technology in the Music Mixing Workflow: An Investigation

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the music industry is driving a significant change in the way music is being composed, produced and mixed. This study investigates the current state of AI in the mixing workflows and its adoption by different user groups. Through semi-structured interviews, a questionnaire-based study, and analyzing web forums, the study confirms three user groups comprising amateurs, pro-ams, and professionals. Our findings show that while AI mixing tools can simplify the process and provide decent results for amateurs, pro-ams seek precise control and customization options, while professionals desire control and customization options in addition to assistive and collaborative technologies. The study provides strategies for designing effective AI mixing tools for different user groups and outlines future directions

Audio Mastering as a Musical Competency

In this dissertation, I demonstrate that audio mastering is a musical competency by elucidating the most significant, and clearly audible, facets of this competence. In fact, the mastering process impacts traditionally valued musical aspects of records, such as timbre and dynamics. By applying the emerging creative scholarship method used within the field of music production studies, this dissertation will aid scholars seeking to hear and understand audio mastering by elucidating its core practices as musical endeavours. And, in so doing, I hope to enable increased clarity and accuracy in future scholarly discussions on the topic of audio mastering, as well as the end product of the mastering process: records. Audio mastering produces a so-called master of a record, that is, a finished version of a record optimized for duplication and distribution via available formats (i.e, vinyl LP, audio cassette, compact disc, mp3, wav, and so on). This musical process plays a crucial role in determining how records finally sound, and it is not, as is so often inferred in research, the sole concern of a few technicians working in isolated rooms at a record label\u27s corporate headquarters. In fact, as Mark Cousins and Russ Hepworth-Sawyer (2013: 2) explain, nowadays “all musicians and engineers, to a lesser or greater extent, have to actively engage in the mastering process.” Thus, this dissertation clarifies the creative nature of audio mastering through an investigation of how mastering engineers hear records, and how they use technology to achieve the sonic goals they conceptualize

Art in motion

The world of electronic publishing changes quickly, and CD-ROM is the latest technology. Many electronic publishers are getting involved in what is called CD-ROM publishing (also called Optical publishing). CD-ROM means Compact-Disc Read Only Memory. CD-ROM publishing changes the way information is presented, searched, retrieved, and distributed. Electronic publishing takes on a whole new identity with CD-ROMs. The computer screen now replaces hard copy as the viewing medium. This is why CD-ROMs are called the new CD-ROMs allow the user to deal with dynamic and moving images in lieu of static ones. The technology promotes the fact that CD-ROM applications are fun and entertaining ways to learn as well as allowing interaction with the user. Some CD-ROM products already on the market include children\u27s books, reference books, and adventure games. CD-ROMs also offer users of the desktop many advantages including high storage capacity, permanency, and easy accessibility to data. However, the biggest disadvantage to CD-ROM is its slow seek time and data transfer rate. This thesis project is comprised of two parts. The first part involves the creation of a CD-ROM application. In this case, it is a poster book. The poster book was designed to give the impression of motion within the pages. Some of the hardware and software utilized in the implementation of the poster book include QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and the Macintosh Quadra 700. Using Kodak\u27s Writable CD-ROM hardware and software, the poster book\u27s digital file was then written to a CD-ROM disc. The second part of this thesis project involves the development of a reference guide. The reference guide explains the basic steps on how to create a CD-ROM application. It is designed to serve desktop users and novices to CD-ROM technology. Most resources that were available were too complex for any beginner to comprehend in completing their CD-ROM projects. The Reference Guide to CD-ROM Technology covers the fol lowing topics: data collection, text preparation, image preparation, sound preparation, disc origination, data submission guidelines, disc production, and data protection. The last chapter of the reference guide provides a list of CD-ROM manufacturers that can be consulted for more in-depth information on CD-ROMs. Upon completion of this thesis project, a questionnaire was used in evaluating the CD-ROM application, Art in Motion. The viewers were asked to compare the CD-ROM version to the printed version. The results were then summarized at the end of the study