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Behind the Music: The Audio Engineer

February 14, 2023

The music industry is a place full of musicians, producers, and creators who have the magical ability to make those perfect sounds we hear everyday through our digital devices. We want to listen close

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Koji Kondo: Nintendo’s Melody Maestro

February 14, 2023

What do popular video games franchises Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, and Star Fox all have in common? They were all produced and published by Nintendo, and the iconic music themes that you hear in...

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Taylor Swift on Industry Sexism and Music Rights

February 8, 2023

Being a successful woman in the music industry is no easy feat. Not only do they deal with the typical trials and tribulations of being a musician, but there are also gender-specific challenges.

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What’s the Ideal Length for a Single— Are Songs Getting Shorter?

February 8, 2023

“Is it just me, or are songs getting shorter these days?” This is a question I have often pondered, especially in the last few years. It appears that in the era of social media, attention spans are

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SG Lewis: Who Is He - and What’s Next For This Rising Star?

February 6, 2023

SG Lewis (Samuel George Lewis) is a rising star in the dance/electronic music realm. He is a DJ/producer turned singer-songwriter, and is known for his disco-inspired, transcendent sound. He routinely

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Lessons to Learn From the Launch Of Sam Smith’s “Unholy”

February 4, 2023

Sam Smith just released their new album “Gloria” on the 27th of January. As described by Pitchfork, “Gloria flips between hyperpop, country, dancehall, disco, 2-step, and intimate, Kehlani-esque R&B”.

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Are Virtual Idols the Future of Music?

February 5, 2023

Virtual reality and the metaverse have become popular topics in the music industry where more and more technology and music have been combined, creating something that could revolutionize the entire

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Grammy Awards Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical: The Category Songwriters Deserve

February 5, 2023

The 65th annual GRAMMY Awards are here, and there's a long-awaited addition to the awards. This year marks the introduction of a new category: the Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical Award. For all

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How Zach Bryan’s Authenticity Makes His Music So Appealing, Even to Non-Country Fans

January 31, 2023

Zach Bryan released his first album in 2019, and in the short time since he has become one of the biggest names in country. His biggest album, “American Heartbreak”, broke single-day album streaming

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Miley Cyrus is Going to Take Over Pop in 2023

January 31, 2023

Miley Cyrus was born into the music industry, and has spent her career channelling her Nashville and Hollywood roots into a diverse discography stacked with hits. Add to that countless covers that are

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Why This Pop-Rock Band Got Hate For Starting On YouTube

January 31, 2023

Before the invention of TikTok, many music artists gained popularity through YouTube. However, similar to the TikTok stars of today, people in the music industry saw ‘YouTube bands’ as lesser because

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Will Google End Work for Music Creators with their New Music AI?

February 1, 2023

Google has done it. They have created an AI that can generate music from text descriptions. The announcement of this is timely because recently Chat GPT, (a language learning model created by OpenAI

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The New Era of SM Entertainment: The Debut of RIIZE

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Photo Source: Kpop Profiles

As K-pop continues to gain international recognition and success, partnerships continue between Korean and American labels. Alongside RCA Records in the States, SM Entertainment’s newest boy group, RIIZE, is showing enormous promise in the growing music market. The group’s name is a combination of two works: rise and realize to mean “a group that grows together to realize a dream”. The group consists of members Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Seunghan, Sohee, and Anton. 

On September 4, 2023, RIIZE made their debut with the single album, ‘Get A Guitar’, featuring two tracks, ‘Get A Guitar’ and ‘Memories’. ‘Get A Guitar’ strays away from SM’s venture into the world of synths with groups like NCT, and is instead a pop-centric song with a youthful vibe. As the name suggests, the song features a guitar hook, leading to a groovy and infectious beat. ‘Memories’ evokes nostalgia through a catchy guitar rhythm meshed with warm synth sounds. The track is a poetic ode to youth and the days filled with dreams and aspirations. Through RIIZE’s smooth harmonies and meaningful lyrics, the song conveys an immense sense of optimism. 

Since their debut, RIIZE has reached great success, including selling over a million copies of the album, ‘Get A Guitar’ in the first week. The group has already established themselves as a group with a distinct sound and incredible talents, providing an exciting portrayal of the future of Kpop.