TECH
TOOLS
Digital music distributor CD Baby has partnered with automated
mastering platform CloudBounce to allow its users to instantly
master their tracks directly from the CD Baby dashboard. The service
costs $4.90 USD per track, making it accessible to artists who are
releasing singles rather than entire albums of material. A higher-res
file (like a 24-bit WAV or AIFF file) is uploaded onto a separate server
and, within minutes, the mastering process is complete. Artists can
then accept the final cut or tweak a number of settings to tailor the
results. CloudBounce’s mastering engine is designed to enhance the
overall balance, EQ, resonance control, and stereo imaging while
achieving professional loudness standards.
www.cloudbounce.com/cdbaby.
StayBillety, a Canada-based online accommodation service, has
partnered with the Unison Benevolent Fund, a Canadian music
industry non-profit. With StayBillety, guests traveling for concerts,
conferences, festivals, and other music-themed events can con-
nect with hosts who share their interests. The two organizations
say the partnership will help musicians and music fans connect
and support each other. As part of the partnership, a percentage
of each related StayBillety transaction directly supports the Unison
Benevolent Fund.
www.staybillety.com/unison.
74 C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
Music website platform Bandzoogle has added a new crowd-
funding template to its commission-free sales tools. The tem-
plate automatically populates a page with Bandzoogle’s built-in
features to help musicians easily launch a crowdfunding
campaign. Musicians can take album pre-orders, bundle digital
music with CDs or vinyl, and create custom merch bundles
and experiences. Artists can also have an intro video and keep
their fans updated with the built-in mailing list and blog tools.
Pledges through Bandzoogle are commission-free and the
website platform doesn’t touch the financial transaction; funds
from all pledges go directly into the artist’s account.
www.bandzoogle.com.
Headspace is a guided meditation app designed to alleviate
stress, increase focus, and help users sleep better. It offers a
free Basics course to learn the essentials of meditation. Sub-
scribers get bite-sized mini exercises for when they’re short
on time, exercises to add extra mindfulness to their day, and
hundreds of meditations – some as short as five minutes – on
everything from stress and sleep to focus and anxiety.
www.headspace.com.