MUSICIAN'S HOTEL ARRIVES TO SXSW!
The Musician's Hotel at this year's South by Southwest music conference in Austin will be held March 16 to 18, 2005, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Austin Hilton, fourth floor. Sponsored by Mackie, Shure and Guitar Center, the Musician's Hotel will provide musicians with hands-on access to the some of the hottest music-making equipment via product demos, workshops, performances and Q&A sessions with leading producers and engineers. Brought to you by Mix, Electronic Musician and Remix magazines, the industry's music production authorities. Free admission for registered SXSW attendees! Visit www.musicianshotel.com for more info.

Audiotools v5.0
Unrelated Inventions launched Audiotools 5.0, the latest version of the Windows software for audio recording and audio file conversion and manipulation. MORE

Cakewalk Project5(tm) Version 2 Performance Workstation
Cakewalk has announced the Project5 Version 2 performance workstation. The next-generation of the Project5 open studio environment features a streamlined design, optimized for immediacy for both studio and stage. MORE

Mackie Tracktion 2
Mackie has announced Tracktion 2, the first major update to its recording and MIDI production software. The new update, dubbed T2, adds several new capabilities while still maintaining the core feature set of the original Tracktion, such as full VST instrument and plug-in support, import and export compatibility with all major audio file formats, and cross-platform Mac and PC compatibility. MORE

Megatrax Indie Rock
Megatrax Production Music has announced the release of its newest original CD production, Indie Rock. Described as "an adrenaline-fueled frenzy of garage, punk and indie rock styles," Indie Rock was produced by Pinch, drummer of The Damned, and recorded at Mouse House recording studio in Altadena, Calif. MORE

Unitonic Aurora Version 1.5
Unitonic announced the release of Aurora Version 1.5, an update to its Pro Tools|HD Accel TDM synth package that expands the sonic possibilities of its advanced synthesis architecture and adds intelligent macros for quick edits to patches. MORE

S.F. Recording Academy Chapter Hosts Hot Grammy Week Events
Though not nearly as celebrity-packed as Los Angeles last week, the San Francisco Chapter of the Recording Academy kicked off its own successful series of events during the recent Grammy week. MORE

Cakewalk Issues x64 Benefits Whitepaper
Ron Kuper, Cakewalk's VP of engineering, has authored an extensive white paper entitled "Benefits of x64 for Audio Workstations." MORE

Alliance Atlantis Chooses Grace m902s
Alliance Atlantis, Toronto-based broadcaster, creator and international distributor of filmed entertainment content, has taken delivery of 11 Grace Design m902 reference headphone amplifier/monitor controllers. MORE

NSAI Presents Songwriters Symposium
The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) will present Songwriter's Symposium 2005, held April 8 and 9, 2005, at the Millennium Maxwell House hotel in Nashville. MORE

Disc Makers Partners With Sonicbids to Offer Free EPKs
Disc Makers is partnering with Sonicbids to provide customers with free access to Sonicbids' Web-based electronic press kits and network of promoters, contest organizers and booking agents. MORE

Test Your Music, Audio Knowledge With Shure's Trivia Contest
Shure has launched the Shure Incorporated 80th Anniversary Trivia Contest, which gives rock 'n' roll and Shure company history experts a chance to win products from Shure, Tascam, Allen & Heath, Onstage, HOSA and Martin. MORE

Saatchi & Saatchi Takes a Bite Out of Crime
Joy Behar, comedian and co-host of ABC's The View, and veteran "adman"/voice-over talent Jack Keil collaborated with McHale Barone (www.mcbone.com) director Joe Barone on a package of National Crime Prevention Council/Ad Council radio PSAs featuring McGruff, the crime-fighting dog. MORE

Ant Music Creates Soundtrack for European Mini-Series
Ant Music, a New York City-based multimedia music house, recently completed work on the soundtrack for a new European/Canadian television mini-series, D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers, scheduled to air in France, Germany, Spain and Italy this month. MORE

Garbage Gets Smart for New Album
Garbage's longtime engineer, Billy Bush, recently wrapped up the band's latest album, Bleed Like Me, which hit the U.S. April 12. The group recorded at Smart Studios, co-owned by Garbage member/producer Butch Vig, located in Madison, Wis. MORE

Beck's Bassist Acquires Mackie Onyx for Home Studio
Justin Meldal-Johnsen has seen a lot of travel in the past decade or so, but he's slowing to a lower gear, at least temporarily. As a member of Beck's band, he's accompanied the artist on several world tours, as well as projects with artists including Tori Amos, Garbage, Marianne Faithful, Air, Nelly Furtado, Courtney Love, Nikki Costa and his current project, Ima Robot. MORE