Support and discussion for all of Akai’s modern standalone MPCs including the MPC X / X SE, MPC Live 1, 2 & 3, MPC One / One+, MPC Key 37/61.
By Certified Beatz Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:31 pm
Ultros wrote:
MPC-Tutor wrote:It’s not mpc influencers, it’s anyone, from any industry, who is putting out one sided, positive-only gushing ‘reviews’ because they got sent some free gear. Who thinks these people speak with any authority when they seem happy to just say whatever will keep the gravy train rolling?


lol like that scott storch guy... i think akai thinks if they partner with rap people it will influence their primary market to buy more and they are likely right.

I dont mean this to be rude at all but, most north americans arent as savy when it comes to music/midi gear (not like europeans) but i would bet they are the primary demographic.

I just assume its all advetising fluff and ignore it.



I can't disagree with you because I would have to do a ton of research to know what producer is from what country.. I will say Scott storch is a keyboardist and self trained pianist.. he got his big break with the roots who is a hiphop band.. but he has done alot of work in different genres...
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By Monotremata Wed Apr 05, 2023 10:30 pm
Certified Beatz wrote:I can't disagree with you because I would have to do a ton of research to know what producer is from what country.. I will say Scott storch is a keyboardist and self trained pianist.. he got his big break with the roots who is a hiphop band.. but he has done alot of work in different genres...


I wish they would've hired a wardrobe artist so we didnt have to stare at his perpetual 'Im a gaudy douchebag' look he's got going on in all their adds hah.

Every time I see his face, I see Nien Numb from Return of the Jedi. The fish faced dude that was Lando's co-pilot in the Death Star battle..
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By Ultros Wed Apr 05, 2023 10:41 pm
I should tread lightly word gets around next thing you know scott storch is knockin me out. "are you the fish dude you think its funny?" *smack smack*
By Avasopht Thu Apr 06, 2023 4:18 am
Komatos Records wrote:The mere fact that in interviews after the accusation and lawsuit, which he won because he had deeper pockets than a bunch of little-known musicians from Finland, was that he was like "I'm famous, and I can do whatever I want. Who gives a **** about some nobodies from a foreign country." What a disgusting, unrepentant attitude from somebody who's as rich and famous as he supposedly is. Before he used that "Acid Jazzed Evening" SID sequence in Nelly Furtado's song, he also sold it as a ringtone. Talk about milking the same stolen beat for multiple revenue streams. :roll:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbaland ... ontroversy


That's one way of interpreting what he meant, but it doesn't really sound like what he meant.

Again, we have a tendency to interpret people's words we don't agree with in the most bizarre ways. A huge chunk of forum arguments arise from the way what's written was interpreted. And then you have pages of back and forth of "no, I'm not saying this or that". The other person will quote them and say, "well if you're saying this then that also means that".

He was effectively saying:
1. Obviously I made an honest mistake.
2. It's so obvious because I don't actually need to steal a sample like this.
3. Like, I could just hire session musicians (which he actually does do now).
4. I just came across the sequence and used it. I'm pretty sure it came from a game.

It's a huge leap to go from what he said to what is effectively this:
1. I have a pathological need to steal a sample (even though I can just as easily hire musicians to make stuff like this in the studio for far less than it costs to steal it).
2. So to carry out my master plan I looked for nobodies in a foreign country.
3. And then I came across this video game sample. I looked it up, it was by a nobody from a foreign country.

It's a stretch. He genuinely does not need to seek out nobodies from a foreign country to rip off. There's absolutely no gain whatsoever.

What he does now, funnily enough, is hiring "nobodies" to make these types of "samples" (and also to interpolate his vocalized melodies).

And that is what he was getting at. He felt the depiction was a far stretch and openly admitted to using samples. So the idea he would need to secretly and maliciously seek to conspire to silently steal is absurd. There's no motive or gain.

And it's the same case with the way some people have misinterpreted what he said.

It's a peculiar quirk of how our minds work.
By Avasopht Thu Apr 06, 2023 4:30 am
Ultros wrote:
MPC-Tutor wrote:It’s not mpc influencers, it’s anyone, from any industry, who is putting out one sided, positive-only gushing ‘reviews’ because they got sent some free gear. Who thinks these people speak with any authority when they seem happy to just say whatever will keep the gravy train rolling?


lol like that scott storch guy... i think akai thinks if they partner with rap people it will influence their primary market to buy more and they are likely right.

I dont mean this to be rude at all but, most north americans arent as savy when it comes to music/midi gear (not like europeans) but i would bet they are the primary demographic.

I just assume its all advetising fluff and ignore it.


Hmm ... maybe ... but at the same time, sometimes people need to believe that this is all they need to make the music they hear.

People can end up spending all their money chasing the top "quality" sounds and gear because they assume the stars are using something more special than they have. And sometimes that is true, because some of them went around the world making their own recordings.

Sometimes that extra punch in a Teddy Riley beat is a recording he made on a portable recorder while on holiday. Could just be the sound of an old book that dropped on the table while he was trying to record something else.

I'm not sure if Europe is more savvy or if they just adopted the use of synth-heavy music earlier than the rest of the world.
By johnnytravels Thu Apr 06, 2023 7:35 am
While Storch’s beats are mostly not my cup of tea, I would really hope that we would not have to start body shaming people here for their looks.
Storch to me seems like a genuine guy who btw also had Akai gear in Videos way predating any sponsorship.
He may look douchy, but so do the Beastie Boys sometimes. And hey, he’s a douchy looking guy who’s played with The Roots.

Also, if the topic is influencers (people who make ads seem like personal content) the Storch is not part of that group since what he does is plain advertising (which is another matter).
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By Ultros Thu Apr 06, 2023 10:15 am
I am no prize myself. I am a 130 lb skeletor looking dude. lol, of course they can advertise and what not but it doesn't mean we gotta like it or even not make fun of it a little.

Yeah europeans just adopted it sooner but it put their music scene ahead of us by over a decade.
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By Neurone Thu Apr 06, 2023 10:18 am
Who the **** is Timbaland?
By Komatos Records Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:38 pm
[quote="Avasopht"][quote="Komatos Records"]
The mere fact that in interviews after the accusation and lawsuit, which he won because he had deeper pockets than a bunch of little-known musicians from Finland, was that he was like "I'm famous, and I can do whatever I want. Who gives a **** about some nobodies from a foreign country." What a disgusting, unrepentant attitude from somebody who's as rich and famous as he supposedly is. Before he used that "Acid Jazzed Evening" SID sequence in Nelly Furtado's song, he also sold it as a ringtone. Talk about milking the same stolen beat for multiple revenue streams. :roll:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbaland ... ontroversy[/quote]

That's one way of interpreting what he meant, but it doesn't really sound like what he meant.

Again, we have a tendency to interpret people's words we don't agree with in the most bizarre ways. A huge chunk of forum arguments arise from the way what's written was interpreted. And then you have pages of back and forth of "no, I'm not saying [i]this[/i] or [i]that[/i]". The other person will quote them and say, "well if you're saying [i]this[/i] then that also means [i]that[/i]".

He was effectively saying:
1. Obviously I made an honest mistake.
2. It's so obvious because I don't actually need to steal a sample like this.
3. Like, I could just hire session musicians (which he actually does do now).
4. I just came across the sequence and used it. I'm pretty sure it came from a game.

It's a huge leap to go from what he said to what is effectively this:
1. I have a pathological need to steal a sample (even though I can just as easily hire musicians to make stuff like this in the studio for far less than it costs to steal it).
2. So to carry out my master plan I looked for nobodies in a foreign country.
3. And then I came across this video game sample. I looked it up, it was by a nobody from a foreign country.

It's a stretch. He genuinely does not need to seek out nobodies from a foreign country to rip off. There's absolutely no gain whatsoever.

What he does now, funnily enough, is hiring "nobodies" to make these types of "samples" (and also to interpolate his vocalized melodies).

And that is what he was getting at. He felt the depiction was a far stretch and openly admitted to using samples. So the idea he would need to secretly and maliciously seek to conspire to silently steal is absurd. There's no motive or gain.

And it's the same case with the way some people have misinterpreted what he said.

It's a peculiar quirk of how our minds work.[/quote]

Did you even bother to read the whole Wikipedia article? The guy is a total douche. Thinks he’s above the law and that the rules don’t apply to him.

And I quote “It makes me laugh. The part I don't understand, the dude is trying to act like I went to his house and took it from his computer. I don't know him from a can of paint. I'm 15 years deep. That's how you attack a king? You attack moi? Come on, man. You got to come correct. You the laughing stock. People are like, "You can't be serious."[21]”

How do you misinterpret that? He’s obviously so full of himself that his followers also think he’s God’s gift to mankind. Kinda like Trump or any other major politician.
By Avasopht Thu Apr 06, 2023 8:08 pm
Komatos Records wrote:Did you even bother to read the whole Wikipedia article? The guy is a total douche. Thinks he’s above the law and that the rules don’t apply to him.

Yes, I've read the full article.


Komatos Records wrote:How do you misinterpret that? He’s obviously so full of himself that his followers also think he’s God’s gift to mankind. Kinda like Trump or any other major politician.

It's very easy.

Have you never been misinterpreted before? Had people arguing with you because they were convinced you were saying one thing that you know for certain has nothing to do with what you said?

He neither said nor implied that he used the sample because he "thought he could get away with it."

The rest of the quote where he talks about how he came across it suggests the exact opposite of what you've interpreted since he actually was not so sure/correct about the source of the sample. That contradicts the narrative of him purposefully seeking out unknown artists. Also the context of his comment was a response to the idea he secretly plagiarized the music. In his response, he openly admits to using samples. He doesn't deny using it at all. And again, he was responding to an accusation of plagiarism so he was using a little hyperbole to stress the point.

If you study psychology and cognition you learn how easily and why we frequently misinterpret what has been said. We're largely perceptually blind to it - especially since we rarely bother to question our interpretations. It's too much hard work. We unconsciously disambiguate based on our preconceptions.

For him to believe he "could get away with it because they're nobodies from abroad" requires at least two of the following to be true:
1. That nobody ever would notice.
2. That if noticed, he would definitely win in court.
3. That there would be absolutely no legal repercussions.
4. That this narrative makes sense in his head.

But the idea is bizarre. There's a very low chance he would think he could sample music and it go unnoticed.

And then bearing in mind the source, it's more than plausible it was just seen as a PGM/arpeggio as part of a usable sound library.

We tend to reach a point of certainty over the inner thoughts of others that far exceed the extent of our knowledge. It's a quirk that plays out far to often.

I can't tell you how many times people have been 100% certain they understand my motives and they are off by a country mile. And they'll argue back and forth with me that they know what my "true" intentions are.

Especially since we know for certain that it would be trivial for him to just get musicians to make stuff like this (which is what he does now).

Usually, this stuff is handled during the clearing process. But I'm guessing it was overlooked because it sounds like something that would have come from a synth with an arpeggiator, otherwise the label would have started asking questions about the source of the sample.
By Komatos Records Thu Apr 06, 2023 8:13 pm
At this point we’re just arguing/discussing language/interpretation semantics. I can’t respect anyone (musician or otherwise) who feel they’re better than others and that society’s rules don’t apply to them because of their fame/wealth/political status.

Whether he deliberately meant to plagiarize or not isn’t the point. It’s the mere fact he did. From what I heard he didn’t even find the beat himself. One of his underlings who work for him did. Still should’ve manned up, admitted the mistake, paid the original composer performance rights, and moved on.

What he did basically amounts to what would happen if I took one of y’all’s beats or songs and claimed I wrote it.

My last word on this matter.