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Notes on making things independently — process, craft, and how Workshop works.

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What is a plugin?

What is a plugin?

A plugin is a small piece of software that adds a new capability to another program. Instead of replacing the software you already use, a plugin works inside it or alongside it…

Michael Cygan · August 3, 2026

GarageBand-iPhone

How to use plugins in GarageBand

August 3, 2026

Tyler, The Creator is the blueprint for the modern independent artist

Tyler, The Creator is the blueprint for the modern independent artist

September 7, 2025

The Blog

Latest stories

Beyoncé’s Formation video and the inequality of climate impacts

Beyoncé’s Formation video and the inequality of climate impacts

In one of the most arresting images in pop culture in recent years, Beyoncé lies sprawled atop a New Orleans police cruiser as it slowly sinks beneath murky floodwaters.

Michael Cygan · May 22, 2025

Brockhampton, semiotics and the music industry

Michael Cygan · Jul 6, 2024

Brockhampton, semiotics and the music industry

AI generated music democratizes artistic expression

Michael Cygan · Mar 13, 2024

AI generated music democratizes artistic expression

Creativity is democracy

Michael Cygan · Mar 13, 2024

Creativity is democracy

Your favorite art and culture wouldn’t exist under authoritarianism

Michael Cygan · Mar 10, 2024

Your favorite art and culture wouldn’t exist under authoritarianism

In music, the gatekeepers are almost gone

Michael Cygan · Mar 9, 2024

In music, the gatekeepers are almost gone

More from the Blog

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Culture is larger than any single government

Michael Cygan · Dec 16, 2023

Culture is larger than any single government

It takes a village: creating a music scene

Michael Cygan · Dec 16, 2023

It takes a village: creating a music scene

Finding your creative process

Michael Cygan · Dec 16, 2023

Finding your creative process

Underground music as a metaphor for human emergence

Michael Cygan · Dec 16, 2023

Underground music as a metaphor for human emergence

How to communicate a political idea through art

Michael Cygan · Dec 10, 2023

How to communicate a political idea through art

Small changes can reverberate through an entire system

Michael Cygan · Dec 10, 2023

Small changes can reverberate through an entire system

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