Label debate
NO Logo?
With record distributors going bust and digital distribution – free or otherwise - seemingly unstoppable, what does the future hold for record labels? We assembled some key scene players for a heated debate...
T
imes are a-changing, people. Big time. The constant evolution of - and revolutions in technology over the last decade have sent colossal waves throughout the music industry, changing the way we think about, use and buy music. For some time it has been something of a gradual curve, and industry players - as long as they’ve had the necessary foresight - have been able to keep up. But now the pace is stepping up, stepping up something proper and the dance fraternity is feeling the effects of its venomous surge more than ever. With digital increasingly rampant, and file-sharing and piracy preying on all and sundry, the industry is currently in a state of
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flux. Recently we witnessed two of the biggest ‘waves’ of recent years. First up was the news that Amato - the distributors of our generation - were going into liquidation. Anyone with a toe even lightly dipping into the scene would have somewhere, somehow felt the wrath of this action. The second major wave was the decision by Omid 16B to release his third artist album – ‘Like 3 Ears and 1 Eye’ – as a covermount CD on DJmag. A first for dance music and very real proof that people are looking closely into new ways of launching and promoting their music. So with all of these scary - some would say exciting - developments hitting our beloved scene, we thought now would be the perfect time to investigate a little further. And what
better way to uncover just what the future holds for record labels than to get some of the scene’s key players round a table, ply them with booze, get them to introduce themselves and thrash it out… DJmag: How has the value of music and file-sharing affected record labels and is vinyl really on its last legs? Omid: “With mp3s you just download them straight into your computer, but with vinyl you make more of an effort to give it a go, you give it more time, you give it more care. The whole relationship with that piece of vinyl is completely different.” Serge: “Yeah, but that’s just our generation. A kid growing up now won’t understand the relationship with vinyl in the way we do.” Omid: “Maybe we’ve got to re-think how we did it in the first place. Nobody really wants to promote records anymore because they know it’ll be all over the net.” Serge: “Yeah, in about four weeks.” Omid: “I really don’t have a problem with digital as long as the music’s been mastered. As long as there is care taken in the production side of things. But when it’s just put through an LT and it’s on the site within 24 hours…” Martin: “Music is now a lot cheaper and
www.djmag.com 22/1/08 13:11:36