How do you feel about digital distribution?

[Dustin Zahn]

Sure its a very popular topic right now. I've been getting a few offers lately from companies to start distributing parts of our catalog online. I know a few producers and label owners are on here and I am curious to see if you're willing to try it out.

The way I see it is I might as well try it out and see how well it works. If it doesn't work out, its just a few tracks that didn't make any money (wait, thats pretty much all techno these days! :lol: ).

I know of you DJs out there don't have the resources or maybe even desire to get into tools such as CD players or Final Scratch...but hell, there might be a market out there. I don't really see it as hurting my label right now...this whole scene can't get hurt much more than it already is.

What are your thoughts? I'm not looking for a debate so much as far as whether this will be the future or not. I'm just curious to see if anyone else is willing to give it a shot for shits and giggles.

[Bughead]

I honestly think that it will not take off as long as you have P2P filesharing web groups and the like what the point in paying for something when you can get it for free... You just have to look at Soulseek and see how popular they are to see this is the case. Now I'm not an advocate of this type of copyright theft but to the broader internet public this appeals. I think things like Final Scratch and this http://europe.hercules.com/showpage....mp;b=0&f=1 are useful in a liveset up but will never replace vinyl or cd but I suppose there will be a niche market for these type of things.

Its a good way to promo your stuff but as a replacement I believe people want to actually hold vinyl or cd when in a club environment.

Dez

[Tony]

some friendsof mine from new york are working closely with lots of labels and apple to stock up peoples ipods to keep everyone up to date. i thought this was a fairly crazy idea, but it seems to be working for them. you just have to have the balls i guess. if you dont try it you'll never know.

[DJAmok]

how can I sign up for it?? love the idea

[messyfuture]

i would be up for it
i think artists could reach a slightly bigger audience than thay maybe do at the moment
it would also maybe get alot more peoples music out as well.
I have tracks that labels have expressed intrest in but they may never be released because of distribution problems.
go for it man

[Bughead]

This is a great idea but what about copyright?, not wanting to rain down on this but what would be stopping people ripping your tunes and then trying to pass them on as their own?
I know of two protection methods but they are costly ( smcd and digital watermarking music) but for the average person the cost of this to do is huge and well outside the means of most of us.

And now with http://www.mp3.com shutting up shop and the RIAA lawsuits they are dishing out to everyone I reckon things will get harder but people like Apple ( IPOD) and some respects Microsoft are going the right way about it, charging a small fee so you music can be downloaded but I dont know if they would want to take the route of techno ( basically it boils down to a numbers game at the end of the day) so
yes, great idea, gets the music out there to a greater potential market but you will have to protect yourself bigtime.

peace love and happiness y'all

Dez

[Dustin Zahn]

Yeah, here's how I see it. The whole MP3 venture could never be expected to replace vinyl/cd whatever...you also couldn't depend on it to run your business either. In my case, I would use the mp3 "label" to release stuff that is slightly more obscure or experimental. These tracks would be stuff that normally wouldn't be released onto vinyl anyway. This way, you wouldn't expect much back in return, money-wise. It would be one of those things that you just put it out mostly for people to enjoy, but maybe the whole $80us you make back would pay your cable bill for the month or something.

As long as P2P is around (which it will never go away)...this system will really not work. But like I said, I never planned on being a "get rich" system anyway. Even if a new mp3 standard is made with mp3s that only play on one computer...someone will record the audio with outboard equipment, and loop it back into their computer and re-encode it as an mp3 everyone can listen to.

The digital music format is really dead before it even recieves its 15 minutes of fame. I think it would be a fun promotion though, and who knows...if you make a few dollars off of it I guess you can't complain.

[jonnyspeed]

Online distribution of MP3 is good for getting your stuff known but rubbish for making any money out of it. Then again every producer I know that's done commercial CDs has never made a penny because every label either just fu.cked off into the mist or just said there was no money after marketing and distribution.

You can put DRM on Windows Media but that sucks donkeys cock and is easily cracked.

Imagine if something like TrustTheDJ was sold in MP3 it would be on Kazaa in minutes... damn, wrong again it was anyway.

Fu.ck it, gotta be worth a try if you ain't making money anyway.

[Dustin Zahn]

how can I sign up for it?? love the idea

pm me or email me, I can set you up with someone if you want.

Fu.ck it, gotta be worth a try if you ain't making money anyway.

That's kind of what I am thinking...we'll see.

[1992]

Vinyl isn't going to be the standard forever but it will be remembered in new hardware like table top CD players and devices like final scratch.

In the future you won't be buying records but rather CDs, or some form of digital storage which will have songs on it. You may also be able to download digital files from the labels themselves for a fee. (Hopefully not mp3s because they don't have the audio quality that I'm after).

Records are not a very good medium for music because they ware out but they are very good for mixing as you will all agree. Well the technology is already here which can let you mix like you have a record but with digital files. It won't be long before this technology becomes more refined and cheaper.

:clap:

[Dustin Zahn]

The only reason I still use vinyl is because its very easy to manipulate the song because the record plays at such a slow pace. I don't give a shit about preserving the past. Preserving the past costs too much, strains my back, is too much to carry, makes airport officials think I have a bomb in my bag, and makes my parents laugh that I would actually still play records. I'm down for new mediums, but vinyl I like best for the manipulation factor. Those newer CD decks are getting close, but they're not tight enough yet. :lol:

[tomaz]

Hi guys. I think the digital shops that are around for the moment are great. Just take a look at Beatport.com or Trax2burn.com
They might not (yet) have what you're looking for but ore and more labels are signing up as we speak. Doesn't mean that vinyl will become obsolete. I'm still buying my weekly dose of the black gold, but it's great to have an online source where I can download tracks one by one. Tracks that are good to play for now, but that you probably won't be playing anymore in two or three years. Before you wouldn't buy a record with just the one good track. Now I can get just that one track.
Also, I even bought digital copies of records I already have, simply because it's taking me too much time to encode things myself for my FS. I'm prepares to pay an extra buck to have that MP3 file without any hassle.
Will this save the 'industry'? Of course not. The industry can only save itself. P2P sharing will never go away. There have always been pirates ans there always will be. It's up to the industry to make the music cheaper again and make it more attractive for the buyer to get a full product (sleeve / artwork / etc...) instead of a blank cd with MP3's.
Some people will never go back to paying for their music, but some will. I hope ;)

[jake]

disko-tek.com is another new one set to open soon

[MARKEG]

Check this new thing - should solve everything:

Music Industry Unveils Piracy-Proof Format

Music bosses have unveiled a revolutionary new recording format that
they hope will help win the war on illegal file sharing which is
thought to be costing the industry billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Nicknamed the Record, the new format takes the form of a black, vinyl
disc measuring 12 inches in diameter, which must be played on a
specially designed turntable.

"We can state with absolute certainty that no computer in the world can
access the data on this disc," said spokesman Brett Campbell. "We are
also confident that no-one is going to be able to produce pirate copies
in this format without going to a lot of trouble. This is without doubt
the best anti-piracy invention the music industry has ever seen." As
part of the invention's rigorous testing process, the designers gave
some discs to a group of teenage computer experts who regularly use
file swapping software and who admit to pirating music CDs.

Despite several days of trying, none of them were able to hack into the
disc's code or access any of the music files contained within it. "It's
like, really big and stiff," says Doug Flamboise, one of the testers.
"I couldn't get it into any of my drives. I mean, what format is it? Is
it, like from France of something?"

In the new format, raw audio data in the form of music is encoded by
physically etching grooves onto the vinyl disc. The sound is this
translated into variations on the disc's surface in a process that
industry insiders are describing as completely revolutionary and
stunningly clever.

To decode the data stored on the disc, the listener must use a special
player which contains a stylus that runs along the grooves on the
record surface, reading the indentation and transferring the movements
back into audio that can be fed through loudspeakers.

Even Shawn Fanning, the man who invented Napster, admits the new format
will make file swapping much more difficult, "I've never seen anything
like this," he told reporters. "How does it work?"

As rumors that a Taiwanese company has been secretly developing a 12
inch wide turntable-driven, stylus-based system (firewire drive remains
unconfirmed) it would appear that the music industry may, at last have
found the the pirate proof format it has long been searching for...

[spiralx]

ROFLMAO! :clap: