Take Beatport, probably the most respected mp3-shop brand in the whole club music industry. Partners with Native Instruments - one of THE music software makers of planet Earth -, promoted by highly credible artists like Richie Hawtin, better linked to digital DJ tools like Final Scratch/ Traktor Scratch/ Traktor than any other platform - and now this:

In a very revealing article about his review work for Beatport, the creator of Test Industries tells us the story of his ever declining relationship with Beatport. Not only was he asked to work for free to begin with, but also to only send in positive reviews. As if this wasn’t enough, he finally got the offer to sell (out) his blog entirely to Beatport - without mentioning the word “Sale” at all of course, since the price involved would have meant “gift” rather than a business transaction.

All this we find incredible and completely impertinent, thus totally inacceptable!

So much about the “we are the good guys” mantra of the “independent” music industry. Obviously these people haven’t learned a bit from the PR and business desasters of the major companies. Marketing is all about building (justified) trust and business about serving ones customers in an efficient, respectful and unbureaucratic way.
Not only is Beatport taking their customers for dumbheads (thus treating them very disrespectfully) in allowing only for “top” reviews, but also are they destroying any good faith and trust in the portal, thus destroying their very business model.

If any company is losing its passion for what it is doing and only becomes a “business model” it is dead indeed. Particularly in the so called creative businesses.

Result: I’ll buy my mp3s elsewhere - having hated the non standard Beatport interface and the sloppy tagging particularly with albums anyway.

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Always weird to see other people apprehend and (re-)interpret one’s very own creations. It can make them appear strange to oneself since their context has changed altogether. Fate of the “electronic/ club music” producer? Certainly! The more so on the web where a certain DJ Gnu (this guy who is one and many at the same time) often is not putting your music “in” its right place (clubbing), but “out” of it (listening).

So this said, we don’t like to deprive you of some of our Go Go Girls meeting some other folks (girls? hmmm…??) in two new mixes. Enjoy and share if you like what you hear.

The first one comes from the famous Italian Deep in Dub Posse, namely DJ Mitch - we’ve just come back from a holiday in Italy the day he posted the mix. What a nice coincidence since I didn’t even twitter about it. The mix is pretty much what the promo text says - “The third mix of a series dedicated to ” Beach House ” music, sounds warm and deep, you will dance throughout the summer 2008″. So yeah, we like the first class selection a lot (NO concealed self-praise meant;-). The mixing though has quite a, well, Italian charme to it - we just looove Italian laisser-aller, pasta and the greatest café in da world;-)): Beach House 2008 (Deepindub Mix).

The  second mix dates from March and comes from the Russian netlabel mag netlabels.ru - and you certainly can tell the difference. Here we go for a much more introverted view of things. Also for a broader one, musically speaking, since a very interesting and sometimes even weird selection makes this mix a worthwhile trip. So if you are in a rather melancholic or dreamy daringly spirit in spite or because of Europes spring that finally sprung (and the quasi absence of mixing) go for this one: Audiomania podcast: March 2008 Urban Pleasures Selection.

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Check this post on a German advertising blog about the what will cause the death of the music “industry”. Particularly go for the comments, it’s there where it get’s interesting.

PS: Alas fpr your english-only heads out there, it’s in German ;-). Peace

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