Beat Box: More New Toys; Additional Notable Announcements From NAMM 2012

So over the weekend while everyone was paying attention to who the AFC and NFC champions came to be (here we go fellas….2008 flashback!) the NAMM conference was still in full throttle, touting a variety of product announcements and whatnot. Out of the seemingly endless array of them, here are a few I think are important and potential game-changers.

Nord Drum Synth

 
Next to the use of the iPad in the studio, I think one of the biggest “new” trends in audio production right now is the use of drum synthesizers. With second-hand Roland TR-808s and 909s requiring most people to re-finance their mortgages in order to purchase one, more affordable analog drum synths have become a blessing. Arturia’s Spark set the pace, at the reasonable price of $550. The Kong machine in Propellerhead’s Reason, introduced in 2010, also got the ball rolling on the software side of things. Nord has hopped aboard this bandwagon, releasing a Drum synth that works a little different than the Arturia.

You do not use pads to sequence the Nord Drum; instead you attach electronic drum pads that interface with the hardware via MIDI. The pads are not proprietary; they actually work with a variety of different brands. There are knobs on the Nord Drum to control the characteristics of the sound, including the standard ADSR modeling. You can program it to make the drums sound like a standard drum set, or you can do the opposite and make your kit synthetic and electronic sounding. All of this can be programmed in real time, and the Nord keeps track of your velocity for that “human” feel.

The Nord Drum ships March 1st at an estimated price of $499.

Numark 4TRAK

 
Integrated all-in-one DJ systems have been quite popular over the past two years, both on the Serato and the Traktor side. The vast majority include just two channels, but the people who take on-the-fly remixing and programming seriously demand more than just two. The Allen & Heath Xone:DX was the first all-in-one package to include four channels on for Serato’s Itch program; and on the Traktor side there is the Pioneer DDJ-T1. The newest member to join the family is the Numark 4TRAK for Traktor.

While the Numark boasts many of the same features the Pioner does, it appears that the 4TRAK has a slightly more intuitive layout for handling Traktor’s effects, via the FX Kommand Console at the top. Setting up loops also looks to be a bit easier on the 4TRAK as opposed to the DDJ-T1. Finally, the 4TRAK can also be used as a standalone mixer which receives signals from any standard audio device, such as a Turntable. It doesn’t require every channel to come from Traktor.  

The build quality looks pretty slick based on watching Numark’s official video where longtime New England DJ (and one of the alumni in our BBD Podcast Series) Frydae gives it the demo treatment! Metal, not plastic.

The 4TRAK is scheduled to ship at the end of march, with a street price of $1099. The actual price will probably end up being a tad less than the Pioneer.

Wave Machine Labs Auria for iPad

 
And here it is, folks: the second full-blown DAW designed especially for the iPad by a major developer. (Following Apple’s GarageBand from last year). Wave Machine Labs Auria for the iPad can handle 48 channels of audio (not MIDI, as of yet), instantly positioning itself as a powerful multi-track recorder. But the big *WOW* factor comes with the fact that this App supports VST plug-ins. Yes, on the iPad. Well, sort of. According to a recent article on MusicRadar, these plug-ins do not operate as stand-alone VST’s; they are in-app purchases inside Waves. 

But the writing is clearly on the wall either way: the iPad is about to become a serious studio tool for working with audio both in a recording studio, as well as remotely. The predictions many producers had about the tablet when it was first announced in early 2010 are coming to fruition.

Wave Machine also has several essential effects built right in: reverb, chorus, delay, and a pitch processer. And similar to the VST’s, additional filters to expand the native functionality of Waves can be purchased inside the App, both by Waves as well as third-party vendors.

Wave Machine will be available during the first quarter of 2012 for $50.

Now let’s guess when re-wiring becomes possible on the iPad, that way we can send MIDI channels to Wave Machine from GarageBand ;)

Beat Box: New Toys! An Objective Look At Day 1 of the NAMM Conference

January is a pretty uneventful and unexciting month for a lot of people. The holiday season is over, it’s too early for spring break, and if you live north of the Carolinas, it’s too cold to even get out of bed half the time. But the funny part about January is you can easily pick a music producer or DJ out of any crowd by the enthusiastic expression on their faces. Why them? Because they are counting down the days until the annual NAMM conference…AKA, the party where all the major gear manufacturers release new toys for them to buy.

2012’s NAMM kicked off in full gear today, and by that I really do mean 5th gear. Companies from Akai, to Fender, to Korg, Rane, Native Instruments and more all announced a ton of new products. Here’s a quick recap at some of the ones most relevant to readers of this site, along with a quick personal take on each:

AKAI MPC Renaissance Series

Akai is NEVER a stranger at NAMM. Their Ableton Performance Controller stole the show at the 2009 conference. However, the past few years have left die-hards wondering if they were ever going to update their aging MPC line of products. Akai did just that, although the newly-announced Renaissance and MPC Fly are no longer standalone beat-making machines anymore. They now come bundled with dedicated software and serve as MIDI controllers at different sizes. 

This is a very smart move on Akai’s end, as the last two years really saw them lose an edge in this space to Native Instruments’ Machine controller/software platform. Although I’m not keen on the specific differences between the two (details are vague for Akai’s line), Akai still maintains a dedicated market of hip hop and urban producers this is going to cater to.

And following in the footsteps of Apple’s Garageband and Korg’s Electribe, Akai has become the next major developer to jump into the iPad ring. I predicted last year it would only be a matter of time before the big dogs got on board with tablets; I expect Akai to be the first of many in 2012. Could Ableton be next? ;)

New Rane Serato Mixers & Control Vinyl

Big day for Rane today. They announced two 2-channel mixers: the sixty-one and sixty-two, both of which have complete Serato integration. What I instantly approve on the sixty-two is that it’s set up with TWO USB ports, allowing seamless transition from one DJ to the next in a club setting. Their four-channel sixty-eight mixer, along with the Pioneer Nexus mixer (the Traktor answer to the former), boast this feature as well. I think most mixers within the next few years will allow multiple laptop hook-up.

The sixty-two can also control a variety of different effects from Serato, most notably from the SP-6 sampler. Any fader not already assigned to something can control any parameter in Serato via MIDI. The sixty-one is no slouch either; although it doesn’t have as many buttons, it has a much cleaner layout and the same Rane build quality as its big brother. It appears the sixty-one’s fader is not replaceable, however. No price as of yet; expect both to be fairly steep though (as in, over $1500).

Oh yeah, Serato also released new-and-improved control vinyl today, with deeper grooves that result in playback 6db louder than standard pressings. Yes, you’ll pay extra for this, but these discs will also wear down less as well.

Native Instruments New-and-Improved Traktor

I obviously can’t mention Serato without mentioning Native Instruments. Going further into this decade, the two parties are going to manifest themselves into the new “Coke vs. Pepsi” rivalry. I think that Native Instruments is trying to position itself squarely towards DJ’s who want to remix and re-sequence music on the fly, where Serato is geared to traditional DJ’s who would rather cut and scratch, only using effects occasionally. In other words, a traditional DJ will feel more comfortable using Serato, and a traditional producer will feel more comfortable using Traktor.

The video above already has over a half-million views on YouTube. It shows the control surfaces Native Instruments is building into their hardware, while suggesting that Traktor is going to become more like Ableton. It will be easy to trigger loops and samples from multiple decks and remix on the fly. There is going to be a learning curve to all this, for sure. But those who are looking for creative control and going beyond just mixing are most likely going to be leaning towards Native Instruments in the future….that is, unless Ableton really comes out with a WOW improvement right away that sucks people back over to Bridge with Serato!

Korg Kaossilator 2

An update to Korg’s long-in-the-tooth miniaturized Kaoss pad was a tad overdue; the Kaossilator 2 is like a breath of fresh air to the series. It adds 50 programs to the 100 of the original, has far more extensive loop and overdub capabilities than the mere two bars the original could handle, and now has a microSD card reader so you aren’t required to RCA it out to a stereo or computer. The new Kaossilator is much smaller and it appears they’ve taken a lesson or two in ergonomics; the original version now looks and feels as clunky as a Sony Discman from 1991 in comparison.

Arturia Minibrute Analog Synth

Ever dream of finding an analog synthesizer that doesn’t cost thousands of dollars? At around $600, the brand new Arturia Minibrute could become a breaking point in affordable hardware that boasts vintage sound of hard-to-find (let alone afford) classic synths. The low price point has to do with the fact that it has only one oscillator. But the control you have over that one sound, coupled with the resulting sonic character, makes up for it. It has a USB port for full MIDI I/O, along with all the other things one would expect in a well-crafted synth: LFO’s, CV controls, an arpeggiator, swing control, you name it. Build quality looks pretty damn good to boot.

So that about does it for tonight folks. We’re just in the first day of this week-long conference. I can’t wait to see what some other companies have to bring to the table!

9 Predictions For Dance Music, DJ-ing & Audio Production in 2012 (#9: One Big SOPA Opera)

One Big SOPA Opera

Last year I was quite pleased with the fact many of my predictions for 2011 came true. This year I have one prediction that I’m not just hoping, but am PRAYING will NOT come to fruition: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Many readers may already be aware of this bill, proposed by the U.S. House several months ago and is currently standing on the floor of the Senate. In case you aren’t, SOPA in one sentence is designed to prevent both the sharing and distribution of any form of copyright material on the Internet. To put it quite frankly, SOPA is ultimately going to CENSOR the entire Internet.

SOPA’s isn’t designed merely to go after the biggest offenders of copyright violations, such as Torrent sites like ThePirateBay.com. It will also punish an individual for doing something as simple as sharing a YouTube  music video on a blog or with his/her friends on Facebook. Think the penalty is going to be a mere slap on the wrist? How about your site being de-listed from search engine rankings, your entire domain being blocked anywhere inside the country, or even JAIL TIME. SOPA has also been set up to enable specific sites to monitor all the activities of other sites, allowing them to take legal action for any offenses and given immunity from the bill itself for being a “Good Samaritan”.

The proponents of SOPA include the biggest labels, movie/TV studios, and publishers of traditional (i.e. print) media: ASCAP, Disney, ABC, EMI, ESPN, GoDaddy.com, Sony, Universal, and Viacom all top the list. If the bill passes, more power and wealth will shift directly to the executives of these powerful companies; the artists will see minimal financial benefit. It will put a damper on the few innovative engines America currently has left: the high-tech and social media industries. Record labels will have to splurge on traditional advertising costs because letting the fans do the talking by posting an artist’s music or video anywhere online will be illegal. 

These bloated companies like to point their finger at the pirates without even understanding the fact that times have changed and so have the distribution models. Customers are still willing to pay for a product they are able to conveniently access on-demand; this is why iTunes and Netflix are so successful. Not only will SOPA ultimately do very little to control piracy, but the real issue is the China-level censorship. Other countries will follow America’s example and impose similar restrictions, making the entire Internet a glorified television set with merely a restrictive set of channels.

With many of these large media behemoths financing the campaigns of the political powers that be, SOPA is going to be a BIG deal in 2012. For all parties behind the bill, it’s more a matter of power, control, and ego-fluffing than even the issue of copyright protection, in my opinion. Do not think for a second that electronic or other “underground” forms of music will be immune to SOPA. Earlier this year, the domain for hip hop blog Dajaz1.com, which shared the work of up-and-coming artists with their direct permission, was seized, its owner falselly accused of copyright infringement by federal authorities. If SOPA passes, thousands of blogs, including the one you are reading now, may be subjected to similar scrutiny.

What would happen if SOPA passed? A recent article on TechDirt discusses how some countries are developing plans to create decentralized satellite systems that will route suspect sites around being censored. And while censorship is a bigger issue than piracy, the latter will simply find another way to steal their copywritten work (like it or not). In the music scene, you may even see promotion will go back to the old days, where hard copies of music promos and DJ mixes start to flourish again. Possibly even fan-zines or other forms of independent print media. I’m willing to bet it will very much be a local movement, where the artists in one specific city start to work with each other as a group to re-build things from the ground up. As a friend of mine told me when we were recently discussing the bill, “the true innovators will always find a way to thrive, regardless of the setbacks”. It’s a pretty dire prediction, so let’s hope we don’t get thrown back into the 1980s with this bill.

I do NOT want to see the music community revert 20 years back in time, but I’m not going to rule out the possibility either. Keep in mind that it is not too late to voice your opinion to various representatives regarding SOPA. All it took was a single activist to start a mass exodus against GoDaddy, who decided to support the bill in late December. Tomorrow, a network of several THOUSAND websites will be shuttering their doors for the day, to demonstrate how the entire web can be affected by the bill. The senate’s modified version of the bill, PIPA, will be voted on once Congress resumes from holiday break on January 24th. I strongely urge all readers to get involved by visiting http://stopcensorship.org/ and sign the petition of PIPA/SOPA opponent Senator Wyden. Please share this link with your friends via Facebook and Twitter if you have a chance to. 

9 Predictions For Dance Music, DJ-ing & Audio Production in 2012 (#8: The Death of the Message Board)

The death of the message board

The writing has been on the wall for this prediction for quite some time…that wall being, of course, a Facebook wall. Message boards were once thriving municipalities, particularly during the pre-social media boom years between 2000 and 2005. Even during the early years of Myspace, boards enjoyed high traffic because group discussions were not yet possible there. World-wide dance boards like Tranceaddict, Resident Advisor, and Dogs on Acid directly put fans in the loop on cutting-edge artists, even allowing budding producers to network with established big-wigs in the industry. Local forums also kept the fingers of many a party goer on the pulse of events happening around town.

In 2012, almost all but the most active global forums (like the three listed above) have closed shop. At best, the most successful boards have flatlined in traffic these past few years. I believe there are a few reasons for this:

• Mobile browsing: Facebook and Twitter have been optimized for surfing on mobile devices and tablets. With smart phone traffic accelerating rapidly since 2009, it’s only natural that people have shifted towards these two services because they are easier to browse from a remote location. Convenience and easy access to information is a requirement in 2012.
• Promotions & spam: Visit any music message board and you will encounter the same scenario. A room littered with posts on local events, DJ mixes, and original songs…the vast majority of which have ZERO responses. In fact, the only posts that generate any buzz are ones from the people who were the most popular in that specific community. Facebook has become more convenient to promoters because they are only sharing events with interested people on their friends list (instead of people who may not care at all). Additionally, as a reader, you have the power to reduce the noise. You know that kid who posts his DJ mix 3 times a day? Disable his feed, end of story.
• Trolls: No board is complete without at least one troll! A major benefit of Twitter and Facebook is you can no longer hide behind the curtain of anonymity like you can on a message board (especially the largest ones). Because Facebook requires you to give them your real name and a valid email address, you can be held accountable for anything you say. Trolls didn’t prevent intelligent discussion on forums by any means, but I’ve noticed they are far less common on Facebook and Twitter. 

Nothing lasts forever, especially a website. In the interim, Facebook and Twitter are going to continue being the central platform for online discussion when it comes to dance music. All but the largest and most heavily-trafficked boards are on borrowed time right now.

Beat Box: Look Out Ableton...There's A New Kid On The Block. His Name Is Bitwig.

A short video was revealed yesterday by a company called Bitwig introducing a DAW they’ve apparently been spending some time working on: Bitwig Studio. Make no mistake about it: Bitwig Studio looks strangely similar (and a slightly better looking clone) to Ableton Live, both in terms of its general layout as well as the session grid versus arrange windows. This alone is going to generate a little bit of hype, especially considering the fact it’s been three years since the last version of Live was announced.

But then we get to the really interesting stuff. So it turns out the developers who founded Bitwig were apparently former engineers at Ableton. I’m not sure what sort of legal implications this means for both parties, but that out of the scope here. Bitwig capitalized on several gaping holes that have bugged Ableton Live users forever, including the following:

• Multitrack recording: This is a big one; while it is possible in Live, many have argued the way you have to set it up is counter-intuitive compared to other DAWs.
• Clip automation: In Live, you can only draw parameter envelopes in arrange mode. Bitwig allows you to do it in session mode as well; you just draw them in the clip launcher.
• Simultaneous multi-track editing: You can make edits to multiple tracks at once, instead of one at a time.
• Native 64-bit support: Live is still 32-bit native right now, although this will soon change-possibly even in an upcoming version of Live 8 (if they choose not to release version 9 this year)
• Native Linux support
• Multi-document and multi-monitor support: One of my biggest quirks with Live is you are only able to keep a single document open at one time, and it only supports one monitor. In Bitwig, you can not only do both, but can also have the session and arrange windows of a project open simultaneously, sitting side by side.
• Collaboration over networks: Bitwig allows users on a local network to work together on one project from multiple machines, which I think can be revolutionary in terms of workflow. 

Screenshot of Bitwig’s interface. Source: http://ohdratdigital.com/

Now I’m not suggesting by any means that Bitwig is going to be a “Live killer”. Ableton’s been around for more than a decade now, and have skin in the industry. They have support from a wide brush of producers and performers, and has more than proven its reliability in a demanding, live setting (the most important factor). 

What is good about Bitwig is that it will keep Ableton on their toes, to continue innovating and developing new ways of bringing ideas to life that haven’t even been thought of yet. Remember also that Bitwig is not the first program to “borrow” the session mode grid interface that Live helped pioneer. Cakewalk’s Sonar has a similar feature called “Groove Matrix” that has been part of their software for several years now. It would not surprise me to see apps like Logic or Cubase adopting some form of workflow involving clips in the future as well.

Very few details have been mentioned about Bitwig Studio other than the basics in this video, along with what is on their basic website. No mention about release date or price as of right now. But if this comes out and generates a bit of traction, we may be headed for an interesting couple of years in the DAW industry as the more-established camps try playing catch-up. Be sure to keep tabs with them for more updates.

9 Predictions For Dance Music, DJ-ing & Audio Production in 2012 (#7: Open Format Becomes THE Format)

Open format becomes THE format.

It amazes me how just a few years ago, very few DJ’s or producers worked outside the boundaries of a single sub-genre of electronic music. During the middle part of the last decade, forward-thinking artists like Diplo, Mehdi, DJ AM, and James Zabiela began caring more about the quality of a song, rather than the mold it came from. Not only were they able to seamlessly weave multiple genres into single sets, but the ones who also happened to own labels (such as Diplo’s Mad Decent) released music from a wide array of producers as well.

Thanks to the ubiquity of social media and the rapid sharing of new ideas online in dance, cross-pollination from one sonic to the next is no longer beyond the ordinary; it’s now the norm. Just look at the recent explosion of bass music in the past year: elements of juke, Bristol trip-hop, 1990s house, and experimental glitch are rubbing shoulders and creating something so organic that it changes by the month on the calendar. Or how about drum step: a new form of drum and bass that takes a closer look at the beat structure of dubstep, but at the former genre’s usual 175 beats per minute. 

What we are witnessing right now is an evolution in dance music that is changing with the rapidity that it was in the early 1990s. From a creative standpoint, this is a great thing. Producers are finally crafting sounds to stand out again, instead of going through the motions by overloading everyone with assembly-line music. Most producers who remain complacent and uncompromising will now get left behind, giving opportunity to a really good up-and-comer who is in the right place at the right time. The main disadvantage with this speed of evolution, however, is many songs will age faster as sounds change; just remember that the DJ’s I listed above seek quality first and foremost. “Styles” are secondary these days. 

As we race into 2012, expect to see a massive proliferation in styles like bass in the UK and moombahton in America. House music will continue to be alive and well; in fact I’ve already noticed a resurgence in long-dormant styles such as gospel and disco in several recent tracks. Also look out for the influence of juke and other niche genres to spread to larger genres like house.

Like it or not, dubstep is going to continue holding down FULL mainstream integration in America this year. I anticipate Skrillex becoming a household name, walking out of 2012 with at least one Grammy and several Billboard-charting songs….and PLENTY of heated Facebook and message board discussion about it. At the end of the day, he toys around with sounds ranging from house to trance, even jungle, so he lives up to this prediction as much as anyone else out there.

There will also be more critical listeners steering away from dubstep on both sides of the Atlantic (which honestly started as early as 2010), opting to move to sounds that merge techno, house, and dubstep together. Finally, drum and bass will probably continue taking cues from dubstep, as the roots of the rapidly-developing sound of drum step take a firm hold in the ground.

I think the collision of styles and possible emergence of new ones signal that 2012 is going to be a busy, ecclectic, and exciting year for dance music.

9 Predictions For Dance Music, DJ-ing & Audio Production in 2012 (#6: Shorter Songs)

Shorter Songs

DJ-ing is changing right in front of our eyes. The craft behind the mix has evolved more in the last three years than in the thirty that preceeded it, in my opinion. MP3’s became the medium of choice in the mid 2000’s, particularly once the recession kicked into full-gear and funds became tighter for everyone. Then we had the proliferation of digital control systems, with Serato, Ableton, Pioneer’s RekordBox and Traktor all fighting for their spots at the top of the heap. And now more DJ’s than ever before have at least a basic understanding of audio production and remixing. We’re witnessing the slow death of DJ’s playing music in linear fashion, from one song to the next, as more tools are enabling new forms of creative expression.

To coincide with all this, what I’ve noticed over the past 5 or 6 years is how much shorter the music itself is becoming. In the late 90s when I started buying drum and bass vinyl, many of the songs were cut at 33rpm and spanned anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes on the average. Obviously this was on a case-by-case basis, with many techno songs being shorter and trance even longer. But I’ve noticed a great deal of dance across all genres tightening up in both structure and length these past few years. Many drum and bass songs now clock in at around 4 or 5 minutes, some dubstep and house even shorter than that. Shorter passages and definitely more abbreviated breakdowns are now the name of the game. In this ADD culture, the rules of having to wow the listener in less than 30 seconds on the radio now apply with underground music, which DJ’s are starting to factor in on top of the technical advances.

With skilled DJ’s being able to remix songs on-the-go, a long-form composition comes across as un-necessary and even pretentious to some listeners. It’s not uncommon for a DJ to plow through thirty songs in an hour, although without opening up a whole different can of worms I’ll just state the focus of this article is not whether or not this is the right way to DJ. Fast mixing has become the norm, and artists now have to come with the expectation that listeners may only hear the first several minutes of their work in a club or on a mixtape. The “meat” of many songs now happens within the first two minutes, instead of building tension slowly and working to a much more dramatic crescendo later on. Now that some forms of dance are obtaining mainstream airplay, keeping the song short eliminates the arduous task of having to go back and make an even shorter radio edit later on.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the last few minutes of many songs included just a basic beat without the lead sounds or bassline, making it easy for a DJ to smoothly mix out to the next song, even if it was in a different key. These “bonus” beats at the tail end have become a lost tradition, not only because of how most DJ’s mix nowadays, but also thanks to the proliferation of software such as Mixed In Key that prevents harmonic clashing from even happening in the first place.

Image source: http://e-music.india-meets-classic.net/

9 Predictions For Dance Music, DJ-ing & Audio Production in 2012 (#5: Producers Keeping Songs Exclusive)

More Producers Will Intentionally Keep Some Songs Exclusive (And Not Release Them)

One topic I’ve never heard discussed before is artists consciously deciding to not make specific songs they write available to the public, at all, whether paid or free. This may seem preposterous at first, but think about the rationale: many producers (specifically the ones involved in niche genres with small followings) are forced into DJ-ing and performing because they can’t make a decent paycheck from music sales alone. To have some sort of advantage over competing DJ’s (including openers), think of what could happen if they only play these “withheld” songs during their live sets: serious fans are enticed come see them play just for even getting the opportunity to hear the music. Now don’t get me wrong; the artists will continue releasing the majority of their work, both for free on blogs as well as in traditional MP3 and record shops. But in 2012, I have a feeling we are going to start to witness more musicians keeping select tracks exclusive just to generate a little added “buzz”. 

The “buzz” is the psychological fact people simply want what they can’t have. If you are a DJ, think about how labels promote a specific song before it gets an actual release. Very few DJ/producers have access to it, and when one of the select few who does plays it in a live set, excitement builds within the community. And along with that, a massive sense of mystery: When is it coming out? On which label? Where can I score a promo copy? 

Now think about this for a second: How did you feel when the song finally came out? If you are a DJ, it was probably satisfying at first to have it in your collection, but after a few weeks you may have lost interest, shifting gears towards trying to find the next big thing (unless the song in question turned out to be something truly special or ground-breaking). Most (sane) people will always like a song for music’s sake, regardless of how old it is. But with the fervor at which dance music is released nowadays, it’s hard to deny there can be quite a bit of hype around a track that is “exclusive” to a very select group of individuals. It gets the fans talking, especially serious DJ’s and collectors.

 
At the end of the day, the artists are not affected financially by withholding a couple of songs because of how little they make from MP3 downloads in the first place. Instead they will use these exclusives to garnish their live sets, one of their main sources of profit. Think of the DMZ crew when they host their dubstep nights in England. Coki, Mala and Loefah have been known to produce a small minority of originals they don’t release to ANYONE. They will cut the songs to dubplates for themselves to play, and the only way anyone will ever get to hear them is to check out to one of their nights in Brixton.

A rather extreme example is drum and bass producer Dillinja, who back around 2007 made the decision not to release any of his recent work at all. Want to hear his new cuts? Then you need to see him DJ out, period. The only releases with his name on them that surfaced in the past five years were two 12” singles on his label Test Recordings which were all written prior to that date. Problem is, purposely holding everything back alienates the fans; a balance needs to be struck in my opinion. The best formula is to continue releasing most originals, but hold a couple back just to keep that edge.

The whole “exclusivity factor” is not something I’m endorsing, and I know full well that it comes across as pretentious to critics. However, I see this coming to life more out of necessity than anything else. Also keep in mind that artists still have the right to do whatever they want with their unsigned work, regardless of how many people are willing to bend over backwards for a copy of it! It’s a harsh proposition, but it’s also the harsh reality of a VERY cutthroat business.

9 Predictions For Dance Music, DJ-ing & Audio Production in 2012 (#4: Producers Using Instagram)

Producers and DJ’s will embrace Instagram.

It might be crazy of me to assume why any music artist or DJ would ever want to use an iPhone app geared towards photographers. But the proof is in the numbers: Instagram not only produced 11 million card-carrying members in a mere span of 15 months, but was also ranked the top app of 2011 by Apple themselves. Out of those 11 million (and counting) people, there’s got to be a good number of musicians in the bunch as well, right?

You bet.

While Instagram’s creators probably saw the app as a way for photographers to share their work with like-minded creatives when it launched in 2010, it quickly became another social avenue for narrowing the gap between consumers and brands. Early adopters like Bowers & Wilkins, Burberry, and InCase posted interesting pics of their products as well as the people behind making them right from the get go. RedBull, a company equally known for their quirky culture as their high-energy drinks, upload pics to the ‘Gram to promote the hundreds events they host world-wide. Even indy retail clothing chain Karmaloop lets followers know about their latest threads, styles, fashions, even pictures of text documents giving them a heads-up about upcoming sales and releases. 

U.S. house producer Treasure Fingers always finds time to post cool stuff on the ‘Gram

Dance acts are also starting to ride the wave. Out of a few who I follow, two of my favorites are Drop The Lime and Tittsworth. These dudes constantly post cool pics of architecture in the different cities they’re touring, crowd shots of parties they play at, their dogs, their studios, all that jazz. Kastle posts pics of the latest dishes he cooks, which happens to be a major side-hobby of his. On the surface this doesn’t sound relevant to the music they make, but is an awesome way to help fans get to know who they are as people a little better.

Dance music suffered the fate of being called a “faceless style of music” years ago; why not prove to the critics that many of these guys actually do have personalities? Plus when a new single comes out, they always find a way to promote it through Instagram without being intrusive. I’d rather see an artsy album cover shot than a bunch of wall posts to my Facebook, ya know?

From an interface standpoint, Instagram is great because you browse all the pictures inside the app; it is a closed and uninterrupted experience. (You can use a third party website like statigram to view pics and engage through a standard browser, but you can’t upload pics from there.) It’s very easy to get distracted surfing blogs on the web or Facebook in comparison. In fact, when I visit the average site on the web, I tend to stay for about a minute (the average bounce rate). Whereas with each Instagram session, I surf for about 4 or 5 minutes at a time. Even though I don’t have analytics to back this up, it wouldn’t surprise me if the average person surfed Instagram for roughly the same period. From a promotion standpoint, this makes developing artist-fan connections that much more of a reality.

Additionally, when surfing on a mobile device, people natrually respond much better to pictures than they do text. Especially for long articles more than a few paragraphs. This also explains why engagament amongst Instagram users has been pretty good.

Boston Celtics PR Manager Bryan Gordon discussing how brands like thesmelves have used Insgram to get fans more passionate about their brand than ever before.

Remember in a social media dominated web, relationships must be built BEFORE a product is sold. Free apps like Instagram will only help producers accomplish this. And considering most musicians are creative by nature (as are their fans), using Instagram only seems natural. And artists will learn VERY quickly that you do not need to be the next Richard Avedon or Ansel Adams on Instagram to build a following; this is more of a tool for someone to document the cool nuances of their life they’re willing to share. 

In 2012, more producers and DJ’s are going to embrace Instagram. Their team of developers are currently putting the finishing touches on a ‘Droid version, which will instantly grow their base of users now that awareness of this app is quite high. Talks of also being able to upload videos have been in the works for several months. If video on Instagram comes to fruition, YouTube could have a serious rival on its hands…we’ll just have to wait and see what happens!

Source: http://socialfresh.com/brands-on-instagram/ 

9 Predictions For Dance Music, DJ-ing & Audio Production in 2012 (#3: Themed Events)

More emphasis on the THEME of the event, not just the performers.

In a tough economy, getting people to come to an event has become a more challenging proposition than ever before. Yes, it is true that dance music is pretty popular at the moment, but the result is the masses caring only about the biggest (or most-hyped) artists. Limited by tight budgets, people are carefully choosing which parties to attend based on how often their “favorite” headliner plays in their city. Casual scenesters often choose to forego a party only local DJ’s are playing at on the grounds that “they can see them spin on any old night” (which, for those in the know, is not always the case).

While tight finances can be a problem to some, I think the major (and sub-conscious) problem is the average fan has little interest in seeing a local DJ, especially if there isn’t any hype surrounding them. This is especially true in the niche forms of dance music no longer in the limelight, such as breaks. Promoters can only do so much to “hype” these DJ’s up; unless they’re producing or have some sort of widespread appeal or following, people simply aren’t going to be supporting them. Regardless of talent. I attended a number of parties over the past few years where people literally wouldn’t even bother showing up until minutes before the headliner went on. What’s the source of the problem? Aside from lack of interest (or ignorance), I think much can be attributed to the overall experience of the event–beyond even the music. People have a hunger for something different and unique. This rings especially true for the thirty-something crowds who have been going to DJ parties for the better part of two decades, and feel they’ve “seen it all”.

A major trend I think is unfolding is promoters are placing more emphasis than ever before on the event’s theme, especially with local-based ones where a headlining DJ isn’t even booked. Hands-down the best example of this in Boston is Throwed. On any given Tuesday night, they manage to fill a 500+ person venue with no problem at all by 10pm. Although they have a novel promotion strategy behind their events (tapping into the college community) and is one of the few 18+ nights in the city, much their success really comes down to their fun themes in my opinion. Ever think about dressing up like a bloody panda bear, a Bruins player, a Jersey Shore cast member, or Rihanna? Maybe you don’t, but a lot of the younger generation does, and it happens at Throwed every single week. Not only are they expanding to other cities such as Providence, but they have even caught the attention of MTV, who hosted casting calls for several of their shows right at their jams. Having over 50,000 fans on their Facebook page isn’t hurting them either.

The interesting fact about Throwed is the DJ’s playing there almost seem to be a secondary element; most of the kids are just looking for an outlet to escape reality for a few hours, dress up, and (as they love to say) “RAGE” with the crowd. If you ask any of these kids waiting in line who was playing that night, I’m willing to bet unless it was Skrillex or Deadmau5, many wouldn’t have a clue. Like it or not, it’s a different generation, and Thowed found the opportunity to tap into them in a completely different way. Founding member Eric Marcilano and his group of promoters never complained once about the changing tastes in the younger generation or blamed the economy for anything that went wrong; they’ve embraced these challenges by re-inventing the night to cater what the kids want.

Throwed isn’t the only thematic example in New England. Music Ecology recently launched a new night (Genesis) at Machine Nightclub where layers upon layers of art deco are carefully positioned all over the dance floor, transforming the party into more of a sonic art project and less of just any old night at the local watering hole. Several artists looking for the exposure volunteer, even vend their artwork there. The emphasis on a sustainable creative economy is thick at Genesis. Goodlife threw a New Year’s Eve event to ring in 2012 called 2-Pac rave; just use your imagination with this one. Everyone came sporting bandanas, “Thug Life” tattoos, and glowsticks! Pre-sale tickets sold out in hours, even with the steep price tag and not a single headlining DJ on the bill. And perhaps one of the pioneering groups behind themed parties in New England is Tight Crew, who for five years have hosted elaborately-decorated large-scale events all over the northeast, from Mario Party to Booty and the Beats. Every event listed in this paragraph boasted enviable turnouts, and ironically, many booked only local DJ’s to keep funds under control.

In an era where top-shelf DJ’s and producers are constantly raising their price tags, promoters are going to continue stepping back and figuring out ways to throw events that provide a great experience for the customer without the stifling overhead. In 2012, I predict that well-executed themed events are going to become very popular throughout the world. Good promotion for these events is obviously essential, but in the case of parties such as 2-Pac Rave, all you need is a great idea and the rest speaks for itself. And you never know, the kids may even dig the DJ’s who are playing and start checking out other gigs they play around town, to top it all off.