How did they become so dominant in the digital market? Back in the day I bought from DJ Download, Audio Jelly and CDDJ and hardly anything from Beatport. Fast forward 15 years and most of the other shops have died while Beatport thrives.
What makes them so different and why do artists want to sell on there considering that, apparently, there is next to no money to be made from it. Surely not everyone is doing it because they want to be a DJ.
The music is dirt cheap which is good for the consumer I suppose but overall are they a force for good or leaches sucking the blood out of the dance scene.
Sep-28-2020 11:16
SYSTEM-J
IDKFA.
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Manchester
Re: Beatport
quote:
Originally posted by Mainline
How did they become so dominant in the digital market?
They've always been the market leader since I started buying digitally around 2006. How they established that early footing is something before my time (Good early catalogue? Good interface? Good marketing?), but when the EDM boom happened around 2013 they were purchased by SFX Entertainment in a big corporate takeover, and after that level of investment they were always going to be the dominant force in the market.
quote:
What makes them so different and why do artists want to sell on there considering that, apparently, there is next to no money to be made from it. Surely not everyone is doing it because they want to be a DJ.
Are you asking this about Beatport specifically or about why producers release digitally and not on physical? Because once you've decided to release digitally, having your music appear in the largest online shop with the largest market-share seems completely self-explanatory.
I guess my question about why various stores went bust is difficult to answer unless you have insider knowledge of the digital marketplace. For instance, I started buying around 2006 too and bought mainly from DJ D and Audio J because their back catalogs were full of tracks from late 90s - early 2000's. Audio J was even owned by the Space Brothers and had tons of exclusives. I bought a track or two of Beatport but they didn't seem to have the content of the other two, being US based as well.
So, a lot of stores went bust over the years whilst Beatport just grew and grew, even taking into account the 2013 takeover. Now that takes me to my next point about the revenues that artists generate from it. From many accounts it sounds as though BP takes a 50% cut, the label about 30-40% and the rest to the artist. Add to that earnings thresholds and a lot a artists don't see a penny from selling on the platform.
It works out fine if you want recognition and DJ bookings but for others it must be a waste of time. Hence my question about whether BP was a leach or a force for good. Yes, sure, you'll get recognition from being on there and being signed to a well known label brings a degree of prestige but why not just sell on Bandcamp? Could it be that as the labels are mainly owned by DJs you literally have to be signed to one to get your record included in a set.
The scene has changed so much and I'm just trying to connect the dots and put the puzzle pieces together. Back in the day you'd listen to Radio 1 shows and buy the well known compilations and discover artists that way. The vinyl shops generally promoted and sold what the radio and big-name DJs played. Probably why this forum thrived so much in those times and as all generally listened to the same or similar stuff.
Sep-28-2020 16:39
Woony
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2009
Location: Berlin
Other stores went bust because DJ music doesn't sell well digitally. Beatport survived because they had by far the largest catalogue from the beginning.
I also think Beatport is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Most people stream, pro DJs get promos, music enthusiasts buy on Bandcamp. This only leaves a relatively small demographic of bedroom DJs. And Bandcamps presence in the dance music sphere is steadily increasing, five years ago very few labels had Bandcamp acccounts, now - at least within the kind of stuff I follow - most labels do. I've also noticed that a large amount of newer labels don't even get on Beatport at all, only on Bandcamp. People I've talked to that run labels have said that nowadays, Bandcamp far outsells any other site. This is because it actually reaches a non-DJ audience, something that didn't really happen with other download sites.
Originally posted by Mainline
It works out fine if you want recognition and DJ bookings but for others it must be a waste of time. Hence my question about whether BP was a leach or a force for good. Yes, sure, you'll get recognition from being on there and being signed to a well known label brings a degree of prestige but why not just sell on Bandcamp? Could it be that as the labels are mainly owned by DJs you literally have to be signed to one to get your record included in a set.
In 2020 I think you would struggle to find many producers who make a liveable revenue stream just from making club records, whatever format or web store they release on. The money has been in DJing or live performances for many years now. Productions are calling cards. Better to have them in the most visible place. And despite how things look to Woony in his Berlin techno enclave, I seriously doubt Bandcamp has anything like the number of dedicated DJ users as Beatport. Although, as with digital vs vinyl releases, these things are split by scene and genre.
Beatport recently started a streaming service for DJs. Mixing software like Rekordbox, Virtual DJ and Serato has the feature to sign into your Beatport account and then you can access your own playlist or all the music in there catalogue to play within the software. The streaming that they offer is for personal use only.
To stay relevant they came up with the Beatport Link service.
The coupons. They’re shutting classic (I hate pro). Slowly going to Bandcamp but generally BP prices lower however I feel better supporting artists on Bandcamp. Band amp interface is shit, if you delete your browser history you loose everything you didn’t check out. Happened to me multiple times with 200$ carts before I know what went down
Oct-05-2020 01:12
SYSTEM-J
IDKFA.
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Manchester
With you on hating Pro. The biggest problem with Bandcamp as a DJ tool is that it doesn't seem to have a powerful search function, unless I just don't know how to get the most out of it. Beatport's one major advantage over every other online music store I've used is the power of its search and database and the lucidity of its layout. One click and you can see everything an artist has ever released, another click and you can see everything a label has ever released.
I mainly use Bandcamp for buying full albums or EPs I already know about. It's fine if you want to go directly to a release and buy it. It's not so good if you want to search for music.
I keep spending money on there like there's no tomorrow. A week ago I purchased 120+ tracks, which worked out at just over 100 quid using the coupons. Amazing value for money.
Oct-06-2020 13:27
planetaryplayer
Surpeme traineanddict
Registered: Dec 2011
Location: Pine Tree Valley
quote:
Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
With you on hating Pro. The biggest problem with Bandcamp as a DJ tool is that it doesn't seem to have a powerful search function, unless I just don't know how to get the most out of it. Beatport's one major advantage over every other online music store I've used is the power of its search and database and the lucidity of its layout. One click and you can see everything an artist has ever released, another click and you can see everything a label has ever released.
I mainly use Bandcamp for buying full albums or EPs I already know about. It's fine if you want to go directly to a release and buy it. It's not so good if you want to search for music.
the first year or so i was struggling on bandcamp... to me it became better when i started following way more labels and artists. pros: they email you when a release is coming con: you get an email when they have a message, an email when they announce the release and an email when the you can purchase the whole release. right now I'm 50% BP and 50% bandcamp, sometimes i buy songs twice(mistake), if they are on both platforms i use the cheaper option. right now both carts are at about 100$ each.
Oct-06-2020 18:13
Midlothian
Reaping the percussions
Registered: Jan 2018
Location: Polder
quote:
Originally posted by planetaryplayer
if they are on both platforms i use the cheaper option
Quite. I added an EP released on Ouïe to my cart today - €1.99 on Bandcamp, €5.16 for the 320 on Beatport. Tough!
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quote:
He is a very talented musician and an enthusiastic entertainer but he can't mix two beers together with a bucket and a funnel.
