People trot out the "it's a business" line as if this is supposed to be a revelation. Well, yeah, duh, it is a business like others, which is precisely the complaint. Just as in any other field of business, you have some companies (producers) putting out shit products that succeed due more to good marketing and sheep-like trend following more than anything else.

Art is about merit, creativity, imagination, innovation, not who is more "competitive" or has the better marketing team and streamlined thoughtless factory "music" production process to push the most shit product on the biggest number of undiscerning idiots hopped up on the strongest pills.

maybe i'm not the only one who thinks this but today dj's seem to be judged as a good or a bad dj because of their productions... this leads to people like Arnej who can't dj or JvD but on the other hand are respected producer.

So it's not that outrageous to think that if you pay someone to make a track for you (maybe 1,000$, how many trance tracks make 1,000?) you'll get back around 200 but having a stream of tracks on ASOT,TATW,FSOE,Vonyc nowadays means gigs, gigs means sucess, sucess means money.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles People trot out the "it's a business" line as if this is supposed to be a revelation. Well, yeah, duh, it is a business like others, which is precisely the complaint. Just as in any other field of business, you have some companies (producers) putting out shit products that succeed due more to good marketing and sheep-like trend following more than anything else. Art is about merit, creativity, imagination, innovation, not who is more "competitive" or has the better marketing team and streamlined thoughtless factory "music" production process to push the most shit product on the biggest number of undiscerning idiots hopped up on the strongest pills.

This is it 100%. The business angle will eventually kill off dance music. Give it 10 years.

It's not just pilled up idiots who buy into the marketing bullshit. It's now thousands of teenagers where guys like Guetta and Tiesto are targeting with their "pop" music. I saw Tiesto in London in the summer and his set was truly awful. Staged, promoting his Kaledioscope album, full of the same vocal type track and electro. Compare that to his sets from 2002-2004.

The reason Djs make tracks is simply to get gigs and give them the "full marketable package". Its almost impossible for a DJ to make it now simply by DJing. He has to make tunes. There are exceptions of course but not many. Promoters then book the DJs based on those tunes as the public will have heard these tunes and are more likely to go see them play. It all comes down to money. Money for the club/promoter, money for the DJ and this is how its best done. The producer Dj can't even DJ very well in many cases. He should stick to making tunes. There is an art to a good DJ still but its being lost.

If you go back down a level or 2 to the DJ's who are playing small rooms in big clubs, they basically have to pay to play (selling tickets). I was shocked when I first saw this back in 2005. The promoters haven't even heard them play but as long as they sell the tickets they can! It kind of shatters your illusions and those Djs who I once thought were great, well, I then just thought anyone can do it.

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Originally posted by Kev Boy This is it 100%. The business angle will eventually kill off dance music. Give it 10 years.

Yes, just like rock, jazz, blues and classical music.


Everything is marketable and the ones that scream the loudest get heard most. Only exception on that rule might be a succesful viral campaign. It's not a revelation it's just a fact.

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Art is about merit, creativity, imagination, innovation, not who is more "competitive" or has the better marketing team and streamlined thoughtless factory "music" production process to push the most shit product on the biggest number of undiscerning idiots hopped up on the strongest pills.

Yes, tell that to a proper A&R who needs to make money to keep his company afloat.

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If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

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Originally posted by Kev Boy This is it 100%. The business angle will eventually kill off dance music. Give it 10 years.

No, dance music will not "die." There will always be good stuff out there. I am just responding to this idea that music is some kind of "race" to turn out a "product" and move the most copies. Sure, you can make that your main goal, I guess. But have you made anything really worth listening to? Will people come back to your works five, ten, twenty years in the future and still love and appreciate them? Will you, even?

If not, what the fuck does it really matter? If you are out for a nice pile of cash and a fancy roof over your head, there are much more reliable ways than music production.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles No, dance music will not "die." There will always be good stuff out there. I am just responding to this idea that music is some kind of "race" to turn out a "product" and move the most copies. Sure, you can make that your main goal, I guess. But have you made anything really worth listening to? Will people come back to your works five, ten, twenty years in the future and still love and appreciate them? Will you, even? If not, what the fuck does it really matter? If you are out for a nice pile of cash and a fancy roof over your head, there are much more reliable ways than music production.

Well thats true too. Most peoples tunes won't be remembered as classics from this modern era. They won't care though. They are after fame and fortune. Quality and legacy is irrelevant.

They can't make a fortune elsewhere as that would require doing something completely different. Everyone gets into music for the right reasons initially then they diverge. What better way to make a living than playing tunes around the world? It's just that they are doing it by a slightly comemrcial method.

You have to have some business sense,I know many creative types with no business acumen, who's tunes are as good as anything out there but nobody hears them or buys them.