| House music has always been pushed forward by | | | | was bliss new music really quickly - fresh |
| DJ's wanting and craving new music. Music | | | | and exclusive! All went well with this new |
| that their peer's haven't yet heard let alone | | | | format until the mp3 came along. Suddenly |
| had the ability to own. Music that is upfront | | | | promotional music was finding its way onto |
| and rare. | | | | the file sharing sites like Limewire and |
| | | | Soulseek. DJ's who had been sent music on CD |
| As the volume of dance labels and artists | | | | or even emailed as mp3's began sharing this |
| increased towards the end of the last | | | | music. The thought process behind people |
| millennium, mainly due to the ability to | | | | doing this went against all that had gone |
| produce very highly polished music on a | | | | before as most DJ's hide their secret weapons |
| simple pc, the sales quantity of each release | | | | rather than sharing with anyone at all. This |
| decreased as the market did not increase with | | | | had a knock on by taking the control the |
| amount of new music flooding in. With this | | | | labels had of who had their product when and |
| change record companies needed to address | | | | where away. Also potential revenue began |
| costs to reflect these lower sales. Label's | | | | being lost and to a section of the music |
| looked to technology to help cut the costs of | | | | industry where every sale counts this was |
| running their business. One major area where | | | | frustrating and hugely detrimental. |
| this came to fruition was promotions. | | | | |
| | | | Dance music releases usually only have a |
| For years the DJ's choice and only option was | | | | shelf life of around 8 weeks. There are |
| vinyl, clubs only had vinyl turntables and in | | | | obvious exceptions to this rule but 95% of |
| the odd instance where they did have CD | | | | releases are played in clubs and sell for |
| turntables they were very poor. This changed | | | | this length of time and that's it. File |
| with the launch of the pioneer CDJ series. | | | | sharing screwed this up by both the sales and |
| DJ's were suddenly able to do everything they | | | | also the structure of the chosen few |
| could on vinyl turntables and more but using | | | | influencing bigger DJ's not having something |
| CD's. Labels had previously had only one | | | | they can fully get behind during the |
| option to press a run of promotional records | | | | promotional stage of a release. Therefore |
| to send out to DJ's. The cost of manufacture | | | | less people got to hear it, less are |
| and shipping to DJ's was huge. Overnight DJ's | | | | influenced and less potentially buy it. The |
| could use CD's. It's much cheaper to | | | | industry has never really recovered from file |
| manufacture and half the price to ship, an | | | | sharing but more recently the sale of mp3's |
| added bonus was that music could be burnt | | | | and specifically dance music mp3's has boomed |
| straight from a pc where the track had been | | | | and this has helped to a certain extent slow |
| written and in a DJ's hands the following day | | | | the decline and with time the scene could |
| being played to a packed club that evening. | | | | once again flourish. The one problem dance |
| For labels and producers this was a fantastic | | | | music has encountered with sales of mp3's is |
| way to promote new music and for the DJ this | | | | price but that is another story. |