The New Beatport & Digital Pricing

[ed teach]

Just seen the beta, looks a bit like boomkat crossed with bongal. Anyone else used it yet?

http://beta.beatport.com

PM me for access codes, got a couple spare.

[APK]

who cares about beatport prices on beatport are a fucking joke. u can buy vinyl for some of those prices.

[brettheaslewood]

fire me a code, put my email in but it's being long.

edit: dont worry - i got it.

nothing exciting.

[ed teach]

who cares about beatport prices on beatport are a fucking joke. u can buy vinyl for some of those prices.

Tell me about it. I prefer WAV/FLAC for playing digital so end up paying about £2.40 a track, which is more than it works out buying a Cd or a 4 track 33rpm Vinyl. Not even sure if they are even WAV's to be honest.

Just wanted to know peoples thoughts on the subject really.

For instance, how did we go from this: http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/13099 ... ILC-SEARCH

To this: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic/it ... -49301891/

Surely distributing online should cut down costs for production, packaging & freight? Some labour is required for processing the data but much less than the process of creating physical product. It would seem that iTunes et al have passed most of the savings on to themselves. Not sure if paying 50% to the major distributors is worth it in terms of the promotion / support / development received. A record label will at least take an active interest in your output as a recording artist. Can't understand why people are scared to buy direct from places like bandcamp or from the artists own website, where the same tracks could be sold cheaper and the artists would make more money.

@ brettheaslewood - PM'd you with a code.

[bigfootspartan]

^ that's good to know. I always wondered which distributor to go through to support the artist the most. It always chaps me when I have to buy a tune from beatport, knowing that at least half the money was going to beatport so they could advertise the next big Deadmau5 or Wolfgang Gartner or Tiesto release...

[ed teach]

Most artists have stuff available to buy in several places, otherwise they're either stupid or getting a better deal by that particular distributor to release exclusively through them, which is a bit like how the old industry worked with artists signing long term multi-album deals with majors.

Bandcamp take 15% and it changes to 10% if you start selling more. Info here: http://bandcamp.com/pricing

But yes, if the artist has their own website then you can pay them directly to their bank account - or use paypal with around a 3% cut from them.

[ed teach]

I understand there may be other threads about the state of digital musics' pricing and distribution, but I expected a greater response to such a major issue.

It appears you're all cool with this, makers and buyers alike.

Anyone manage to vote at least?

[ed teach]

192 views and counting. Let's see if we can get it to 320 at least.

[cumbriandubsteper]

yeah prices are a joke on beatport, i buy straight from the producers website or amazon, donno why people from from beatport considering the ridiculous prices?

[Intended Malice]

yeah prices are a joke on beatport, i buy straight from the producers website or amazon, donno why people from from beatport considering the ridiculous prices?

Add their stupid geographical trade restrictions into this equation and you start to realize why they have to place incentives like issuing 30% coupons in mass for former patrons to return, myself included. I had this happen recently when I wanted only a single track from an EP and my indifference and exhausted patience took over resulting in paying inflated costs elsewhere; all I have to say is I'm unlikely to ever use anything other than Boomkat for my, albeit limited, digital purchases. Besides if you look at their top charts and yearly accolades you'd see what kind of market share they both cater to and desire: which is not me, nor my money.

[lone wolf]

Prices on some sites are ridiculous.

[abZ]

I am pretty close to done with selling tunes digitally. My label is still going but not for long. I am not signing anymore of my own music. I think it's highway robbery what Beatport and Juno are doing. Nothing they do justifies them getting 50% off the top. Even Apple doesn't take that much for iTunes. I am sick of all the hardwork the artists and labels put into it. Neither makes money 99% of the time. Beatport makes money hand over fist all of the time. Fuck it if I am not going to make any money from it then I will just give it out free to whoever I want to have it or whoever asks nicely. It shouldn't be this way at all. Sorry for the rant but my excitement for music has been lost due to this system that is in place. I can't do it anymore. I have never set up a bandcamp account but I probably will soon. That's the real shit.

[ed teach]

Good to hear peoples thoughts on this. The main problem is when you have a single front page promoting 5-10 artists from a catalogue of over a million+. How many people will come across your music with a catalogue that size? The artists you see in the "pick of the week" or "top 5" are already selling well, so they get promoted further and so the cycle continues. Taking a 50% cut just to facilitate the sale of your music is laughable when little or nothing is done to promote it, and by promoting I mean more than just sending tailored emails based on your previous shopping habits. I think there is also a lot of fear regarding online purchasing and peoples reluctance to shop outside of well known brands, something that offers no more security than buying direct from an independent retailer.

Now I don't wish to single out Beatport, but they are playing the same game as other market leaders such as iTunes & Juno. It's well known that large companies operate together very successfully by sharing a monopoly on a product or service and inflating prices together so they all get a nice taste of the action. Tesco/Asda/Sainsburys anyone?

Artists reading this may worry I'm attacking their revenue, but look at the figures. You can sell your music cheaper by distributing it yourself, but make more money by getting a better cut of the final sale. More sales > More money > More people hearing your music.

This affects DJ, Producers and listeners alike. If we stop following the old model we would create a much fairer system for creatives and musicians. We'd all make a decent living instead of one of us getting paid £££'s while everybody makes do with nothing.

Some say adversity breeds creativity. I say fuck you, pay us.

[etidorhpa]

More sales > More money > More people hearing your music

You must have attended, like, school or something?
Nah seriously - The uprising against Beatport is inevitable i guess, their prices have always been over the top, it's always astounded me how popular they are, horrible flash interface etc.
BUT label/distro monetary split wise their cut is pretty much the (unfortunate) standard.
Beatport are obviously the most popular (DJ based) dance music store so they will always be the poster boys for 'all that is wrong in the music industry'.....but it doesn't stop labels providing them with music, giving them exclusives, and be willing to compromise their usual/former output in an attempt to hit their top 10 charts.

[abZ]

My labels gross increased 300% upon being accepted to beatport. And Juno is just as bad. They take just as much and they don't even screen the releases. You can fart into a mic or even easier just put someone elses tune up there. They don't care. But how can you turn down the exposure as a label? I am just one guy though. They will have 5 other suckers ready to replace my label.

[etidorhpa]

My labels gross increased 300% upon being accepted to beatport. And Juno is just as bad. They take just as much and they don't even screen the releases.

Mix of positive and negative there, can't really work out your standpoint.

Tangent: Does this mean that in the end labels begin to take the same standpoint as Beatport, less 'screening' of releases and more 'throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks'. It's far too easy to release digitally, but then i guess, why shouldn't it be, it's a valueless format essentially.
The fact of the matter is, digital-only labels don't have to deal with the quality control situation dictated by vinyl. The floodgates have opened, and the epic amounts of shit music (my opinion) is free-flowing through (this is not aimed at you abZ, i'm not familiar with your music/label)

[incnic]

prertty sure beatport reencodes 320kpbs mp3s into wavs.....

[etidorhpa]

prertty sure beatport reencodes 320kpbs mp3s into wavs....

Brilliant. nicely justified.....use your noggin
Beatport require WAV's, If you've got a dodgy file from them then the chances are the label/distro responsible for sending them the files in the first place are to blame.

[vishes]

Beatport prices are really ridiculous nowadays. They emailed me a discount coupon the other day so I thought I'd buy a new release again.
Then I noticed that the total amount on beatport, including the discount, was still more than I would need to pay for the same release on Juno without a discount.

That's just stupid.

[incnic]

if enough people stop buying fomr them they will go broke

do they have a back button yet lol