Is there a new generation of DJs who aren’t paying for their music? Some of the old hands in the dance music industry seem to think so, with an investigation getting underway into pirated music at some of Australia’s most popular clubs and bars.

It was reported on Saturday in the SMH that Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), an anti-piracy unit for the local industry, are looking into allegations that DJs all over the country are rocking the clubs with downloaded music they didn’t actually pay for. The article included the scandalous accusation from veteran DJ Stevie B who claimed that as many as 90 per cent of club DJs are playing music that they obtained illegally. “Stroll into any club, if they’ve got six DJs on their roster, five of them will be pirates – that’s a guarantee,” he said.

ITM spoke to Sabiene Heindl, general manager of the MIPI, who says the investigation has been underway for the past several months. “We’re investigating a number of DJs who are operating in quite high-profile clubs in Sydney in particular,” she says. “Over the past year we’ve received increasing complaints of DJs who are using music illegally, and I guess the real irony in this case is that you’ve got DJs who profess a love for music, and are making money out of that music, but in many cases aren’t actually paying for the use of that music.”

Sabiene says it is important that all DJs understand the risks, responsibilities as well as the limitations of playing music in a club environment – and for that reason they recently compiled a fact sheet for DJs titled Are You Doing The Right Thing?. It answers a number of questions and can be accessed HERE.

The MIPI confirm that a lot of the complaints are coming from other longstanding DJs, upset by the amount of digital music that they see their younger competitors flaunting on their laptops and CD wallets. However, it’s unclear whether these allegations take into account the fact that digital music is now widely (and easily) available throughout the world via websites like Beatport and hundreds of other independent record labels for as little as a few dollars a track.

So what’s the full story? ITM will be getting the rundown from some of Australia’s ‘veteran DJs’, as well as talking to some of the up and comers to see if the charges are correct. Stay tuned…