Tiesto says file sharing behind the dance music boom

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Fri 29th Apr, 2011 in International News

Currently on tour in Canada and promoting his ‘new-style’ primer in Club Life Vol. 1: Las Vegas, Dutch mega-star Tiesto shared his feelings on the issue of illegal downloading which has so bothered the music industry in recent years. While the producer, DJ and label figure-head might have reason to stand against the spike in downloading trends, Tiesto threw his support behind the power of file sharing saying that it has helped grow the dance music community to new audiences.

“The whole reason why dance music has been blowing up is because of sharing online,” Tiesto told Edmonton Journal of his theory for dance music’s increasing popularity. “Back in the days when you had vinyl, even if you really wanted a track, you couldn’t buy it if it was sold out. I think it’s better. It’s not about the money anymore, and the control is gone. It’s like the Wild West out there. Ten years ago, the radio and the labels dictated what we had to listen to. Now, you can just go online for a day and find all kinds of stuff.”

Stressing his point, Tiesto noted the recent cross-over success of big name dance producers as well as the run of massive live events like Ultra Music Festival in Miami in the expansion of dance music’s draw.

“It is more than a comeback – it is really blowing up now. Dance music is huge, especially with live performances. There has never been as many people attending dance events as there has been in the last two years.”

Considering he’s making $20 million a year off his exploits then we’re happy to defer to Tiesto’s expertise on this one but what do you think? The downloading debate has been going on for years now but has it actually strengthened the dance community?

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ank_dawg

ank_dawg said on the 29th Apr, 2011

i wouldnt say strengthed it rather commercialised it.

i had this debate a week ago with a freind and in the 90's when it was all about records it made it difficult for the common clubber to get access to dance music.

now type a name in on a search engine and you can get access to any type of music

alchemy1983

alchemy1983 said on the 29th Apr, 2011

the days of decent music are gone because of this .

angy

angy said on the 29th Apr, 2011

Think he's on the money here. Major labels have suffered and they're the ones making the most noise about how bad it is (as well as organisations like APRA), but just as many people have really benefited from the change in the status quo.

Dr Bones

Dr Bones said on the 29th Apr, 2011

I agree with Tiesto.

Inform the men, I'll be stepping down as Captain and performing seppuku before the day is done.

daverh

daverh said on the 29th Apr, 2011

Don't feel bad, Bones. Tijs is just an astute scholar of industry trends and a cunning businessman. It's definitely dudes like him that benefit from this sort of thing because more people will go to his concerts and he makes more off $70+ tix than off $20 albums.

Dr Bones

Dr Bones said on the 29th Apr, 2011

I'll burn in seven hells for saying this, but good for him. Musicians need to fucking learn that it's not about living off your fucking royalties anymore, it's about playing as many live shows as you can to earn the big dollars.

djdrey

djdrey said on the 29th Apr, 2011

That's pretty easy for him to say when he gets paid megabucks for his shows. Doesn't work so well for the indie label or up'n'coming producer who get's next to nothing for appearances.

angy

angy said on the 29th Apr, 2011

^^These up and coming producers wouldn't have ever even have gotten exposure in the old paradigm. And evidence would suggest, there's actually a lot of independent dance labels doing fairly well in the current climate now the dust has settled. Majors, maybe not, but there's a lot of independents who have really staked their turf.

daverh

daverh said on the 29th Apr, 2011

Interesting take Angus! Drey, rebuttal?

zsmiles

zsmiles said on the 29th Apr, 2011

major labels suffering? can you please find some stats behind this because I've been told the opposite, that filing sharing is earning them more money... (I asked them to also find me the statistics which he didn't give me :()

angy

angy said on the 29th Apr, 2011

Why would major labels be benefitting from file sharing? lol

Interestingly enough, I interviewed King Unique last year, and he said at the moment it's actually feasible to be able to make a living as an underground producer in some instances, with boutique independent labels like Bedrock, Armada, Coccoon, Toolroom etc building enough of a name that they're doing really well at the moment. Was kind of a different message than what we've been hearing elsewhere.

Derelict

Derelict said on the 29th Apr, 2011

Of course file sharing made dance music big. You think that all those 18-24 year old munters would be listening to records? Fuck no! It's bad these days though, because the more underground sorts of music sells far less.

walkdogz

walkdogz said on the 29th Apr, 2011

The smartest thing I've heard from Tiesto.

DJ Drey and co, how do you not see the trade off the net has provided? The internet has allowed unknown artists to reach thousands/millions of ears they never would have. Soundcloud is a perfect example, I'm discodvering artists from all over the world. Soundcloud is a real community taking electronic music, and music in general, back to what it's about. It's art, and they share it with others who critique and compliment, and good words are enough to sustain them, let alone needing a million dollar contract. Music labels in a way bastardised what music was about. Filesharing and the internet and all the modern ways of disseminating music are bringing a vast array of music to a vast array of listeners unparalleled in history. Instead of a few big names having all the enjoyment, now we have countless names spreading their music for the love of it as well as the money.

m_xt

m_xt said on the 29th Apr, 2011

It would have being interesting to go clubbing in a time when only vinyl was played, I guess you would have been much more likely to hear new things. But as other have noted you would not be exposed to as many new artists and you also couldn't easily download a mixtape to help decide if you should see an act.

DJ_LG

DJ_LG said on the 29th Apr, 2011

I also blame the internet for the amount of garbage tunes out there. Now every bloody track gets released half-finished

SlicyDicer

SlicyDicer said on the 30th Apr, 2011

Not everyone can get signed to Bedrock, Armada, Toolroom and I wouldn't call them underground either.

d_ess

d_ess said on the 2nd May, 2011

I'm agreeing with Ank_dawg...the main effect has been commercialisation, plus a removal of the gate keepers, a kind of opening of the dam if you will...but navigating the current flood of mediocrity is a challenge. Everything has become so much more disposable...not a good thing imo. True, the labels and main players had too much control and it used to be next to impossible for new artists to get that break without their support. But now it seems like any tom dick or muppet with a soft-synth or auto-dj software can be hailed as the new mesiah (or at least a very naughty boy we should all want to see).

The danger i guess is that new ppl to the scene hear an 'average quality' that was less than it used to be, they assume this is 'good stuff', then they tell their mates/play the stuff out, and because they haven't heard better, the clubbers think that pretty average shiite is actually good...and so part of the scene becomes a dead loss.

I think if you're smart about how you use all the new technology, you can turn it your advantage, tho, a lot of other people are trying to do the same thing...

alistairrrr

alistairrrr said on the 2nd May, 2011

if your a full time producer and your not making enough to live on, then consider getting another job or leaving producing behind.

if you produce a good enough track its going to eventually blow up no matter what label it is signed on, especially with regards to dance music, as soon as some big gun discovers it, it's going to be nailed on every radio show dance event ect....

middle C

middle C said on the 2nd May, 2011

Making music should never be about work or profit. Music is a journey that you should share with everyone. Long live internet pirates.