noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - Spring 2008 Issue # 55 - Index

Of course, iTunes dominates legal
downloading but has to adhere to
strict street dates. This makes the
lag between hearing a new remix
at an event and being able to listen
to it on your iPod excruciating—
not to mention their spotty, limited
selection of remixes. The only
serious corollary to Masterbeat.
com currently is Beatport.com, a
site designed for wonky enthusiasts
that Kerri Mason refers to as “’prosumers,”
such as a DJ looking for
tracks. Beatport can be overwhelming
for the average person.
Masterbeat hopes to fill the gap
between iTunes and Beatport—
making this service more appealing
to mainstream consumers and in
touch with the larger dance world.
They’re signing agreements with
major and independent labels and
have secured the help of Hosh
Gurelli, who ran A&R at J Records
under Clive Davis, and is regarded
as an industry heavyweight.
BuT WiLL iT WORK?
The shift away from CD production
doesn’t just lower overhead costs, it
speeds up the process of getting music
into the hands of the consumer to a
fraction of the time. As Brett explains,
“One of the things Masterbeat will have
is a backend control system for DJ's
to enter their charts and playlists, and
for labels and artists to add new content
and remixes–allowing them to make
their new music available immediately
with no delay–something no other site
has ever done.
Licensing every track that makes a splash
at a particular event used to mean producing
the event CDs beforehand, which
made getting the freshest, most exciting
material impossible. Now they can simply
hand out cards that allow people to
go directly to the site after a big party
and download an up-to-date playlist of
everything they just heard.
Is there a huge profit margin to be made
here? No one is sure yet—even huge
acts like Radiohead are experimenting
with giving their music away for free and
focusing on live performances and merchandising.
So far, so good: In the first two weeks
after the beta launch, hundreds of copies
of the new Alegria CD sold online. “The
number of people who have signed up
and bought one or two tracks just in
the first two weeks is astounding,” Brett
said in late January. The major launch
will take place in March at the Winter
Music Conference. If you can’t catch
any of the sets in Miami, just log onto
Masterbeat.com and get the party started.
For more information on
Masterbeat.com, read the extended version
of this story @ noiZemag.com.
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