will digital downloads bring death to d+b?

[Bounce]

d+b arena just started selling digital downloads for like 2.5 bucks a single....so if people keep moving this way......record makers drop outta the league and artists get paid less...labels start dropping they get paid less....what will we do?

[MURAMASA]

Digital does not = vinyl. It's cool to have access to songs you wouldn't otherwise be able to afford, but there are always going to be DJs who have that higher level of standard for sound quality that will keep record pressers in business (although not as many if this keeps up, unfortunately).

I don't think this would be the end of D&B though, I think the worst impact would be on the vinyl pressers... if anything, it makes D&B more accessible and might help to boost the strength of the D&B scene. (I hope, anyway.)


On a semi-related note... piracy sucks.:thumbsdown:

[Liftedtrance]

i think Muramasa is right on.

analog is better than digital. but i don't really know how close a very high quality download comes to analog. maybe they are getting these things so good that the difference will be unnoticeable to even the most trained ear in a few years. idk

but i do know that there is a growing group of ppl in the world that want more Dnb, but arent djs. they want dnb singles on cd format and want legal downloads. they seem to be getting really frustarted at how long the industry is taking to hear their call and to do something about it.

so i think this kinda stuff is a good thing for the most part, but at the same time could have some negative consequences.

i'm a big fan of vinyl and i hate to see anything that might jeopordize the future of it. so idk.... but as far as downloads possibly bringing in the death of drum and bass, i REALLY don't see that happening.

[Signal]

vinyl is becoming a fading medium unfortunately, with the introduction of cd turntables and final scratch etc. its been pretty much a feedback loop effect within dnb..its just becoming way harder for dnb labels to pick up distribution, or finance the process of releasing vinyl tracks themselves (particularly with the fact that the returns on owning a label are almost slim to none). so of course a lot of people who want to be involved in the release process feel the need to find alternative means...there is a huge sample of talented but unheard bedroom producers out there. its easy to say yeah, the mp3 market is killing the music industry, but really it has both positive and negative points. honestly i dont know what to think, id rather people at least release cd's of new tunes, (even tho theres gonna be some track rippin going on), and mp3s are just way too easy to share on p2p's...but what can you do...

but yeah, vinyl is great, the way tracks sound on vinyl are distinctly warmer then digital. its a sad fact that pressing plants all around the world are shutting down and going bankrupt, which has dramatically affected the dnb community over the last 2 or so years.

[obsol33t]

^^Yea, you do gotta keep in mind the closely creeping death of vinyl. If anything, that's what to look at , it will effect every EDM scene in some way or another.

on a side note, this is the shittiest smiley ive ever seen --->

[decoy]

well, as long as I'm around, there'll be a market for vinyl.


although, I have found out analog -> MP3 isn't as easy as one might think.

[IKA'IKA]

Vinyl is in a SEROIUS crisis right now, it is rapidly becoming a lost art

[SIXTO]

it is... Sasha (not dnb) is using Live to play out... they say this is the future... a laptop and a keyboard... Playing records is awesome but technology is moving fast

[emoney]

well i think vinyl will be around a lot longer in DNB than most scenes becasue DNB Djs seem the most stuck up about keeping everything on vinyl and avoiding the switch to digital.

personally, i like vinyl, and i buy stuff on vinyl even when i can get it on CD for 1/5 the price and be able to play it immediately. i have CDJs and an okay amount of digital songs that i've bought. I still hardly carry my CDs around to gigs because I don't particularly like playing CDs. vinyl is just more fun.

but i have no problem with CDs. first, in smalelr scenes, they've really rejuvenated the scenes because producers are able to bring more up front sounds to their gigs without having to lose a ton of money and time pressing vinyl. taht's a big plus.

Plus, if ANYONE tells you that the switch to digital is making producers lose money, they're just... wrong. sure, they might lose money on vinyl sales. But unless you're a big label it's next to impossible to make a lot of money on vinyl. a friend of mine runs a small label--if he presses 750 copies and sells all of them, he still loses money. how is that an argumetn for vinyl?????

producers who go digital and ditch vinyl (as much as that breaks my heart) will lose less money. the costs of getting music out via digital download is SO much less than pressing vinyl. producers can put out more tracks at no more cost, and make more money off of each sale since they don't have to incur the costs of getting vinyl pressed, shipped around and distributed to vendors. digital downloads, and even selling CDs, is a way to lose less money and for producers. and buyers get music immediately, faster than getting vinyl pressed, and can play tunes out right away.

labels will be hit, as they stay in limbo between dying vinyl and growing digital use. which sucks. i like vinyl and i dont' want it to die.

but i like music more more than vinyl. and if digital downloads give producers a way to put out more music, cheaper, and make more money, than that outweighs the bonus of having music under my finger tips instead of in a cd player.

plus, some of the arguments about vinyl sounding better than digital are a little misguided. a lot of music is made primarily with DIGITAL prodcution methods, like software. that means it's all 1s and 0s. putting it onto vinyl isn't going to improve the quality of those 1s and 0s. and as far as the really high and low frequencies you get with analog but miss with diigital and CDs, well--they're basically inaudbile.

if you're at a club and someone plays a 192kbps mp3 i really doubt you can hear the difference, especially since the systems at clubs are so damn loud, often muddy, and more often busted.

i lvoe vinyl and still buy it. i don't want it to die. but i've accepted that it might. it is kinda silly to make digital music using digital instruments and methods, then putting it on vinyl and playing it manually. i enjoy doing it, but it's still kind of silly.

my (not going to happen) favorite result would be for the best tracks to get pressed to vinyl, andthe labels and producers to make money. and everythign else sold digitally for cheap :)

[proximity]

no.

[kirk]

if anything is going to kill dnb it will be arrogance and overpriced booking costs...


not downloads


cd's didn't kill anything did they?

[MURAMASA]

if anything is going to kill dnb it will be arrogance and overpriced booking costs...


not downloads


cd's didn't kill anything did they?

Interesting that you say that... I can't name 5 dnb djs that make more than $1,000 per gig in the US.


I'm not being an ass though, by all means, enlighten me.:shrug:

[kirk]

Interesting that you say that... I can't name 5 dnb djs that make more than $1,000 per gig in the US.


I'm not being an ass though, by all means, enlighten me.:shrug:

interesting. i must be out of the loop then.



carry on

:rockon:

[MURAMASA]

Not at all, I may be the one out of the loop. I'm just curious. :)

[Shinin*Sta]

it's not like your average music-listener was ever very prone to go out and buy vinyl. it's always been primarily djs and collectors buying up the vinyl *well at least since the invention of cassette tapes*
personally, i can't stand it when you go to a bar/club and the dj thinks they can get away with running most of their set off of cd decks or mp3s - it's lame and any good dj knows that. yeah, you can sample and drop a track here and there, but you gotta have the vinyl.