Dear industry and media friends,
Today (January 7, 2016) is Beatport’s 12th anniversary. To mark this milestone, President & CEO Greg Consiglio has written a blog post outlining the vision, guiding everything Beatport has been working on over the past year, and what that means for the future. It follows below and can be found here.
“Twelve years ago on this day, the original Beatport founders flipped the switch on the first digital download music store for DJs.
Many forget that Apple iTunes had just launched eight months earlier, and in the years that followed most of the other digital music services that went live in the same timeframe failed to escape that massive shadow. Yet Beatport bucked the odds and thrived.
How? Because from day one, Beatport focused on meeting the unique needs of the electronic music community-DJs, artists, labels, and fans. We focused on providing access only to the music most relevant to our audience, rather than trying to please everyone. We catered to independent artists and labels, while others were dominated by the majors. We reinvested in the creative community that supported us. And our customers performed the tracks they bought to large audiences, who then came to Beatport to discover more.
Twelve years later, as we evolve with the changing music and technology landscape around us, this same focus will continue to guide our way.
Our new streaming service contains the tracks and mixes that fans of electronic music want to find-including weekly curated playlists by genre from our team of experts-most of which gets lost on so-called “mainstream” music services. Our mobile app not only allows anyone to discover and listen to our entire streaming catalog, but also provides a calendar of events customized to users’ locations, because we know how important the live experience is to the electronic music community.
We redesigned Beatport News with a new look and feel, and will soon add additional editorial and video features that more fully explore this culture and community. We added Beatport Live to give all fans worldwide the ability to gain personal access to their favorite DJs by livestreaming their performances, including blanket coverage of last year’s ADE Conference.
But perhaps most importantly, we’ve combined these features into one complete platform, bringing together creators and fans of the fastest-growing category in music through a multimedia service encompassing e-commerce, streaming music, video, events, and editorial. We recently updated the navigation on Beatport to reflect this, adding a new menu that unites the overall experience across the Store, Streaming, Video and News.
We don’t think the world needs another YouTube, or Spotify, or Apple Music, and we don’t intend to clutter that space. But we do think there’s room for services like ours that focus on providing access to a specific type of music, the creators behind it, and all that is fresh and new every week. As we expand the types of access we offer, our focus will remain tightly set on electronic music and our vibrant and evolving community.
This depth of access requires a commitment to the independent music and artists who form the foundation of the electronic music community. That’s reflected in the fact that about 90% of both our catalog and sales (and 100% of our streaming service) comes from independent music and labels. We are keenly aware of the unique role Beatport plays in the careers of professional DJs and artists, and as a result have a responsibility to continue fostering both emerging artists as well as those who reach mainstream success with major labels.
As we work to keep the pace with the changes around us, we’re not going to lose sight of the needs of our creative partners and will not innovate at their expense. We intend to continue being the best partner in electronic music for labels and artists, and we are committed to paying rightsholders for every stream, with fair terms for all.
A lot’s happened at Beatport in the last 12 years, with site updates, new features, and yes… even changes in ownership and leadership. We’ve had some hits, and we’ve had some misses. But our original mission and focus has never wavered, nor will it. Beatport remains and always will be the global source for electronic music, in all its forms, styles, and participants. We’re looking forward to an exciting year ahead.”
– Greg Consiglio, President & CEO
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