When it comes to platforms for listening to DJ mixes, there has only ever been a couple of major contenders over the years. We’ve seen the meteoric rise of Soundcloud, followed by close rivals Mixcloud featuring huge amounts of mixes from a whole host of DJs. Alongside them, has been some radio shows streamed on Apple Music, as well as their recent DJ mix initiative but very little else.
However, Spotify have now stepped up to the challenge to trail a feature that will allow DJs and artists to upload mixes as well as tracks and playlists. The feature is available for all users in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand. The firsts artists to release mixes on the platform were Adam Beyer, Shingo Nakamura, MOTi, Noisia, and AmyElle.
It’s worth noting that the ability to listen to a continuous mix of songs on Spotify is not revolutionary. We have seen many continuous mixes on albums, or radio shows uploaded as podcasts. That said, it’s an exciting move for one of the world’s largest music streaming sites to expand their offering in this way, giving artists the option of various listening formats for fans to experience their music all in one place. The platform will be looking to enhance artists reach with a new dynamic to their portfolio, as well as giving the artists a chance to showcase their skills.
“Really excited to announce that I have taken part in providing one of the first-ever DJ mixes for Spotify – I’ve prepped you a club-ready mix with some absolute gems of records.”
AmyElle
Although, it could be hit with some opposition – Soundcloud famously had to fix a royalty issue to stop its demise. It’s unknown how the feature will be able to correctly assign a full royalty paying play of a song in amongst the mix. Could they use the same technology Apple has developed? With lots of DJs sampling songs or only playing seconds of a track, how are they going to ensure artists are fairly compensated? Guess we’ll just have to watch this space.
More artists will be able to release sets on the platform as the feature develops, with Spotify saying: “DJ mixes is just beginning to roll out, so fans should expect the experience to continue to evolve over time”
In a statement on the launch, Spotify also said: “Dance and electronic music fans have long enjoyed custom mixes from their favourite DJs as a signature listening experience exclusive to the genre,”
Listen to the first uploaded mixes below :
Adam Beyer
AmyElle
Noisia
https://open.spotify.com/genre/dj_mixes
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