Dance music fans have always sought the records their favourite DJs are playing, but in recent years the hunt for — and provision of — Track IDs has become an increasingly pervasive and at times contentious subject in the scene. With an ecosystem of online communities, websites and apps dedicated to identifying tracks in [...]
In recent years, DJ schools around the world have noticed a surprising trend—many of their students are over 40. While DJing was once associated primarily with young people, club culture, and underground scenes, it has now become a passion for a much wider audience. But why are people in their 40s, 50s, and even [...]
Quincy Jones lived a life almost too impossible to believe. His successes, struggles, and profound creativity, can teach us a lot about the true power of music Quincy Jones, one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century has passed away at the age of 91. A polymath, hitmaker, entrepreneur, industry mogul, [...]
For years, rotary mixers have been status symbols of superior build and sound quality. But is rotary always ‘better’ by default? Or has the cult of the rotary mixer created a monster? Declan McGlynn investigates Rotaries were the first DJ mixers. Prototyped by legendary sound engineer Alex Rosner, the CMA-10-2D from Bozak became [...]
Beatport surveys the groundswell of opinion against camera phone use on the dance floor. As no-phone policies spread to Ibiza, is dance music ready for a retro reset? Back in June, a meme was doing the rounds that captured the arms-outstretched joy of raving at Ibiza’s iconic DC-10 in 2010 vs the reality of 2024: a [...]
Promoters and production agencies assess how turbulent economic conditions and shifting audience trends are impacting the industry. When London one-dayer 51st State cancelled its event last month, it became the 44th UK festival to do so in 2024. 51st State's reasons—low ticket sales, soaring operational costs and a general lull in engagement [...]
The Beatport charts have been peppered with club-ready reworks of old hits. "Almost all the labels are doing them," says Glasgow Underground founder Kevin McKay. Early in May, the New York house music stalwarts at Nervous Records were enjoying two hits in the top 10 on the Beatport chart: A zippy, heavily syncopated reimagining [...]
“We’ve had enough time for the whole ‘All the boats rise’ argument to see they don’t all rise.” Did you know that Trent Reznor helped to build Apple’s music streaming service? The Nine Inch Nails frontman once worked as an executive for Beats and later at Apple, and it most certainly opened his eyes to the difficulties that face artists [...]
As the DJing world continuously evolves, new gear is inevitable. 2024 is likely to bring a solid set of new products to the DJ world, and we expect to see new releases that could transform how we mix, manipulate, and experience music. From stem-focused controllers to iterative updates from Pioneer DJ, we’re predicting smart [...]
A mix of RA staff and contributors—including Elijah, Joe Delon and journalist Delilah Friedler—unpack some of the year's key trends and themes. The fascinating thing about so-called underground electronic music spreading its tentacles further around the world is how the culture morphs and takes on new meaning. Every raver, worker or business owner in this [...]