As my first post as a guest blogger for October 2008 I would like to bring the attention upon the music scene ethics. Due to my youth, fairly recent happenings and my education I stand by the morals I have been brought up with. Every now and then people have to point out to me that I’m actually a hypocrite because I accuse people of doing bad things while I actually did or do the same. “Nothing is either black or white” they say in The Netherlands, my home country. That means there are at least two sides to the same story and the truth most likely lies somewhere in between. I’m a very opinionated person with a passion for music.

The music industry is a tough one to be in at this moment in time. Music has become public property and can be obtained various ways and at very different prices. The fact that music is considered public property is what bothers me. I personally divide the public into three groups for this column. The DJ’s, music lovers, and the general public.

Electronic music lovers/enthusiasts and the general public most frequently download their music from sources that are considered illegal. I was once one of them, most likely everyone that visits this blog has downloaded music from illegal sources at some point in time. I appreciate the people spending some cash on the music they like, and even though I don’t like to hear people download my music illegally, I have to accept it. Music production earns shit for unknown artists, which is the group I think I would qualify for. Even mediocre artists (mediocre in terms of popularity) have to struggle for a decent paycheck with music production and dj-ing.

The real problem area, for me, are the dj’s. Some of my friends are dj’s as well and they are the cause of this article (and I hope they don’t get to read it). I think most dj’s don’t even get passed the so-called “bedroom phase” where they just deejay for the fun of it. And that’s okay. My friends however, have serious aims of dj-ing in clubs on a regular basis. They download a large amount of music from these illegal resources the internet has to offer. They use these tracks on their radio shows and in clubs. As said, they have serious ambitions. I don’t understand how they can look themselves in the eye and take themselves seriously. How can you expect to get paid for they gigs while you don’t even pay for the music you play? How can you expect to be taken seriously if you don’t even want to invest in realizing your dream? That’s a question I think a lot of dedicated dj’s should be asking themselves.

It’s funny how these friends I’m referring to a here also into music production and they expect tot paid by the end of each term, yet they downloaded most of the music they own from illegal resources. One of them actually contacted me recently because he heard I was trying to take his favorite pirate website down. Obviously I’m really bothered by these double standards. I hope they see the light some day and become aware of what they’re doing. To me it doesn’t make any sense.

As said, I’ve been downloading from illegal resources as well, but I am glad I started to buy music when I started dj-ing. By now I have an entirely legal (digital) record collection which I’m proud of. I’m honored that people/labels think I’m worthy of receiving their promo mailings (and if you do too, you’re more than welcome to send me an email ). I pay for the music because I expect people to pay for my music. I pay for music because I appreciate the effort the artist took to produce the track. The most interesting is the following: I actually enjoy and appreciate music more since I started paying for it. So: if you want dj-ing to be even more fun, I’d wholeheartedly recommend buying your music. At Resonant Vibes for instance , they’re competitively priced I must say, especially for European visitors like me.

PS. If you don’t see any more articles after this one it’s because one of those friends read this article and killed me. hehe.