I was just poking around on Resident Advisor to see what’s going on in the scene. I noticed that Global Underground is releasing the 33rd installment of their mix series. This one is by Layo and Bushwacka!, which I think is an interesting choice. The thing that struck me, however, was not the announcement of this release…the thing that struck me was that I haven’t purchased any of the GU installments since Nick Warren’s Shanghai (#28). This definitely made me stop and reflect for a minute…not so much about the Global Underground CD series, but rather about the apparent decline of electronic music mix CDs.

I take myself as somewhat of a proxy for the behavior of other electronic music lovers. There was a time when I would pick up the latest GU CD releases on the day they hit the store. I was a freak for electronic music DJ mix CDs! Many of them are still near and dear to me, veritable life changers …but it’s been a really long time since I bought a mix CD…actually, now that I think about it, it’s been a long time since I bought any kind of CD!

So what’s happening…am I some sort of aberration?…after all, I am part of the management team of a music download store, so it’s possible that my preferences are not so reflective of those of the general electronic music fan. My guess is that I’m not alone here though…There are so many ways now to check out good mixes – Internet radio stations, podcasts, and sites that let you download DJ mixes – that my problem these days is that I don’t have time to listen to all of the free mixes that are available. I assume that most electronic music lovers are like me in that they’re taking far fewer trips to the CD store these days. …if this is the case, what does it mean for the future of DJ mix CDs?

In certain ways, I feel like I got more attached or bonded to the physical mix CDs I purchased…I think I engaged with them in a deeper way and spent more time listening to them. After all, if you pay 20 bucks for something, you’re going to get your money’s worth. This is a different model than one where by the time I’ve heard a mix once or twice, I’m presented with five or ten new ones that I could download and check out online. I guess there’s some part of me that’s concerned that the widespread availability of high quality electronic music will lead to a decreased appreciation for it…this comes from an awareness of that aspect of human nature that leads us to sometimes take for granted the things we can always have without putting forth too much effort.

In the grand scheme of things, I think electronic music will be better served by the fact that it’s highly accessible to people throuhout the world. In fact, I like the fact that this is much more the case for electronic music than for other genres because I think/hope it will allow more people to get exposed to it and to see how incredible it is. I’m all for embracing change, but I will certainly feel pangs of nostalgia if we look up at some point and mix CDs have completely lost favor.

Eddie B