Mixes maxed out?

How far the humble mix has come -  or has it? Nowadays more commonly known as a podcast or plain old online mix, the options available to EDM fans are limitless. I'm quite slack, yet even I am subscribed to the Fabric and Clone podcasts, while sites like Beats in Space, Robot DJ and Resident Advisor as well as my blogging compadres Mnml ssgs, ISM and LWE keep me inundated with fresh selections that span electro, disco, house and techno -  sometimes all of the above in one set. With so many great sets available for free online, what then is the point of mix CDs? Have they become obsolete? Well yes and no. The concept of the commercial mix CD came about in the early 90s when the music industry bean counters started to realise the lucrative nature of the illicit 'live' mix cassette business. Recognising a new business opportunity - no, they really wanted the DJ's fans to have access to high quality recordings of his sets, honest - the first mix CDs by Carl Cox, Paul Oakenfold and Sasha and Digweed epitomised the corporate nature of dance culture, with Oakenfold even pictured on the cover of his first 'Journeys By Djs' mix in action in a football stadium, the warm-up act on U2's tour. Little else captured so succinctly the cash-hungry attitude of the superclub explosion as the big-name mix. How different things are now. With sales dwindling and facing stiff competition from the online barrage of free mixes, it is hard to imagine who actually buys a mix CD these days, yet something that Marcel Dettmann pointed out in an interview recently made sense. In a neat reversal of trends, a development that sees the format take on the same status as the mixtape of yore, he said that his Berghain mix was his 'business card'. That's right, mix CDs no longer do the business, they merely exist to provide a profile or an identity to a DJ. Then there's the filter function: taking Dettmann as an example, I'd wager that a fair share of people who listened to his mix -  irrespective of whether they bought it or got it for free -  went on to buy tracks that featured on it. More than ever, people  need filters to sift through the glut of music, and mixes by DJs they respect provide those filters. Sure, they may face competition from free podcasts  -  from my perspective, the Steffi mix for RA and Silent Servant's ssgs podcast are as pivotal and seminal as any commercial release this year -  and it is no longer as financially lucrative or viable at all to put out commercial mixes, but in the absence of many decent artist albums, 2008 has seen a high proportion of excellent DJ releases from Rob Hood, Dave Clarke, Efdemin, Dettmann, Deetron, Steve Bug, Secretsundaze, the Wighnomys and even Hardfloor. Maybe there's still room for the modern version of the mixtape and its commercial counterpart to co-exist.

Comments

[Music Industry]

Grand funk railroad, Jimmy Hendrix, I mean these people performed right down the street from me. http://music.postedpost.com/2008/11/13/the-modern-musical-trumpet/353/music-industry/

[gmos]

I've never really bought mixes anyway, in ye olden times the good ones would just be circulated amongst mates via cassette, now it's via mp3. Why spend money on mixes when I could be spending on records? ;)

I suppose F.A.C.T. and Mills @ the Liquid Rooms underlined the arrival of the Superstar DJ and the difference in dance culture that followed. It was a way that dance music could tap into the mainstream labels need for the Rock Star image.

[Hum3]

Makes me curious how many people actually bought - instead of downloaded - Dettmann's Berghain-mix...

[Daragh]

I still buy the odd mix CD - the Matthew Dear Body Language one being the most recent. As well as that I subscribe to the Fabric mix series, a fresh CD in the post every month for seven quid. It's pretty much for the reason you mention - a decent filter - and I do tend to end up buying quite a few tracks from the mixes on vinyl (particularly from the Fabric mixes, where I end up listening to DJs that I might not otherwise - not always a good thing though!). Mind you, the same applies to most of the podcasts/mixes that I end up downloading.

For mea though it usually comes down to the whole physical artifact/file on computer argument, which is a different can of worms...

[chrisdisco]

i'll post some more thoughts about this later, but i'd suggest checking shurbs piece on this in a recent issue of the wire:

http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/1620/

[kuri]

haven't bought a mix CD in years but have been tempted when I see tracklistings that are impresive and feature enough tracks that you feel like you're at least getting your money's worth. that said, I picked up Dave Clarke's new one, Back In The Box, basically as a default addition to the full release download, which might be the best marketing strategy left. but honestly there's so many free mixes online i don't really see the point otherwise.

[bernardo]

I agree with the majority of these comments...My purchasing of mix CDs has come down substantially although I will buy them when they look particularly good. The Dettman mix being an example.
Besides that there are definitely incredible podcasts online that almost deserve to have been commercially released! I agree on the Silent Servant and Steffi although the Andy Stott/Claro Intelecto and Black Dog RA mixes are on that same level too I think. Its funny but I almost think that some of these blogs should rank 'top online mixes' of the year come December...That way the readers could make sure to check out all of this year's amazing online mixes.

[Benjamin]

I pre-ordered Marcel Dettmann's Berghain 02. So far it's the only mix I've purchased in 2008. I purchased it because his productions have influenced me more than any in 2008 (and 2007). I even bought a few records on the mix! In 2007, I only purchased one mix - Ellen Allien's Fabric 34 (because I have a crush on her). Regardless, I actually really liked it.

I listen to a lot of "online mixes" but definitely think mix CD's still serve a purpose from a consumer's perspective. In my opinion, which is probably outdated considering my evident lack of recent mix CD's, I perceive them as being more refined and thoughtful - for good or bad - than online mixes. One caveat being that many great DJs (e.g. Donato Dozzy, Mike Parker, etc.), whose online mixes are just as good a commercial mix CDs's in my opinion, may never have the opportunity to release one.