Revenue-sharing initiative Support The Sound launched to make producers’ earnings fairer
“Without their fair compensation, the vitality and sustainability of our entire industry is at risk,” the collective says on its website.
01 November 2019, Saxony, Leipzig: A DJ “works” at the turntable and spins at an event. Photo: Volkmar Heinz/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB (Photo by Volkmar Heinz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
A collective of clubs, promoters and festivals from around the world have partnered with the DVS1-founded platform Aslice for a new initiative called Support The Sound, wich aims to close the gap between producers’ and DJs’ earnings in a time of rising DJ fees.
The collective includes Basement and Wire Festival in New York, Bassiani in Tbilisi, Dekmantel in Amsterdam, Fuse in Brussels, 6AM and Synthetik Minds in Los Angeles, Vault Sessions in Amsterdam, and Womb Tokyo.
They are working to promote the benefits of DJs submitting their setlists to Aslice, along with donating the platform a percentage of their fee, to be split among the producers whose music featured in their set.
“We have witnessed significant changes in our industry, where the role of music producers has been marginalised and undervalued,” the collective says on their website. “Without their fair compensation, the vitality and sustainability of our entire industry is at risk.”
They added that from next year, all DJs who play their events will be asked to share their setlists to the Aslice system. “If the artists we book or their agents choose not to participate by sharing playlists, our values might not align, which may affect future bookings and collaborations,” they add.
Speaking about Support The Sound, DVS1 – real name Zak Khutoretsky – said: “Since we launched Aslice in March 2022, we have always emphasised the value of community. Support The Sound plans to embrace a culture of sharing and that resonates deeply with the values of our service. Why wouldn’t we support the sound? Our industry would be nothing without the music.”
Aslice was originally founded two years ago to address producers losing out on payments made by PROs to producers through missing metadata, lack of reporting, and other fraudulent submissions. In 2019, it was estimated that producers miss out on up to £100 million in royalties they are entitled to due to them being either lost or incorrectly allocated.
