Thanks to the rise of the Internet, DJs of all skill levels have a platform to upload their mixes and share them with the world. Though remix sites like Legtimix, Indiloop, and Mixcrate have facilitated this culture, DJs have stuck to the outer edges of the World Wide Web. That's because a plethora of copyright issues kept much of this music off more established streaming services. Until now, that is. As Billboard reported, Apple Music has joined forces with Dubset Media Holdings to host previously unavailable remixes, mash-ups and DJ mixes.
A brand new kind of streaming
Together, Apple and Dubset, a digital distributor, have unveiled plans for a new piece of proprietary technology called MixBank. DJs will submit music directly to the MixBank service, which will then analyze the files for each individual song or artist. Streams will be counted and payments will be made to{consider revising to make active} the appropriate artists, record label and publishing houses. As of its spring 2016 launch, MixBank has signed up some 14,000 publishers and labels. MixBank is based on previously existing software called Gracenote, which uses three-second samples to create a list of 100 potential matches.
Dubset CEO Stephen White told Billboard that Gracenote strictly uses "brute force," providing a list of the possible direct matches. It's up to the rest of Mixbank, then, to figure out not only what songs and artists comprise each file, but also the various lengths and durations. MixBank can identify a 60-minute file in approximately 15 minutes. Even after MixBank has identified a label or publisher, these groups still have certain rights. They can deny access to a song or artist, and even blacklist files indefinitely. DJs also have a chance to change a file if it's ever denied and then resubmit it.
Cracking the Internet wide open
Unlicensed music has existed on the Web for some years, but why have outlets like Apple finally decided to buy in? Roland Leesker is the CEO of Get Physical Records. He told Billboard that licensing mixes is a hugely untapped revenue stream for labels.
"The new revenue and royalty potential once this content moves to authorized music services is enormous based on the amount of this content that's already being streamed without approvals and royalties," he said.
Just how big? In its 2015 report, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry estimated that at least 20 percent of all global Internet users regularly stream unlicensed music. That potentially represents billions of dollars in revenue for publishers and labels alike.
Of course, there may be another reason for the move. As the Financial Times reported in early March 2016, both Apple Music and Spotify, the biggest streaming service available, have reached new landmarks of paid subscription. Apple has 11 million such users, while Spotify has a whopping 30 million. For context, Spotify added nearly 10 million users between mid-2015 and early 2016. Bringing in unlicensed music, a hugely popular market, is a way to please existing users and continue to bolster a service's numbers.
White told Billboard that Apple is the first step in Dubset's campaign, and he eventually wants to bring MixBank to the 400 distributors worldwide.
"When you think about unlocking these millions of hours of content being created, it's significant monetization for the industry," he said.