It's no secret that almost everyone illegally downloads music. However, there are times when no one's uploaded some obscure ’70s krautrock song, and I just have to submit to iTunes and shell out. DJ enthusiasts have never had this problem, as DJ mixes have always appeared online for free, thanks to sites like Soundcloud and Mixcloud. But the popular dance music music site Beatport is trying to change this and get a handle on the habit of assuming mixes — and the copyrighted tracks within them — should be given to us, without us giving back.A new extension of the website will sell mixes for that are both legal and DRM-free, with royalties for songs given to the proper labels and performing rights organizations (PROs, like ASCAP and BMI). Beatport CTO Peter Siciliano stated, "We're not going to make a lot of money off of this", which seems true if you do the math of the distribution of each $5.29 mix: 10 percent to the DJs themselves, 60 percent to label royalties, and 30 percent to PROs. Beatport’s a titan in the world of DJs, but a notable hitch with the new service is that if you the DJ did not purchase a track in your mix from Beatport (perhaps illegally downloaded it), the service can’t recognize the track, nor can it allocate royalties. And you’re still subject to the same copyright violation risks as always.Anyway, it’s a start. If you'd like to upload a mix, or are in search of more information, you can go straight to the source.
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