At least for the general public, it’s clear that music downloads are dying, with iTunes looking set to stop selling music entirely, and latest figures showing huge drops in revenue from digital downloads (see below). But amid all of this, Beatport is apparently thriving.
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It makes sense, of course: DJs will still need music downloads for the foreseeable future, despite advances in streaming (not least, Beatport’s own forthcoming streaming service that will work within DJ software).
But when we see that Beatport download sales in the United States were up 7% in the first half of 2018, while in Germany they were up 5% and the UK up 12%, we’re seeing some of the first proof that the company is going to be become crucial for DJs who need downloads in the years to come.
Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels identified as much, speaking to Music Business Worldwide recently, when he said: “For most professional DJs today, downloading high-quality audio and taking it on their [hard] drives to their shows is still their preferred way of doing the job.”
He went on to say that the firm’s future will be defined by new product initiatives which attempt to super-serve the “DJ experience” among Beatport’s core users.
Where do you think you’ll be downloading your music from in the years to come – or are you hoping streaming will take off for DJs, too? Let us know your thoughts below.