Apple Music spins new tool for DJ mixes that compensates creators

Apple Music has hit upon a new application for its Shazam business, one that should generate new streams of cash for DJs and dance music creators.

Shazam, the audio recognition specialist, will power DJ mixes on its platform which, until now, had been problematic due to the mixed bag of licensing rights and, particularly in the case of underground sets, the hurdles in connecting the music with its maker.

More than a year in development, the new tool will allow the streamer to properly identify and compensate all the creators involved in a DJ set, leaning on Shazam’s propriety software, which cross-checks tunes to its database of tens of millions of tracks.

As part of the process, the licensing team at Apple is working with the DJs and the suppliers of the mixes, including festivals, clubs, promoters, curators and independent labels.

DJ sets are a quagmire of licensing rights, some of which lapse over time, others that are next-to-impossible to determine, certainly in the pre-Shazam space.

A single, disputed cut on a beat-mixed set can cause the entire recording to be pulled, a situation that ought to be resolved by this new tool.

To celebrate the rollout, Berlin-based Studio K7!’s DJ Kicks archive of mixes are dropping on Apple Music.

Also making its way to Apple Music is Mixmag’s entire collection of mixes, which date back to 1992; and more than 100 recordings from Tomorrowland, including sets from Alesso, Amelie Lens, Carl Cox, Charlotte de Witte, David Guetta, Diplo, Hardwell, Major Lazer, Martin Garrix, The Chainsmokers and Tiësto.

"This is a big moment for K7!,” comments Horst Weidenmueller, Founder, Studio K7!.

“Through the partnership with Apple we finally have a place to celebrate DJ-Kicks with additional 14 editions which haven‘t been in the market for over 15 years.”

Currently, thousands of mixes are uploaded on Apple Music with more being added regularly.

The Shazam app, which lets users identify a recording by pointing a smart phone at the song, has been downloaded more than a billion times since its commercial rollout in August 2002.

Tech giant Apple snapped up the U.K. company in 2018 in a deal worth an estimated US$400 million.

Shazam is considered one of the world’s most popular music apps, with more than one billion downloads and delivering 1 billion song results every month.