End of an era...
Whoa... how overstated is that subject? Really, all I mean is.. it's an end of an era for me... not necessarily anyone else. I've officially sold my last turntable in an effort to reallocate funds in my studio into things that will get more usage instead of gather dust.
Why? Well, I can't say that I didn't have a blast spinning records. It honestly was one of the most satisfying musical endeavors I've ever encountered. The problem? FREAKIN EXPENSIVE! I mean think about it. If you aren't a regularly gigging DJ, funding your record purchases with gig money, then you are basically spending nearly $100 a pop for new music that will get spun a handfuls of times, only to age and become unfashionable within the scene.
If I had it in me to pimp myself as a DJ then maybe I'd still be doing it all. But the business side of DJing (in a city like SF, no doubt) really detracted from the fun of the music itself. In the end, I'd buy records only to create a DJ mix (which was great in it's own right) to post on, well, this site... and give to my closest friends.
It was a hard decision. But when I really pondered it, I would look in the corner of my studio and see that lonely turntable sitting there, dust cover on, doing it's duty of repelling dust from entering inside the turntable... I kept it unplugged for gods sake! So what's the point?
Now I have mad amounts of Bay Area house records, European tech house, and some pretty bad techno records to figure out a solution for.
The production side continues. And I think that's what I learn from this too. In the record world, you spend the money on new music, it becomes old music, and it loses it's value. In the production world, you purchase new gear, and it continues to pay in dividends. And if you tire of the gear, it holds it's resell value extremely well. (especially in comparison to those records!)
Why? Well, I can't say that I didn't have a blast spinning records. It honestly was one of the most satisfying musical endeavors I've ever encountered. The problem? FREAKIN EXPENSIVE! I mean think about it. If you aren't a regularly gigging DJ, funding your record purchases with gig money, then you are basically spending nearly $100 a pop for new music that will get spun a handfuls of times, only to age and become unfashionable within the scene.
If I had it in me to pimp myself as a DJ then maybe I'd still be doing it all. But the business side of DJing (in a city like SF, no doubt) really detracted from the fun of the music itself. In the end, I'd buy records only to create a DJ mix (which was great in it's own right) to post on, well, this site... and give to my closest friends.
It was a hard decision. But when I really pondered it, I would look in the corner of my studio and see that lonely turntable sitting there, dust cover on, doing it's duty of repelling dust from entering inside the turntable... I kept it unplugged for gods sake! So what's the point?
Now I have mad amounts of Bay Area house records, European tech house, and some pretty bad techno records to figure out a solution for.
The production side continues. And I think that's what I learn from this too. In the record world, you spend the money on new music, it becomes old music, and it loses it's value. In the production world, you purchase new gear, and it continues to pay in dividends. And if you tire of the gear, it holds it's resell value extremely well. (especially in comparison to those records!)
posted by Jason Howell at 9:46 AM
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