Max HeyraudIt’s been just under a week since DVS1’s music revenue-sharing platform, Aslice, announced it will close permanently. Several industry heavyweights have taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the closure caused by the highest-paid DJs’ refusal to contribute.
Aslice was a community-focused service aimed at building a fairer music ecosystem through software that allows for quick and accurate reporting, allowing DJs to split revenue directly with producers. The dance music ecosystem has made it nearly hard to make a livelihood just from creating – Aslice was the first attempt to change this.
Aslice’s final report stated “935 DJs from 57 countries actively participated in the platform. The average
contribution per DJ was $422. The top 10 DJs shared a combined total of $257,000, accounting for 65% of all earnings distributed through Aslice. 37 DJs shared $1,000 or more, collectively representing 76% of the total earnings shared.”
The report continued “Only 4.7% (56) of the top 1,199 DJs on Resident Advisor (those with 5+ upcoming events) participated in Aslice. Among techno DJs, the participation rate doubled, but still limited at 9%. For the most popular DJs (10k+ followers and 5+ upcoming gigs), only 9 out of 103 techno DJs participated. This data underscores the challenge Aslice faced in achieving widespread adoption, particularly among industry leaders.”
The report concluded “Key lessons from Aslice’s experience include the critical importance of top-tier DJ buy-in, the power of user-friendly technology, and the need for industry-wide education on fair compensation. While Aslice’s operational phase has concluded, its legacy as a proof of concept for fairer, more transparent system.”
Dave Clarke wrote “I speed read the report and most makes sense, the cheapest shot was seeing Calvin Harris and Tiesto mentioned, why? Well very easy targets, far better to actually name those “Techno” DJ’s that get paid 200k/ 300k euro’s plus for one gig , are very low non dom tax payers that would rather not financially commit to any social structure at all and use 10 percent of the money they get per gig on social media platforms because that is a bigger payback. They were not mentioned because the likes of Tiesto and CH would not give a damn about being in that report, but the fall out from mentioning the DJ’s in the “Techno “ relm would cause career suicide, also if they do not pay their ghost producers very much then why would they pay for the music they use on stage?”
Richie Hawtin wrote “Aslice was a necessary platform for our unique electronic music eco-system designed to help sustain the health, longevity & integrity of our scene by helping share DJ income more fairly. With Aslice’s closing our cultures core ideals have been challenged. I have never been so disappointed by my DJ friends & colleagues. They had no reason not to support Aslice & participate in helping change the economic inequality that has become part of our culture.”
Oscar Mulero wrote “We had a unique opprtunity to ensure that every artist received a share of their earnings from DJs who play their music and, we squandered it. It’s a disgrace that while Zak and his team have invested all their efforts and money to make royalty distribution fairer and enable more producers to make a living from music, so many artists have chosen to look the other way.”
Sunil Sharpe wrote “Very sorry to read this. It was an extraordinary effort from you all, and particularly selfless. I don’t remember an initiative in our scene that has even scratched the surface of what you’ve achieved and endeavored to change here. So much valuable, inspiring work (and research) has been done that will inspire far into the future. Thank you for setting the blueprint and for being so passionate in bringing it this far.”
Barker wrote “Aslice, the last hope for dance music producers in this comically unfair economy, is closing. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. I’m also angry. Because the reason it’s ceasing operations is because many of the highest paid DJs in the world decided not to contribute. DJs earning eye watering sums for a gig, sometimes thousands each time they press play, seemingly took no interest in supporting those making the music. It really couldn’t have been made any easier for you people.”
GiGi FM wrote “This is so sad, especially because it was up to the big DJs to participate in the collective effort to make our scene more equitable. I won’t name names, but I know many who always give the same excuses like, ‘I already buy my music.’ It’s one thing to be an online performative activist and pretend to ‘care’ about our scene’s ecosystem, but it’s another to actually take action and be part of positive change. You can’t call yourself a techno activist if you’re not paying for and respecting producers’ rights.”
RAHO wrote “This is not a good day for this industry. This is a classic example of modern society. People are now disinterested in what is true. What matters now us money and the outsized ego of being somebody. There is no art, there is no culture, there is no respect for what we do.”
Volvox wrote: “Sad news, Aslice pushed the needle for greater fairness in our industry. I imagine the incredible cost to develop and maintain this initiative became too much to sustain. Hopefully, there will be a future buyer for this important technology.”
Lindsey Herbert wrote “Thank you, Zak and the entire Aslice team, for all the blood, sweat, and tears put into this initiative. I can’t count how many times I woke up to an email from Aslice that would absolutely make my day, and the same happened for others when I reported their music that I played. Aslice served as an icebreaker to connect with artists of all levels from around the world and made it so easy to form friendships that I will now hold onto for life.”
Phil Petit wrote “A sad day for the music industry, clearly populated by a majority of greedy DJs who did not care about what Aslice was trying to achieve because it was not benefitting them. Sad state of affairs. Thanks Aslice for trying.”
