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APPLE ANNOUNCES NEW DEAL THAT ALLOWS IT TO STREAM REMIXES AND DJ MIXES

The streaming service will now be able to add mixes to its catalogue

Apple has announced a deal with Dubset Media Holdings that will allow it to stream remixes and DJ mixes that were previously unavailable due to copyright issues.

According to Billboard, the partnership will clear the way for Apple Music to host “thousands of hour-long mixes”.

Digital distributor Dubset has developed technology called MixBank that can analyse a remix or DJ mix to identify sampled recordings and  pay both record labels and music publishers.

According to the company’s CEO Stephen White, a typical mix has 25 to 30 songs that require payments to 25 to 30 record labels and anywhere from two to ten publishers for each track. Thus far the Dubset has agreements with over 14,000 labels and publishers.

Dubset will a retain a percentage of the revenue from each mix with major labels and independents paid the same rates. The creator of the mix will also receive a cut but White hasn’t provided specific figures.

The sample detection system might offer a solution to the problems faced on streaming platforms like SoundCloud which have come under fire from major labels for hosting mixes of unlicensed music.

Mark Lawrence, CEO of the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM), welcomed the move.

“Electronic music is all too often consumed for free. Our genre has grown hand in hand with the rapid growth of streaming and digital services yet, despite billions of online plays, most of our creators and rights-holders earn very little for their efforts compared to their ‘pop’ peers. This is the first move to correct the imbalance,” he told DJ Mag.

“The deal announced today can begin to ensure that the thousands of hours of DJ mix content created every week starts generating royalty income for the DJs, writers, artists, publishers and labels involved. AFEM applauds Apple and Dubset (itself an AFEM member) for taking the first step into monetizing one of the key points of consumption of the worlds fastest growing genre,” he added.

White has confirmed plans to partner with other distributors and streaming services in the future.