According to the latest reports, in the past few years, music streaming itself has become a huge industry, but there are still many problems to be solved in the popular business model. For music played over the Internet, proper compensation is always a tricky issue. DJ mixing is even more problematic because they mix content from different artists.
This is a very niche but problematic area, and Apple Music wants to focus on this area, thanks to Shazam’s music fingerprint technology. Apple acquired Shazam, and over the years it has integrated some functions into the iOS system. However, so far, Apple has not really used Shazam’s technology, nor has it been used to identify the currently playing music.
As Apple Music began to persuade creators to support Apple’s music streaming service instead of its rival Spotify, this situation has finally changed. TechCrunch reported on Apple Music’s new process, which applies Shazam’s algorithm to DJ mixing.
The idea behind this is that this process will help relevant companies identify the original music used in these mixes, and then distribute streaming royalties among DJs, record companies, and artists. This way, original musicians don’t have to worry about not getting paid for using their content in DJ mixes.
Of course, this is to attract DJs to try their luck on Apple Music. Other live streaming platforms may mark mixed music as copyright infringement, but Apple Music encourages the proliferation of this particular type of dance music. First, Apple Music will add Studio K7!’s DJ Kicks, which contains a mix that hasn’t been broadcast for nearly 20 years.
Of course, this will give Apple Music an advantage over rival Spotify, which has so far maintained its dominant position in music streaming. Nevertheless, Apple Music’s restrictions still apply, and ordinary people still cannot upload user-generated content or UGC. Apple also did not disclose how it will allocate royalties between DJs and musicians, but this is better than no compensation or being flagged aspirated.
