Carl Cox talks digital

25 January 2010

by Eamonn Forde

Making his name over two decades ago, Carl Cox remains one of the biggest names in dance music. As an early DJ-come-entrepreneur, he’s been through enormous upheaval in the record business and explains to us why, in 2010, he is adamant that digital is the only way to go.

One of the most famous DJs in the world, Carl Cox made his name in the first blooming of house music. Two decades of operating in a world with a restless emphasis on the new, he is symbolic of a breed of DJs who have sought to maintain relevance through diversification.

He set up the techno-focused Intec Records in 1999 but it was to close in 2006, one of many casualties of a decline in both the record industry’s fortunes as well as a sporadic dip in dance music. After four years, he is bringing the label back as Intec Digital at the end of the month, eschewing physical releases and signing acts to download deals only. We spoke to Carl on the eve of the launch of Intec Digital about where the next generation of musical pioneers will come from as well as how online has changed the business - but why there is no money in downloads.

Why choose now to set up Intec Digital?

Wherever I DJ, be it in Chile, Tokyo or Greece, I’ve always been looking for new music that I can get behind. My ethos has always been that,if I couldn’t play the music I signed, I wouldn’t sign it. The idea has always been to develop artists beyond a single-release. I wanted to showcase their ability – over a four-track EP or an album – to make music beyond just a single. I have always been about trying to push what happens next in music. I’m looking for the talented people who are out there and need the support.

You’ve been signed to labels in the past: how did that shape how you sign acts?

I’ve been put through the corporate mangle – having to have hit singles and an album that had to go top 10. I felt there was a lot of pressure on me to do that when all I wanted was to make the music that best represented me. If there are hits within that, then fine – but I can’t make hits for hits’ sake. Now, as a record label owner, I didn’t want to treat my acts like that. I tell my acts to make what they want to make and not what I think they should be making. That was the biggest problem I faced when I was signed to a major label.

Intec today is a digital-only label. Why?

To launch a label in 2010, you have to put out music digitally. That’s how people are accessing it. None of the music will be coming out on vinyl – which is a bit of a shame as I miss the sexiness of vinyl, doing test pressings, creating the original artwork and so on. That was all incredibly creative. We are still creative now, but we just have to be in a different way – digitally.

Digital has been a blessing and curse for the industry over the past decade. What has its impact been on dance music?

Digital means that you are able to obtain the music a lot faster now. You might hear a record in a club, switch on Shazam, find out what it is and download it straight to your phone. To be able to do that is amazing. I used to get frustrated when I went to a club, heard a track I liked, asked the DJ what it was only to be told that it was a white label and even they didn’t know who it was. That moment of experiencing something is then lost forever. That’s fine for artists and producers who want to stay underground, but it doesn’t move anything forward in terms of creating and building your fan base. It is phenomenal today what digital can do to help you obtain music.

That is all liberating for the fan, but making money out of digital is something many people are still trying to figure out.

There aren’t the same overheads in digital downloads compared to the days when you put music out on a tangible format. There were studio costs and then lacquer costs, cutting costs, test pressings, artwork costs, packaging costs, distribution costs. Today one person can download a track for $0.99 but share it with 200 people. That’s the worst thing about it all. But if those 200 people want that track so badly, they are buying into the artist. That means the way the artist can make money is through live shows, apparel and other merchandise.

So should people just accept that revenue from CDs and downloads will continue to decrease?

If you can sell CDs on top of that in this time of crisis, then great. If you can get a publishing deal and get your music in a film or on an ad, that’s another revenue source. If you don’t, however, put your music out there in the first place then none of this will happen.

In dance, where is the exciting music coming from?

I still enjoy hearing guys like Alan Fitzpatrick, Tom Budden, DJ Luca from the Czech Republic. I’m enjoying a lot of the dubstep music that’s coming out at the minute – not all of it, though; but I do love the fact that it’s a good new music movement that’s taking hold with people because of its creativity. I still enjoy lots of drum&bass; to hear Roni Size, DJ Marky and LTJ Bukem still kicking it shows there is still a lot of creativity there. My ears are still open on all sorts of styles of music like Don Diablo, the Bloody Beetroots and the Crookers all making a big noise.

Emerging markets like China and South America are exciting lots of people. What have your experiences been?

One of the best events I’ve DJ-ed at in recent years is the Exit Festival in Serbia. It attracts 50,000 people from the Baltic States to hear all different sorts of music. One on site they can see Prodigy, Madness and Darren Emerson play. It’s amazing that this music, after all this time, is still interesting people. Places like Russia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia and Romania remind me of the late-1980s and the early days of rave. People like me, Sven Vath, Danny Tenaglia, Laurent Gaurnier, these different countries are embracing us all. It’s still a really good time for dance music – and that’s around the world, not just from a UK perspective.

What advice would you give young DJs and producers coming through?

Don’t follow any fashion. It’s all about how you feel about what you’re doing. People will follow you if they can see you have a passion and a heart for what you’re doing and making music in such away.