Boiler Room has partnered with Apple Music to bring a trove of DJ mixes to the streaming service. As part of the move, the companies have trumpeted a fee-sharing model that purports to distribute royalties from each mix to the music rights holders, with the DJ also receiving a fee. It follows ongoing discussion within the industry around the current model, which critics argue enriches DJs at the expense of producers and songwriters.
Mat Dryhurst, the Holly Herndon collaborator and longtime advocate of a fee-sharing model, welcomed the move: “Very positive to see two platforms emphasize producer payments in this way,” he tweeted. “Encouraging that consensus on this issue has quietly come some distance over the past few years.”
Discussing the model in Mixmag this year, Dryhurst had said, “If your track is played by a DJ making 100k performing to 100 people at a corporate party, then your track [should be] worth a percentage of that 100k. If your track is being played by some teenagers for free at a tiny party, then your track is free in that context. I think we could build a lot of exciting infrastructure based on that fair premise.”
Questions remain over how Boiler Room and Apple Music will identify and clear songs, calculate shares of compensation, and track down the rights holders for DJs’ more obscure selections. Pitchfork has emailed a Boiler Room representative for clarification.
In the press release announcing the partnership, Boiler Room founder and CEO Blaise Bellville said:
Along with the new mixes, Boiler Room will also receive a radio slot on Apple Music 1, the service recently rebranded from Beats 1.