Andrew
04-01-2006, 23:44
Pete Tong: Apple's Gone Wrong?
The phenomenal British DJ swears by Macs and believes iPods have changed the planet. But as Apple conquers the music world, Tong worries the company may be going all Microsoft on us. A Wired News interview by Jonny Evans.
Wired News: When did you first get into DJing?
Pete Tong: I always wanted to be involved in music. I was in a bad school band, then at around 13 years old I saw a DJ making a much better noise than us. I knew the minute I saw the turntables and wires: "That's for me." That was my moment. I never dreamed it would become a profession.
WN: What's your advice for wannabe DJs?
Tong: Be as entrepreneurial as you can; no one will do everything for you. There's no better way I know to build a reputation as a DJ than to do your own thing, do something different, start your own night, get your own crowd. If you are getting 50 people to a bar on a Tuesday, people will check you out. Once you have a crowd, you have a scene, it's human nature. Taste is the most important thing.
WN: What do you think of Apple's adventures in music?
Tong: Apple's music stuff is so simple to use, just like the Mac. IPods have changed everyone's life. It doesn't matter whether you are 7 or 70, everyone wants one. But iTunes libraries are growing so large people are outgrowing hard drive space, and using drag-and-drop to put libraries elsewhere is so archaic. I want a button to make my PowerBook speak to my main iTunes library and consolidate the collection. I get sent tracks all the time on my notebook when I'm on the move.
It's kind of scary that you can have your entire collection on one or two hard drives. My 25 years of vinyl are in storage. I played a 7-inch vinyl set recently and discovered there are 18-year-olds who have never seen vinyl.
WN: What about the music labels and digital music?
Tong: The dam has been broken. I think labels realize they can't stop the flow. They try to, partly through stoical old business models and partly through nerves. I was there during the move from vinyl to CD when labels really screwed the artists. They tried to do the same thing (with digital), but it didn't work. Now, I think labels spend more time focusing on how to work with these technologies than on how to stop them.
There is genuine concern about how to stop music being passed around for free. Once you take the money out of music, it's not fair; people (artists, producers, managers and more) can't get paid.
Link (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,69925-0.html?tw=rss.technology)
The phenomenal British DJ swears by Macs and believes iPods have changed the planet. But as Apple conquers the music world, Tong worries the company may be going all Microsoft on us. A Wired News interview by Jonny Evans.
Wired News: When did you first get into DJing?
Pete Tong: I always wanted to be involved in music. I was in a bad school band, then at around 13 years old I saw a DJ making a much better noise than us. I knew the minute I saw the turntables and wires: "That's for me." That was my moment. I never dreamed it would become a profession.
WN: What's your advice for wannabe DJs?
Tong: Be as entrepreneurial as you can; no one will do everything for you. There's no better way I know to build a reputation as a DJ than to do your own thing, do something different, start your own night, get your own crowd. If you are getting 50 people to a bar on a Tuesday, people will check you out. Once you have a crowd, you have a scene, it's human nature. Taste is the most important thing.
WN: What do you think of Apple's adventures in music?
Tong: Apple's music stuff is so simple to use, just like the Mac. IPods have changed everyone's life. It doesn't matter whether you are 7 or 70, everyone wants one. But iTunes libraries are growing so large people are outgrowing hard drive space, and using drag-and-drop to put libraries elsewhere is so archaic. I want a button to make my PowerBook speak to my main iTunes library and consolidate the collection. I get sent tracks all the time on my notebook when I'm on the move.
It's kind of scary that you can have your entire collection on one or two hard drives. My 25 years of vinyl are in storage. I played a 7-inch vinyl set recently and discovered there are 18-year-olds who have never seen vinyl.
WN: What about the music labels and digital music?
Tong: The dam has been broken. I think labels realize they can't stop the flow. They try to, partly through stoical old business models and partly through nerves. I was there during the move from vinyl to CD when labels really screwed the artists. They tried to do the same thing (with digital), but it didn't work. Now, I think labels spend more time focusing on how to work with these technologies than on how to stop them.
There is genuine concern about how to stop music being passed around for free. Once you take the money out of music, it's not fair; people (artists, producers, managers and more) can't get paid.
Link (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,69925-0.html?tw=rss.technology)