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Business News Digital
SFX to relaunch Beatport as streaming service
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 16 December 2014
Beatport is relaunching, people. According to the Wall Street Journal, an all new Beatport.com is in development which will see the site move into streaming music, launch a new EDM fan community element, and generally plug and promote and do gizmo stuff around all the festivals and events operated by its owner SFX.
SFX bought Beatport in early 2013, because it was buying anything vaguely linked to dance music in early 2013, though it was a sensible purchase given the download site’s profile in the EDM community. Towards the end of last year the inevitable downsizing began as spin-off Beatport features, like the social network elements, were closed down, and the download company’s team was consolidated with SFX’s other techie acquisitions.
But following that streamlining, the plan for 2015 is now to grow the service, most notably by adding ad-supported and on-demand streaming, as well as community elements, and content and live streams related to SFX’s weighty portfolio of dance music festivals and events around the world. Though the download store will also remain, for the time being at least.
It’s not clear exactly how the streaming element of Beatport will work, or what labels are on board. Though unlike most other streaming music set-ups, Beatport streams could launch without the majors on board, given how much of the music downloaded from the existing Beatport store comes from EDM independents.
So that’s all exciting isn’t it? Beepy beep beep as the EDM kids say. No, really, they do. I met one once and that was all he said all night.
