Seminal turntablist DJ Shadow has posted a lengthy blog expressing his concern at the decline of the record industry.
DJ Shadow turned being a record collector into an artform. Amassing countless rare funk, soul, hip hop and electronic records the DJ turned producer and started blending the sounds together in an enormous collage.
Debut album ‘Endtroducing’ was nigh on perfect from start to finish. Later working with UNKLE, the producer’s later work was centred on his first love: hip hop.
However in a new blog posting DJ Shadow has expressed his concern at the decline of the record industry. “People have been asking for years now, “Where’s the next Nas, the next Jay-Z?” Be prepared to keep waiting…and for music, overall, to keep sucking” the DJ argued.
“Why? Because only bottom-of-the-barrel, embarrassing pop tripe generates enough income to feed the machine. Anything unproven or risky? Nobody’s going to bankroll that kind of ‘experiment.’”
Continuing, DJ Shadow bemoaned the increasingly difficult marketplace. However the producer did have a bright note for fans – the possibility of his first new material since the release of ‘The Private Press’ back in 2006.
“I am working hard on new music, and hope to share some of it with you in the coming months (really!). I’m fully aware that there are many former fans that insist my best work is behind me. Well, respectfully, I disagree. It’s not easy walking the tightrope between artistic validity and financial solvency, but I stand behind all of the decisions I have made to date.”
“What matters to me is that EVERYONE reading this knows that I take my career, my music, and my fans EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY. When I started in music 25 years ago, my mission was to provide an alternative, to expand the scope of choice available to music lovers like myself; and above all to demonstrate a willingness to go the extra mile and put the MAXIMUM EFFORT in EVERYTHING I DO, so that the bar continues to be raised, not lowered.”
“Whether that manifests itself on stage, on record, or as a character in a video game, I honestly feel that I have given it my best, win or lose, and I’m proud of that. I have to believe that your continued support is a vote of confidence, which I take great comfort in as I strive to create some of my best work to date.”
