Mashup culture: the Bootie Nightclub Phenomenon
20100811 at 11:00
photo by Leo Herrera
Adrian & Mysterious D, a pair of San Francisco DJ’s, started a monthly “mashup” night at a small club in 2003. Then they moved to the DNA lounge, the current home of Bootie SF. Guest DJs spin their own mashups and live music performances are common. This is all out in the open. Only one mashup track from last year’s “best of” compilation was subject to a complaint from a label, so far.
Bootie is now a small international empire, serving a market that obviously isn’t being served by the music industry. Key to avoiding legal trouble is the way they profit: from people paying the $12 cover charge, minus the cut the venue takes ($15 for special events such as the upcoming seven year anniversary party)
No royalties, no products for sale, just ongoing live events where people are paid to spin or perform.
Check out the reviews on Yelp:
The house band, Smash Up Derby, is FANTASTIC. (in 29 reviews)
In the end, I had a fabulous time drinking and dancing to mash-ups. (in 33 reviews)
The mashups are amazing, and I love the eclectic crowds. (in 38 reviews)
To sell a mashup you would need to negotiate with all rights holders for everything, because there is no compulsory license for such use. Up-front fees for one mashup could run from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands of dollars, just for the privilege of selling it on iTunes. Per-item fees could be greater than total sale price. Only the labels can really sell mashups, which seems to finally be a big deal with the upcoming Gaga remixed album.
That said, most of the mashups premiered at Bootie events are available for free download at their blog.
Other resources:
Disclosure: I’ve met A+D, I’m a fan/friend of theirs, so much so I wanted them to join me and attend Larry Lessig’s “Remix” book gala, but they couldn’t. He wasn’t familiar with A+D at the time.
article, conversation | tagged business, copyright, diy, live performance, mashup, profit, remix 