I Say Tomato, You Say Serato

by DJ VERB

Nearly everyone I know (who's a DJ) is making the switch to using Rane/Serato Scratch Live. (for those who don't know that is, click here) Even Trew has it. Now, let me be clear on this, I've seen it in action and I used it for a minute, and I think it's the shit. I am decidedly pro-Serato. However, I've become a little concerned about its impact on the DJ game. Part of one's rep (or most, depending on how far back you go) as a DJ came from what records you had. Sure you played the same Top 40 bangers as everyone else, but then you threw in that rare joint that few other DJ's had. Maybe it was an obscure, out-of-print rarity or a promo-only white-label 12", but there was always a record in the flyest DJ's collection that made you say "Damn, I can't believe he has that on vinyl!" Those days are over.

Nowadays, DJ's trade hard drives and bolster their MP3 collections with each others joints. What was once the sought-after gem of one DJ can now become that of 10 DJ's in a matter of days. There is literally no limit to songs a DJ can collect, and he (if he downloads from the internet) doesn't have to leave his bedroom. While Serato (or Final Scratch, if you use that) is a definite plus for DJ's in terms of convenience, I see it as diminishing the art a little bit. Not the art of mixing and cutting, but the art of being a arbiter of taste. The specialness of a certain record is slowly becoming extinct. Vinyl imposes limitations. There are only so many records you can afford to own, so many you can fit in your car, so many you're willing to carry into the club, and so many you can fit into your allotted playing time. Therefore, the records that made all those cuts and made it into your set become special, a cut above (pun intended) all the other ones you could have brought with you and played. The ones you chose say something about you as a DJ, as a music lover. You may be the only DJ in town who makes it a point to play a certain record, and that makes your DJ set special. You might be the only DJ in town who was diligent enough (or in the game long enough) to cop that rare promo-only single, and dusting that one off makes your night special.

DJ'ing MP3's is great for listeners, as it gives them more opportunities to hear more great music, but for DJ's, it gradually and subtly makes them more similar. Also, if songs can be heard at multiple places, why make an effort to go to that first club that had all the fly shit on lock? This is good for hungry, up-and-coming DJ's--now they have a better chance at rockin' like the big boys--but for the big boys, their secret weapons are suddenly getting less and less secret. One might get a super-advance promo CD or MP3 with the hot new joint, but what's to stop another DJ (who's on the same esteemed promo list) from emailing it all the other DJ's in town and, in effect, leveling the playing field?

Here's another question: Will this technology truly sound the death knell of vinyl? Records have survived advances in CD DJ'ing technology, but Final Scratch and Serato seem poised to deliver a positively crushing blow to black plastic, if not the coup de grace. DJ's were/are the last vocal advocates for vinyl as well as the main reason record companies still made records. Vinyl DJ's initially fronted on CD players because they didn't want to mix on dumb little plastic disks, which weren't, and still aren't, the same as turntables. With Serato/Final Scratch, however, you are using actual records in the same way you would normally spin. Now the vinyl purists have the same money/muscle-saving technology that CD spinners have had for years. What, then, will be the ongoing motivation to actually go to a store and buy a record? Even if you pay for a download, which many people don't, it's only a dollar or two compared to at least six for a vinyl 12" single, sometimes seven or eight. Why buy a potentially shoddy vinyl reissue of an old soul or funk record when you can buy the crisp CD version, rip it to MP3, and spin it with Serato? Why buy an expensive import single when you could track down a download site in Europe and cop a track for a few bucks?

At what point will it be not worth the trouble for labels to manufacture vinyl at all? This gives me pause, as I also produce music and have released several 12" records on a very small indie dance label. Deciding not to press vinyl isn't a big deal for a major--they're still making bank on CD's--but for an indie electronic/dance label, vinyl is the lifeblood. Without business from the majors, pressing plants will have to raise their prices, making runs for indie labels even more expensive than they already are. Labels will probably have to eliminate singles altogether, instead providing MP3's for paid download on their websites. I've heard music industry experts say that eventually all music (as well as some other media) will be free, since there's just no way to contain the copying and sharing of digital files. I can see this happening, and while that sounds good to me as a music fan, as an artist it makes me a bit concerned.

I work real hard on my music, and it's only fair that I see some money for it. If artists were no longer making money from record sales, how would they get by? Everyone would have to make living on the road. Actually, would that be so bad? For anyone to thrive, they would have to be able to hack it on stage or in the DJ Booth. The ancient art of performance, which we've drifted so far from in our high-tech society, would now be the most essential and lucrative element of the music business, just like it used to be. I hate to drop a cliche about coming full circle, but that would be what would happen. It would mean that the lame, no-skills-having studio creations would find it hard to survive, while the Princes and Dave Matthews' of the world (who, regardless of individual taste, can really play) could continue to do just fine. You couldn't just have one hot song, you'd have to have a whole set of them plus a dope stage show.

Now that I think about it, that sounds okay to me. I would crank out tracks for free if it meant I had to travel the world and DJ for a living. Maybe this whole thing isn't so bad. Hmm, if I become a jet-setting DJ, I'll have to get Serato, won't I?