As the summer festival season draws to a close, many of us turn to our phones and social media to relive the magic and memories — or, having never been there in the first place, vicariously enjoy re-watching footage of live and DJ sets ‘going off’ in fields across the world.
In recent times, the likes of Bicep, Fred again.. and Four Tet have all enjoyed a second life online in this manner thanks to their respective live festival sets going viral and entering the electronic music canon. Indeed, social media clips of a crowd rapturously responding to a DJ’s blending and mixing can now play a crucial role in boosting the career of DJ, with a captured moment of live magic going some way to ensuring winter warehouse bookings and even bigger slots on festival stages the following summer.
But according to newly released figures from the #RespectTheCreators campaign, which is backed by the Association For Electronic Music (AFEM), 90% of DJ performance content that is shared on Instagram doesn’t credit the music being played in the video — music which, on average, is 97% of the time the work of another artist.
Of course, we all know that DJ sets are, by and large, not just a run-through of one single back catalogue — not forgetting that DJs can be graded on their own access to hot new creator bits, white labels and unreleased dubs. But the #RespectTheCreators campaign is aiming to implement an industry-wide standard for crediting the work of creators that is featured on social media videos and content uploaded by DJs, artists, labels and brands.
These widely-shared clips of DJ sets often serve as the basis for subsequent marketing campaigns for artists, labels and media outlets — sometimes racking up millions of views — but, without crediting the original creator(s) of the music that features in the clip, they often miss out on the much-needed exposure. It’s hoped that the #RespectTheCreators campaign will encourage DJs, fans and industry professionals alike to tag the music featured in their respective clips (with full track names in the most visible part of the post). There also calls for online platforms to publish tracklists for every set they feature and promoters to credit any music featured in their material.
As Finlay Johnson, Chief Operating Officer at AFEM, explains, the impetus for the campaign came out of wanting a wider array of artists to get more out of platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, which can provide low-barrier access to broader audiences. This is particularly true in regards to the visual moments that do best on social media, such as when DJs upload footage of them playing other artists’ music during their sets.
‘We’re trying to address this “perfect storm,”’ Finlay tells M. ‘Of getting more recognition for the producer — and many DJs are producers, too — behind the track being played on socials.’ For Johnson, this is a multi-strand campaign. ‘The primary task is easy and costs nothing,’ he adds. ‘It’s just about getting DJs [and others] to tag correctly when they’re posting.’
‘We’re trying to address this “perfect storm" of getting more recognition for the producer behind the track being played on socials.’ - Finlay Johnson
This means crediting everyone involved in a piece of music, from guest vocalists to the creators themselves (something, Finlay adds, is ‘even possible’ for unreleased tracks). In turn, this can ultimately inform other strands, such as improving the accuracy of metadata and royalty statements, and give lesser-known artists more recognition for their work. Seeing the name of an artist and their track on a social media clip — or even the name of a forthcoming record — could create easy value for those still building an audience, Finlay says: ‘There’s still a lack of crediting… and it's such a noisy media landscape where every word on a phone screen matters.’
Finlay also believes that, reciprocally, improving this process of crediting will also benefit the DJs themselves, helping to associate them with a certain sound, dance music culture or ecosystem. ‘It also helps underscore the value [of music], which can’t exist without everyone involved [behind the sound behind played]. It’s not just a DJ with a USB stick,’ he adds. ‘That’s worth your time and respect.’
Though still in its infancy, the campaign has already resonated across the electronic music community. Dutch DJ Frank Nitzinsky backed the #RepsectTheCreators ethos during his recent keynote speech at IMS Ibiza, while support has also been voiced by the likes of fabric, Glasgow Underground, Good Company and LabelWorx.
Speaking about the campaign, Ashley Howard, PRS for Music’s Relationship Manager, Dance Music commented: ‘PRS for Music works tirelessly to ensure that music creators are rewarded when their music is used online. We are proud of our ongoing relationship with the Association for Electronic Music and it's great to see music creators being promoted and supported through this campaign.’
Label boss Alistair Wells — who makes music under the moniker Perc — is also supportive of the campaign. ‘If DJs tag us [on social media] when they play out, we can reach out, send them more music, link to labels, build and connection,’ he tells M. ‘It helps the whole ecosystem of dance music, improving relations between DJs, producers and labels.’
'This will help the whole ecosystem of dance music, improving relations between DJs, producers and labels.’ - Alistair Wells
He’s not the only one. Matt Edwards, AKA music creator Radio Slave, knows that social media is crucial for building a career: ‘For new artists, [getting properly credited] can be huge,’ he says. Both Matt and Alistair agree that DJs need to start taking more responsibility for that and move away from just thinking about themselves when they upload clips to their socials.
‘I think the #RespectTheCreators campaign could really have an impact and be a strong step towards DJs lifting up the artists that provide the backbone of their careers,’ Matt adds.
As Finlay notes, if the music in social media clips is tagged correctly — be it by labels, promoters or festival bill-topping DJs — it ultimately strengthens the culture, giving audiences a sense of a label’s sound or a DJ’s vibe. ‘It takes hard work [to top a festival bill], but it’s also built on the releases of other people to get there,’ he says. ‘I’m proud that electronic music is headlining multi-genre festivals, but we need all creators to have their opportunities too.’
In terms of the early impact of the #RespectTheCreator campaign, Finlay says: ‘I’ve seen some DJs use [the hashtag] in Instagram comments in an organic way. It’s a campaign that belongs to the community and hopefully it adjusts the mindset so no-one misses out.’
Alistair certainly hopes it will shift the dial. ‘I think such campaigns are very important,’ he notes. ‘Even if another 5% or 10% of the people are crediting artists on social posts, then that's a success.’
