Apple Music is improving its DJ mixes to help you easily discover and isolate the tracks you enjoy, and to identify the DJs and festivals relating to the mixes you stream.
In building upon existing technology within Apple Music, Apple is also addressing a huge challenge in the entertainment industry by helping artists and labels get paid for usage.
Apple Music Is Making It Easier to Isolate Songs in DJ Mixes
Apple Music already houses thousands of DJ mixes, but Apple is now using Shazam to help identify the songs that make up a DJ mix.
As part of its announcement, Apple is giving listeners access to Studio K7!’s DJ Kicks archive of mixes that haven’t been available for nearly two decades.
DJ Charlotte de Witte had this to say on behalf of Apple:
Apple Music is the first platform that offers continuous mixes where there’s a fair fee involved for the artists whose tracks are included in the mixes and for the artist making those mixes. It’s a step in the right direction where everyone gets treated fairly. I’m beyond excited to have the chance to provide online mixes again.
Apple Music introduced DJ mixes to its users in 2016 when it partnered up with Dubset, so this feature has been a long time coming, and one which will aid Apple Music in perfecting your experience of streaming DJ mixes on its platform.
How Shazam Helps You Identify Tracks in Apple Music's DJ Mixes
Shazam is an app that helps you to identify a song and its artist. Apple Music is using this same technology for its DJ mixes—picking out songs and artists from a set, letting you know the festivals those mixes are from, as well as which DJ the mix you're playing belongs to.
This makes it possible for you as an Apple Music subscriber to get the most out of your streaming of music sets and to engage with your favorite DJ mixes in a better way.
Here's what the new and improved Shazam technology allows you to do on Apple Music:
View the Names of Individual Songs
Similar to other playlists on Apple Music, you can view track names and artists names when you have a mix open (which you can navigate to and play separately, if desired.) This also allows you to get an overview of the tracks on the mix, as well as the length of the mix, so you can decide how to proceed—which helps if you have a preference for certain tracks or artists.
Skip Songs Within the Mix
As with albums or playlists on Apple Music, you can skip the tracks you don't enjoy on any mix you're listening to. Similarly, you can go back to repeat a song you do enjoy or to listen to one you may have skipped. This ability to navigate through a mix gives you more control over what you listen to and how you experience a DJ mix.
Listen to Some Mixes With Lossless Audio
Much like other playlists on Apple Music, you'll find that you can listen to some mixes with lossless audio. This simply means that the track you're listening to has not lost its original data, maintaining the track's integrity and delivering the highest audio quality. Simply look out for the lossless badge in the top-left corner when you have a mix open.
Save the Mixes and Tracks to Your Library
You have the option of adding your favorite mixes or specific tracks from DJ mixes to your Apple Music library to enjoy offline or at a later stage. This is particularly handy when you find mixes you enjoy, and helps you grow your library of mixes and to add to your favorite music overall to access quickly and to enjoy repeatedly without searching for the mix each time.
This is also possible thanks to Apple Music’s database of more than 75 million songs. The Apple Music app already has a page dedicated to DJ mixes, for which Apple says engagement has tripled in the past year—which explains why Apple is investing so heavily in this genre.
How Streaming DJ Mixes Will Help Artists Get Paid
It's been especially difficult for DJs to stream mixes online due to copyright issues. This has made it challenging for artists to earn royalties each time their songs are played or featured in music sets, especially dance music, as DJs can sample even small fractions of songs as a part of their sets.
Through the improved Shazam technology, Apple is playing its part in rectifying this issue for artists. When songs are identified in DJ sets, the artists who own those songs can be compensated for their use, no matter how little.
Furthermore, Apple Music has partnered with major and independent record labels to find a way to ensure that streaming royalties are equally divided among clubs, DJs, the labels themselves, as well as the artists who feature in the mixes.
That way, everyone involved in the production and distribution of music gets paid, and artists can continue to earn for their work even when their songs are mixed to the point of sounding completely different.
Apple Music Is Helping Artists Earn Fairly
Apple's expansion of the Shazam technology for DJ mixes is tackling a significant problem in the music industry. The tech giant is ensuring that all artists involved in a mix get what is due to them, solving the current challenges that artists experience in getting paid for their hard work.
By improving its Shazam technology and upgrading its DJ mixes feature, Apple is helping artists to expand their revenues. In doing so, Apple is not only providing a platform for artists to distribute their music, but this move shows Apple's support for artists and their ability to earn and to do that fairly, thereby joining in on the fight to help artists maintain their ability to be fairly compensated for their work.
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