As those of you that have followed UM since the early days of fanzines and podcasts, and even those of you that hooked up when I finally took the plunge into social media will know the show has always been about the music.
The 'concept' has always been to showcase the best new music (or at least the tunes I've been enjoying the most) and help promote them to fellow music lovers. Now the thing is, as we all become more and more engaged in social media and increasing numbers of labels and artists become used to using the likes of Facebook , Soundcloud, Twitter and the like, the hum of promotion is creating a cut through problem all of it's own.
I got to thinking about the shows recently, the format, the way in which it works from my end of things, the process I have, the time I have and everything else in between (yes I like a good ponder). And came to some conclusions that it was time to adapt to this new world order and give UM some new life in order for it to continue to be as successful as it has to date.
The result of this head scratching is that from mid November onwards the UM shows will be shorter - around an hour or so in length. That means rather than 20-23 tracks per week I'll be selecting 10-12, making it harder for releases to get included and therefore more valued by the listeners as the tunes to look out for.
The other positives of such a move is that downloading to mobile devices will be easier and less bulky, and yes people can fit it on a CD if they still do that rather than plug their pod in? But, like I've always said, the idea is to help sell the tunes, so the 128kbps will still be used to protect the actually releases profitability.
The result of this change will obviously impact on the radio stations currently broadcasting the shows, and hopefully they be able to continue to support the shows. But given the scale of Soundcloud followers coupled with both the untitledmusic and Deep House fans pages the direct audience is growing at more than 50 people a day - and that, amongst the mass promotion we're seeing across social networks has to be a the focus - listeners are opting into these groups, based on the music they get to hear and UM's shows are part of that package.
Change isn't always welcomed by everyone, and I know a shorter format won't please everyone - I'm keen to hear people's views on these things (as always) so leave a comment or get in touch.
The 'concept' has always been to showcase the best new music (or at least the tunes I've been enjoying the most) and help promote them to fellow music lovers. Now the thing is, as we all become more and more engaged in social media and increasing numbers of labels and artists become used to using the likes of Facebook , Soundcloud, Twitter and the like, the hum of promotion is creating a cut through problem all of it's own.
I got to thinking about the shows recently, the format, the way in which it works from my end of things, the process I have, the time I have and everything else in between (yes I like a good ponder). And came to some conclusions that it was time to adapt to this new world order and give UM some new life in order for it to continue to be as successful as it has to date.
The result of this head scratching is that from mid November onwards the UM shows will be shorter - around an hour or so in length. That means rather than 20-23 tracks per week I'll be selecting 10-12, making it harder for releases to get included and therefore more valued by the listeners as the tunes to look out for.
The other positives of such a move is that downloading to mobile devices will be easier and less bulky, and yes people can fit it on a CD if they still do that rather than plug their pod in? But, like I've always said, the idea is to help sell the tunes, so the 128kbps will still be used to protect the actually releases profitability.
The result of this change will obviously impact on the radio stations currently broadcasting the shows, and hopefully they be able to continue to support the shows. But given the scale of Soundcloud followers coupled with both the untitledmusic and Deep House fans pages the direct audience is growing at more than 50 people a day - and that, amongst the mass promotion we're seeing across social networks has to be a the focus - listeners are opting into these groups, based on the music they get to hear and UM's shows are part of that package.
Change isn't always welcomed by everyone, and I know a shorter format won't please everyone - I'm keen to hear people's views on these things (as always) so leave a comment or get in touch.
First, I absolutely LOVE the UM mixes, even just as a listener, so thanks for all the effort put into them.
ReplyDeleteAs a DJ, I have a couple of thoughts that would make the mixes even more helpful to me and/or the producers you're helping promote.
I frequently hear tracks that make me go "MUST HAVE NOW"... and it can be pretty tricky to figure out which is which, especially on unreleased things that may or may not have samples up online. Would a shorter format possibly give enough time to include time codes in the track list so sussing out what is what is a little easier? Timecoded comments on the sound cloud page would be even snazzier.
And, of course, since most of the music in the main mixes is unreleased, I'm often hearing it before I can get it. Including release dates on the track list would make that a little easier, since now I have to go hunt down whoever is releasing it, who may or may not have any public info, for my track hunting notes.
Maybe DJs should do that leg work so only the motivated are getting the good stuff, but the less time I spend chasing info the more time I can spend digging through new releases myself!
Thanks again!
I love UM, I've passed you on to so many people..I agree with the idea of shorter sets for all the reasons you outline, makes perfect sense to specialize more but I have to say that the ocassional longer one wouldn't go amiss either! I like listening to a longer set and getting into it. Thanks! DoctorDeb
ReplyDeleteThanks Erik - I hope with shorter sets it'll be some much easier to tell which track is what, and with the tracklistings always published here, finding the tunes you love should be easier! Keep it deep!
ReplyDeleteI'll throw in the odd longer one every now and then Deb - fear not - maybe a Christmas special or something? :)
ReplyDelete