Are DJs Ruining Their Own Profits?

Brit breaks DJ Krafty Kuts (AKA Martin Reeves) has responded to Nick Thayer's widely-discussed blog post "Do you wanna know just how much money I make?".

He wonders if some DJs/producers are not themselves devaluing music.

Last week Melbourne DJ Thayer, aligned with Skrillex's OWSLA, broke down the costs of releasing an EP and touring behind it, demonstrating the low returns even for an internationally-recognised (Australian) DJ.

"I saw his piece and I found it quite interesting," Reeves tells theMusic.com.au. "I thought that it was very brave of him to stick his neck out and put so much detail into such a piece."

Reeves – who himself presides over the fledgling label Instant Vibes – maintains that the underlying "problem" is that dance music culture has become "very throwaway" with production technology so "accessible".

"Now we've got an influx of people writing dance music – whether it be old rock producers or people who make pop music or someone who's just decided, Oh, sod it, I just wanna write something, this dance music seems like it's easy to make," he says.

There's also now an expectation among listeners that music should be "free" – something that DJ/producers actively encourage.

"Big artists are putting their music out so that they can go and do big tours. I'm not gonna mention any names, but I know a lot of American artists who have put out a lot of free music and, off the back of that, they're touring and they're getting a lot of money for their shows."

Reeves admits that he, too, has given away music – especially to promote his new live band project, Wicked City, with Reprazent's Dynamite MC a member.

"You have to join the ride, otherwise you're just gonna fall behind – so it's a catch 22."

This month Reeves will hit Australia for the first time since the summer of 2012/2013, when he joined A Skillz on the festival circuit. He'll be playing club and bars, starting with a date at Hobart's Republic Bar on 17 April.

He's also due to boldly release a mix-CD, Back To The Beats, through Central Station.