Artist Spotlight – Audius
Artist Spotlight
With a constant flow of promising and not-so-promising talent emerging in the electronica / dance music industry, it’s increasingly difficult for artists to avoid becoming diluted in the competing masses. But lucky for some, one DJ realized that and didn’t miss the beat in doing something about it.
Jason Schlosky (aka DJ Vanish) has been producing music for more than eight years and once attempted the use of a certain music distribution aggregator in an effort to get his music out there. What he experienced, though, was disappointment.
He soon discovered that the company he chose for distributing his music allows anyone, signed or unsigned, to dispense their music through iTunes, Amazon, Napster, etc. What this means, the Dj explains, is that the music playing field has become quite level. With all artists being allowed the ability to sell their music, it becomes nearly impossible for any one of them to be found in an infinite online music store which, Schlosky says, is why a record label is still important.
Schlosky is now the owner of Velcro City Records (VCR), a brainchild of One Productions, and has satisfied his desire for a more effective means of releasing music. VCR launched at the beginning of this year and, in May, became available on Beatport, hitting the top 100 four times.
color: #1d1b11; font-family: Arial;”>For Schlosky, it’s all about earning the artists he has signed the three things that can be difficult for them to attain on their own — decent pay, attention and recognition. He says, “In the digital world, no one really expects to become rich with the paltry percentage of money that is seen from a $2 sale. So, in turn, the label invests all money earned in advertising until a fan base is built and the artists are out playing shows, earning better money from gigs than from music sales.” And, in speaking of earning recognition for the artists signed under his label, Schlosky couldn’t help but mention an artist VCR has a lot of faith in, Audius.
Audius’ new release Fever has already become Velcro City Records’ second best release with sales being generated around the globe. When asked what his motivation behind Fever was, Audius replied, “I wanted to create a track that had a dance-friendly feel, one that could fit into the style of music I play during my DJ sets. It’s a sure test of the success of one’s own production ability when someone can drop one of their original tracks in the middle of a set with a packed dance floor and experience the dance floor exploding with approval. That’s the motivation. That’s what keeps me going.”
After listening to his new release, I feel it’s no lie that Fever, falling under the progressive house category, has the potential to explode a dance floor and I don’t think Audius’ record label would disagree.
Velcro City Records says the artist has signed a 20-release deal and listeners can expect many more explosive tracks.
