DJ revenue platform Aslice shuts down after “many of the highest paid DJs in the world decided not to contribute”
Aslice, a music revenue-sharing platform launched in 2022, has announced it will permanently close.
Lauched by DJ/producer DVS1 (real name Zak Khutoretsky) in 2022, Aslice was created to make a “fairer music ecosystem”. Aslice was founded using a system that encouraged fellow DJs to report their selists, as well as share a percentage of their fee to the original artists of the songs they played.
However despite support from the dance community upon its initial launch, the company took to social media on September 3 to announce it would shut down. It also shared a report called A Slice Of Fairness led by Audience Strategies, demonstrating how Aslice distributed $422,000 to over 27,000 producers from 57 countries since it first started.
“We developed a revenue-sharing software that worked–without any corporate funding or influence,” they wrote in a statement. “Aslice has always been dedicated to ensuring music producers are compensated fairly, driven by a simple yet profound principle: share with the artists you love.”
However, the report also pointed to the “the challenging dynamics of the electronic music industry”, adding that it did not make a profit whilst operating. DJ and label owner Sam Barker added in a statement of his own that Aslice was “the last hope for dance music producers in this comically unfair economy”, adding: “I’m also angry. Because the reason it’s ceasing operations is because many of the highest paid DJs in the world decided not to contribute.”
“DJs earning eye watering sums for a gig, sometimes thousands each time they press play, seemingly took no interest in supporting those making the music. It really couldn’t have been made any easier for you people.”
In related news, DJs must soon share Twitch stream earnings with labels, Twitch’s CEO has confirmed.
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Alex Rigotti
NME