DJs Embrace CDs As Vinyl's Future Fades

Madonna's new Thunderpuss GHV2 Megamix became the first non-vinyl promo track to top Music Week's Pop (Dance) charts this week after being sent out to DJs exclusively on CDR. The upfront chart is compiled from DJ reaction sheets based on the response tunes receive in clubs and Madonna's latest chart success indicates that CD mixing is now normal for most British DJs.

The emergence of CD mixers alongside traditional decks has gathered pace significantly in recent years, with many producers including the likes of Deep Dish now routinely using them to test their own productions and remixes on clubbers. Paul Van Dyk, who maintained his number 4 position in DJ magazine's recent Top 100 DJ poll, also revealed that CDRs are increasingly dominating his performances.

"Around 40-50% of my set is now on CD because I'm playing so much upfront stuff," he said.

Ironically, a significant factor in the rise of CD mixing is vinyl's continuing popularity with DJs, coupled with major supply side problems from pressing plants. Many records are currently being delayed due to delays on pressing promo copies, making CDR promo copies ever more popular as means of getting the music out there. Another great advantage CDs have over vinyl remains their portability.

"I don't need vinyl and I don't want to carry it around with me," Darude frontman Ville Virtanen, told Skrufff's Benedetta Ferraro recently, explaining why he only DJs with CDs.

"It's heavy and impractical for what I'm doing right now and, anyway when you're DJing, no one can tell the difference if you're mixing CDs instead of vinyl."

Jonty Adderley (Skrufff.com)
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