The DJ legend teams up with Kickstarter for new CD release
Hi Dave, welcome back to DMCWORLD – a very interesting new project you have just unveiled with Kickstarter and a proposed new compilation CD. When did they approach you and what was your initial reaction?
“Hi Dan. Well it doesn’t really work like that. It’s a crowd sourcing platform which anybody can use to fund their creative project. You have to be approved by them but you don’t need an invite. I believe it started as a direct response to the US financial crisis when it became virtually impossible to get bank finance for start ups and its just sort of grown from there. By the end of last year they’d launched over 70,000 projects with a success rate of nearly 50%. The total number of dollars pledged to date is over $380 million! But interestingly they have no ownership rights. Sara, part of my management team, is a big supporter of Kickstarter and has backed all sorts of projects from iPad pens to films. She floated it as an idea towards the end of last year and it just really grew on us all. It’s quite scary jumping into the unknown but very exciting at the same time. It really could be a game changer. So we decided to go for it and here we are.”
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1756868313/dave-seaman-kickstarter-dj-mix-compilation
How big an organisation are Kickstarter and where are they based?
“I believe they’re based in New York, I’m not sure how big they are but based on the numbers above guess they’ll be expanding very soon!”
You are looking to raise £25,000 to complete the album, where will that money go?
“The money is all allocated, there’s no profit being made. MCPS take a large chunk for mechanical royalties, artist and label advances take another chunk, design, mastering, actual CD, manufacturing, a legal beagle to do the licensing and postage and packaging! It all adds up! And of course we have to pay it all upfront!”
Have you discussed Kickstarter with any of your fellow producers, do you really think this is the way forward?
“Yeah, quite a few have shown their support already. I guess everyone has one eye on how we do. If it works for us, I dare say there’ll be a lot of people following suit. It works on lots of levels. One of which is that it combats piracy. You can’t pirate something that’s not yet made. Once it’s out there in the big wide world of course it will get copied but by then you’ve already achieved your goal.”
Explain how the pledging works, how does the staggered amounts work – what does a fan get for their money ?
“Each pledger simply decides how much money they want to put towards the project. They can put as little or as much as they like and in return they get rewarded for their belief in the project. So £5 gets you a digital copy of the album, £12.00 gets you a physical copy of the album which I will sign, £45 gets you a CD, T shirt & your name in the album credits and the rewards go all the way up to £2000 which means I’ll come to your house and DJ. The support so far has been amazing, we’ve had people pledging £2.00 for no reward just to be part of the project and then one of the £2000 private party packages was snapped up straight away. Incredible!”
What happens if you don’t raise the £25,000?
“Well nothing, Thats the point really. It really is a case of if you want this album to happen then you have to support it. I hope you’re putting your hand in your pocket Dan? I know you’ve always wanted to learn to DJ. I’ve got a lovely £300 DJ lesson reward that’s got your name all over it.”
Will the CD be available in the shops?
“Nope. Not ever. Maybe a charity shop in 5 years time.”
So moving on, where have been some of the great gigs over the winter for you?
“I played an amazing gig in Helsinki a couple of weeks ago with Danny Howells & Fatboy Slim. It was in an indoor waterpark. Minus 15 degrees outside but inside every single person was in swim shorts or bikinis. Well apart from me and Danny that is who had no idea what we were getting into so sadly, we left our mankinis at home…”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
01. Samu.l ‘Restless Dreams’ (Dave Seaman mix) [Selador]
02. Quivver ‘Too Much Noise In The Backroom’ [Toolroom]
03. Joel Mull ‘Open October’ [LNOE]
04. Foals ‘Late Night’ (Sasha’s Involver mix) [MOS]
05. Blackout ‘White Noise’ (Booka Shade mix) [Blaufield]
06. Danny Daze ‘The Calm’ [Ellum]
07. Dave Seaman ‘The Holy Ghost’ [Tulipa]
08. Shadow Child ‘So High’ (Hot Since 82 mix) [Moda Black]
09. Chus, Ceballos & Marlon D ‘Partenza’ [Stereo]
10. Sam Paganini ‘Para-lel’ [Cocoon]
Who are some of the producers from around the world that you are giving props to at the moment?
“Been loving a lot of what Hot Since 82 is doing. I’ve been following Daley for a while. He’s a fellow Leeds lad. But he’s really hit his stride recently and am made up for him. I’m also really loving a lot of what Piemont are doing out of Germany and people like Maceo Plex, Coyu, Booka Shade, Pirupa, Sante are always on my radar. To be honest, I could real off a hundred names. There’s tonnes of really good producers out there.”
What is coming out next from you studio wise?
“I’ve got a bunch of stuff ready and waiting to be released. I’ve done a new track with Andy Chatterley which is out soon on Smiley Fingers
Then I’ve got solo 2 singles coming out on Tenampa & Tulipa respectively in May and I’ve also just done a remix for the first release on my new label, Selador which I’m doing together with Steve Parry from Liverpool. That’s by Samu.l and is called Restless Dreams…”
You were recently at the DMC 30th Anniversary in London, the company that helped launch your career when you became Editor of Mixmag in the late 80s. What was the night like, who came out of the woodwork?
“That was a truly amazing night. So many people I haven’t seen since ‘back in the day’, it was exhausting but so much fun. Was lovely to reminisce about the ‘good old days’ for the evening.”
How important has DMC been over the last three decades?
“Massively so. They were really the first people to champion DJs as artists in their own right and also pioneered the concept of remixing. And look where we are now. I blame DMC! haha…”
And finally, your kids are growing up – what do they make of your music?
“They like to bounce around to it sometimes but to be honest they’re far too pre occupied with football and video games at the moment. They’re still quite young though so there’s plenty of time.”
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