After SoundCloud Deletions, Kaskade Plans His Own Music Platform

On Wednesday, in a series of Twitter posts, electronic music dj and producer Kaskade revealed that he was getting SoundCloud takedown notices for many of his posted tracks and that he was moving on to his own platform. He followed last night with a well-written take on the fact that he was legally in the wrong but definitely in the right. It's a position with which many would argue but Kaskade's take on changes brought on by the digital age and EDM's embrace of such changes is quite sharp and well worth a read.

Kaskade's revelations on Twitter are getting quite a bit of attention. Here are the key tweets in chronological order:

It was hard to tell from the tweets and the resulting coverage how things were being resolved. But Toneden's Ali Shakeri put me on to Kaskade's post which is full of interesting points about how things are in the new music industry.

"brb…Deleting SoundCloud."

"Here’s the thing. I’m not in the right here.
I’m definitely, without question, black-and-white in the wrong."

"That’s not to say I am wrong, though."

Kaskade explains that, yes, he gave up ownership of a lot of his music when he signed with Ultra and now Sony owns it.

But he says he's also authorized to post his own music. It's the mashups that are the problem. But he has a very different take on mashups, copyright and free music than do the power players in the old music industry.

"There’s always been this cagey group of old men
who are scared to death of people taking their money."

"We can’t love music we haven’t heard."

"Innovation helps the music industry.
The industry only needs to make the effort to keep up and adapt.
Make no mistake: exposing as many people as possible
to music – all music – is a good thing.
Everyone wins. The artist, the audience,
even the old guys who just want some more cash."

"The laws that are governing online music share sites
were written at a time when our online and real-life landscapes
were totally different."

"Countless artists have launched their careers though mash ups,
bootlegs, remixes and music sharing.
These laws and page take-downs are cutting us down at the knees."

"It’s laughable to assert that someone is losing money owed to them
because I’m promoting music that I’ve written and recorded.
Having the means to expose music to the masses
is a deft tool to breathe new life into and promote a song.
It’s the most compelling advertising, really. "

"To put it in language that makes more sense
for the ones who can only speak dollar bill –
Free the music, and your cash will follow. "

Recognizing that his insights won't change the system, Kaskade is going to create his own platform as did Deadmau5.

Which I assume means less money and more competition for the properties owned by that "cagey group of old men."

More:

• Kaskade: brb…Deleting SoundCloud.
• Interview: Kaskade Can Finally Do Whatever He Wants
• Kaskade: Politicking of a Mash Up

Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) also blogs at DanceLand. To suggest topics about music tech, DIY biz or marketing for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.

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