http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3HG0V2HUC
DJs who turned the tables on the super-clubs
Faced with changing tastes and the rising cost of the talent they reared,
big clubs are going international, says Ed Shelton
Published: November 25 2001 17:46 | Last Updated: November 25 2001 18:01
The fact that record decks now outsell guitars by a factor of three to one
among teenagers says it all. Dance music has long ago taken over from
rock'n'roll as the creative genre of choice for aspiring superstars.
But while the beat is different, the lure is the same. In theory, any
teenager starting out in his bedroom can wind up on an international
circuit playing to adoring fans and making lots of money.
Fortunately for those involved, the dance music phenomenon is happening at
the same time as a broader cultural trend that finds power increasingly
residing with those creating the product.
In the same way that top footballers can choose from any number of teams
all offering huge sums, club disc jockeys are in big demand and can fly all
over the world, playing for thousands of pounds to packed houses.
But whereas footballers are on long-term contracts, and the pop stars that
former generations idolised were beholden to the record companies that
built their careers, DJs have pulled off a remarkable coup.
In the most part, DJs have succeeded in avoiding any long-term commitment,
while the clubs and promoters have pumped large sums into building their
names.
The result is that the biggest clubs - referred to as super-clubs - now
have to pay huge sums to the talent whose careers they largely built, if
they wish to stay in business.
Rachel Birchwood-Gordon, manager of DJ Pete Tong, says: "Ten years ago no
one knew how powerful DJs would become. Now the top British DJs get stacks
of offers from places such as South America, Australia, Europe, Asia and
the US for every Friday and Saturday night. The scary thing is how much the
DJs want to charge now they have become global."
Clubs now often have to fax in bids if they want a particular DJ on a
particular night and it has given them a dilemma. They must either pay huge
sums - £5,000-£10,000 ($7,000-$14,000) a night is typical - to secure a top
DJ, or find other ways of keeping their clubs buzzing.
Some simply pass the increased fees on to clubbers. But the problem comes
at a time when attendances have been falling and many clubs do not want to
risk depressing numbers further with ticket price increases.
Charlie Harris, a director of Serious Artists management and the manager of
top DJ Judge Jools, says: "In a way, clubs such as the Ministry of Sound
have been a victim of their own success. It used to be the Hippodrome that
tourists went to; now there are 30 different nationalities at Ministry.
This affects the atmosphere: it has lost a lot of passion."
Viv Craske, senior editor of clubbing magazine Mixmag, says the super-clubs
are losing out as a lot of people now prefer smaller, quirkier clubs with
strong themes.
Popular clubs today include Schooldisco.com, where clubbers dress in school
uniform and dance to unfashionable chart hits; and Shag-tag, an event that
involves clubbers wearing numbered tags and using them to contact people
they fancy via a message board.
In the face of the twin pressures of ailing coolness and DJ inflation,
super-clubs have been trying a number of things to safeguard their
revenues. One strategy has been to try, rather belatedly, to build into big
stars those in-house DJs who are on long-term contracts.
Damien Mould, managing director of Slice, a youth marketing agency that
represents talent and super-clubs, says: "The clubs are getting into
building new talent, putting them on side by side with big names and
gradually trying to eke away their power base."
Another strategy has been to extend their brands. Clubs have been moving
into other revenue streams such as compact discs, radio stations,
publishing and festivals.
But the biggest focus is on international markets that, while the domestic
market has been on the slide, are still growing. The biggest of these is
the US.
Although some dance music originally came from there, the US has yet to
take to it in a big way and it is UK clubs and DJs that are the world's
biggest. Hence, UK club brands such as Cream and Ministry of Sound are
aggressively seeking to capitalise on their cache and are building a
presence in the US market.
"All UK clubs are looking to the US for future income because they are
thought of being so cool over there. It is all about perceived coolness,"
says Mr Craske.
Mr Mould says: "For the first time since the 1960s Britain is having a big
cultural impact on America. The whole dance thing is on the point of taking
off there - brands such as Ministry of Sound and Cream are investing
massively."
UK clubs have been taking their brands overseas for a few years now,
running special nights in places such as the Middle East and Russia, but
the US is the biggest prize. And ultimately, according to Mr Harris, it is
the possibility of huge CD sales that is enticing British clubs across the
Atlantic.
If they can make it there, they can forget about difficulties at home.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Nov 26 2001 - 18:25:29 CET