Beatport
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|---|---|
| Opened | January, 2004 |
| Pricing model | Tiered À la carte |
| Platforms | Cross-platform (web-based application) |
| Format | MPEG Layer 3 (.mp3) @ 320 kbit/s, WAVE Audio (.wav), Audio Interchange File Format (.aiff) |
| Restrictions | None |
| Catalogue | 1,100,000 tracks, 230,000 releases, 20,000 artist charts from 90,000 artist and remixers across 8,000 signed labels. |
| Preview | 2:00 minute MP3 previews @ 96 kbit/s |
| Protocol | Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https://) |
| Customer support | http://beatportknowledgebase.com, |
| Website | www.beatport.com |
| None | |
Beatport is an online music store specializing in electronic dance music and culture. Beatport is a privately held company owned and operated by Beatport LLC and based in Denver, Colorado.
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[edit] History
Beatport released the first iteration of its web store, Beatport 1.0, on January 7, 2004 with 79 Electronic Music Labels in its catalog.
In January 2005, a revised Beatport 2.0 was released, with a catalog over 100,000 tracks supplied by 2,700 signed labels. Beatport was also made accessible through a scaled-down GUI embedded within DJ software; Traktor DJ Studio by Native Instruments.
On August 7, 2006, Beatport released Beatport 3.0 Fully Loaded, the third version of its store, which featured improvements to navigation, customized content subscription via My Beatport, and new payment options.
In February 2007, Beatport launched the Beatport Player, a viral marketing web widget to play back relevant Artist, Label, Genre, and Chart content. Built using Adobe Flash and HTML, the player gives users the ability to create custom, dynamic playlists from Beatport's entire catalog of song previews to be embedded into nearly any HTML website.
In August 2007, Beatport launched a community-oriented music site, Beatportal, whose stated mission is "...to provide music lovers with up-to-date information about the world of electronic music".
On March 18, 2008, Beatport introduced the Beatport Music Awards. Each year Beatport users can vote for the best electronic music artists. The BMAs are broken down into 19 categories, including Best Artist categories from each genre, Best Remix, and Best Single. The nominees for the BMAs are based solely on unit sales at Beatport.
Beatport's latest version, The New Beatport, was released on January 21, 2009.
Launched April 9, 2010, Beatport's free iPhone app allows users to browse, listen, and add music to their shopping cart from the Beatport catalog.
On March 21st, 2011, Beatport donated all proceeds to relief of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
On July 14th, 2011, Beatport launched their new HTML 5 website with some new features like Waveform Display, Key Display.
[edit] Music catalog
At launch, Beatport offered tracks from 79 electronic music labels to customers worldwide. The current Beatport catalog is made up of more than 700,000 tracks, 160,000 releases, and 24,000 artist charts from over 120,000 artists and remixers.
[edit] Dance music genres
Music on Beatport is categorized into 19 genre classifications which include Breaks, Chill Out, Deep House, DJ Tools, Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Electro House, Electronica, Hard Dance, Hardcore / Hard Techno, Hip-Hop, House, Indie Dance / Nu Disco, Minimal, Progressive House, Psy-Trance, Tech House, Techno, and Trance.
In July 2008, Beatport created a distinct genre category for the Indie Dance and Nu Disco sub-genres, both of which were previously recognized as Electronica.
In June 2010 the following number of tracks were available in each genre:
| Genre | # of tracks |
|---|---|
| House: | 134000 |
| Progressive House: | 112000 |
| Techno: | 97000 |
| Tech House: | 88000 |
| Hip Hop: | 78000 |
| Trance: | 75000 |
| Chill Out: | 67000 |
| Electro House: | 66000 |
| Electronica: | 61000 |
| Deep House: | 45000 |
| Minimal: | 38000 |
| Drum And Bass: | 25000 |
| Breaks: | 24000 |
| Indie Dance: | 20000 |
| Psy Trance: | 18000 |
| Hard Dance: | 15000 |
| Dj Tools: | 12000 |
| Hard Techno: | 12000 |
| Dubstep: | 11000 |
[edit] File formats
At launch Beatport supported the purchase and download of tracks in MP3, AIFF, and WAV formats.
MP3 tracks are encoded at 320 kbit/s using the LAME encoder and contain metadata of Artist Name, Track Name, Release Name, Release Date, and Musical Genre. In late December 2008, Beatport began using ID3v2.4 to include Album Artwork with newly encoded MP3 content.
MP4 tracks are encoded using a Variable Bit Rate encoder at 192 kbit/s (Between 170-205 kbit/s.)
Tracks delivered in WAV format contain uncompressed audio containing two channels of 44,100 samples per second, 16 bits per sample to maintain original CD audio quality.
Originally, all tracks available for purchase from the site were accompanied by 2 minute track previews encoded at 48 kbit/s. In late December 2008, Beatport doubled the bit rate of newly encoded track previews to 96 kbit/s. These track previews are used both in the Beatport storefront as well as in the customizable Beatport flash players.
Starting shortly after the redesign in 2011, Beatport introduced a beta of buying tracks as lossless AIFF with Album Artwork.
[edit] Digital rights management
All tracks on Beatport are provided free of DRM. There are no restrictions on the number of devices to which a purchased song can be transferred nor the number of times any individual song can be burned to CD.
[edit] Customer care
Beatport provides customer support through their online support portal. Customer care tickets are mainly handled via email but support is also available via Get Satisfaction and Twitter.
[edit] Awards
2006
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Retailer
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Specialty Retailer
2007
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Retailer
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Specialty Retailer
2008
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Specialty Retailer
2009
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Specialty Retailer
2010
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Specialty Retailer
2011
- International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) - Best Dance Music Specialty Retailer
[edit] See also
[edit] References
"International Dance Music Award Winners". About, Inc., part of The New York Times company. http://dancemusic.about.com/od/conference/a/IDMA2k7Winners.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
"Westword: Regas files suit against Beatport, Beta, and AM Only". Denver Westword Blogs. http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2010/12/regas_christou_files_suit_agai.php. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
"23rd Annual International Dance Music Awards Nominees & Winners". Winter Music Conference. http://www.wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/winners2008.php. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
"26th Annual International Dance Music Awards Nominees & Winners". Winter Music Conference. http://wintermusicconference.com/idmaballot/nominees/. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
