Dancetracks Digital

URL	http://www.dancetracksdigital.com
Type of site	Digital Download Store / Online Music Store
Owner	Privately Held
Created by	TEKKED
Launched	March 2005
Current status	Active

Dancetracks Digital is an online music store based out of Brooklyn, New York that specializes in selling dance music mp3s. Launched in March, 2005, Dancetracks Digital was founded as the digital version of the Dancetracks record store in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The Dancetracks store, founded in 1993, became the primary place where DJs on the cutting edge of the House/Electronic sound in New York bought their vinyl records in the early 1990s. Some of the store's regular clientele included DJ and producer heavyweights Danny Tenaglia, Francois K, Masters at Work, Laurent Garnier, Danny Krivit and Dennis Ferrer. After the Manhattan store closed its doors in 2007, Dancetracks Digital has expanded its catalog and customer base and retained the quality and selection that made the physical store a destination for world-class DJs. Dancetracks Digital is one of only a few online music stores that specializes in selling music to DJs and the dance/house music scene and the only one with a recognized history in the roots of early house music.^[1]

Overview

Dancetracks Digital offers new releases, classic records and exclusive/rare/unreleased tracks. The online store is organized by genre -- such as drum and bass, tech house, and downtempo -- label, artist and track name. Visitors to Dancetracks Digital can browse, preview, purchase and download music in a fashion similar to that of the iTunes Music Store or Beatport. Purchases can be made as individual tracks, albums, or charts. Dancetracks Digital can be accessed directly at http://www.dancetracksdigital.com.

Dancetrack Digital's Waveform music player

History

Dancetracks Digital was launched at the 2005 Winter Music Conference in Miami, Florida. The website has gone through a number of variations since then, the most significant being in October, 2006 when they added an industry news blog to the site. In 2008, Dancetracks introduced a Waveform media player through which users can preview tracks before purchasing them.

Content

Dancetracks Digital's catalog of music is available for download only in DRM-free 320 kbit/s (44.1 kHz) mp3 and WAV files.

Features

Aside from industry news, Dancetracks Digital features detailed write-ups of each album it sells, as well as charts for each genre that are updated with popular music trends and available for purchase in their entirety at the Dancetracks Store. Customers can also subscribe to a weekly "features" and "recommends" newsletters, both written by Dancetracks' staff. Dancetracks Digital is currently the only online music store to sell "Live-Ready" mp3s for use in Ableton Live.

External links

• Dancetracks Digital website
• About.com: Dancetracks Digial Sells Ableton Live-Ready Files
• Dancetracks Digital + Ableton in New Music Weekly
• Standing in the Shadow of iTunes from The Village Voice

References

1. ^ Billboard Magazine, March 1992, p. 26