My post is not looking for sympathy. Again, it helps to READ what people post before replying.
Please don't stray from the topic. This topic is about the Legality of Content Unlimited, not about your personal vendetta against me. You can make a new post for that. Thanks
I thought a bit before making this post because i'm sure after this information is out, this post will either be quickly deleted or locked. There's also a good chance it will upset a lot of people. I want to explain to everyone about a situation that happened over the weekend.
So as many are aware, SINsations crew hosted a party where we had asked Achilles to also come and take part and he accepted. Party was a great success and we all had a lot of fun. But, in the midst of the fun in group chat, someone asked me how I record my mixes. After I explained to them, Achilles quickly left GC and them PMd me about how that was illegal. Of course he was right, it is technically illegal to record mixes and redistribute them. Except for the few situations and cases such as what is set up through Beatport and such, it goes against copyright for ANYONE to make a copy and distribute this music to anyone else. But, in the case of Mixcloud, while listening to a mix, they give listeners the option to purchase the track that is playing so in way, this is free advertising for these artists and artists can have this music taken down at any time if they so please.
Well after i received the PM, my 1st thought was... ok... technically it is against copyright, but last I checked, what I do on my own PC is MY business and no one else's. How should my private actions on my PC have anything to do with rules here for streaming and/or a moderator telling me how they feel about it? The logical answer is that it doesn't. The 2 are not and should not be connected in any way. After explaining this to him, his immediate response was that public DJs are no longer allowed to use the "Content Unlimited" subscription service built within Virtual DJ 8. This is a service very similar to itunes, rhapsody, spotify, etc... For a monthly fee, you can search nearly any track available and play that track only in VDJ as long as your subscription is active. This service has been used by a number of public DJs because it's a much cheaper option to get the tracks you want and also allows us to take requests which other players love.
This is off the VDJ website:
Ok, so what's the problem with the legality of these files? Well there isn't one. The issue was that I record mixes and upload them to Mixcloud and it appears that is looked down upon by some people. He threatened to take away my access because of the recording issue. That makes no sense to me because I wasn't aware that 3DX or anyone else could monitor my private actions and what I do my own PC. Well, instead, he just made it a new rule rule that Content Unlimited was no longer a legit source of legal music to play in 3DX public locations. When I did my initial test spin, Achilles asked me where I got my music from, and I showed him my VDJ licence and proof of my Content Unlimited subscription. I am not going to name names, but there are currently 5 active public DJs that use this service, and now these Djs will either have to purchase all of their tracks individually, or you will not be hearing them stream in public again.
In this day and age, music subscription services for DJs make a lot more sense than purchasing tracks 1 by 1. In any case, this is his rules so we must respect them. The question is: Why were these rules were changed? Simply because I record a mix and he doesn't like that idea? Again, legal or not, what I do in private on my PC is not anyone's business but my own. I also think it's going a bit far to make decisions and change things based on what others do in private on their own PC. When I streamed in public I always followed the rules and never did anything against copyright, but now because I do something that Achilles disagrees with, he changes the rules and makes it harder for active DJs to entertain the public. It take 5 minutes of research to find all the information and proof needed to understand that the Content Unlimited service built within VDJ is a legit and legal source of music. Its no different than other subscription services like iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, Google, etc.
If you have hopes of becoming a public DJ, i hope you have lots of money because you are going to need it. Achilles has changed the rules so that all music must be purchased on a track by track basis. Because in his opinion, if you don't do this, you are not supporting the artists. With all of the other costs involved with being a DJ, this is a huge slap in the face and actually quite a stupid move. Public DJs do this for the love of music and for the love of entertaining people. 3DX has effectively become a platform where DJs pay their own money to provide a free service to people, and that was ok when the costs were minimal, but now it's at a level where I and many others will not be able to maintain.
Like I mentioned before, 3DX will be losing 5 of their most active DJs, so those of you that have been waiting to become public DJs, now is a great time to get in cause there's only a few people left, so I'm sure Achilles will be eager to add more. Just make sure you have your money ready, because you are certainly going to need it. And one last thing... don't record your mixes, because if you do, whatever music platform you use will also be taken away and be deemed illegal.
In closing, I posted a screenshot of the VDJ Content Unlimited subscription service directly from their website. This service is built within VDJ and is a legit and legal source of music. These rules and the iron fist that change things at will do nothing but drive more people from this community, myself included.
