Beatport – A Category Killer?

We’ve made mention of Beatport before on PSFK and there is reason to make mention of it again. It’s growing to be the definitive resource for buying electronic music. Now I like the iTunes music store. DRM aside, it’s generally easy to use but frustratingly slow to add new music. Especially in the ‘electronic’ category. There are other alternatives on the web where you can buy quality electronic music. Kompakt (the german techno label) has an extensive online store, but it’s not so intuitive to use.

Beatport is making serious strides to not only serve the casual buyer, but also the serious DJ. Their weekly podcast Beatport Burners makes it easy to hear and buy the latest tracks. The show continues to evolve and now sounds every bit like an Essential Mix. Also for the heads, Beatport provides direct software integration into digital dj systems like Native Instruments Traktor essentially making shopping, buying, organizing, and djing seamless.

But here’s the clincher….content. And there’s been some serious heavy weight labels added to the catalog over the last two weeks. First was the announcement that Kompakt is going to be sold on Beatport. Yep, the folks who run their own store are opting to sell through another channel. But the biggest news dropped this week when Detroit techno icon labels Planet e and Underground Resistance/Submerge both announced new and back catalog releases were available in digital format. UR is particularly interesting due to their longstanding commitment to do-it-themselves.

Clearly this is the first solid example of an online music retailer that really understands how to sell a specific genre and own the category through innovation and quality. By the way, part of the UR catalog is the Interstellar Fugitives – Destruction of Order release, a 34 track monster compilation. It’s definitely some of the most stunning music you could treat your ears to. It’s not cheap, but you’ll cherish it.