Spacelab Collective: August 16

DJ Shadow on why Soundcloud vs old school music showcases is a better environment to test out new music: "What’s interesting to me about it is, I think it’s a really interesting way for people to get feedback instantly. In my era, when these tracks were being made, the general feeling was that you had to put your best work in front of A&R guys. When it arrives on their desk, you wanna put your best foot forward, otherwise they’re never gonna give you another shot.

That was the way it was, that was the rule, and I tried to abide by that rule and really just kind of spend my 10,000 hours developing what I was doing and then go out and say, “I’m here. I’m ready to start making records,” or whatever the case may be. So I think that way has its merits, but I also think that putting up a bunch of half-finished beats on Soundcloud and soliciting feedback and getting that feedback from your peers is also a valuable tool," he said in an interview with Beatportal. His Reconstructed series of the best of DJ Shadow was released last week and comes in two versions: a shorter "best of" and a comprehensive eight album package. Find out more, and preview it below.

In the streaming vs. downloading debate: streaming is catching up, at least in terms of money being made by streaming music services. “Although downloads still account for nearly 80% of online music revenues, this market is maturing and spending is flattening in all key territories. Streaming music services such as Spotify and Pandora will be the key growth drivers over the next five years as usage and spending grow rapidly,” said Strategy Analytics’ director of digital media Ed Barton.

Music Ally is talking about this today, saying that they see tough competition ahead as a survival of the fittest: "streaming services themselves face a tough few years, with their battle likely to be won, ultimately, by whoever can hold their nerve the longest and (more importantly) whoever has the deepest pockets."