Justin Paul

DJ/Label Owners Like Justin Paul Have Adopted Business Models That Allow Them To Survive In The New Digital World—Here's How They've Done It.

Philadelphia—More than most DJ/label owners, Justin Paul stands well-primed to play the music industry’s digital-distribution game. In addition to spinning, producing and running his Philly-based Playloop imprint, Paul is a digital-media consultant and audio/video/film instructor at the Art Institute of Philadelphia.

Consequently, he’s perfectly suited to teach survival skills to DJs running their own labels in the digital age—and that’s why DJ Times sought him for its Fifth Annual Digital DJ Issue.

Of course, his expertise isn’t limited to the business side. He has an eye for talent and an ear for tunes because Playloop is one of America’s better up-and-coming electronic imprints. For proof, check out the multiple pleasures of Get Into the Loop, Vol. 1, a remarkably diverse collection of singles and label highlights. Drawing from a stable of local EDM producers that includes DJ Everyday, Kezner, Nigel Richards and others, Playloop’s intro CD bubbles with quality in nearly every electronic genre—downtempo, electro, tech-house, or progressive. And, for Paul and Playloop, diversity isn’t just a slogan; it’s a business model.

We caught up with Justin Paul—West Virginia native, Philly resident since 1996—to discuss Playloop and catch his advice for digital-age DJs who want to succeed in producing and selling music.

DJ Times: How does a guy from West Virginia get the electronic-music bug?
Justin Paul: The bug mainly came from Steve Waller—“The Playloop Godfather”—who schooled me, DJ Everyday, Kezner and tons of other DJs about funk, disco and now what is now called electronic music.

DJ Times: As a DJ now, which digital playback systems do you use?
Paul: Since the Playloop Crew made the move from vinyl, the Pioneer CDJ has been our live deck of choice. We cannot live without the CDJs. It is a great tool for finding loops and time-stretching vocals for your tracks on the fly.

DJ Times: From which sites do you buy your digital music?
Paul: We buy music from a lot of digital music stores. However, we tend to favor digital music stores that have a DJ-friendly interface such as Beatport.

DJ Times: In selling your label’s music through digital distribution, what has been the biggest challenge?
Paul: The digital age has leveled the playing field. It’s pretty easy to start a digital record label and get your music in digital music stores. The bad news is…so can everyone else in the universe. Placement in digital stores and marketing is one of the biggest challenges. Most indie labels don’t have large marketing budgets, if they have a budget at all. There is only so much time in a day. That’s why sometimes a label may spend more time on business and marketing than producing music. Finding the balance between art and business is a huge challenge.

DJ Times: For a DJ who wants to succeed in running and maintaining a label in the digital age, what would be your advice?
Paul: Be a leader, change the rules. Most traditional electronic record labels focus on one genre to build their brand. Playloop’s approach has been to be eclectic. We release records in almost every genre of electronic music. There is a better chance of success and it follows the taste of the Playloop crew because we play and produce a lot of different styles.

DJ Times: If you had anything you could change about the current digital-distribution system, what would it be?
Paul: The digital age has taken away the face-time of doing business. There is something to be said about building business relationships over a beer or on the golf course. On the other hand, via the Internet you are able to expedite several contracts a day, whereas before it was done by getting on a plane or train to meet with a company or individual—very expensive and time consuming.

DJ Times: Tell me about aggregators and how you get your music sold digitally.
Paul: Electronic music labels can work directly with genre-specific online stores like Beatport, Juno and DJDownloads. If your record label has a good catalog, these stores will sell your music. When it comes to digital music stores like iTunes, Rhapsody and Sony Connect, artists and labels need to use an aggregator for digital distribution. Tunecore.com is a cool service that allows labels and artists to upload tracks from their web sites to several popular digital music stores for a minimal submission and yearly maintenance fee. If the songs are encoded in Apple’s Lossless digital file format (much higher quality than MP3), you don’t even have to mail in a CD. The best part you is you get paid every 30 days and they don’t take a percentage from the sales. Also, artists and labels should check out the SNOCAP MySpace music store. Selling downloads from your MySpace page is very interesting. The potential music customer doesn’t have to leave your MySpace page to purchase your music.

DJ Times: How would that help DJs who want to successfully operate a label in the digital era?
Paul: Labels and artists want it to be easy for fans and music customers to purchase their music—the more stores selling your music, the better. Also, among mainstream listeners and customers, there is a perception that you are more legit if your music is in iTunes with the major artists and labels. However, the burden of marketing and driving traffic to your releases is still on the artist and or label. iTunes has a great link-maker tool or artists and labels to generate html links for their Web site and MySpace page—just Google “iTunes link maker.” Artists and labels may also want to consider creating exclusive versions for iTunes to have a better chance of getting featured on a genre page.

DJ Times: Overall, what is your view of the impact of digital media on DJing?
Paul: With sites like Beatport, iTunes and Juno, DJs have access to more tracks and, as a label, it makes it is easier for us to release more tracks. At the same time, however, with the quality and availability of tracks, it makes it harder to sift through all the tracks to find the ones you want to put in your set. In the days of vinyl, it was a long process to shop for records. I would spend half a day in the record store. Beatport’s interface has really made shopping for tracks on the Internet very efficient. I can preview hundreds of tracks in an hour verses 30 vinyl records at the shop. If the venue or hotel has WiFi, you can purchase tracks minutes before for your DJ set.

DJ Times: Its full impact on production and running a label?
Paul: The digital age has allowed many labels like Playloop to be true contenders. The cost of physical products is prohibitive for most indie labels. The digital age has leveled the playing field and allowed artists and labels to get going for minimal start-up costs. The jury is still out on whether the major labels will still be relevant in a world where artists can sell their own music and keep all the revenue. Major labels are able to get artists more exposure, but that costs money, which they recoup against artists’ earnings. Production and collaboration have been accelerated. Free chat programs like AIM and Yahoo Messenger allow artists that live in different parts of the world to create and share tracks like never before. A singer in London can send vocals through AIM to a producer in Japan and vice-versa. Artists can get fast feedback from their peers on new tracks. The Information Age is shaking the business world up and creating huge changes. This is especially true for the music industry.

http://www.djtimes.com/issues/2007/07/_business_index_07_2007.htm
- DJ TIMES

If you had dropped a bomb onto 12th Street on the freezing final Friday in March, you could've wiped out Philadelphia's electro-dance scene.

While Dave Pianka's Making Time took over Pure, Johnny Woods and Mark Richardson the Touch It Movement label folk behind Philly's electro-pop duo The Model were at Upstairs at Sal's. Between the venues strolled twitchy synth-stalwart George Korein and Ryan Soloby, whose eccentric Chromelodeon was readying its last shows. All of them would be gone.

But there would be hope for the breed in the form of Justin Paul (assuming you detonated before he walked into Sal's that night).

Last month, Justin Paul, dropped his own bomb: Get Into the Loop Volume 1 a compilation of radly diverse electro artists on his new locally grown label, Playloop.

The comp features nu-groovers like down-tempo Kezner, electro-vets like 611 house-head Nigel Richards, and blip-techno tyrants Tattoo Detectives. You'll recognize other names on Playloop's 2007 release slate, too, namely avant-electro band Crash Course in Science, not heard from in these parts since the '80s, and the two Back2Basics DJs, King Britt and Dozia, who helped mentor and inspire Playloop.

Justin Paul's tracks are the swift, soul-strewn tunes nestled the tech-y throbs of Loop's other locals. He's been part of Philly DJ culture, a digital media consultant and a professor at the Art Institute of Philadelphia since moving to Philly in 1996.

Paul works with Britt's FiveSix Media on its video, film and interactive projects. He's synched sound and music for movie scenes and commercials that Britt's recorded (for Miami Vice and Rolex). When Britt's Sylk 130 needed a video for "Romeo's Fate," Paul directed it. When Britt's Nova Dream Sequence project got called to demonstrate the Motorola iTunes phone at the 2005 Winter Music Conference, Paul created the vid-art visuals.

"Justin's always been my extra ear," says Britt from his studio.

But that's Britt putting his mouth where his money is: He signed Paul to FiveSix and included one of his tracks on the 2004 CD This is What Radio Should Sound Like. Their relationship has been a reciprocal one since Britt and his DJ partner, Dozia, met Paul at Silk City's Back2Basics in 1996. "They gave me my first DJ spot in Philly," says Paul. "Doz said, 'You're on. Now.'" Paul didn't have time to be nervous when he got that slot, or too relaxed when he moved into the Doz/King house in West Philly, sharing feedback on each other's productions while watching their ceilings bend. "We each had a studio in our area of the house ... and man, the amount of records in that house was nuts," says Paul. "I'm surprised the records didn't crash through the floors."

Officially a label since June 2006, Playloop has attracted a tight-knit core: Kezner and DJ Everyday (both transplants from West Virginia), Dale Feliciello and Michael Zod (both from Philly's legendary Crash Course in Science) are part of nearly every release.

"I've always been a geek, so when the music business went digital, I knew it was time to be a player," says Paul of the label's origins. "There's nothing risky about selling this music. We're all in this because we love the music before the business. Besides, we've got too much talent in the Playloop circle." Each Playloop record has a long, hard hand in live instrumentation. That's the guitarist Paul's "must have." He also insists on keeping his circle of homeboys close.

"When I started at the Art Institute, I met Dale from Crash Course who teaches there," says Paul. "Then Dale's partner in Crash Course, Zod, told me he grew up in Charleston, West Virginia. Now we have a running joke: 'What was in that coal dust?'"

Whatever it is, it's working. "These cats live it," opines Britt. "Playloop is bringing a fresh sound to Philly. Look, every few years, a Philly label comes and makes an impact," says Britt when asked how Playloop follows the lead of other local electronic labels like Ovum, 611 and FiveSix. "It makes sense since we're all friends and inspire each other. That's why I'm feeling the Playloop brand." - Philadelphia City Paper

Philadelphia's Playloop Records to release first label compilation "Get Into The Loop Vol. 1"

"Playloop is going to put Philadelphia back on the map" King Britt

Philadelphia’s Playloop records are onto something big. The label has already drawn the praise of top DJs including King Britt, Josh Wink and Carl Cox, and its tracks are consistently among the most popular selling on a number of online download destinations. Soon to be available for the first time on one disc, Playloop will pull together its hottest tracks for debut label compilation, “Get Into The Loop Vol. 1”

Soon after listening to “Get Into The Loop Vol. 1” for the first time you’ll notice something very special about the label – diversity in sound and style. Whereas many labels make their mark for releasing music with a certain vibe, Playloop represents the many flavors of electronic and dance music. Kezner starts of the album with two downtempo tripped-out rocktronica gems “Assimilated” and the grand “If The Sun Sets.” These two tracks will get your head nodding and set a perfect intro for the clubbier tracks to follow. Playloop CEO Justin Paul provides a slow and smooth transition to the dancefloor with his hazy “Deeper Submergence,” while Microstar follows with some deeper house on “Virtual Voltage” and “500 Degrees.” Justin Paul then ups the ante with minimal techno beats on “Red Shift” and the jolting electro/pop of “There’s A Reason” featuring the vocals of Sapphirecut. Next, popular American DJ/Producer Nigel Richards enters the fold and builds on the electro theme with his acidic, 303 filled techno track, “Acid Reflux.” The Tattoo Detectives and DJ Everyday keep the techno flowing with a number of tracks before Locality closes things out with the epic “One Foot On The Moon.”

Playloop Records is drawing praise from DJs, producers and music fans around the world for the tracks you’ll find on “Get Into The Loop Volume 1.” Carl Cox recently featured Justin Paul’s "Red Shift" on his Global Sessions Radio Show and Josh Wink says he "really digs" the songs "Data Entry and "Red Shift." Playloop recording artist Tattoo Detectives have also been grabbing the attention of Carl Cox on a regular basis. Their track "Il Salto Fouri" was featured at number 3 on his top ten chart for November 2006 and “ETC.” was featured on Cox’s “Carl Cox At Space Ibiza” compilation. Germany’s Microstar is seeing some prime action too, as his "Virtual Voltage EP" has been all over Beatport's deep house download chart. Justin Paul & DJ Everyday rounds it out with “Dark Matter” and “Cold Night” (#1 and #6 on DanceTracksDigital.com for the first week of December.)

As we move deeper into 2007, Playloop will release a steady flow of digital 12-inches and LPs from their talented artist roster. Future releases include Tattoo Detectives "The Jump Off Remixes" EP (Digital only) and "il salto fouri" Remix EP (featuring mixes from Justin Paul, Locality and Kezner), Tattoo Detectives full length album (summer release, digital album with bonus continuous DJ mix) Microstar full length album (summer release, CD and Digital Album) and "Get Into the Loop Vol. 2" (September 3 release).
"Get Into the Loop Vol. 1" (full unmixed tracks)
CD track listing

1. Kezner "Assimilated"
2. Kezner "If the Sun Sets"
3. Justin Paul "Deep Submergence"
4. Microstar "Virtual Voltage"
5. Microstar "500 Degrees"
6. Justin Paul "Red Shift (12” mix)"
7. Justin Paul feat. Sapphirecut "There's a Reason"
8. Nigel Richards "Acid Reflux"
9. Tattoo Detectives "il salto fouri (Crazy Mix)”
10. Tattoo Detectives "ETC."
11. DJ Everyday "Cold Night"
12. Tattoo Detectives "il salto fouri (Kezner USO Crazy Remix)”
13. Locality "One Foot On The Moon"

iTunes version features the following bonus tracks:

Bonus tracks:
14. Nigel Richards "So Damn Hip Hop"
15. Justin Paul "Dark Matter"
16. Bonus Continuous DJ Mix of "Get Into the Loop" by Justin Paul


Executive Producer: Justin Paul - Frequency Magazine

4 out of 5 stars

This is not just an eclectic mix of techno that only DJs can tolerate, nor a load of loops intended as floor fodder. For on its first label compilation, Get into the Loop Vol. 1, Philly-based Playloop Records showcases some standouts. Kezner's "Assimilated" eases the listener in with a memorable funk-filled, bass-riffing, down tempo piece. Justin Paul's "Deep Submergence" has a dreamy drum & bass feel that is clean, crisp, and sexy, standing in simple contrast to one of his other offerings on the compilation, "There's a Reason," featuring Sapphirecut. On that song, the feel is much more driven and electro, which not only illustrates the range of Justin Paul (CEO of Playloop), but of the material presented on the compilation. Nigel Richards' "Acid Reflux" adds to the mix with some hypnotic, semi-world beat influenced techno. "Acid Reflux" has just enough variation every 16 bars to engage the listener and allow the DJ endless mix points. Among their three offerings on the compilation, Tattoo Detectives' "ETC" sums up nicely what they have to offer. With harder breaks and more vocal samples than most of the other offerings, the due is a bit more "in your face" with their music. Locality (Kezner and DJ Everyday) rounds out this collection with the slow building, multilayered, and energetic house track "One Foot on the Moon." With such diversity, fans of electronica should be able to find something on Get into the Loop Vol. 1 that sets their feet free. - ReGen Magazine

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.0

Label samplers can be a bit of a challenge regardless of how you look at it. Not only does the collection have to represent the range of styles & genres that the label supports, but also provide a clear representation of the artists themselves. It's a tricky task for any label to carry out, but when you have a catalog filled with dozens of varied musical styles as Philadelphia based Playloop has, the job becomes a bit more daunting.

As the label which King Britt claims will “put Philadelphia back on the map”, Playloop has taken this idea head-on with their Get Into The Loop vol. 1 sampler, providing a broad look at the talent which has made them a true contender for 2007.

The collection is available as both a mix and as an unmixed compilation, so for simplicity's sake, I'll stick with the unmixed version for this review. Kezner starts off with a dark, driving bit of down-tempo funk on Assimilated, and Justin Paul kicks in next with the flowing Miami-inspired breaks of Deep Submergence. Justin appears a few times throughout the album, next with some heavy sci-fi grooves on Red Shift, a moving bit of proper tech-house which was recently featured on Carl Cox's Global Sessions show. The track has a nice off-beat shuffle to it with airy strings & massively tweaked drum beats that crunch along with the main synth. 611 Records' own Nigel Richards makes an appearance with a crunchy blend of electro & tech-house with Acid Reflux, which seems perfectly fit for a psychotic acid trip in the passenger seat of a Bugatti Veyron on the Autobahn.

Tattoo Detectives provide a stomping trance-esque number with the Kezner remix of Il Salto Fouri (The Jump Off), one of several stand-out tracks featured on the album that strike a chord as being completely different from the norm. So where is there to go from there? How about Locality's One Foot on the Moon-a track that absolutely oozes with progressive-tinged techno goodness. What caught my attention about this particular track was the arrangement which doesn't seem like the stereotypical techno that most people are used to. It's one of those “you have to hear it to understand” kind of tracks.

Altogether it seems Playloop is picking up the pace in terms of quality and variation with their releases. It's satisfying to see a US based label starting to veer out of the normal “US” sound, and with so many different genres to cover, Playloop certainly has their work cut out for them. This label is definitely one to look forward to this year if these tracks have anything to say about it.

Track-list:

“Altogether it seems Playloop is picking up the pace in terms of quality and variation with their releases”

01. Kezner - Assimilated
02. Kezner - If the Sun Sets
03. Justin Paul - Deep Submergence
04. Microstar - Virtual Voltage
05. Microstar - 500 Degrees
06. Justin Paul - Red Shift (12" Mix)
07. Justin Paul feat. Sapphirecut - There's a Reason
08. Nigel Richards - Acid Reflux
09. Tattoo Detectives - Il Salto Fouri (The Jump Off) (Crazy Mix)
10. Tattoo Detectives - ETC.
11. DJ Everyday - Cold Night
12. Tattoo Detectives - Il Salto Fouri (The Jump Off) (Kezner USO Crazy Remix)
13. Locality - One Foot On the Moon

Bonus Tracks:
1. Justin Paul - Dark Matter
2. Microstar - Electric Vibes
3. Nigel Richards - So Damn Hip-Hop - 365 Magazine