Richardine Bartee
If you’ve ever ridden in a car from JFK Airport in Queens to the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, you know how long the ride is. It’s not as long as the ride on the subway, though so I didn’t mind being chauffeured to the Dream Downtown Hotel. I had just finished editing and writing for the day. I started to feel sleepy, but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t attend. I’m glad that I did. I was at a modern-day ‘nineties’ function with some of the people who carried the nineties.
Last Wednesday, Sweden-based Tracklib launched its company during its exclusive global launch party. During the night, we (Ryan and I) saw legends perform (Erick Sermon, Rockwilder and Mathematics), exist (Inspectah Deck, Shaheem Reid, and Prince Paul), and we heard industry leaders (Pär Almqvist, Deborah Mannis-Gardner of DMG Clearances, Inc., Tom Silverman, and Steve Lober) speak about the technology, sampling and what makes the company special. Why is it special? Tracklib is the first and only online record store that makes it easy and affordable for artists and producers to clear samples, legally. What does that mean? Finally, there’s technology that aids creative individuals in their artistic process.
Perhaps, Apple Music was an inspiration behind the company’s website. It mirrors the application, from the colours and overall feel. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are involved somehow.
Unfortunately, I didn’t see AZ. He was on the bill. I also enjoyed the newcomers: Latrice and Young Fellas. At the end of the night, we were able to converse with Erick Sermon. Based on our experience, he is a nice guy. Personally, I look forward to supporting his future endeavours and all that Tracklib has to offer.
“The ability to sample music easily, legally and affordably has been a dream for many music creators for a long time,” said Pär Almqvist, CEO and Co-founder of Tracklib. “We are proud to finally make it possible and humbled by the response we have already received. This is truly the start of a music-making revolution.”
“The nightmare of music sampling is finally over,” said Tom Silverman, Founder of Tommy Boy Records. “We have emerged from the dark ages of the music industry and instead of discouraging and suppressing sampling, we can now encourage new creators to quickly and easily use parts of original recordings to make exciting new music.”
If you would like to test drive Tracklib, head to this website.
