Support the Sound Support the Sound

Support The Sound is a global initiative made for and designed by clubs, promoters, and festivals to advocate for a healthy and sustainable future.

Founding Members

A new booking approach that puts community values
and fair compensation at the forefront.

The Support The Sound initiative was kickstarted by Basement (New York) and Bassiani (Tbilisi), assembling a global network of members consisting of Dekmantel (Amsterdam), Fuse (Brussels), 6AM Group (Los Angeles), Synthetik Minds (Los Angeles), Vault Sessions (Amsterdam), Wire Festival (New York), and WOMB (Tokyo).

Representing a wealth of experience spanning decades across all facets of the event industry, we're joining forces under the Support The Sound initiative. We are dedicated to the core values of fairness, solidarity, and empowerment. We have witnessed significant changes in our industry, where the role of music producers has been marginalized and undervalued. Without their fair compensation, the vitality and sustainability of our entire industry is at risk.

As Support The Sound, we want to proactively establish a new booking approach where DJ earnings from performances at our events are distributed fairly. We believe it's necessary that DJs recognize and share with the artists whose music fuels their sets.

We have chosen to launch this initiative using Aslice, as their revenue-sharing service aligns with our vision. With its community-connecting platform, Aslice allows working DJs to share earnings directly with the music producers they play at paid gigs.

Throughout 2024, we want to focus on raising awareness of our commitment, emphasizing Aslice’s benefits to all booking agents and DJs. We will lead by example by enlisting our own residents to share their DJ playlists. In 2025 and onward, all DJs who play our events, both residents and non-residents, will be asked to share their playlists. If the artists we book or their agents choose not to participate by sharing playlists, our values might not align, which may affect future bookings and collaborations.

We recognize a unique opportunity to effect positive change and send a powerful message of unity and shared responsibility within our community. By changing the way artists are valued for their creations, we aspire to empower them not just to survive but to thrive. As Support The Sound, we feel this collaborative effort is vital for our future, to establish a more supportive culture that promotes equality and fair pay for all music makers.

Without producers, our dancefloors would be silent.

Join Support The Sound

Members

DJs and Music Producers

Before playing for a Support The Sound member event, please register on aslice.com

Get Registered on Aslice

FAQ

Founded in 2024, Support The Sound is an initiative and global network of like-minded pillars of the electronic music community. Spearheaded by the renowned venues Basement New York and Tbilisi's Bassiani, Support The Sound is a shared vision to cultivate an all-encompassing strategy to both support international and local music scenes and to set a global model to compensate producers responsibly for the music played in their venues.

Support The Sound is not governed by any one person or entity. It is a collective of like-minded people working to create change in the music world and build a stronger community.

Support The Sound is a collective of thinkers and creatives, event organizers, clubs, promoters, festivals, and participating members.

Support The Sound is open for all clubs, festivals, venues, and promoters to join. Participating venues and event organizers commit to Support The Sound by recommending (in 2024) and asking (in 2025 and onward) that all DJs who play their venue share playlists via Aslice.

Aslice is the new software-based service and community platform that allows working DJs to share earnings directly with the music producers they play at paid gigs. For more details about how Aslice’s service works, visit aslice.com/

2024 Requirements

  • Ongoing usage of Aslice by all resident DJs
  • Recommending to all non-residents DJs and booking agents to share playlists via Aslice

2025 Requirements & Onward

  • Ongoing usage of Aslice by all resident DJs
  • All non-resident DJs and their booking agents will be asked to share playlists via Aslice

There is no cost to participate in Support The Sound, however, a commitment to the requirements is mandatory for eligibility. All clubs, festivals, venues, and promoters are welcome!

Aslice is the revolutionary, new software-based service and community platform that allows working DJs to share earnings directly with the music producers they play at paid gigs. If you are a DJ or music producer, visit aslice.com to sign up for free and learn more.

Aslice provides easy tools for Support The Sound members to monitor incoming playlists from the artists they book. Per standard practice, all Support The Sound members independently decide on their respective bookings. Aslice provides playlist data, digital assets, event reports, and insights for Support The Sound members.

Once registered as a club/promoter/festival, Support The Sound members will receive notifications about DJs who have shared their playlists from events. Aslice provides playlist data, digital assets, event reports, and insights for Support The Sound members.

Important Note: The amount of money DJs choose to share for their playlists is always kept private from the public, music producers, and Support The Sound members.

Support The Sound is powered by Aslice. Its new revenue-sharing platform gathers highly accurate and direct-from-DJ playlist metadata. By utilizing its machine-learning software, Aslice captures valuable information that collection societies need to attribute royalties to the correct music creators.

When DJs share playlists via Aslice, music producers they play get directly compensated for their work and receive insights to promote themselves and our events. Support The Sound members gain access to accurate playlist data to submit to their PRO/local collection society to assist them in paying performance royalties to the correct artists.

Additionally, Aslice has established direct partnerships with some PROs/collection societies to directly deliver playlist data.

Support The Sound uses Aslice to make sharing with music producers easy. Aslice recommends that paid DJs upload their playlists and share 5% of their gig fee. That shared amount is then distributed equally to all the music makers on the playlist. To learn more about how producer payments work, visit aslice.com/faq

Although the suggested share amount is 5% of the gig fee, DJs are free to share more or less than that amount. What DJs choose to share for their playlists is always private from producers, the public, and Support The Sound members.

Participating members would like all the DJs they book to share what they can and what makes sense for their financial circumstances. Sharing playlists at any amount will help support music makers and create sustainability in the music community.

Many Support The Sound members are happy to help in these scenarios by either adding a small amount or the suggested 5% to their fee for the playlist upload. Contact your event organizer directly to ask what options are available for you/your artists. We are happy to collaborate to find a solution.

Every club/venue/festival/promoter will handle these situations differently. Support The Sound is a collaborative effort that puts community values first. Its members participate because they feel the producers who make the music played in their spaces deserve better compensation. If a DJ and/or respective booking agent does not fulfill the commitments of the Support The Sound initiative, each member will decide the stipulations moving forward.

No. The goal of Support The Sound is to work together and inspire a positive change that benefits the entire electronic music community through collaborative effort, not to punish anyone.

No, there are no kickbacks or fees involved. The Support The Sound initiative was established and functions on altruistic principles. Its primary objective is to guarantee that creators receive proper recognition and compensation whenever their music is played.

Support The Sound members acknowledge the unique practices of vinyl DJs. Feel free to communicate with your booker if you are unable to share and need an exception. Aslice’s app allows manual inputting of vinyl playlists and we encourage all working DJs to submit playlists and share with the producers they play. As our initiative evolves, we remain receptive to suggestions and are adaptable to various circumstances. For technical support, aslice.com/contact

Once you have joined Support The Sound and registered, log in to aslice.com with your verified Support The Sound account details. Visit the “Overview” tab to access Promoter Assets and resources to share with your DJs and agents.