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While browsing the list of Association of Electronic Music-approved DJ download sites, our editor noticed a new participant logo among those of such respected market veterans as Beatport, Traxsource, or Juno Download, which this honorable organization shortlists. The project under consideration is called Volumo, and it is worth a closer look.
Volumo is a Ukrainian-Estonian electronic music store. The team behind the project calls it a new-generation DJ download site. The most vocal proponent of this concept is Volumo’s CEO Oleksandr Dzyubenko, who has a long-term work experience with Avid Technology behind his back as one of the developers of legendary Pro Tools music software.
Oleksandr believes that it’s high time we completely rethought what a modern store should be like for DJs, sound producers, and electronic music fans. This idea is the main drive behind Oleksandr’s and his two partners, former DJs and label managers Anton Severynenko and Denys Borysov, desire to build not merely “another store” but a platform for innovation under the Volumo banner.
The team is bursting with fresh ideas and bold solutions. They criticize streaming services for paying too little money to artists and believe in downloads as a middle ground between streaming and resurgent vinyl sales. But to bring downloads back into vogue, they are looking for ways to create an entire ecosystem where DJs will buy tracks and have an enjoyable, valuable time networking. Therefore, Volumo's built-in social network allows one to follow artists and create and share curated playlists. The platform gives artists free rein over their pricing too. A feature notable omitted by Beatport, for example.
The site’s creators are open to all users but do not hide that they focus more on professional DJs. Pro DJs can use Volumo as a store and a full-fledged workstation to prepare for a future set. Soon, Volumo may implement synchronization of set-ready playlists with DJ controllers. Pioneer DJ and other companies go along. It would be highly convenient!
Oleksandr Dzyubenko says he is applying his experience at Avid Technology to create his new product at Volumo. Pro Tools made it big thanks to close contact with artists and sound producers as they always considered the feedback from professional communities. Volumo is following a similar path.
“We don't mind being a niche product. We are not chasing a mass audience and will not add streaming to the site, opening access to the entire catalog by subscription,” Anton Severynenko assures. “We focus primarily on talented artists and want them to be able to earn more. We know this scene from the inside because we were part of it for a long time. And we believe the alliance between Volumo and the authors can be strong. We can rely on and grow with our audience without considering how to please millions.”
In just a year of work in beta mode, Volumo concluded deals with several major distributors: FUGA, Symphonic, and Triple Vision, to name a few. Their catalog is multiplying, but this is not the site's sole goal. Another difference from already well-known stores is the curated model. Here each release undergoes manual verification by admins. “We want DJs to spend less time looking for good music and weed out amateur releases. That's why when looking for tracks for your DJ sets or personal collection on Volumo, you’re choosing only from good or very good releases,” Denys jokes.
Their idea of a curated store looks fresh and bold indeed. It will be interesting to see if the guys can keep up with this ambition as their catalog and user base grows. But this young project looks intriguing and promising.
“Electronic music has always been distinguished by the fact that every new season, artists from all over the world offer listeners something fresh, something they have not heard before—new genres, new hybrid forms of familiar genres. We want Volumo to make the same fresh-up effect on the music tech market soon, as the first releases in the techno or house genre once made on us. We remember that exciting feeling from a young age. I think this gives us strength and inspires us in our work today, ” Anton concludes.