Over the last few months, I’ve been seeing more IG posts from both dealers and buyers alike about how it’s getting harder to stock and sell releases in the same way that it’s been in prior years which is due to not only the amount of online “new 45” shops opening but also the sheer amount of 45 edits and “mashups” be being bootlegged. Throughout the history of DJ culture, there has always been the DJ edit or bootleg beginning with the Disco 12″ made available for select DJ’s. DJ’s Larry Levan, Tee Scott, Francoiś K and other greats all worked their magic to create a one-off edit on acetate that they would play to a dance floor which would have other DJ’s in amazement and wanting to get their hands on while also taking on the challenge of editing official label releases of songs that eventually became dance floor classics. During the time of the late 1970’s and 1980’s, there were quite a few unofficial 12″ releases by various labels which tackled present day classics like “Love Is The Message” edited by Danny Krivit (T.D. Records) with another great rendition on Rated X Records edit by The Cuco (Irving Lugo) a former employee of New York’s Downstairs Records. These types of releases would fill DJ’s crates because they were properly done and brought a new dynamic to the original songs.
Doing personal edits on acetates was something that was once reserved for the professionals in the scene who were known for breaking records and were often times given authorization by labels to rework because of their status. It’s that status the propelled these DJ’s into getting advance promos to introduce and build up familiarity and anticipation. Also the cost associated with doing an acetate or pressing records wasn’t something that everyone had knowledge of going about in the same way that not everyone had knowledge of doing edits. Although many of these edits were dance floor classics, DJ’s also went the extra mile to edit lesser known cuts as well. It wasn’t about selling a bunch of records, it was about being unique and original and editing songs that other DJ’s weren’t touching because what was in their crates is what separated them from other DJ’s which I believe is still the case and has been lost with everyone packing the same newly released edit. Even independent labels got in on the white label game and took the opportunity to release bootleg looking 12″ like John Davis “I Can’t Stop” (Sam Records) who pressed up a run of this release on Disco Mixer and gave out as promo copies at the 1976 Billboard II Disco Convention which helped built momentum for what is not only an amazing disco tune but Bboy classic breakbeat.
Some DJ’s took things a bit further than just doing edits by putting their talents to test by creating “medley’s” which combined multiple songs in a cohesive way to bridge what was popular at the time which can also be known as “mega mixes”. Releases like Bits & Pieces on the Disco 79 (Special Disco Mixer) label used tunes like Instant Funk “I Got My Mind Made Up”, Love Deluxe “Here Comes That Sound”, France Joli “Come To Me” and 10 or so other songs to create something great for the dance floor but also the perfect bathroom break song. Each year you could find the latest mega mixes (what the kids today call mashups) bridging genres and styles that catered to the dance floor. Mega Mix 86, Bits & Pieces 86 (The Dynamite Mixers), J.S Records and even the bootleg label, Sound of New York released Punk 1980’s which was a punkwave medley and perfectly fitting for New York during that time.
Although there was what seemed to be an over saturation of edits and medley’s being released, it didn’t feel over saturated because not everyone was a DJ like today and there was far from a shortage of new and original music being released which doesn’t seem to be the case right now. It’s become too easy for anyone with a computer and software to “edit” or so call rework a classic or during a time where stems have become so popular, DJ’s are releasing “never before released instrumentals” to classic songs. We’ve obviously hit a low point with edits and it’s not the fact that anyone can do them and release them at this point, it’s the fact that there’s so much unoriginal, uninspiring 45’s being released featuring edits and mashups from the same songs that we’ve seen and heard before and from the same era of the and genres of 80’s dance classics and 90’s Hip Hop or popular samples. There’s very little digging being done or at least digging a little deeper to be original with these bootlegs. And as it was stated recently on Dr. Diggin’s IG page (who sells the latest 45’s in the Australian region), doing edits has become a cash grab based on nostalgia sake with the same formulas regurgitated. Take popular fan favorite rap song vocals, place over James Brown drum loop and sell it. If producers like Premier, Pete Rock or RZA already blessed that song in the 90’s do we really need to hear a modern DJ / producers take on it? It’s already a classic but it’s an easy sell because of nostalgia and it’s easier to sell what everyone has an attachment to than it is to create something new. How about producing something new and finding an MC to rhyme of it and make new music? At this point, we’re not making future classics and are stuck on loop of an era thats 25+ years in the past and those records are classics for a reason. We’re not adding any value to it by editing songs like Funky Drummer, Apache, Nautilus, Impeach The President or anything of the like. What happened to the art of digging for something that hasn’t been touched yet? The art of breaking records? Over the last handful of years we’ve been blessed with amazing reworkings of songs by people like Kon who has done a great job with releases on 12″ of songs that we never knew we needed reworked. Although not on 45’s, it should be noted that if they were, they would be instant crate essentials. Mr. K (Danny Krivit) is another that tastefully does edits in the way of the past and presents them in a modern time with the same authentic “bootleg” feeling.
The cash grab is real and the only people who are affected by the greed are the online shops who carry them (especially the ones that can’t move them like they used to because there’s way too many coming out) and the DJ’s who buy them because it becomes a pick and choose of the newest and when they arrive at the club, they realize that every DJ on the lineup bought the same exact releases to the party. What separates DJ’s has always been their crates and collections, and those elite DJ’s were known for deep crates and holding records that only a few may possess and sometimes they themselves have the only known copy. What makes a DJ night special? Hearing unique selections from each DJ packing records that other DJ’s didn’t pack.
The over saturation of the 45 edit conversation has been happening alot more online and I’m surprised it took this long but I believe it’s more because of the financial side where DJ’s can’t afford to buy the 10 releases that drop every week where as 5 years ago, only 2 dropped. People feel like they’re getting left out on “limited edition” pressings where in reality, none are limited edition and can be easily found on Discogs or many of the online retailers worldwide. The term limited edition has become a false sense of “you need to buy this before its sold out” and unless there were only 50 copies pressed, you’ll be fine with not buying it today. My advice to you, be selective on what you buy and it’s always about the music first and foremost. Records and collecting in general is an investment and also can become a financial burden even if it brings us joy. Most of these edits won’t retain their value on the dance floor or resell value and will be worth less than what you originally bought them for. If there’s a toss up between someones edit or an original pressing, the original pressing will always win and hold it’s value.
Things come full circle.
Just like with anything collectible or gains traction in popularity, the bubble will eventually burst and the fad will be over. We’ve seen it time and time again, with the exception of the real 45 guys (funk, soul, northern, sweet soul), DJ’s sold their collections in favor a playing Serato or CDJ’s until the trend of playing 45’s for everyone else became the cool thing in the mid 2000’s and suddenly those who jumped ship to play digital have returned to play those same things that they did on 12′ then digital and now on 45. It’s a repetitive cycle where the music never changes, just the format and we’re coming close to the ending of the 45 trend and what will stand out throughout the smoke will be the independent labels releasing new music by bands and artists in the same way that that new funk scene of the late 90’s with labels like Daptone, Funk Night, Timmion Records and others did.