New DJ Shadow Site Offers th’ Goods

If you can't beat the major labels and don't want to be rid of ‘em altogether - come up with a strategy that makes everybody happy...

By Blurt Staff

DJ Shadow is relaunching his website today on www.djshadow.com. In addition to offering previously unreleased content, exclusive deluxe albums and mixes (including digital and physical product for sale), the site introduces a new platform that connects Shadow directly with his fans.  Shadow's store will now sell the licensed digital content to his global fanbase on an independent level on a self-run platform, marking the first of its kind for a major label artist. The newly revamped site is the end-all-be-all destination for all things DJ Shadow and is at the very cutting edge of website content and technology.
 

Unlike most artist sites that transfer the buyer to another storefront, Shadow is accessing his own music direct from his label, marking what some observers are calling "a new paradigm in artist-run stores." For the first time, Shadow's works can now be sold directly from the artist to the fan.  This new platform is designed to give DJ Shadow the maximum amount of control and involvement in his site and a more intimate and direct experience for his fans.

 
Says Ted Cockle, Co-President of Island Records Group, "At Island Records Group we are always keen to embrace innovative ways to connect our artists with consumers.  DJ Shadow has always been a trailblazing artist and we are delighted to enable this visionary artist to have a more direct relationship with his fans via the web."

There's a good interview with Shadow discussing his plans for the site at Urb.com, incidentally. 

The store at www.djshadow.com has been an important and vital link between Shadow and his fans where any number of exclusive and popular DJ Shadow products have been available for purchase from the original Diminishing Returns Party Pak, to the Public Works Box Set and 4-Track Era Collection. Now, for the first time, the site will offer digital downloads of Shadow's music, including many exclusives NOT found anywhere else on the web. Exclusive Deluxe Edition content will also be available for many of Shadow's previous releases including Endtroducing, The Private Press, and The Outsider.

With Shadow's prolific past of mixes and recorded live shows, the new store promises frequent updates. For the hardcore fan and the curious browser alike, there have been massive content updatesin all major archive categories including discography, photo and press galleries. New sections also include a "Guide To Collecting DJ Shadow" and the highly personalized "DJ Shadow Handmade" series.  
 

The new site also showcases an outstanding new visual design, complete with alternating daytime/nighttime lighting styles. Visitors can also follow Shadow's Twitter feed and stay current with his latest video blog.

In more recent news, DJ Shadow consulted and contributed several mixes for DJ Hero and appears as an in-game character. DJ Hero serves the millions of dance club music fans who can now play along to songs from a range of genres including hip-hop, R&B, pop, rock and electronica.