So you want to be a DJ but you’re still learning to perfect a live set?
Meet Chew.tv, a live streaming portal which allows you to watch the best DJs perform from the comfort of your couch. The UK startup compares itself to the DJ version of Twitch.tv, the site where gamers can live stream their video game play. “It’s a platform where DJs can learn from one another, enjoy each other’s music and share it with the world,” said Chew co-founder Wil Benton in an interview with Techcrunch.
What separates Chew.fm from other live streaming music services, such as Mixlr, is its video component. DJs who use the service are expected to video record their sessions alongside the audio. This allows Chew.fm watchers to pick up tips from DJs, find new favorite artists and dance alongside emerging DJs — in real time.
Benton, a massive dance fan, blogger and record label owner himself, hopes to tap into the large (and quickly growing) dance music community. “It’s estimated there are over a million professional DJs around the world, and millions more amateurs. And, of course, there are the hundreds of millions of dance music fans.”
The small team has big ideas for the startup, which is also developing a library of “specialist dance music” in hopes of a future on-demand streaming service. Benton and his partner Ben Bowler have already considered legal issues around the startup, saying the firm is “licensed and legal to the fullest extent possible” but note that further conversations will take place when they’re revenue-producing.
In the long run, Chew.tv plans on implementing sponsored content, DJ gear brand tie-ins, ‘Pro’ user accounts and events. But the focus will remain on live streaming DJs for fellow electronic music enthusiasts to watch.
Considering EDM’s massive success in recent years, Chew.tv is an interesting idea with potential to break out. We’re watching.
