A Gift to the Underground: Putting Producers First

Kelly Projects
19 hours ago
3 min read

Updated: 24 minutes ago

We talk endlessly about lineups, but far less about the people who actually made the music.

In electronic music culture, attention gravitates toward DJs: who’s touring, who’s playing where, who’s breaking through. Meanwhile, the producers whose tracks fill dancefloors often remain unnamed, untagged, and unseen.

So much of this is wrapped up in what’s often called “secret weapon” culture, which is the idea that tracks should be protected, withheld, or obscured as part of a DJ’s identity. DJs tour the world, build brands, and make a living from this music, while the producers who made the tracks remain largely invisible.

For enthusiasts like myself, this creates a strange contradiction. We’re deeply invested in the music, yet finding it can feel like detective work. When Shazam doesn’t work, you turn to SoundCloud. Then maybe Reddit forums. Then Discogs sellers. Hours pass chasing a single track you heard once, trying to reconnect with a feeling.

There is beauty in that process. Digging has always been part of the culture. Discovery takes effort, and that effort builds connection.

But this article isn’t going to call an end to digging culture, but rather it's aim is to re-center value. Let's remember who is actually making the music that keeps this ecosystem alive, moving, and dancing.

The Problem: A Growing Imbalance

At the heart of the issue are three interconnected problems:

• Credit imbalance

• Exposure without ownership

• A lack of fair return

Producers are the foundation of scenes, but they are rarely the beneficiaries of the value those scenes generate. DJs travel. Fees grow. Agents bank. Teams grow. Brand partnerships follow. Meanwhile, many producers struggle to see meaningful returns from music that’s played globally.

As Richie Hawtin put it:

“Supporting the community and the musicians who make the musical structure that our scene stands on should be common decency.”

This statement hit home a bit, and ought to be treated as a baseline practice from DJs.

Tracklist Secrecy and Cultural Impact

DJ Mag has explored the long-running debate around tracklist secrecy, whether DJs are justified in withholding full playlists as part of their identity or branding.

Critics of the practice point out a simple reality:

If people can’t identify a track, they can’t support the artist
Without credit, producers lose visibility
Without visibility, economic opportunity disappears

Tracklists are a good infrastructure for credit to be served where it's deserved, and so is re-instilling the value system of buying music.

Recent figures underline the scale of the issue:

Up to 90% of DJ performance content shared on social media does not credit the music being played, and only around 3% of what’s played is the DJ’s own production. - #RESPECTTHECREATORS campaign. Source