JB-  How old were you when you first started spinning records?

MC Mario-  I was 18.

JB-  What got you into it?

MC-  The disco era.  That was the beginning for me.  From school I started doing radio, from there to special raves, from there to radio in Montreal and from there all across the province (of) Quebec, then across Canada with the syndicated radio show, then outside the country.

It’s the business that changes all the time.  It’s never dull.  The sound changes all the time.  I feel I’m very lucky to be enjoying my job so much.  I spend a lot of time doing it because I touch every aspect of it.  You can be a club DJ and stick to that and that’s it.  I decided to go deeper in it and touch the radio aspect, and touch the record company label distribution; so it’s a never-ending story.  I feel like I’m reading a book that never ends.  I learn everyday and that’s beautiful.

JB-  And you’re writing your own story really.

MC- Yeah, that’s basically it.  It’s more like writing it yourself.  The business itself changes with technology and you have to adapt to all kinds of situations and revise the way you are doing your show, your business, your marketing.  The best example is the MP3.  Since the MP3 came out, the business changed drastically.  And it still changes every month.  There’s something new or there’s something that used to be good that you have to upgrade or totally have to erase from your regular business and it migrates to something else.  It’s a changing business and that’s the aspect that I really like.

JB-  You touched on MP3s and that leads into the whole downloading music debate.  Most people that has hurt the music industry.  How do you feel about it?

MC- Back in the 80s there was cassettes back in the day.  You would go to your favourite club and ask your favourite DJ to record a cassette.  And the DJs would have stacks of copiers and have 20 to 30 cassettes ready all the time.  That’s when I had the idea to compile all this and make it legal and sell it to a wider audience.  (Now) suddenly the DJs are recording CDs and it’s easier to burn, it’s easier to copy, the sound is amazing and then we’re back to square one.  The record company, by taking away the singles in the stores, for so many years they didn’t leave any options to the consumers.  It was - buy the whole album which is full of shit for that one single you need.  They raped the customers for so long, but now the customers are getting back at them and say(ing), “All this time I had to buy your stupid albums for that one single.  If you think I’m going to get raped again, no thank you.  I’m just going to download it.”  You can talk to a kid and ask “What are you doing tonight?”  “Well, you know, I’m just going to have supper and then spend some time on the ’Net trying to download tracks and make a CD for myself for the weekend.”  It’s not only a question of saving money anymore.  It’s a question of research – they’re researching their favourite tracks and they’re building their own little compilation.  And Pierre is going to have his “Best of Pierre” for the weekend.

JB-  So it’s almost flattering in a way that they’ve downloaded you and did a search for your music.

MC-  Absolutely.  If I’m not in the circle then maybe I’m not doing the right thing.  It’s something that comes along with the business and you have to adjust to it.  Now we know what MP3 is all about.  I personally put a system in place with my record company, Tycoon Records, that DJs from all around the world can download my product for free.  It’s not like “Oh, please don’t do it.”  It’s like “Please do it.”

JB-  It’s getting your name out there and being known rather than the money attached with it.

MC-  I’m saving a lot of money on shipping.  Because back in the day if I had to ship something to Czechoslovakia it would cost me an arm and a leg… if it gets there.  Now the DJs, in the comfort of their home, they just download my product and start playing it.  You lose on one end, but if you’re smart you can recoup some of that loss.

What really pisses me off is here in Quebec we have flea markets doing copies of the albums.  If you look at it very fast you think it’s the real thing.  They copy the cover, they copy the CD, they sell it for five dollars – the whole thing.  It looks exactly the same.  When you open the packaging you realize it’s not the real thing, but the music is.  But they’re getting their ass slapped right now.

JB-  So what do you think of people who do that?  Why do you think they do that?

MC-  They have a space at the flea market and they are trying to capitalize on it.  Finally there’s an injunction and there’s a lot of shit going on.  Now they get the heat.  You see, one table sells 50 MC Mario a week for three months, that’s one table.  Multiply this by 10 tables and all the artists that are on that package are all losing money.  The writers, the publishing, all this money disappears.  The whole system is losing.  And that I find it really disgusting.