Angel “AROCK” Castillo: Revolutionizing the Dance Floor

At the heart of every great party is the DJ. The DJ controls more than just the music of an event; he or she controls the energy, the mood and atmosphere of the party. Without music, and all of the mixing and transitions that go with it, there simply is no party. It’s almost impossible to imagine a memorable event without music, speakers, or DJ to move the crowd. For BPM Supreme founder and CEO, Angel “AROCK” Castillo, moving the crowd is at the core of everything he touches. 

“I remember seeing the way the DJ could move the room when I was at a school dance. Just by choosing the right songs and mixing them in a certain way. I was immediately intrigued and knew I wanted to know everything there was to know about the lifestyle,” explained AROCK. 

AROCK recently explained to People, “It was very difficult for me to source my music and I didn’t have a platform where I could browse, search, preview a song. All the labels sent everything via email, so I wanted to figure out a way to simplify that, not only for myself but for other DJs.” 

AROCK has pioneered the digital music service BPM Supreme, established in 2006. Today, BPM Supreme leads the market in offering new releases, exclusive content, and new tracks to DJs, giving them everything needed to shine and bring crowd-moving sounds. 

AROCK told DJ Booth in a recent interview, “What makes us stand apart is not only the quality of the content and platform usability but also our passion for merging technology and music. We are always looking for ways to improve functionality and add more useful features. We want to build on our successes and continuously evolve the platforms. Ultimately, our goal is for producers and DJs to use BPM’s platforms daily. We want to be a go-to resource for building a successful music career.”

For most of the history of DJing, DJs have depended on “record pools” to receive physical vinyl records from record labels that provide the latest “promo” hits, often for a monthly fee to the DJ. As music became more digital over the years, DJs needed to find new ways to acquire music and were often faced with legal and technical parameters that slowed down the process. BPM has made this process simple, giving DJs quick access to the resources they need.

BPM Supreme also offers workshops, listening sessions, industry news, and other tools for DJs. AROCK also heads up BPM Latino, a Latin music-focused download service, and BPM Create, an online sample library built for music production and creative DJing.

He explains his BPM Supreme journey to Thrive Global:

“When I first created BPM Supreme, the technology was brand new and a lot of people just didn’t understand what I was trying to create. It took about two years to completely develop the digital download platform, and then even longer to begin marketing and creating the brand you see today. There were moments when I wasn’t sure if what I was doing would work but something told me to just keep going. Now it’s been about 20 years in the industry and I can’t imagine my life any other way.” 

BPM Create kicked off notably this past August by partnering with multi-platinum superstar T-Pain on the “Wake Up Dead” Remix Contest. The contest helped to celebrate the launch, plus gave three up-and-coming producers a chance at an official release on T-Pain’s label, Nappy Boy Entertainment, during a time when the music industry had come to a complete standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

AROCK told HipHopDX, “During one of the most difficult times in the history of the music industry, T-Pain and I wanted to give back to artists and offer the artist community an opportunity to get creative even while staying at home. The contest aligned perfectly with the launch of our new online sample library, BPM Create.”

AROCK has simplified the record pool business to make BPM Supreme an easy resource for DJs. With the recent launch of BPM Create, the BPM brand has its sights set on the producer market as well. 

”I am so proud to be advancing the culture with technology, innovation, and creative freedom for music makers. We want to build them up and be a support system. I think that’s going to be the legacy: Helping DJs, producers, musicians, and the music community to create music, play music, succeed in their careers, and, most of all, be heard,” AROCK continued for DJ Booth.