Downloading the nightclub sound: Beatport lightens DJs' load.

SO, YOU'RE ON THE STAIRMASTER AND WISHING DESPERATELY THAT THE MUSIC YOU HEARD LAST NIGHT at The Church nightclub was thumping away in your ear to keep your energy up.

Well, Jonas Tempel and the team at Beatport.com have a Web site just for you. No, this isn't just another downloadable music site; Beatport specializes in dance music--the stuff you hear at The Church.

"The big online music companies were training our customers with their multi-million dollar advertising campaigns that downloading music legally was not only fast, it was fun," says Tempel. "We decided that what we could do better than anyone else was represent the dance floor."

Beatport's team of partners is drawn almost entirely from music industry professionals, most of whom met through the Denver club scene. Among the more prominent are William Rencosik, Bradley Roulier and Trevor Pryce (yes, the Denver Bronco).

"I've been a DJ for 13 years," says Tempel. "Almost all of my friends are either DJs or in the music industry in some way or another." Rencosik, alias Bad Boy Bill, was named the No. 1 DJ in America for 2003 by BPM Magazine, and for good reason. He plays more than 150 nights a year to more than 250,000 people around the world.

Trevor Pryce, the all-pro defensive lineman, is also the president and CEO of Outlook Music in Denver. Pryce was a DJ in high school for some rap groups and learned to use the keyboards and drum machines in college.

"It's pretty well known that Trevor has an amazing ear for music. I would say in some circles, he is known more for his ear than for his athletic ability," says Tempel.

And Roulier is the promoter of The Church and Vinyl nightclubs. "He knows more about hype than anyone I have ever met," said Tempel. The Church has been named No. 1 Nightclub in North America by Club System magazine.

The original idea behind Beatport was to create an online resource for DJs. "About a year and a half ago, my good friend and partner Eloy Lopez showed up at my house with a new software application called Final Scratch," says Tempel.

Final Scratch and software applications like it allow a DJ to carry thousands of songs on a laptop rather than in a heavy box of vinyl albums. The problem: Most DJs still play vinyl and most crowds expect to hear vinyl. With the new software, DJs can keep the turntables but lose the vinyl. "You can scratch and do all the tricks and techniques just like a turntable," says Tempel.