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Tópico: How are you adapting to all this new competition!

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Ever since anyone can DJ on just their Mac's with the trial version of VDJ it seems like there has been a major paradigm shift in the way people perceive DJ's.
A couple interesting things I noticed while downtown this week in my small town:
First it felt like every venue had a DJ. Almost as if the bands in town all took a night off. Then I saw a party with a crazy amount of sorority girls that were dancing to music from some girls iPod jacked straight into the mixer. That blew my mind. Me:$4000 in equipment. Girl: A $129 mp3 player.

I know, I know. It's all about our "trained experience", but does anyone really care anymore?! Even when downtown was full of great DJs and a girl with an iPod, no one seemed to care about the art form. I remember when everyone would literally crowd around the decks and watch your every move, now we fade into the background in most places.

I think I've personally hit a creative rut and the lack of enthusiasm, coupled with the mass competition, it makes me want to eagerly find the next level to blow minds again. But how? How do you do it? We (I) need to think of a new game plan that resonates with the new generation.

I guess I'm just curious to see if a) you've noticed the shift of people no longer really interested, and b) how are you personally re-inventing yourself to stay in demand.

Sorry, just venting. Had a crappy set tonight.. Feeling discouraged.
 
Mensajes Sun 08 Apr 12 @ 3:36 am
The club I used to work in went the same way. We used to get hired early for private functions but now people plug their iPhones in to the mixer, play their own tunes then get hacked off when we turn up at 10 and change the music.

People used to ride horses everywhere and start fires with sticks and stones. It's evolution and as you say we need to come up with something fresh again. Whether this will happen only time will tell.

Keith
 
As a once successful DJ it saddens me a great deal, you can't make money like you used to. Obviously it differs depending on your location but the digital age hasn't half come with challenges!

I have gone into a new industry now and am now successful in that, I found it far easier to go in a new direction than to try make it happen as a top DJ.

I wish you luck, but take my advice don't beat yourself up for the rest of your life over a golden age that has now past, go els-ware as I did, if you were a good DJ chances are you'll be good in your new profession too.
 
Video DJ, I think thats the next direction
 
mackbolan1 wrote :
Video DJ, I think thats the next direction




That is a great direction. I've done that ever since I left nightclubs.
I'm also cooking something else up but it's not fully fleshed out yet.
 
Was gonna say videos been free and easy since 2005
 

"Win the crowd and become the peoples champion"
 
I currently work at a venue where I was promoted from Tuesday nites to Thurs to prime time Friday nites. There are 3 other Dj's that work at this venue but nobody else mixes video?
 
This is a GREAT thread!

Let me just grab my soapbox.....

I had a gig in a club 10 years ago. It was my first residency. It was my first club gig. I was a mobile guy doing the cheesy wedding stuff that was so prevalent back in the late 80's/early 90's. The club I worked at was open 6 days a week from 11am-2am. We had 7 staff DJ's. And yes, DJ'ing a Tuesday night can sometimes suck pretty bad.

I held that gig for 4 years. The other staff DJ's lasted maybe 6 months each. One thing that struck me was not once in those 4 years did I EVER hear ANYONE say they chose to go to that club because of any one DJ in particular. What I DID hear was if the music was "good" or not. I think I held that gig for as long as I did because I saw early on that all that matters is what happens "in the moment." I wasn't afraid to drop the YMCA at midnight on a Saturday night once every 3 or 4 months. People reacted positively. I felt like I was creating this positive energy and positive memories; the kind of stuff that gets people talking.

Now I do a mix of private events as well as bar/club shows. Each one is different even if the venue is the same. I play shows a couple times a month at one bar and SOMETIMES the staff recognizes me as "that DJ guy." They don't remember my name, but they DO remember some of the crazy stuff I have done. 2 weeks ago I got 20 people to play the game "Simon Says" for a $50 bar tab prize. I had all of them on all fours barking like dogs while I played "Who Let The Dogs Out." People didn't show up because I was there. I just did something to capture the attention of the people who WERE ALREADY there. They will talk about that night and word will spread.

Played there last night. Went really well everyone had a great time. I think the girl with the ipod had a better connection with her crowd and thus, people had more fun and wanted to be at that show. Remember that it is not the gear that makes the DJ. It's how much fun the crowd has that REALLY determines the DJ's success. Sure, the right gear can make that job easier, but only if the talent to rock the party is there to back it up.
 
I would like to ask,

What were you before becoming a successful dj? What industry did you work for?

Why do I ask. Well, because every industry is the same thing. You expect to do the same thing for 10 and 20 years and have nothing "new" to learn?

It doesn't matter how successful you are at any job, if you're doing the same thing you've done for 20 years, you will stay behind and lose jobs and clients.

Maybe the problem with some DJs who can't seem to understand what is going on with the music industry are the ones who maybe have only been "dj's" all their lives. Maybe? I don't know, it's just my thought, maybe I'm wrong.

I'll give you a tip, we are living in the newer generation of "instant-gratification" what does that mean? No longer do we have the crowds that are patient and will wait for the DJ 3 hours to play their tune. Everyone wants to hear a tune right away. If you can't do it, they'll turn to their iPods and leave you.
 
ADHDJ's are everywhere in the club scene... but only dj's that respect the music they are playing are successful.... Although dubstep and electro are pretty well focused on those guys...

I like dubstep but after going to a festival where all that was playing was dubstep on every stage I had to go and see some minimal techno when the sun went down. It was heaven to hear a 4/4 beat and not have a wobbling synth screaming in your ear for a while... Needless to say there was a lot of space to dance in the tent LOL
 
A few problems.

Yes DJs have faded to the back room of the clubs. Kids seeing Tiesto and Guetta think that is where they have to go, only to realize they need to climb the ladder, and as they are "climbing", they also realize that no one really cares they are "DJ X" or "DJ Y".

Reason? Someone will replace you, be better than you, or they will want something different and fresh. Young kids now adays (myself included) have this ADD thing going where I don't want to see the same DJ everywhere I go.

I think only when you realize that your doing this for the music and to make the people happy, that you will really find yourself.

You see many DJ's become "famous", but reality is most of those are producers who produce music for various other artists. A typical "DJ" doesn't become famous for spinning other people's music.

It is the sign of the times. It's so easy to press play on an iPOD or anything else out there and make the crowd go crazy.

If I hire a DJ, I want them to entertain. Otherwise, if I own a club with a DJ booth in the back corner, I might as well just play a premixed set and save myself some money.

I do play in a band, and noticed in the past 10 years, bands themselves have been fading in quality and innovation. With online music, the world is so much smaller, that you don't go to a venue to see this amazing band anymore. You just sit at home on your PC and enjoy it from the comfort of your own home. Radio stations in my area rarely play Rock music. It's not what kids are into anymore.

The music industry is quickly changing. Goodluck.
 
Aaro2n2001 wrote :
Ever since anyone can DJ on just their Mac's with the trial version of VDJ it seems like there has been a major paradigm shift in the way people perceive DJ's.
A couple interesting things I noticed while downtown this week in my small town:
First it felt like every venue had a DJ. Almost as if the bands in town all took a night off. Then I saw a party with a crazy amount of sorority girls that were dancing to music from some girls iPod jacked straight into the mixer. That blew my mind. Me:$4000 in equipment. Girl: A $129 mp3 player.

I know, I know. It's all about our "trained experience", but does anyone really care anymore?! Even when downtown was full of great DJs and a girl with an iPod, no one seemed to care about the art form. I remember when everyone would literally crowd around the decks and watch your every move, now we fade into the background in most places.

I think I've personally hit a creative rut and the lack of enthusiasm, coupled with the mass competition, it makes me want to eagerly find the next level to blow minds again. But how? How do you do it? We (I) need to think of a new game plan that resonates with the new generation.

I guess I'm just curious to see if a) you've noticed the shift of people no longer really interested, and b) how are you personally re-inventing yourself to stay in demand.

Sorry, just venting. Had a crappy set tonight.. Feeling discouraged.



I don't mind so much the competition. What really irritates me is the lack of pride some of these DJs have in their craft. "iPod DJs" undercutting charging a bar tab, a guestlist, $50 or a combination of, for a night of DJing. DJ pay has gone down due to this. One of the few professions where pay has gone down over time. Anyone with $500 can be a DJ. No skill required, just dnld some songs and sync your way into a bar or club. No self respecting DJ should charge less than $250 a night for a bar/club gig. If you are a newb, I can see charging $150 providing all you have to do is bring headphones and your music.

There is a club here in Dallas, that everytime they need a resident DJ, they hold a DJ battle. You have to use their equipment. No controllers, no sync since you have to use Serato and Turntables. I really think clubs should adopt this way of hiring DJs. :)
 

Serato? just match the BPM values and ride the waveforms, there's nothing especially skillfull about that, and a DJ battle is no basis to hire a resident DJ, what does it prove? You can change songs quickly and mess them up? That stuff doesn't fill dancefloors knor will it bring people back to the club, there's those who entertain and there's those who masturbate behind the booth at what they can do, nobody is interested in hearing you destroy a record or ruin needles, make the show about them and the guests will make you their DJ of choice.


Of course I believe in creativity and flare but moderation is the key.
 
only new competition we have had lately is a new club and most of the feedback we've gotten about them is that they arent very good and that the building had alot of "old people".

adapting to new dj's around here isnt as much of a problem as adapting to customer's tastes when there are so many of them coming in to the area on a regular basis one of the joys of living and working in a military town.

video? we've been doing that for over 10 years - when i first started there they were playing video with dual VCR decks that they had to cue up each vdeo on a 5 inch monitor. (TMcentury vids from the late 90's!) still had turntables and were slowly switching to cd's then after a fire switched to digital and VDJ and never looked back.

getting what you pay for - cheap out on a dj and you'll get garbage played to your crowd. most of the owners around here for the larger clubs have learned that lesson and try to keep their dj's fairly happy. new guys need to step up their game if they want to break in or even think about trying to play in the smaller clubs.
 
Sorry you had a crappy night. It happens to the best of us. Don't sweat it.

In relation to the tittle pf this post and as far as these new fangeled, so called dj's go.....

THERE IS NO COMPETITION.

Keep doing YOU!!!
 


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