After reading to the end of this Boston Globe article about this weekend's Million DJ March in Washington D.C., I was confused. What are DJs protesting?
One DJ interviewed in the article mentions that he had to fight with a club owner to get paid, and that DJs aren't required to fill out W-2 tax forms. I've got news for him: unless you're a union musician with an airtight contract, being ripped off is an unfortunately frequent part of the performing experience. It's supply and demand--there are more musicians and DJs willing to perform than there are events, venues, and fans.
The official Million DJ March Web site has a post entitled "Why?" (no permalink; scroll to the bottom of the page) that isn't much help either, saying that "there are very few laws protecting this art form as a craft and career" and referring ominously to "self-sufficient machines" that threaten the DJ's career. Robots with turntables? No, probably just MP3 players plugged into the house sound system--no human required.
Digging a little deeper, it looks like the march will be a combination of outdoor party (live DJ performances) and seminar, with speeches and panels on subjects ranging from financial planning to the legal crackdown on mixtapes. I think this last point gets to the nut of the problem, and what the march is really about: the record industry quietly relies on mixtapes to publicize new hip-hop artists, at even as it's seizing thousands of "illegal" CDs and arresting their creators on racketeering charges. The labels can't have it both ways, and apparently the DJ community's going to start making itself heard.
Speaking of mixtapes, last week the online mixtape service Muxtape shut down while it discusses licensing issues with the RIAA. Blogger yewknee.com has an pair of videos in which Muxtape founder Justin Ouellette discusses the legality of third-party online music sharing sites. No answers, but an interesting discussion nonetheless.
(Lead from music-business blog Coolfer.)
Here's an amusing song from Chicago-area house DJ Andre Harris: "10 Things Not to Say to A DJ." A lot of DJs hear this song and think "right on." But allow me to add an 11th: can you please stop just playing records and actually make some music?
I'm not a hater or an instrument-snob. (Maybe a little bit.) A good DJ is a pleasure. But too many folks think that a sizeable record collection, turntables, a PA, and a few effects make them a DJ. Case in point, last night I went to hear a nine-piece funk/dub/hip-hop band. For the first 45 minutes or so, I listened to a DJ warm up the crowd. He got people moving, slightly. He used a few effects and had some decent fades. But the flow just wasn't there. Songs jumped between tempos and in some cases completely different beats, and I didn't hear any rhyme or reason in the selection. There was nothing surprising, no songs that made me want to run up and ask him where he'd gotten them. It was little better than listening to a semi-hip iPod playlist on random shuffle.
The band itself smoked. Particularly the bass player, which should always be the case with funk.
Distinct from what I'd call art DJs, who boast deep and unique collections and specialize in remixing and blending tracks together, commercial DJs have a straightforward job: play familiar songs that will get everybody dancing. "Dancing Queen" by Abba. "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton. If you've been to a wedding in the last few years, you can probably come up with the rest of the playlist yourself. I'm sure a lot of DJs work in both realms, just like plenty of live musicians play in wedding bands to support their soul-liberating artistic projects, aka "real" bands.
"Can you please play a Stones song?" This is the one the DJ always chooses.
(Credit: DJintelligence)
My brother recently began working for a company that, among other things, books commercial DJs. Curious, I asked him about the type of gear these DJs use. Playback gear varies, from massive CD changers to turntables to--occasionally--MP3 players, and of course they all own or rent high-wattage PA systems, mixing boards, lights, and microphones for conducting toasts.
But here's something that surprised me: most of the DJs he books use Web software called DJ Intelligence to help create a commercial Web site. There's a module that will let customers see the songs in the DJ's collection (with links to third-party lyrics sites), and create playlists (as well as do-not playlists). Other modules let the DJ create a detailed planning form for the event (remember that there will be two best men for the toast!), keep track of guest requests during the night, and--most useful--accept payment online. Personally, I was most interested to see a list of the top 200 most-requested songs over the last 12 months, which is compiled automatically based on online requests into the system.
Another interesting aside: a lot of event planners are requesting on-site installations of Guitar Hero or Rock Band instead of live bands or DJs.
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