The best DJs aren't the most highly paid (AKA an unfocussed rant)

[Sigma]

ORLY?

The DJ scene isn't that different from the music scene itself. Britney Spears sells more records than singers that are WAY more talented than she is (which is pretty much anyone with vocal chords - sorry Britney fans).

So, you're probably thinking "THIS SHIT IS OBVIOUS SIGMA YOU TOOL" - and it is - so why are so many of you so celebrity obsessed?

Somewhat related - the problem with the "this is all you need to do" attitude is, you are advocating mediocrity. You're saying "it's OK to be shit, because sometimes people that are shit get paid lots" and while that is true, you're supposed to be the people that are doing this because you love music and love the artform that is DJing. So why give so much shine to people that suck? And this not only goes for DJing, but for music itself.

I've brought it up in the hip-hop section and I'll bring it up again here - but considering that hip-hop is so popular, why are there so many fucking awful hip-hop DJs? If hip-hop DJs were stacked in a pyramid with the shit ones at the bottom and the best ones at the top, the bottom of the pyramid is getting wider all the time. Why? WHY?

You might say "you're just a salty middle-aged git who's mad that things aren't like they used to be" and that is partly true, but what annoys me is that DJs now have 2 major advantages over me when I started - they have all kinds of resources when it comes to learning (including this very forum) and they have access to gear that opens all kinds of possibilities that weren't open to me when I was using just 2 turntables, a mixer and vinyl - but what are the majority of these DJs choosing to do with this info/gear? They're not showing me up as some dinosaur - which is what I want from them - they're using it to be mediocre and other DJs are saying "that's all you need to be".

/rant

[login]

Don't know really in the techno scene a bunch of good dj's are succesfull: Sven vath, Richie hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Villaloboz, Lee Burridge. Obviously not comparable to Paul D succes but far more legit.

[J5k]

Sigma - I'm not sure whether your just griping or opening a discussion here. I think the biggest problem at least in regards to hip hop is that the masses love the shit music they're being fed by the radio/tv/etc. they don't give a shit about the Dj pushing the envelope, they just wanna hear their song, over and over.

Given all that, there's a massive influx of new dj's on the scene. With little experience even in regards to hearing great dj's, they tend to realize that all they need to do to "be amazing" is to play the songs the girls wanna hear.

I call it the instant gratification generation, and I think it applies to the listener as well as the dj's.

Ugh, I have more but typing more than a few lines on my phone is becoming painful since I can't zoom out to easily review what I'm writing. Probably time to install tapatalk.

[Sigma]

^I agree with you totally, but it's frustrating to me as an older DJ and I'm not sure what the solution is. Perhaps there isn't one, other than to let DJing evolve and go through cycles, but then over the years the bar has only been raised and this is the first era where it's been lowered and I don't like to see that.

[Paulie65m]

Don't know really in the techno scene a bunch of good dj's are succesfull: Sven vath, Richie hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Villaloboz, Lee Burridge. Obviously not comparable to Paul D succes but far more legit.

All these guys are amazing
Villalobos still spins on vinyl too bad he doesn't come to the states
Every Lee party I go to in NYC are pretty much sold out quick , last year on a rooftop party in bk they stop letting people in and some Asian chicks was trying to climb the buildings fire escape .

They might not make millions but they are good, and their parties are amazing . Let Pauly d make all his money cuz I know his parties are not comparable to these guys




Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[DJ Matt]

Britney Spears sells more records than singers that are WAY more talented than she is

the music industry has changed and morphed over the years, we all know that many "singers" are nicer to LOOK AT then to LISTEN TO, and thats their best selling point. Jennifer lopez is probably a better 'current day' example than britney (who is a bit out dated now isnt she?)
shakira is another, i actually think she has a lot of singing and performing talent but who can deny that the fact that she looks damn hot on camera is one of the main reasons for her massive popularity.

thats life!
im sure pauly D is another example, i dont know much about him but from what i have seen, he didnt get anywhere on DJ skills alone ( or DJ skills at all ! LOL )


i also think people get very hung up on making comparisons with the mainstream. as though unless such an artist or DJ is being paid as much as the mainstream ones, or unless so and so is playing on the mainstram radio stations than he/she is not a success, personally i dont see it that way.


these days DJing is acessible to more people and so there is bound to be more mediocrity, but if your looking for a solution then i guess the best one i can come up with is to get busy working on your art and be the DJ you think people should be. Show em how its done. !


/end: semi drunk post-gig rant

[Sigma]

these days DJing is acessible to more people and so there is bound to be more mediocrity, but if your looking for a solution then i guess the best one i can come up with is to get busy working on your art and be the DJ you think people should be.

I would disagree with this Matt. The problem is, a lot of n00b DJs are happy to take advice in some cases, yet in other cases they'll almost spit in your face, haha.

I don't want to blow my own trumpet (oo-er!) but I wouldn't say that my mixes are mediocre, otherwise I wouldn't have put them out there for people to listen to. I judge other DJs by the same standards I apply to myself because I want DJs to move away from this "if you're just slamming through the top 40 the crowd won't care as they're still dancing" attitude. It isn't about money - it's about people lacking passion for the craft of DJing and doing the bare minimum that "does the job" and I've got no time for those people. The fact that the Pauly Ds of this world are making millions per year without being particularly skilled is possibly what's sending a message to DJs that says "why should I bother?", but they should bother because they want to, otherwise just forget it and find another hobby.

[DJArmani]

sigma always has the best debates in the general forums and gives the best advice on scratching. not even trying to lick nuts around here it's true though lmao.

[disparate]

A glance at that recent Forbes DJ Rich List demonstrates quite clearly that the most highly paid DJs aren't the best...

[AdrianR]

Don't know really in the techno scene a bunch of good dj's are succesfull: Sven vath, Richie hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Villaloboz, Lee Burridge. Obviously not comparable to Paul D succes but far more legit.

Oh come now. Richie Hawtin is a pretty boring Dj ... I wouldn't class him as successful AND talented

Mr Sigma. Did you ever stop to think that when you were Djing with 2 Turntables and a Mixer (as I was years ago), perhaps the mixer was the new aged equipment that made it so cool, like Midi controllers and effects units are today? When you think of it, a Dj years ago was a guy who played records for a crowd be it on a radio or a roller disco etc. A lot of the time they wouldn't of had Mixers. Perhaps radio Dj's had a basic form of it, but a Dj mixer, (That we know and love), is basically a mobile version of a Radio Dj's mixer. Thus allowing the Radio Dj to perform his craft in other locations (Such as a roller disco), the result is the Dj's we are today. The difference is the level of broadcast. It's hard to understand but what I'm trying to say is the mixer you would have been using would have been the fanciest new technology with so much creativity to the guys before you who possibly didn't even have that.

But, I do agree that all these fucking Dj's have all this gear and do nothing with it. But I must warn you. I am a massive hypocrite. I now use Traktor with a Midi controller. I play my vinyls on Record, my Cd's on CDJ and my Mp3 on a Midi Controller. Every medium offers a different experience but I can play them all equally as well as eachother and when I can I translate skills from one medium to another. But having all this fancy Traktor crap available to me, I barely use it! I still only play 2 channels and use it like that. Just as when I got my first mixer with effects a lot of older Djs said "using effects is gay" and a lot didn't do it because, it was there but wasn't required. It's always the arguement of, too much Vs too little. I believe I've created a style of mixing that best reflects me over all the genres and all the mediums I play. It's a musical based style more so than an effects based one. But I do use effects, but I use them from the mixer. Not from Traktor.

If I could be bothered working on all this awsome shit these new kids are surposed to know and be able to do on Traktor, I'd be just as awsome as them, but I'm happy with my level of talent or lack of because I believe it reflects a style of mixing unique to my era and it was a fantastic style and so people still enjoy it even when they're used to hearing these kids mix and mash everything to the empth degree.