There was a time when the latest hits were heard in the club before anywhere else. The “music of the streets” was the music in the clubs. Today people are mostly guided more by radio and music videos but why is that? As DJs we have this rare opportunity to make a huge impact on our audiences but we often don’t take advantage of this anymore. Instead, we play it “safe” with known club bangers and classics. Why do DJs do this? What do they get out of it and what do they have to loose?
I am of the belief that most DJs want to play new music. We get very tired of playing the same old thing over and over again. However, many get stuck in a groove where nothing else will work. Maybe they have a finicky crowd or worse….they’ve got themselves stuck into a place where their crowd only expects hits.
Why does this happen? How do DJs get “stuck?” Well I’ll tell you. A lot of DJs play it “safe” out of fear of loosing their job. New DJs are always waiting the in the wings for their shot and you know they’re going to play hits to get that easy crowd reaction. So the current DJ also plays the hits to make sure the crowd is happy and to keep that other DJ at bay. They simply have to gain or loose only one thing and that’s job security.
Don’t get me wrong. I play plenty of hits and classics. But I also break a lot of new music. What these DJs don’t realize or are too afraid to risk, is that breaking new music can mean standing out on a completely different level. It’s separating yourself from the radio, videos or even a jukebox. It’s about becoming the “selector” you were meant to be. Playing a great set of hits and classics is all fine and fun, but if you really want to impress play a mixture of music including some rare remixes and tracks that no one has ever heard before….and STILL keep them moving. That’s what gets my attention.
Show the crowd what they haven’t seen before and make them want more. Don’t think about who is waiting to take your spot. Focus on delivering a musical experience to your crowd that is unique and memorable and your job will be secure. DJing is a risky business and if you want to play like a jukebox I suggest you stick to weddings and bar mitzvahs because nightclub DJing is the next level and as long as you stick to the hits someone out there IS better than you.
As always, don’t hesitate to comment with your thoughts.
David Sabat
DJ Marketing 101 
I agree with you 100%. I am not a DJ but I appreciate great music. I too love the classics, but you can only listen to those for so long.
I love the new tracks and remixes out and to tell you the truth, prefer to hear those and when I do hear classics I can have a journey back down memory lane.
It is funny you bring this up because I do talk with a lot of DJ’s and some are just at this point.. they want to do the new but the crowd they play to expects/requests that they play the classics. There is so much great new HOUSE out here and people are stuck in the box.
TIME TO GET OUTSIDE THE BOX AND SEE WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE!!!!
Thanks David,
LaDonna
Thanks for your feedback LaDonna 🙂
Long live the “selector.” I have a friend who comes out to hear me play now and then. Last time he came thru, I dropped this ridiculous track by a not very well known producer and my friend screamed out across the room “SELEKTA!!” I took it as a huge compliment. I am far more interested in hearing a DJ’s point of view. I don’t care how perfect and precise the mixing and blending is: if the tracks don’t really interest me, no amount of fancy mixing (or marketing) will get my feet (or admiration) in gear.
Great story and I completely agree….no amount of marketing will get my feet in gear either. But a great “selector” may never be heard without it 🙂 I love great marketing but the DJ has to back it up behind the decks.
I came from a day when being a street jock actually was a good thing bacause you knew the hits before the radio stations did. I used that for many a year programming WKKC during it’s heyday. This was also a day when we practiced “The Art Of Flow,” where songs just sounded good being blended and mixed together.
I personally do not “program” songs because I also learned to read a crowd, being able to make them do what I wanted them to without breaking the flow of the room. If I needed them to drink, I knew how to change the mood slightly to get them to the bar (no bar business=no money in the till=no repeat money for me).
I pride myself on my musical knowledge-after 30-some odd years of doing this I’d better know something. Young DJ’s need to learn “The Art Of Flow” and more about the music they play.
Incidently, Dave, when am I going to spin with you, bro?
Man you’re speaking my language. The good ole days of KKC, knowing how to rotate a crowd from floor to bar to floor. “the Art of FLow”….well said. Holla.
Agreed. WKKC always hold a special place in my heart because Walter “Get Down” Brown took chances with the…wait for it…”Roachbusters mixes!
This is a very touchy subject. A fellow dj friend of mine just sounded off about this on facebook. I can honestly say I know where I stand on the subject but I understand other peoples perspective also. Alot of djs believe you play what the people want to hear period. If they leave the floor you are not playing what they want. I agree with David…when it comes to music today people are programmed by music channels that are driven by the dollar!!! When capitalism is first the art suffers. House music is different but you know what I mean! Peoples knowledge of music today is so limited. Being a dj I get the biggest joy out of sharing new music…exposing people to cuts recent and older that fell through the cracks from well known and lesser known artist. A good seasoned dj knows how to blend new, old and in between. All that said the venue and crowd does play a huge role in what will work and what won’t. Sometimes people won’t except anything but what they know….I have played these type of sets before (house and rnb/rap). No matter how sick the cuts are you play they only want what they know. I have accepted that….so now I am picky about the venues I play. I have no problem with classics but there is a time and place. I have no intrest in playing only a set of classics everytime I play. Music is always moving forward! When it comes to House…it aint 85 ya’ll, lets keep it movin.
This is exactly where we need to step up as DJs and as artists. Like you said, the right venue can make a difference because the crowd can be already conditioned for main stream music or to expect the unexpected. What I’m proposing is a mass reconditioning!
This may sound cocky but I believe the dj is the artist and the crowd is there to hear him or her perform. That means to experience that particular DJs vibe no matter what the music. This is why some people follow one DJ or another. I’m not here to take requests. I have another theory about creating trust with you audience that allows a DJ to ultimately do whatever he or she wants. Hmmm…I feel another blog coming on 🙂
I’ll add that the digital age of music has made this harder for DJs. There are hundreds of tracks released every week and way too much for us to go through and find the next hit. In the days of vinyl there were more hits because an artist had to actually get signed by a label and have their track picked up. Now many DJs focus on their favorite download site’s top 10.
After reading the other comments posted thus far I totally agree with all of them as they echo some of my exact sentiments. All I can add is my personal point of view which is that sometimes the DJ is treated like a jukebox. And oftentimes people of today don’t have the attention span that the older people have (had). A well-known DJ/producer said it best in that people are afraid to “take chances”. I’ve conditioned myself to be “revolutionary” this year whenever I get gigs. I’ve already caused a stir recently by interchanging classic Teddy Pendergrass songs with the house samplings of them, and that was just simply because he just passed away. Several years ago I caused a stir by playing a record backwards – but not the way Ron Hardy reportedly did his records…I actually stopped the turntable and wound the record backwards by hand. Every time I do my internet radio shows I just play what I feel needs to be heard regardless of the age of the songs. I even have an annual birthday celebration show for my mother during February, where I just play the afro-centric songs. When I play out in the clubs or bars I just do what feel right; if it backfires, so what. I’m just resilient enough to be able to bounce back in some way shape or form and I can have confidence that someone out there can appreciate what I have to offer. In an earlier Facebook posting I stated that my goal was to get an overseas booking for a New Year’s Eve party in one of 5 targeted countries. I believe that goal is achievable for two reasons: I’ve played overseas before, and I know that there is someone in another country who wants to hear unique and eclectic music. I’ll even take things one step further. Every DJ has his/her crowd. So, if there is any concern that the new hungry DJ is waiting in the wings – well, so what. That person can’t take “my” crowd…people can always like more than one DJ. Prior to this year I had one #1 DJ – now I have two #1 DJs. They each bring something to the game that inspires me in ways that cannot be described – feel me!
😀
I agree with this but alot of times i say 90% when u do though a rare ground breaking track alot of the crowd stand there like a deer with a headlight in front of them. Also club owners like to micro manage I call it and trust the radio and not trust the dj I sen guys that have residence for yrs and the owners still tell them what to play. They see the crowd jumping but never listen to the dj.
I look at it like this – my six year old can listen to the radio, hear the hottest song and cue it up. If I had to DJ and play what the crown wants, I wouldn’t want to do it. I enjoy taking something obscure, tweaking it a bit and making the listeners enjoy it. Anyone can play the most popular tunes and get the crowd going but there’s very little skill, very little artistry in that!!
Kwik good point I been djing for since I was 9. music from what it was back in the day and now. It hurts to play the tunes of today, I cant understand why and how music got to this piint that its so wacked. I feel as dj’s how can we as a collective change the state of mind of crowds when radio pushes the crap music and we as djs want to bring something new and as u say obsure and with flaver to the narrow mind crowd.
On the flip-side, I understand that the venue and fans at a particular venue can dictate what a DJ plays but it’s then up the the DJ to mold the crowd.
When I played in Panama, the crowd was into what they heard on the radio and the radio played what the club DJs played. (A never ending cycle of the same music!!) When I started out, (to not get run out the club) I played about 75% what they knew and about 25% new stuff. As the weeks went by, a gradually shifted. After a few months it was about 75% not mainstream and 25% mainstream. After six months, I rarely played anything the other DJs and radio played.
It took time and likely would not work in every setting but if I had never took the chance, I wouldn’t have gotten there.
Similarly, mixing tracks is not that hard, to set oneself apart from the other “run-of-the-mill” DJs, you have to take chances and do things that the others don’t do but that the listeners want to hear. (Often much easier said than done!!)
First of all, let me thank you for your blog – I’ve only just come across it but there’s some really interesting stuff.
Now, to the matter at hand – I think the culture really plays a part in this. Over here in mainstream clubs (which 90% are), people will not dance to a song they do not know. Full stop. Hell, they won’t even dance to a remix of a song that they DO know if its significantly different from the original. Yes, they’ve been conditioned that way but short of a industry effort from everyone, that’s not going to change.
I get what you’re saying – that you play new stuff and they still dance but I know of no DJ here (in a mainstream club) who can do that with a brand new tune that nobody knows. Does that mean we’re all shit? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just not something that the culture here will accept.
DJ Kwik says that he gradually shifted the perspective over a period of a few months. I agree that’s possible, and indeed might even work here too, BUT it’s a rare club owner who will give you the opportunity to do that. If I didn’t have the crowd dancing all night I’d be gone after the first week. If I was to try it in a club I was already established in, I might get 2-3 weeks out before I’d be fired.
David, you say we’re the performer and they’re there to listen to our musical artistry (or something like that). But this problem isn’t confined to us as musical performers. Look a mainstream artist playing a concert. Beyonce, for arguments sake. Nobody will listen to her playing new shit. They only want to hear the established tunes.
It IS about job security, and I’m all for taking a risk. But there’s such things as a calculated risk… playing something that’s guaranteed to clear the floor? Where’s the benefit in that?
Irish,
Welcome to the blog and thank you for your response…and for challenging me.
Please note that I’m talking mostly about House music DJs. However, I still believe that breaking new music is important for all DJs too. Mainstream clubs are different. I quit DJing for a decade because of my experience with mainstream music. You are correct…you must play what the crowd knows in that situation in order to keep you job. Like Kwik said though, you can only gradually introduce new music….but I know it can be done because I’ve done it many times.
It’s like you said…it’s a “calculated risk.” The trick is having a consistent night and a strong fan base. As I mentioned in an earlier response it’s about creating trust with your crowd. Showing them that you know your music and understand what they like. It can also be timing….only playing new tracks at a certain time of the night for example. Usually after everyone has had a few drinks and a little more open minded.
The bottom line is if you truly develop a fan base, they will trust you, and follow you and whatever you do. I also give out a TON of mix CDs all the time featuring the new music I plan on playing. if playing new music is important to you then you should strategize ways to make that happen.
All the best!
Agree with you there, though I have tell:
It happens, sometimes, that there’s a period (weeks, sometimes even months.) where I don’t run into much new music that interests me or suits my style. It’s usually this time that I go back to classics and older personal favorites and replay them, take cool music I heard on the radio (think internet-radio here), or go for the top-10 of a download site.
Hey
what is everyone take on live -to-air for clubs? Pro & Cons
Track selection is something that is very important to me when it comes to a DJ. A DJ with great track selection and great programing at the same time is what excites me and keeps me interested. I’m very particular about what I play and tend to cater to my musical taste before the crowd’s. Is that selfish?…to want to push new music and expand peoples expectations of what House music is. Unfortunately, when resorting to push new music you end up catering to a small core of people. What can you do now to expand that fan base? People sometimes come with a preconceived notion of what they want and tend to stick with that. You end up with DJ’s playing the same sets because that’s what the crowd expects. Hopefully you’ve been hired for what you play and the people are there to hear you do what you do best. There is nothing like having an accepting crowd who will let you tell your “story” and watch them take that trip along with you.
With so much music out there alot of people still resort to the classics or “safe” tracks. We as DJ’s should be creative enough to know how to reel the crowds back in with those “floorfillers” and educate at the same time. Get them to the point where you don’t need the “safe” tracks to keep them moving.
“Show the crowd what they haven’t seen before and make them want more.” – love that line.
Jose, I think you are right on target!!
Going slightly of genre. I like to go to trance events and party’s and personally do not want to hear music that I have myself. If I’m going to see my favourite DJ’s I want them to blow me away with their newest productions. Yes play some of your iconic songs but mostly I want to hear new stuff that is not on sale yet or stuff that will never be released and only they play.
I’m now trying to promote myself as a DJ and this is the approach I’m taking.
Up for debate…………
Corne,
EXACTLY!
Again, great wording.
In recent months I incorporated and added a new dynamic as a solution to dealing with crowds that want cheesy standards, be it New Wave, Disco, House, Top40 Classics, whatever. It’s not anything new of course, it’s simply playing an updated version of the cheese. Prior to 2009, I’d done this with other people’s “versions”/edits/remixes….. one such track that comes to mind is a remix of the Bee Gees “You Should Be Dancing” by Johnny Vicious….. you can’t get more cheesy than the Bee Gees but truth be told, I love most of their cheesy classics. Anyway, the difference now is that I’m almost exclusively gonna be playing edits/remixes and or what I like to call a “Hybrid Revising” of all the standards. Again, this is not anything new. Sure, I’m also taking obscure and underground non-standard music and having my day with them, but although many standards long considered by my peers to be the lamest ish ever released, they STILL get people on the floor….and not just a wedding dancefloor but in the club too. Many jocks don’t play standards because they lay too much importance on what other djs will think of them, but nothing is more important than the dancer and that floor. Yeah I’m gonna play what I like too and I’m definitely gonna slip in some NEW and “never-heard-befores” but if I know that the crowd I’m about to play for is the “I wanna hear ‘Fantasy Girl’ or ‘Promised Land” crowd then I’m gonna play that for them……..BUT……they are gonna hear those cheeseball-lamo-sure shots in a way they never have. And trust, they will be heard in a fashion where it’s recognized immediately but with a twist that borders on the new without taking away from the song’s initial appeal. If they want the sure-shots, cool, I’ma give it to them….but they’re gonna get some ‘hybrid’ shizz. I’ve already tested this in the field and the people eat it up…..and most funny, my dj brothers that happen to be present, inquire about that cheeseball standard. I can’t make this up, it happens every time I play now.
Again, great post David.
~David Macias
Just some quick clarification:
When I said, “…I incorporated and added a new dynamic as a solution to dealing with crowds that want cheesy standards…” I meant, it’s a new dynamic added to MY sets these days. 🙂
DJDM