Forced DJs for people or people for music?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
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Forced DJs for people or people for music?

After my first topic on this message board I get some thoughts about parties in general. I don’t know how is it in your countries so I will be glad if you write down some of your experience.

Where are the times when party people go to clubs to hear something fresh and new? I go to club and hear the same tracks that I have on my music TV programs. I love to come to the party and hear something that I don’t know new releases, new vibes.

What was the original function of the music club? I think that to present people new trends and new tracks. Nowadays club is nothing more than atmosphere (depend on the club) and cigarette smoke. Music is the same like on TV, and you have cheeper bear at home ( joke:slight_smile: ).

I had several events where famous DJ was forced by manager of the club to play popular tracks for people on the dancefloor because they wanted them. WTF? I come to the club for this single producer to hear his tracks, new remixes!

I’m curious about your experience and opinion.

Cheers

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90% of the punters go to a club to get drunk and laid…

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Yeah I heard of promoters telling dj’s what to play, one time (and the club will remain nameless) the promoter/club owner handed over a setlist of what he wanted the dj to play. I was like WTF!? The dj told me he does that all the time. I told the dj, just walked and lets see what he’s going to do when 400 people show up and no dj is playing. It sad but promoters are sometimes sacred to try something new, until they see another club doing it and they want to profit on the “hype”.

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i played a club in australia. the promoter told me i should play old school rap, disco and funk outside on the street from 8pm till 12. was alright and started palying, after 20 minutes the owner of the club( not the promoter) told me i should change to something else (started of with 80 bpm old school rap i mean it wa s8 and the club just opened) i then switched to some faster 110 disco. ended up that the owner told the promoter that i should play inside of the club because she didnt like it and the guy from inside should play outside. ive then setup everything inside and just played bmre and party stuff isnide then and had the crowd the whole night, whislt outside was empty until 1 or so… so good for me and fuck the owner.

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Most clubs have a “Music Policy” for the night which is a general rule of what kind of music to expect. This stops DJs from just going up their own arses but generally makes it possible for the public to choose the right night to go to.

Good promoters book DJs that they think suit there club. What is the point in booking a Techno DJ for an Indie night ?
I do a big Indie nite and when some girl asks me for Britney and i refuse they often say “Oh go on just one song wont hurt” my reply is “when you got to your local Pop club what would you think if inbetween Lady Gaga and Girls Aloud the DJ played some Death Metal? You would think he was a f*cking idiot”. Using the 'Music Policy" excuse can get you out of a tight spot with a dumbass who doesnt get it !

The problem here isnt with your specialist club nite or a club that is known for certain genres.
The problem is when you are DJing at a ‘High Street’ club like i do on a Monday. The policy is pretty much down to me so i have a free hand to mix the music genres and this is what is best about the night but even i hold it down . Otherwise people just wont get a handle on the night. I can play anything i want but theres only so much you can expect a ‘general’ crowd to put up with. Getting away with mixing DJ Shadow into Britney doesnt always work !

The best thing i was told was “theres no music policy just remember one thing ITS JUST A PARTY”

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Was she also a Republican, by the way? A brunette, by the way? Tall? WTF dos that have to do with anything you said earlier.

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just wanted to get people complain about the fact that i said this, always fun in a forum :slight_smile:

nah the thing was i was booked to play this kind of music. miscommunication between promoter and owner i guess

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While I think it is annoying and insulting for a promoter or an owner to come up to a DJ and say “Play these songs” they are in just as tight of a spot as we are.

We need to pay off our music and gear purchases, our gas or transit, tolls, etc.. They need to pay their bartenders, their security, their overhead, etc. etc.. Now, if we don’t deliver they have every right to fire us, or not let us back. But I don’t think it’s fair, or smart, to bring a DJ in and then dictate what they can and can’t play that’s beyond their own knowledge.

For example, if I went to a club to spin trance and they knew I could spin trance and then they said “Well, we want you to play hip-hop for the first hour cause that’s what the crowd likes” I’m going to have to have a very serious conversation with the promoter about what they are doing because, well, I can’t play hip-hop to save my life in a nightclub. I would also never put myself, knowingly, in a situation where it was required for me to play hip-hop.

Now, this is the thing, though. I think people want to hear new stuff. But, they want to hear it mixed together with things they know. Especially in night clubs. The balance we need to find is providing those new tunes in a logical, well mixed, and pleasant way with those tracks they know and love. Now this isn’t a standard for all forms of DJing, but it is, at least, my main technique. Especially as I spin in a very niche market, I find a very difficult time as everyone wants to hear songs they know, and playing new stuff is very hard to make work.

If someone shows up to a punk bar and asks to spin Justice I’d expect them to get laughed at. Just like if someone shows up to a trance night and asks to hear Ol’ Dirty Bastard. We need to know our audience and play to that, introducing them to new stuff while hitting them with their favorites, but promoters and owners need to respect that we need to work our art so that we can give the audience a better experience.

shrug And KLOSINE, we don’t need any extra reasons to complain. Lord knows we have enough here as it is.

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I was thinking that ?
I mean really WTF .

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I agree, please refrain from discriminating like that.

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removed it boys. just beware if you get invited to play in brisbane someday :slight_smile:

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this seems to come down to- the music or the money?

its really up to you.ive been playin out about 6 monthsand i still havent earned a cent personally, and i play a weekly gig a monthly gig and heaps of random shit on the side. this means i have no responsibility to please anyone. meaning i can be as much of a noisy c**t as i want and not take shit from anyone :smiley:

this is of course with hopes to eventually get to a point where i can make some money.
perhaps its situational though
perhaps its different for me because i work with a group of friends and were more focussing on rebuilding a 5-year-dead drum and bass/dubstep empire in a town full of farmers and rugby-heads

either way i dont have a dollar to show for it, but i got shitloads of contacts, which i think in the longrun are worth much more than money. its who ya know huh :smiley:

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that is the mutha fuckn word!

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All you need in your town for a kick ass event is a bar that pours heavy, good dnb, go-go dancers in farmer outfits, and the bloody-est rugby dvd playing on the plasmas.

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na just needa put acid in the water supply. im not droppin to their level they can raise to mine :stuck_out_tongue:

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apologies to anyone who finds that offensive hehe

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im telling you Kaon it would be insane! But dropping acid in the water would be nuts!

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haha agreed

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Word, a DJ is hired for a reason/purpose, you should not trash that at your convenience.

LOLz… Things like that will get you arrested and shot. :smiley:

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I know what you mean. But I found the solution for me: I only go to dedicated electronic music clubs, where the DJ (almost) always plays new and different (read: techno) tracks → an upfront DJ. Havent been to a mainstream club for several years.
And I only spin at clubs like that, where Im not supposed to do a specific genre, but where people come to listen to “the DJ menu of the day”.