Playing the same song several times during the night
Hey,
I started out djing last September, and now I’m dj-ing popular clubs for young people (18-21) in my home town of Oslo, Norway. Now, this isn’t my favorite crowd (I’m more of a dubstep / electro house guy myself), but it’s a good way to get some paid practice time in front of a live crowd.
Now, a part of playing where I play is about accepting requests, and keeping the dancefloor jacked. A lot of times I find myself playing the same tunes over and over (take Avicii’s Levels for example - easily 20 requests a night, and I tend to play it (in different remixes at times) 4-5 times throughout a 5 hour time period.
Is playing the same records in my situation a huge no-no, or is it somewhat acceptable?
edit @ 10.33 pm (GMT+1): I guess 3-4 would be a more correct count.
I try to avoid playing the same song more than twice in a night, but if that’s what the crowd wants then at the end of the day you’re getting paid to please them.
I suppose it also depends what kind of venue it is, if it’s a bar where people are coming and going then the same song would go un-noticed, but in a club where people are staying all night 5 times might be a bit much. Then again, like I said, there’s no accounting for drunk people with narrow musical minds
Oh, you can trust they are drunk. Nothing like a drunk-off-their-ass Norwegian, I tell you.
And this, I guess, is my main defense for replaying the biggest hits a few times. People basically forget this, and just want to wild out on the dance floor - but again, it’s a tricky thing to find the balance between keeping the dance floor happy, and doing to too much.
You can always tease them with the track a few times, playing just enough that they think you’ll drop it and then make em wait and play something else. Great way to build up the energy and then when you do finally drop it they’ll love you even more for it.
What your doing is fine… It is expected in High Street clubs especially for that age bracket.
What i would say is that 4 or 5 times is too many. Twice is fine, maybe at a push 3 times.
If your doing a club that is on a circuit like clubs in holiday resorts then 5 times is probably what you have to do as people tend to pass through so you arent playing to the same people all night.
You should space the tracks out. Dont play them in the first hour and tell people that you will definitely play the track but later on. This keeps a few people in and waiting to hear the track.
Remember, some people are complete wankers and they will harass you over and over again. Do NOT worry about those people, they do it wherever they go and with every big track that comes out. Last month it was probably Rihanna, the month before it was probably Lady Gaga.
Most people will understand that you cant play the biggest tunes at the start of the night and they are willing and probably enjoying the build up. The ones that don’t understand will never get it and they are just trying to push your buttons.
You have to know when to say no. WHen the manager comes up and says “why did you play that track 5 times?” saying “i was nagged for it” wont cut it.
You need to forthright enough to say “no i have already played it twice, request something else” this put the clubber back in the driving seat to come up with another tune. I always say “you must like other tunes, pick another one”.
You also find that people ask for a track and dont actually care if you play it or not cus they get pissed and end up dancing to whatever good stuff you play anyway.
Also, and finally, if your dancefloor is busy you can afford to just say no.
Thanks for all the good advice guys. It truly is a bit tricky - i’m kind of a people-pleaser by nature, so to tell some girls with nice tits and a blending smile to sod off isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. But guess I’ll just have to get used to it.
Well I almost always play it if it’s requested again because that means the crowd wants to hear it, I’m talking about Top 40 though so that’s probably a whole different story.
i spin alot of top 40, hip hop, electro etc, and the most ill play a single track is 2 times, its easy to lose sight of, but my job i feel, is to take them on a ride based on my musical choice, show them some new stuff, lead them rather then them leading us. im not saying i dont play requests, beacuse i do play them, as long as there reasonable, im a strong believer that im there as an entertainer, that means i play tunes they want to here, but dont feel compeled to play everything requested.
Personally, when i see a dj playing the same song repeatedly, im led to believe that that dj lacks depth in there sets. I dj the same crowds, same venues, weekly, and its hard to mix it up and play variety when all they want is their fav radio tracks, so i look for remixes, mash ups, accapella’s, instrumentals of those same tracks to keep it fresh.
