What do you answer when someone says “Hey, but you just press the PLAY button”
I’m sure many of you might have got this reply when you introduce yourself as a DJ and people tend to show you down by saying “Hey, but you just press the PLAY button”
DJ’s for sure do a lot more than that, but a lay man just thinks of us as button pressers. Will this trend of thinking ever change?
Is this why most DJ’s hesitate to even call themselves DJ’s and introduce themselves as Producers first.
I just say: “Yes and there are apparently enough stupid People to pay me for doing this” (With a sarcastic undertone)
Then People generally realise that their comment was stupid…well except really stupid People but “Stupid is as stupid does”.
I don’t think this is the cause but rather everyone and their dog calling themselves a DJ the days so you’d be part of that bulk.
I press a lot of buttons. Not JUST the play button. I press like, at least ten different buttons.
[Quote]DJ’s for sure do a lot more than that, but a lay man just thinks of us as button pressers. Will this trend of thinking ever change?
Is this why most DJ’s hesitate to even call themselves DJ’s and introduce themselves as Producers first.[/QUOTE]
But for a less flippant answer: To an extent it won’t really change, but it might be less obvious. We’re kind of in a time of peak saturation of the DJ market, so people are fairly aware of what (they think) a DJ does.
The whole “you just press play” argument is not worth getting upset over for two real reasons:
1)You can really boil anything down to this. Football/soccer is “people just kicking a ball.” Painting is “just smearing colors on a canvas.” Ignorance is key here. Sure, there are basic elements that are “simple” but the elegance is the combination of actions and intent behind them. Neymar can “just kick a ball” but he can also dribble past and around and through defenders with ease before setting a making a split second decision and place the ball right where he wants it. Monet “just smears colors on a canvas” but what makes it great is his color palette and the brush strokes and his use of impressionism to suggest a scene or memory without explicitly detailing it.
2)These people will probably not be happy no matter what you do or say. And that’s okay. Most people will see through their bullshit anyways, and the only person having their mood ruined by that attitude are the people possessing it.
If anyone calls you out on it say “Well there’s a lot more to it than that, and I’d be happy to detail it out to you.” It gives a you a chance to either educate, or have someone expose themselves as ignorant and intentionally avoiding information to paint their own picture.
I say, “Mom, get out of my fucking room! Gosh!” #norespect
I tell em to piss off and educate themselves. I’m DJ’ing, they aren’t. A dickhead that asks that is not worth wasting breath on educating, they are likely trolling, and the answer is the same to the ‘why do you not use vinyl, real dj’s use vinyl’ except I’ve made my opinion known numerous times on this ridiculous digital vs analogue topic, and is generally met with a verbal kick to the balls.
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No, people have a preconcieved idea of what a modern DJ is, someone walks into a venue with a laptop, where computer does the work for them.
People do not see the background work, setting up mappings, perusing over playlists, tailor made sets for that gig that’s a few days away, maintaining the equipment, making sure that everything is functional.. I HAVE seen guys who’s machines have shit themselves minutes before they were due to start, laptops not fully charged and dying before the end of gigs, badly set up machines dropping out, clipping and sounding like fuck all, And as visceral as it sounds, I had absolutely no sympathy.
What I see a lot of (over here anyway) is a dude who does not plan sets, wings it, with touchpad/keyboard control on a laptop’s that been used for homework and porn, undercutting guys and posting screenshots of texts saying ‘your music was brill, thanks’ from the person who booked them. That’s the ‘entertainer’ who pertains to be a DJ.
Introducing yourself as a producer, when you aren’t one shows a lack of integrity in what you actually do, if you’re a DJ, know your music, maximise its use, know your audience, spend effort on your selection, then a DJ is what you are, if you really don’t employ the wealth of features that you have at your disposal, then consider the difference between a DJ and a glorified entertainer and work out what side you sit on. DJ is thrown about like it’s going out of fashion. If people expect a DJ and see a bad entertainer, then you look bad, and it’s all your fault.
If you create music, make it, remix it, (and a dodgy sped up accapella over an instrumental track ain’t production) then you are a producer.. pretty simple.
Also
i ask if they wanna take over so i can go home and get paid to sleep
I’ve no sympathy either! and i know exactly what you’re talking about about the undercutting little shits! they use cracked software and illegal awful sounding downloads…
however i don’t tend to preplan sets anyway…generally i know my first couple of tracks, and i’ll have tracks that i know ill want to play, but for everything in-between i use experience (and mixed in key) to help fill the gaps by real what people want…
I don’t plan sets myself, maybe ‘plan’ was the wrong word to use in the rant!!
Experience teaches a lot really, and after the first few tunes are out, it’s the experience that kicks in and dynamicism starts..
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i respond the same way i do to every comment made by people i dont know
“ok”
I prefer the term “Drunken iTunes” myself.
I ask them to think of a song to play - by title and artist - they generally have about 3 goes at picking a genre - I repeat, title and artist each time - then they stop for about a 20 seconds, reach for their phone, I say “without your phone” - then they end up choosing the last thing they heard on the radio before going out.
I then tell them to do that every 3 minutes for 5 hours … And make sure that every person on the dance floor likes every track.
I know in my mind that I do a lot more than just press play and disregard the ignorant comment as them just not knowing what a DJ actually does.
I remember having this discussion with a hardcore DVS/SSL friend. At the time, I’d just moved to two X1s and four channel synced in Traktor. I invited him over and we had a jam, with me going full tilt. Put to bed any issues with ‘sync jockey’ comments. I always look busy when DJing… because I am busy.
I just shrug it off. It’s not worth arguing with someone over anything which can lead to ruining either their or your night with negative vibes.
Ahahahaha! 
Haha today a friend asked me like how can u tell if a DJ bad? if all they do is pressing the play button. How can you be bad?
My answer was that you can be very technical about playing with vynils or w/e controller routine. What matter is getting the people connected with the music selection and the mixing and with you. It doesnt matter how if you are only pressing play . if you have a bad music selection and cannot feel the music is gonna be bad..
with a wink and a smile I reply… “bby I also push the pause button”
