The first thing to understand in this discussion is that there really is no such thing as “the average DJ” anymore. Pinning down their role is a complex process. Of course there was never a time when all DJs were the same, but when vinyl was the only medium in town, it was a lot easier to pigeonhole them. What records did they have? Did they mix? Did they get on mic? Which venues did they play? That was about all you needed to know.
Nowadays, thanks largely to the evolution of technology, the potential role of a DJ is almost infinite. The very same person could rock it on a big stage one night, co-ordinating their own light show and visuals whilst banging out the latest EDM; and the next night could be down at their local bar playing funk & soul as background music to semi-retired clubbers who have managed to get a babysitter for the night.
They don’t need to change their set up. They don’t need to go out and buy a load of music for the occasion. They’ve got the funk and the soul and the EDM all on the same hard drive and they’re using the same DJ controller to play it. And the public don’t mind a bit.
So most would agree that if the above is true, a DJ in this day and age is not seen as the trend setter and educator that they may have been seen as in the past. The music and the equipment and thus the art form itself becomes more and more accessible by the year, and so, a lot of the mystique has gone. And yet you can point to the unprecedented levels of DJ fees, or you can point to the ever-increasing numbers of people having a go as amateurs - both show a significant upward curve. But with this evolution, has there actually been a change in the role of the DJ?
It’s inevitable that against this backdrop, people’s expectations will have changed, and so a DJ’s role probably has too. A wedding DJ may not see this so much, but if we’re talking about DJs who play electronic music in nightclubs, it’s probably fair to say that there has been a shift.
When once a DJ was trusted to educate and set the tone, the increased accessibility of technology, music (and information about that music) has brought the average DJ down a couple of levels to one of a human jukebox, rather than one of a trend setter and taste maker. Ironically, the DJs at the very top of the business have never been more remote from their public, often literally up on a big pedestal, behind a massive lighting rig, and being paid record sums for the privilege.
So it is now possible for a DJ to be an international megastar - the same status and market value as any other band or musician in the charts. This would have been unthinkable in the 1980s. And the very idea of a DJ single-handedly breaking an artist, track or genre - setting a trend - that notion has now become equally unthinkable. Someone else always seems to have done it first.
The exclusivity and the mystique of a DJ may have gone, but the demand for a DJ has never been higher.
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