Music

[McCardle 1]

I've noticed this for a while but only just thought of asking the question. Looking at the music discussion area of the forum, it seems to be little used with only fleeting mentions of the odd track. With so many new tracks being released it seems strange that given that music is a huge part of our business that there is not more discussion, or more tracks and artists being actively discussed.

 

Even those tracks that are mentioned seem to scrape only a few replies, IF they are lucky, many other music related threads still stand at 0 posts and barely get glanced at. It seems that often many off topic posts actually generate more views and posts than Music, which surely is part of our business and way of life?.

 

Music is certainly an important tool in our business, probably just as much, if not more than lighting or what sound equipment you use. Yet discussions on equipment certainly draw a more wider interest than discussions on music?. I wonder why this is?.

 

Has the music industry become so stagnant that it forms the bottom of our pile in priorities and interests, are the brands of sound equipment more important than what product we actually play though it? it would seem so from a first impression.

 

Do we perhaps find ourselves needing less new music because it generates little interest from our audiences or is the majority of new music simply not of a suitable genre for the type of gigs we may do?

 

Do we just regard it with the same level of interest as a Plumber may consider a piece of copper pipe - A requirement for the job that you cannot do or work without but is now so boring or mundane that it is not worthy of discussion?.

 

Do you think that deejays on the whole have / show more or less interest in the music industry than Joe Public?

Edited February 24, 2009 by McCardle

[C.S 0]

I spend hours each week practising, mixing, looking for new music and generaly trying to improve however i feel that music is just a tool.

[YourBigEvent 0]

A bit like Kingy and CS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tool !

[Kingy 0]

A bit like Kingy and CS

A tool !

 

Is that a multi-tool? tongue out icon

 

I think music is in a pretty poor state for us mobiles with only a very small percentage of tracks released in the last 5 years having any longeviety. How many tracks from a random year since 2000 are you asked for? Not many in my experience.

 

 

[Raymilkybarkid 0]

Hmmm

 

Music is much more widely available than ever before, MTV,VH1, Kiss all on TV music videos 24/7.

More radio stations than ever before.

The music is a big part of our lives, but people don't seem to talk about it as much. Information on new releases is all over the net weeks before, with samples of new albums. Not like the old days when you would go to Our Price and listen in the boothes to the weeks new releases.

Times have changed, we as an industry have moved on. Now its MP3, iTunes etc

 

 

[eazy 0]

i think this just depends on the type of work you do !!!

 

if you mainly do weddings then the same set you have played for the past 20 years probably dosent need to change much , where if you are playing young fun pubs or clubs every week the pressure is on to always keep up with the latest tunes !

[Dream Catchers 0]

I think the problem with music today is there is too much of it!

Going back to the 70s and 80s I used to buy every new entry in the top 75 each week and any new releases that I thought were going to be hits.

Today there are so many different charts and genre that you need to be a millionaire if you wanted to buy them, also because of this they tend to only be "in" for a couple of weeks.

I agree that those of us that mainly do weddings tend to only need our classic tracks and the latest Now album.

 

The music industry has changed over the years, from the 40s up until the end of the 80s there were only a few genre that were popular at any point, for example if I think of the 40s I think of swing, the early 60s I tend to associate with Rock n Roll and ballads, the late 70s were mainly disco, early 80s possibly new romatic etc. Now fast forward to the mid 00s and there was such a mix mash of genre that to be honest nothing stands out.

 

As far gear getting more discussion and debate than music, I think it is down to more people knowing or having opinions on the big brand names, for example most people on here will know what a Bose L1 is, or the difference between a Denon DNS300 and a Cortex HDC, then start talking about Cody Chestnutt or Metallica, who knows them or actually plays them? (BTW I played a couple of Metallica tracks at a wedding last year LOL)

 

Jim

Edited February 25, 2009 by JimBoylan

[deejaymitch 0]

There's a few valid points here than can lead to various, meandering discussions. So I'll start some:

 

Longevity - a fantastic point. Like everything else these days, songs and artistes come with obselessence built in. A compact formula is followed to prodice quick money-spinners with no depth. That's why artists tend to release 5 or 6 singles from each album these days, as they know their time is limited. (Not that it's their decision at all). But there are very few songs released in the last 10 years that will be enjoyed by generations to come.

 

Amount - There is an incredible amount of new music becoming available from a number of different media. It is impossible to keep up with it all, particularly whenever the 'kids' will have been exposed to these tracks for months on TV and radio (and through illegal downloads) before their local DJ can legally obtain them. I think that, because there is so much there, there is also an increasing amount of regionality when it comes to the popularity of certain tracks. I've noticed over the last year or two certain songs are very popular in certain regions and not others.

 

Obscurity - Some of the discussions on the music forum aren't about mainstream music, or music you would generally play whilst working. I think this is good though. Whilst this site is a network for DJs to garner advice and information relating to their work, there is also a social element that is important to its survival. Often on the music forum I am posting as an enthusiast, not just a DJ. Iam passionate about music and enjoying discussing it. And so, if something obscure grabs my attention (eg Cody ChestnuTT) I'll throw it open for discussion (and include a link so people can hear it).

 

Just some thoughts.

[tezandbaz 0]

I spend hours each week practising, mixing, looking for new music and generaly trying to improve however i feel that music is just a tool.

i am not certain if you could call the music a tool,i should say that the hardware in use is the tool and the music is the raw material that we mold and use to create or final product..

but then as one of our contributers often say! what do i know.

[spinner 0]

 

....... only a very small percentage of tracks released in the last 5 years having any longeviety. How many tracks from a random year since 2000 are you asked for? Not many in my experience.

 

 

My experience is the same. Type of work may have a lot to do with it.

[DJ Ramon 0]

i am not certain if you could call the music a tool,i should say that the hardware in use is the tool and the music is the raw material that we mold and use to create or final product..

but then as one of our contributers often say! what do i know.

 

 

My experience is the same. Type of work may have a lot to do with it.

 

The music that I play is my passion, I only play 60's, 70's & 80's and its all 100% vinyl, the music is why I do it each week, a lot of my record collection is stuff that I would buy on a Saturday morning in Woolies with my pocket money when I was growing up, god I love those records, I suppose in a way they are my tools, but they are extremely well cared for in their very heavy boxes!