Mix in your browser with cloud music

Here is a cool site that lets you pick music from the cloud and mix it right in your browser (No download required). Go to Http://www.mix.until.am

Check it out and have fun playing around!

US DJ Network Video Tutorials Coming Soon

Coming in April
The US DJ Network Presents
A New on line video tutorial
How to DJ

Instant Rim Shot On-Line Link

If you ever wanted or looked for a rim shot (its a drum hit usually heard after a joke). Your search is over. The Link below will take you there.

http://www.instantrimshot.com/

if you want it as a sound effect just record it with audacity, cool edit or any other audio capturing program or simply record it using the headphone out jack of your computer.

Being Prepared. The Boy Scouts know what's up!

What separates a solid DJ from a great DJ? Preparation and execution. This worksheet will focus on all of the commonly used techniques a great DJ will use to be
completely prepared for their performance.

The following are the “behind the scenes” responsibilities you should take note of.

• Call your client EARLY! 2 weeks or more out and discuss date, time, location, music selections (first dance, parent dances, intro or cake cutting music etc.), party dances, special
  requests and announcements and what your approach to the event should be
  (lively, less-interactive, somewhere in between).

• Create a burned CD of all of the most important selections (intro, first dance, parent dances, bridal party dance, cake, garter bouquet and special
  dedications). By creating this one disc with all special dances in the order
  will make it easier to manage the music and eliminate miscues (playing the wrong
  song) and fumbling for the song.

• Before the event date, check your collection to make sure you have the songs you need. Check to make sure the CD is in the sleeve. Pull it out to make sure
  it's not cracked (last weekend a DJ pulled out the first dance and the CD had a
  crack across it).

• Leave plenty of drive time. Arrive 1 hour to 1 ½ hours before the start time. Take your time unloading and setting up. Rushing through a load in and set-up can
  cause your performance to suffer. Before you leave the car, check your contract
  and refresh yourself with the names of the bride and groom. Be prepared if you
  happen to bump into them or family members. Also a plus to show the banquet
  manager you are familiar with who you are performing for.

• Greet the Banquet Manager to quickly go over place to set-up and time line of events. You must have a Pros T-shirt on and look professional.

• Test your sound and microphone before guests arrive. Check your sound in front of the speakers. You sound should be bass-y and muffled behind your equipment. Don't
  adjust from there. Evaluate the sound from the dance floor. Check your wireless
  microphone. Walk out to the dance floor. Change the battery if the light is
  dimming.

• Organize your music. Lay it out on your table in the order it will be played.

• Take a business card, turn it over and write the bride and groom's names on it and place it on your mixer in plain view to refer to during the evening. Refer to
  the “bride and groom” by using their names, “John and Mary.”

• Meet with the bride and groom about 20 minutes before show time to go over names and order. Also confirm whether parent dances will follow first dance or will be
  after the cake cutting (most will opt to do them together at the beginning).
  Rewrite the names phonetically if they are difficult to pronounce.

• Go back to your equipment and recheck your cued music to make sure it is ready. Practice names over and over as you wait.

• Return to the bridal party and assist the banquet manager in the “line up”. Go over names with each couple one last time and they are getting lined up. Return to
  your equipment and wait for the sign from the banquet manager.

• Hit Your Introduction...and off you go!

Thought for the Month
"The one thing worse than a quitter is the one who is afraid to
begin."



~unknown

Holiday mixers and contests - Lottery Ticket Giveaway

Buy a couple of Holiday themed scratch lottery tickets, place a business card on each chair and put a number on the back of each business card. During dinner ask everyone to check their card, if they have the one with the number you call on it they could win up to (whatever the top prize is on the ticket you bought). Ask the winner to come forward. Have them scratch off the card while you wait, and emcee it. If they.... win GREAT! If not tell everyone to hold on to their card because there is going to be another drawing later. If you have another drawing that's fine, if you don't then your card is in their pocket.

Try this for any party or occasion.

Holiday mixers and contests - Santa Clause Line Dances

Have the boss or leader of the group start the dance off by wearing a Santa hat and strutting down Santa Clause lane. Use Elvis Prestley's version of "Here comes Santa Clause" for the dance.

Try the electric slide or your favorite line dance to Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helmes just do the dance a bit slower or speed up the pitch of the song.

Rudolph Locomotion: Ask the crowd to choose their leader. Then dress the leader up in antlers and a red nose. Ask RUDOLPH to choose his 8 tiny reindeer. After selecting them, set them up in a standard locomotion or choo choo train line. Send them into the crowd. Run run Rudolph is a Great song to use.

Holiday mixers and contests - 12 Days of Christmas!

The 12 Days of Christmas

Ask the members of the committee to assist you in selecting 12 people to
assist you in this activity (or pick them yourself). After they have
been selected ask them to stand in a straight line facing the audience.
Inform the crowd that these people are the (insert their company name
here) Holiday Choir. Assign each of them an appropriate "day" of
Christmas. Ask the crowd to join you in singing the chorous to the 12
days of Christmas, then go to each of the people and ask them to sing
their day of Christmas. Going immediately to the next number down until
you reach "a partridge in a pear tree". Then immediately go to the
chorus again, then on to day two, and so on and so on. Make sure to
choose someone appropriate for the fifth day of Christmas (Five Golden
Rings). Don't allow people to just say their parts. Encourage them to
improvise, sing it loud! The most fun with this activity is the screw
ups, that will inadvertently happen.



Just in case you forgot, here they are:



The Twelve Days of Christmas



A partridge in a pear tree

2 Turtle doves

3 French hens

4 Calling birds

5 Golden rings

6 Geese a laying

7 Swans a swimming

8 Maids a milking

9 Pipers Piping

10 Ladies Dancing

11 Lords a leaping

12 Drummers Drumming

Christmas Time & Holiday Trivia

The toughest point of any holiday bash is that awkward transition between the bosses ho-hum speech to the dance music. One of the better ways to smooth out that segue and get the whole crowd involved in your show is a trivia contest. You can take the simple approach and toss out a brain teaser between songs, or organize teams and turn it into a real production.

Here's a list of 20 holiday Questions that should (slightly) challenge any crowd. Expand beyond the list with some of your own questions, or try your own version of "Name That Tune" using old TV show and commercial themes. Seldom will you find a crowd that doesn't enjoy a dose of trivia.

For an added marketing twist, print up the questions (with or without the answers) on your letterhead and pass them out as give-aways.

TOP 20 HOLIDAY TRIVIA QUESTIONS

1. Who invented the art of giving Christmas presents?
2. Who sang Grandma got run over by a reindeer?
3. How many eggs are in eight quarts of eggnog?
4. How did red and green become the traditional colors of Christmas?
5. For what movie could you say that Santa won an Academy Award?
6. What is the average temperature of The North Pole
7. Where was I when "I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause?
8. "The Gift of The Magi" was written by whom?
9. Name Santa's reindeer
10. Boris Karloff was the star of what TV Christmas favorite?
11. Christmas, Florida is closest to what major city?
12. What famous Christmas story begins with the line, "One dollar and eighty-seven cents"?
13. Name the most commercially successful Christmas Film.
14. Name 3 actors who played scrooge in the movies.
15. Name Bill Murray's Christmas classic.
16. "God Bless us, everyone!" is the end of what Christmas epic?
17. True or False: In South American countries, setting off fireworks is a popular way of celebrating Christmas.
18. The "Chipmunks Christmas song" came out in what year?
19. True or False: Christmas is not celebrated in the Philippines.
20. Name six of the all time top 10 Christmas songs.

THE ANSWERS

1. The three wise men
2. Elmo & Patsy
3. A dozen
4. In early times, Red apples decorated Green trees.
5. Miracle on 34th st. Edmund Gwenn played Santa and won an Academy Award.
6. 21' F
7. On the stairs
8. O Henry
9. Rudolph, Dasher, Comet, Dancer, Cupid, Prancer, Vixen, Blitzen, and Dancer
10. "How the Grinch stole Christmas"
11. Orlando
12. "The Gift of The Magi"
13. "Home Alone"
14. W.C. Fields, Jim Carrey, Kelsey Grammer, Derek Jacobi, John Magquire, Jack Palance, Cyril Ritchard, Basil Rathbone, Michael Caine, and, Alastair Sim.
15. "Scrooged"
16. "A Christmas Carol" said by Tiny Tim
17. True
18. 1958
19. False
20. White Christmas - Bing Crosby, Silent Night - Bing Crosby, Rudolph the red nose reindeer - Gene Autry, Chipmunk song - Chipmunks, I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause - Jimmy Boyd, Little drummer boy - The Harry Simeone Chorale, Do they know it's Christmas - Band Aid, I'll be home for Christmas - Bing Crosby, Grandma got run over by a reindeer - Elmo & Patsy, Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

Special Thanks to David Varga for his help with these.

BONUS QUESTIONS

1. What is the single best selling song of all time?
2. Name 3 more names for Santa Clause.
3. What item of clothing was Ma wearing in "Twas the night before Christmas"?
4. What was the little girls name in "The Grinch who stole Christmas"?
5. Who did the voice of the original Grinch?

BONUS ANSWERS

1. White Christmas
2. St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas
3. Kercheif
4. Cindy Lou Who
5. Boris Karloff

The Twelve Days of Christmas

A partridge in a pear tree
2 Turtle doves
3 French hens
4 Calling birds
5 Golden rings
6 Geese a laying
7 Swans a swimming
8 Maids a milking
9 Pipers Piping
10 Ladies Dancing
11 Lords a leaping
12 Drummers Drumming

Have fun with these.

Going The Extra Mile BY: Tim Ewing

Going the extra mile BY: DJ Tim Ewing - US DJ Network

One of the things that I learned early on in my DJ career is the importance of being personal, approachable, and willing to go the extra mile. There is nothing a bride and groom appreciates more than a DJ who actually takes the time to listen and really evaluate their needs. I have found that the more organized and prepared a DJ is for an event, the smoother and better the party runs.

For this article, I will attempt to share a few little things that may seem insignificant to some, but that make a tremendous difference when it comes to the bride and groom. Most of the things I will share you may already know, but then again, it’s also good to get a reminder every once and awhile.

Brides love it when DJ’s call them in advance. The bride usually has a million things on their plate, and when a DJ can help alleviate some of that stress by taking away the musical responsibility, brides most times breathe a sigh of relief. I’ve found that brides appreciate a DJ that not only gets the musical requests that they want, but also takes the time to evaluate their requests, organize their requests, and put them together in a logical way that the party will flow beautifully and smoothly throughout the night. You’ll find that the more you pay attention to the specific requests, the easier it is to make the party a success.

Most brides and grooms usually struggle with their selection of their entrance songs, the garter/bouquet songs, and cake cutting songs. One way that you can go the extra mile, is to offer suggestions for each. By doing so, you’re helping to narrow down the choices for the client and also making it easier for the bride and or groom to decide what they want.

One of the biggest fears I’ve found that some DJ’s have is performing the entrances of the family members and bridal parties. The most common mistake is pronouncing the names of the people in the party wrong. This is something that should never happen, but often times occur more frequently than we would like. One way to fix this problem is to write out the names of each member being introduced phonetically. By doing this, it makes it easier to read the name correctly because it’s written the way it sounds. Another helpful hint is to have either the bride or groom pronounce the name of the person a few times out loud for you and then you repeat it back to assure that it is correct.

There’s no greater feeling than nailing the intros, having the first dances go smoothly, have the garter/bouquet go off without a hitch and the cake cutting song ready and looped. This is something that takes time to master, but is something that all DJ’s strive for each gig they do. One way to make sure that you have perfection each time is to have your music organized and lined up ready to go for the time it is needed. This can be done one of two ways. For those who still use CD’s, have each CD labeled with a sticky note or marker so that you know what the song is, what track number it is and when it is to be played. Another great hint is to put all the songs on one CD so the music is back to back. All you have to do is advance it each time the next track and you’re ready to go. For those using laptops, making a wait list with the songs ready to go would also be a huge asset for success.

Another no brainer, that I hate to even mention, but feel is important to mention is the importance of being on time. The company policy is to be there an hour early, however, sometimes if needed, it might be helpful to get there even earlier than that. By being set up and ready to go way in advance, that makes life easier for not only you, but for the wait staff as well. Also, this gives you time now to talk to whomever you need to talk with and get any final details that you need without having to run around last minute.



Something many DJ’s fail to remember that there are also videographers and photographers at their events. Some DJs will have special moments happen and they will never check to see if the videographers or photographers are ready to capture it. So, my suggestion to going the extra mile for this would be to be in contact with both the videographer and photographer throughout the night to ensure that you all are on the same page. Give the videographers and photographers a five to ten minute warning, so if they need to change film, or an SD card or change batteries, they have time to do so and still be ready. In turn it is also important to be in contact with the wait staff, preferable the maitr’d or one in charge to make sure that they are ready for each special event that takes place.
Having equipment working properly is essential to a successful party. There is nothing more embarrassing than having a microphone with a dead battery, a CD skipping or an electrical or technical malfunction. Though most of the time, technical difficulties are out of our control, but there are also ways to try to prevent them from happening. First, it’s important to always have fresh batteries as well as back ups. It’s amazing how quickly the life is drained from the batteries from usage. Second, always test the music you have before you play it. Like I said before there’s nothing more embarrassing than music stopping or skipping for a gig. Third, test your equipment before hand to make sure that all the levels are where they need to be. Though we can’t control everything, doing these little things can make a huge difference.

Dress to impress. You may not realize it, but your appearance is important. You are the one person that everyone is looking at once the party is underway. Make sure that your clothing is clean, neat, and that you’re groomed properly with combed hair. This is a great way to make a good impression. Remember, you’re not only representing yourself, but the Pros organization as well.

Finally, be ready and willing to go the extra mile even when it’s last minute. If a bride or groom decides to change a song, or add something unexpected to the event, do your best to accommodate and work it out even if it’s an inconvenience for you. For me, I hate more than anything having to say to a bride or groom, I am unable to provide that song or I am unable to do that for you, so I personally strive to do whatever it takes to make sure this never comes out of my mouth. A prime example of this: This past weekend I DJed a wedding for a Spanish couple. The bride had selected Daddy’s Little Girl for her father/daughter dance and wanted that to be their song. The night before the wedding, she called me up and said she wanted to change her father/daughter dance to a song called “Daddy” by TJ Loughran. I quickly found out that the only way to get this song was to order it from TJ’s website and that it would have to be shipped through the mail. Limewire, bear share, I Tunes, etc did not carry the song. Beings it was Saturday getting the CD shipped in time was impossible. However, I was determined to get the song for the bride. So I went the extra mile by researching the artist online. I looked for almost 3 hours until I found a phone number. I then called him personally and asked him if he could provide the song for me via email. To make a long story short, he sent me the song in email, I copied it, and the bride was nearly in tears that I went through such trouble to make her father/daughter dance special. Though these situations happen sometimes, and the easy thing to do would be to say, “I’m screwed” or “I’m sorry you’ll have to find an alternative,” try to think outside the box and go the extra mile and you’ll be amazed at what happens.

As I close, I hope that this has been helpful in seeing the importance of going the extra mile. You’ll find the brides and grooms will appreciate it, your company will appreciate it, and you’ll get satisfaction knowing that by going above and beyond the call of duty to make each event memorable and extraordinary. Plus the extra money you’ll make in tips always helps too. Until next time, keep doing a great job and remember that you can never go wrong by going the extra mile.

Are You A Good DJ or a Lazy DJ?

Let's focus on the little things that separate the Good DJs from the Lazy DJs. Some of you will read this column and say to yourself,“I've been doing it my way for years and it works fine, I'm not going to change” and to you I say “That's a shame”. None of us are ever so great that we cannot improve.

Now we are going to tackle one of the many problems in making a good first impression at your party – Introductions. In the course of handling complaint calls from our clients, I've come to notice that one of the biggest problems DJs have with the introductions is the fact that they don't take charge of the situation. When do you start to take charge of the situation? During the phone call. While you are talking to the bride on the phone, it is imperative that you get the order of the bridal party and the correct pronunciations of their names. It is too hectic the day of the event to get all of this information correct and maintain an impression of professionalism. In addition, before you line up the bridal party you should be practicing the pronunciations of their names. This way when you do line them up and you rattle off the correct pronunciation of their names, they will be impressed. (GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION). There have been countless times where I have nailed the pronunciation of somebody's difficult last name during the line up and they turn to me and go “damn you're good”. (Yep that's right pencil neck, now listen up bridal party, I'm the man and I'm in charge)

Do not allow the catering staff to take your intro sheet and run off into the hallway to line the bridal party up unaccompanied (Go with them). If you don't go with them and there are changes or problems, you are going to be informed of them second hand and that is where the problems can occur. Take the initiative and line up the bridal party yourself, even if the staff offers to do so. However, if the staff insists on doing it themselves, go with them and be cooperative. As the staff lines them up, follow up behind and confirm the names yourself. Be a good DJ, not a lazy DJ.

The purpose of lining up the bridal party is multi functional. 1. Make sure you have the correct order for the introductions. 2. Confirm the pronunciations of names. 3 Evaluate the Child Factor (are they coming in, are they sleeping, are they coming in with Mom and Dad, are they screaming, are they being a pain, are they shy, etc). You need to be aware. 4. A last minute confirmation of the days events with the Bride and Groom. (First Dance, Toast, Grace, etc.) 5 Lastly, it allows you to get a feel for the Bride & Groom, the Parents and the Bridal Party and pump them up for the big day.

Leave nothing to chance when you walk out to the CENTER of the dance floor to do your introductions. If you do, then you leave open the possibility to make a mistake, look confused and make a bad first impression. You are the ring leader, this is your moment, be confident, be poised and be prepared. Be a good DJ, not a lazy DJ.

What NOT To say to or ask a DJ

CHECK BELOW FOR YOUR REQUEST



1. PLAY SOMETHING GOOD...SOMETHING WE CAN DANCE TO!

The D.J. has to play for more than one person...so, what you may hate
may be another's favorite song and EVERYTHING played here can be danced
to one way or another.



2. WOULD YOU PLAY SOMETHING WITH A BEAT?

BE SERIOUS! We know of NO songs played in a club that don't have some sort of a beat!



3. I DON'T KNOW WHO SINGS IT AND I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG, BUT IT GOES LIKE THIS...

Please don't sing for the D.J.! They have to put up with smoke-filled
rooms and dangerous decibel levels all night. Do them a favor and DON'T
give them a rendition of your favorite song!



4. EVERYBODY WANTS TO HEAR IT!

Oh sure, you polled EVERYONE in the club and, as their spokesperson, you are requesting the song.



5. I CAN GET LAID IF YOU PLAY IT!

If you are GOOD ENOUGH, you can get laid to anything!! (also been known as "buy the album and get laid for a month!")



6. I WANT TO HEAR IT NEXT!

The only people who can get away with that statement write the D.J.'s paycheck or tip him $50!



7. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANNA HEAR...WHAT DO YOU HAVE?

It's a lot easier for you to go have another beer and figure out what
you want to hear than it is for the D.J. to recite the name of EVERY
record in the booth!



8. HEY YO, NOBODY CAN DANCE TO THIS!

It is not advisable to say this when the dance floor is packed (but,
some people do anyway)! However, even if there is only ONE person on the
floor, it STILL contradicts the statement.



9. EVERYBODY WILL DANCE TO IT IF YOU PLAY IT!

The D.J. won't...I guess that blows a hole in that theory!



SOME ASSORTED THINGS NOT TO SAY

If you ask for a song and the D.J. says he just played it, DON'T SAY,
"Well, I just got here." It makes absolutely no difference. DON'T SAY,
"Is this the only kind of music you play?" If you go to a Chinese
restaurant, you wouldn't ask for Italian food. Rock clubs play rock,
alternative clubs play alternative, discos play disco, etc., etc.,
etc... If you ask for a song, BE SPECIFIC. DON'T SAY, "I wanna hear
something, anything but this!" Try going to the bar and saying, "I wanna
drink something, anything but this..." You can't complain if you're not
SPECIFIC. HOWEVER, if you ARE specific and the D.J. says he doesn't
have the song, DON'T SAY, "What?!! What do you mean you don't have it?
What kind of D.J. are you? Why don't you get into the wonderful world of
fast food! You obviously don't know what you're doing as a D.J.!"...

HE MAY SHOOT YOU!!!

Special Note

A nightclub D.J. gets very little respect. They are expected to play
everything for everybody. It is impossible to satisfy all to the people
all of the time, yet club jocks are expected to do just that. If a radio
jock tells his listeners a song is a hit, the majority of the people
think it must be "because they said so on the radio." However, 80f the
time, that same song was being played in a club long before the radio
DISCOVERED the NEW song. So, give the D.J. a break! The next time you
request a song, stop and

THINK before you speak.

And above all, if the DJ has one hand on the mixer, one hand on a TURNTABLE - wearing headphones,

DON'T BUG HIM OR HER!!! "

OTHER Things not to say to a DJ

when asking him for a song....

1) When are you going to play something good? - Firstly, you're saying
my music is crap. Secondly, you appear to expect me to read your mind
and work out what you like. I suggest you leave before I stab you with
this ballpoint pen. Sod Off!!


2) If you play XXXXX everyone will dance! - Nothing is guaranteed to be
further from the truth. If I play this track everyone will flock off the
dance floor leaving you stood on your own in the middle. Until you feel
stupid and leave. Having killed the atmosphere. Thanks a bunch.


3) Why you playing this shit? Nobody likes it! - That would explain the
packed dance floor would it? If you don't particularly care for it sir,
please wait 10 minutes and the music will change. To something else you
can whinge about.


4) Can you play XXXX in the next 10 minutes because I've got to go home?
- No. I'm trying to entertain those who are staying for the whole
night. I'm not going to destroy the atmosphere I've cultivated to play
The Village People at 9:30. You want to hear it, you wait until 11:00ish
when it'll actually go down well.


5) Have you got any dance music? - Would that be House, Garage, Trance,
Hard House, Disco, Euro pop, Hi Energy, Techno, Vocal House, Drum n Bass
(ugh!) or Happy Hardcore?


6) Can I have a look at your CDs? - No. They are the tools of my living.
They are arranged in a specific order. They are also a convenient size
to hide under a jacket as you leave. You thieving little pikey.


7) What have you got? - Look, I carry over 250 CDs, with over 5000
tracks. I’m not about to list them for you. And no, you can't look. No.
You can't press that button either.


8) When are you going to play something recent? - Oooh. About 30 seconds
ago. And I'll probably play some more as soon as I've played some 70s
for your Mom. Patience is a virtue. Now sod off.


9) Can you play [insert heavy metal tune]? - No. This is a wedding. You
are the only person in this room who actually like to make his/her ears
bleed. I know you have a bedroom wall full of their posters and you
tattooed the lead singer's name on your arm with a compass and ink. But
believe me, no one else likes them. And, contrary to your firm belief,
the sight of you standing alone in the middle of the dance floor
flicking your long greasy hair backwards and forwards, killing off your
remaining brain cells, will not make young women weak at the knees.
Queasy in the stomach maybe.


What your DJ actually replies;    "Certainly. I'll try and fit it in if I've got it."

The Singing Wedding Gram

This is an activity you can include the bridal party in or any group of people, but the Bridal Party works best. Durring the end of inner you ask the entire bridal party to line up (Boy girl, boy girl) in front of the bride & groom. Have them interlock arms and hand them a lyrics sheet you have copied with the words to a Cute wedding song. I use Going to The Chapel by The Dixie Cups, but you can use whatever song you want. Just make sure you copy the lyrics for the people. You start the song have them sway back and forth and sing the song as you take your cordless mic and put it in front of each person in the line as they sing a bar or two of the song. You can build up the hype and call it your gift to the bride & groom. At The end have the audience give all of them a round of applause.

The Lyrics to Going to the Chapel are as follows:

CHORUS

Goin' to the chapel, and we're, goin' to get Ma-aa-aried,
Goin' to the chapel, and we're, goin' to get Ma-aa-aried,
gee, I really love you, and we're, goin' to get Ma-aa-aried,
goin' to the chapel of love.

1) Spring is here The-e-e shy is blue,
Birds all sing as, if they knew,
Today's the day, we say I do,
and we'll never be lonely anymore, because we're

CHORUS

2) Bells will ring, The-e-e sun will shine,
I'll be his and he'll be mine,
We'll love until, the end of time,
and we'll never be lonely anymore, because we're

CHORUS

Technorati Tags: dj, disc jockey, disc jockeys, djgregc, djgreggiec, dj greg c, dj greggie c, singing wedding gram, wedding, wedding idea, activity

DJ with NO Arms

The dj with no arms. Don't ever think you have is so bad!

Check out how he lights his cigarette!

DJ J Picks a fight!

What do you think? Leave your comments below!

Broadcast your tracklist on TWITTER?

Our Frienda at Beatprotal shared with us this article:

Richie Hawtin’s Twitter app announcement this morning hasn’t had much time to properly sunk in yet, but already I’ve been having some major thoughts about how the broadcasting of DJ tracklists in real time will change everything.

With Traktor quickly becoming the standard for electronic music DJs, the addition of a Twitter app will bring a level of transparency and fluidity to DJing in one fell software update that is likely to have a long-lasting impact on electronic music culture.

Here are my initial thoughts on the pros and cons of this development.
Music discovery

Since the beginning of DJ culture, tracklists have been a major source of music discovery. Everyone wants to get the best music that a DJ plays, and identifying the tracks that make up a DJ’s set has become a sport of sorts, that has spawned a number of valuable ideas.

From the culture of Track ID requests online (our own BeatDetect section is part of this system), to the dissection of Essential Mix tracklists on the BBC’s website, to the kids down the front who ask what every good beat is, the system of identifying good dance music is as much a part of the culture as headphones and vinyl.

It is a social, crowd-sourcing system that aligns itself well with dance music’s inclusive community roots.

But the system has never been very efficient. In the days of vinyl, punters used to try and read the title of records as they spun round and round on the platter. In a dark and smoky club, at 45rpm, the ability to catch the words of a spinning record was a skill in itself. White labels didn’t help, and DJs drawing symbols and smiley faces on records only further led to confusion.

When CDs came along, punters who were desperate to find out the name of a tune had no option but to hound a DJ for its name. People still hold up mobile phones in front of a DJ’s face today asking ‘Wat tune is dis?’

The development of protected DJ booths in clubs, with high walls that are unable to be scaled by fans, was probably in part, fueled by the increasing amount of hounding.

Then laptops came along, and punters received a polite and shiny Apple logo in their face. The internet, YouTube and the proliferation of digital cameras then unlocked the wisdom of the crowd and satisfied the hunger of some, with fans able to upload dodgy clips of a dancefloor in motion all under the banner of ‘Track ID?’

However, the system of Track IDs too has its inefficiencies. The internet is a wasteland filled with video and audio clips of music that will never be identified, and crowd sourcing, as great as it is, is rather slow.

A Twitter app that broadcasts what a DJ is playing in real-time changes everything. Here is a list of instant benefits that I forsee:
Pros

The unsung heroes of dance music gain a voice
Dance music has always been an anonymous movement, with producers hiding behind aliases, and DJs being the public face and stars of the scene. With real-time tracklist broadcasting however, the artists that produce the amazing music behind it all will gain deserved visibility and valuable promotion.

Think how many new up and coming artists could gain important attention from the worldwide dance community if one of their tracks is played by a Sasha or a Pete Tong in a club in one far corner of the world.

Real-time data analysis will be powerful

If you thought Beatport’s Top 10 chart was a powerful indicator for what’s hot, imagine then, the possibilities of being able to see the most popular tracks being played in clubs right now. By aggregating the tracklists of all Traktor users who are tweeting, it will bring a level of transparency and vibrancy to global dance music culture like never before. We’ll be able to see the scene breathing, moving and reacting like an animal, akin to the volatility of the stock market.

New trends could be discovered through the statistics. For instance, in a time of recession, are DJs playing more dark and more stripped back music? In the summer are happy vocal records and melodies a big theme? What’s the biggest electro house record right now? Are there differences between countries? Is classic house music coming back? Is trance getting harder?

The questions are limitless, but the answers could be found through the analysis of such data.

Man hours saved, good for the environment
The culture of using digital cameras for the purpose of identifying good music later will be obsolete with the introduction of real-time tracklists. Think of the amount of man hours that will now be saved worldwide each year by people no longer having to encode and upload their videos for track ID purposes. From the DJ’s standpoint, that means no longer having to write down a tracklist after a set which has always been an annoying encumbrance. This all equates to energy saved, which could have a small and beneficial impact on the environment.

Leave us DJs alone
DJs will no longer be hassled by overzealous fans at the booth and will be able to concentrate on just playing. No more annoying phones in the face, no more taps on the shoulder. Whoopee!

Goodbye chin strokers
Chin strokers – those annoying nerds that stand next to the DJ booth showing off their ‘knowledge’ for shouting out the name of every single beat have just been replaced by Twitter on the iPhone (which smells a lot better).

Accuracy
Technology is accurate, humans are generally not. So those hard-to-pronounce German techno records will finally be spelled correctly.

Memory? Who needs memory?
How many times have you asked a DJ for the name of a record, only to forget later? With tracklists now appearing accurately on Twitter there’s no need to remember anything from a club, every again. Is that a good thing?

More sales, convenience
Us here at Beatport have already been speaking about the integration of Beatport links to any tracks that are tweeted and available to purchase. If that becomes a possibility, then that means more sales for labels and artists, and convenience for users who will not have to manually search for tracks online. Everyone wins.
Cons

Whilst there are obvious overwhelming benefits to broadcasting tracklists in real-time via Twitter, there are also a few cons.

The hype circle irrelevant, mystique gone, piracy up?

In the days of vinyl, the dance music hype circle – the idea that DJs hype music simply by playing it which brings more sales down the line – was rather large. Some estimates put it at about six months, and when you take into account the exclusive promo period that DJs enjoyed, the white labels and the test pressings, the second tier promo lists and radio play, that seems about right.

When CDs, the internet and digital downloading came along, the hype circle got squeezed. Information traveled faster, and knowledge was no longer the privilege of a dancefloor veteran. Information wanted to be free, and in dance music this could be seen by the end of an idiosyncratic era - the days of a DJ playing an unknown white label that took take six months to be identified was over.

And with each new technological development the hype circle has been getting smaller. Some labels now only promote a record once it’s available to legally purchase online because they’ve realised that hype these days only leads to piracy and illegal downloading if the music is not available. For better or worse, internet consumers has gotten used to the convenience of ‘now’.

The development of a Twitter app that allows for the broadcasting of DJs tracklists in real-time renders the hype circle pretty irrelevant. By the time Dubfire has finished his set in Tokyo, the exclusive promo white label that he dropped for the very first time that night has already been identified in Borneo. Its name is freely available on the internet and it has already virally self-promoted.

Fans will already be searching futilely to buy it, and the pressure for someone to rip and upload an illegal copy of it just went sky high.

More significantly perhaps, is the fact that the mystique surrounding what a DJ plays, the excitement of tracking down that amazing life-changing moment that you heard on a beach in Thailand, just disappeared. The satisfaction of finally ID’ing that bomb that you heard in Ibiza will no longer be realised.

Exposure too soon?

Twitter tracklists in real time will bring deserved attention to the producers behind the music, but is there a danger that an up and coming artist will get worldwide exposure too soon?

There is something valuable in the old process of hyping new talent. The top down table of exposing new talent in dance music – DJs recommending music to other DJs, which in turn leads to magazine and blog coverage, and then finally the public – generally gave the artist enough time to develop their sound. A slow rising push slowly brings attention and the early days can be very important to the career development of an artist.

With real-time music discovery taking place on Twitter, a new artist with a debut release could get global attention when they’re not quite ready for it. The subsequent pressure of producing an equally successful hit, and the pressure of signing to a label, might not be very beneficial.

The loss of context

A good DJ is greater than the sum of the tracks they play, but with tracklists appearing online in real-time, there is a danger that the other audience (online and not down front) will lose all context and gain critical potential.

Fans who were not able to attend a club gig in person, might watch the set unravel on Twitter and after a few minutes respond on their Twitter saying ‘By the looks of things, I’m not missing much’.

What’s more, the Twitter application will broadcast every track played regardless of whether it was actually audible – digital DJs are increasingly experimenting with the mixing of parts and loops, and the app will list a track when in fact only a four second loop of it was actually played.
Other considerations
Update

Since writing this post, Minus have uploaded a press release about the app with some more interesting notes.

“By providing the necessary information to track what is really being played in clubs, the Twitter DJ application would not only drag the likes of GEMA, PRS and SOCAN kicking and screaming into the 21st century, but make sure the real artists get paid instead of performance payments simply being carved up between the Madonnas and U2s of the world. If record sales are slowing down and performance is now the key area where artists can achieve financial stability, better solutions need to be found and a workable structure put in place as soon as possible. We hope that our Twitter DJ application is a step forward in the development of these types of systems.“

That means that Minus have been thinking two steps ahead, and realise that their Twitter app is a much better system then the blanket public performance music licenses that most venues worldwide use. The hope is that the producers behind the music might actually receive money based on their contribution (the amount their music is played in clubs) rather than it just going to the major labels to spend as they will.

An excellent idea, but the reality is that GEMA, PRS and SOCAN probably can’t/don’t want to build a system that accurately collects data with such magnitude. There are probably too many venues in the world with too many songs being played for the performance payments to be carved up proportionally.

The gap just got wider

The gap between digital DJs and physical DJs just got a lot bigger with the introduction of real-time tracklist broadcasting. Physical DJs generally play tracks in their entirety and tell a story through their mixing, whilst digital DJs are increasingly mixing on a molecular level. With tracklists appearing in real-time, digital DJs are transparent, whilst physical DJs still have a certain mystique to them.

As a reaction to this we might see digital DJs in the future, who broadcast tracklists via Twitter, deliberately mislabeling their music or using anonymous phrases in place of track titles in order to retain exclusivity on some of their most upfront cuts.
Your thoughts

These are just my initial thoughts and are not backed up by any data or facts. I would love to hear what you all think of this new and exciting development, and what it means for our scene.

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VIDEO - The Booty Call

Yet another Spin Off dance of The electric slide, The Booty Call is a favorite in The Delaware, Baltimore, and DC areas. More Videos to come!

Here is how to do:

THE BOOTY CALL Song by: Cochise

Take 3 steps right and Clap (4 Beats)

Take 3 steps left and Clap (4 Beats)

Take 3 steps backward and Clap (4 Beats)

Jump forward (1st Beat) & Shake your Booty (3 Beats)

Step forward to the right side with right foot (keep left foot in place) & Sway hips forward & Back (4 Beats)

Step forward to the left side with left foot (keep right foot in place) & Sway hips forward & Back (4 Beats)

Now BOX STEP (4 Count) twice to equal 8 Counts but on the 8th Count turn ¼ turn counterclockwise

START AGAIN

THE BOX STEP: Your feet will be in a stance where your left foot will be in front of you to your left side.
Take your right foot step forward crossing over your left foot. Take one step back & left with your left foot. Now move your right foot back to the right (Feet now together but split a bit). Now step forward to the left with your left foot and you will be back in the stance you started in. This entire move takes 4 Beats. Do this two times.

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