D-Jam

If you’re speaking of rap music, the problem is when the music industry decided the MC is more important than the DJ, that changed it all. Suddenly they went into studios not with DJs doing the music (even as producers) but producers who normally manufacture popstars. I’m sure someone then decided we needed more “instant gratification” so the breaks, intros, and outros were removed.

Why did they not give a damn about DJs who have to play this? Because there was such demand by the audiences that DJs were forced to make due. In the past labels made “club remixes” because they wanted to get played. Now they got the demand without having to pander to DJs.

The same thing happened in dance music. Producers grew tired of DJs slicing down their music so they could only play 2-3 min of it, so they produced their music to make it difficult to edit down. I know many Chicago “edit crazy” style DJs who hated when the music wasn’t as “instant gratification” as it used to be. They felt the art of quick mixing was destroyed.

My only solution for you is to not shop the normal outlets and look to remix services like X-Mix, Wicked Mix, etc.

Anyway, the problem with music in the last 15 years or so is that it’s too manufactured, and too much about “instant gratification”. Good stuff does exist, but it takes DJs standing up to promoters and ADHD crowds to make it heard. This is why I normally don’t chop and edit my tracks down to pander to ADHD people. I grew tired of people only wanting to hear the tiny bit they love and not the rest of the tune the producer made.

i post them on my site, MixCloud, and MixCrate. I’ll still upload my latest mix on SoundCloud, but I don’t see a lot of traffic from that.

I personally recommend all three options simply because you want traffic, first and foremost. Spread it out, get the hits everywhere.

strictlyt, post: 24510, member: 2747 wrote: I would like to practice my beat matching on a midi controller but my Vestax controller is just not good enough, the jog wheels always stick and the pitch is too small for small accurate adjustments 🙁

Don’t let that stop you. Adjust…adapt…try.

I originally started DJing on these:

Look at that tiny little pitch knob…and no 0-12 numbers to go by. When I would cue or try to adjust, things would not be easily smooth because the platter isn’t as solid as a 1200.

Still, we adjusted and adapted. Yes I bought 1200s a year or so later, but my point is we all have to stop thinking that we must have “proper gear” or making excuses to why we can’t try. I saw your controller and I would try. I used to roll my eyes at guys in the past who felt they couldn’t DJ until they upgraded to 1200s and a big expensive Pioneer mixer. Come on.

Just try and learn. If anything, it’ll make you work even more solid the day you get what you think is a better setup. The best DJs in my book are those who can walk up and play on what’s in front of them, not the ones who demand a certain setup.

Frosh, post: 24673, member: 1351 wrote: I disagree with D-Jam. Although I don’t have any personal experience with this, I know if I were in that circumstance I would be more concerned with exposure and what I could put on a resume than with making money. I would shop around for a label. Once one bites, not only would you have them advertising for you as well, but you are now “signed” and finally have something to put in parenthesis after your own name and your release’s title (i.e. Mike Check — Checking Levels EP [Bring the Noise Records]) which, to me, is completely worth the extra time it takes to get a proper release. Also, assuming you’re looking for gigs, it is much better to say “my EP was just released by Bring the Noise Records” rather than “I just released my first EP,” as you hand the promoter your sharpie-covered CD-R.

A proper release also gives you a reason for increased levels of shameless self-promotion (i.e. “Hey guys, make sure you look out for my new EP being released on Bring the Noise Records one week from today! Here’s a little sample…”) other than the usual (at least it’s usual for me) “Hey guys, here’s a new mix/track I made! I know this is the third time I’ve posted about it this morning but if you just listen once you may be surprised and see I do have a little bit of talent and if you could tell all your friends about it too that would be great and…”

There are hundreds of labels out there. Nearly every day I see one that I’ve never heard of. Not to say you should aim for some small, possibly struggling, no-name, but just that the opportunity is certainly there provided your production is release worthy. Again, I may be way off being as I have never experienced this myself, but I would go about contacting some independent labels with music similar to yours as soon as possible and look around for a month or two before considering releasing it myself.

I agree with you here. If you can get someone else with a label of many releases selling your music, that’s the best.

However, if you’re on your own, then I’d look out for yourself and go with the route that gets you the best ROI both in a monetary and marketing sense.

I’m planning on going through my vinyl, recording to WAV what I want, and getting rid of it all.

Yeah, I’m sure some will think I’m insane, but I don’t want my future house with my soon-to-be wife to be a closet for vinyl records. As long as I have the music I want, then I’m happy…and I can have it on a few hard drives (in duplicate).

As for my MP3 collection, even that I’ll purge and dump what I know I’ll never play nor have any deep sentiment for. I’ve already tossed out loads of old mixes I’ve made that I never have any intention of listening to ever again.

For a hobbyist like myself, I honestly have no reason to cling to stuff I won’t use. It’s like old clothing or magazines. Even now I am looking at my DVDs in the same retrospect.

I agree with Terry’s points.

I also think it’s ok to have SOME diversity. Your two tracks are slightly different, but not different enough to be an issue. If you suddenly made epic trance, then I’d tell you to take on an alias.

Don’t fall into the “one sound” trap. Seen guys do that and when mass tastes change, they get left behind.

TheReturn, post: 24279, member: 2640 wrote: If people just thought about the bottom-line and not about the experience of the party or the event – then every city would end up with an identical shit boring nightlife culture that only consists of top 40 and associated trash – because there is no risk in providing that. It makes perfect economic sense.

I agree with your whole reply…and I am a fan of taking chances. Lord knows I did many times when I promoted.

However, I look around Chicago and I read about other scenes, and it clearly shows what I quoted up there has happened. I know in Chicago for every one “interesting” or “risk taking” place, there’s about 5-6 cookie-cutter bottle service mainstream music spots, and 20 frat-boy trendy sports bars with DJs acting as jukeboxes.

In Vision’s defense, they normally bring out globally known respectable names as headliners. I merely can understand though why they would bring out Pauly D. It makes money…plain and simple.

I am all for making more Haciendas, Lofts, Paradise Garages, etc. The problem is those with the capital to do that won’t. If someone opened a club like the Hacienda today, and it spent just a few months empty, they would chuck all the “be innovative” thinking and go completely mainstream/sellout.

In many ways though, it’s good to have the “cool” spots be small and scarce. Makes the underground then have a concentrated spot to play and do things. Lord knows I’d rather have 2-3 good spots over 20-30 mediocre ones.