Spotify - crossing over to the dark side

DJ Ricky B said:

Guests at events these days pretty much expect you as the DJ to have access to Spotify. If a guest requests a song, and I don't immediately say I have it, their next line will be "It's on Spotify! If you pull up Spotify look for XXXXXX" It's happened pretty regularly for the past year.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't be bowing to the requests of too many. I don't see the need to have every available track on hand just because somebody requests it. I plan my event playlists well in advance, based on the nature of the event. I also announce during cocktail and dinner that if people would like to request songs for the evening that they get them in now and give a cutoff time for doing so. That way I get to know in advance and it gives me not only a feel for what the crowd wants, but also gives me time to incorporate them and fine tune my playlist. It also gives me time to explain when things are quiet why I can't or won't play a track instead of having to explain it to them when it's loud and they're drunk!

Once dancing starts, that's pretty much it. If requests are made after my announced cut off time, in most cases it's "I'm so sorry but my request list is already full and it's not likely I will even have enough time to play all of those already requested", it's that simple. (Extenuating circumstances excluded of course).

ittigger said:

For those of you that are bowing to the 'instant gratification' of a guest, how many of you have booked shows with that guest because you were able to pull it up on a streaming service?

Click to expand...

Exactly!



Not to sound arrogant, but yes, I do know what sounds good, and even more importantly than that, I know what tracks are appropriate to play based on the nature of the event and the type of people in attendance.

Allowing guests any opportunity to request some obscure track or remix just because technology allows it, is setting yourself up for sabotage, imo.
Spotify and their ilk are great for familiarizing yourself with tracks and trends as an event pre-planning tool, but I see no use for it live.

Realistically, we play an average of what? 60-80 songs a night? What do you need Spotify live for? If it's a good track, I already know about it pre-event. if it's a new tune, so what? If it's that good, again, I already know about it and if it's that new, so what? Who cares? If it's going to be that good of a track, it will still be hot at my next event.
Out of all the good music available, if you need to use Spotify live at an event, then quite honestly, you haven't planned very well.

Eventually as algorithms and artificial intelligence get better, I believe Spotify or similar services will indeed replace dj's and probably in the not too distant future.
For that reason, we need to think more like event producers and planners instead of "just dj's" otherwise, we deserve to not survive.

I sell my services at a price I feel is worth my time, and is reasonable for my customers to pay. I could claim to be worth double what I charge, but by who's measurement? I wouldn't drop $3,000 on a Wedding DJ myself. Why should I believe my customers will drop that kind of money on me?

I book a wedding for $1,000, and I made more money than most people I know bring home on their 2 week paycheck. I book a wedding for $1,800 with up lighting, and I can say to myself "Wow...This 1 wedding has yielded me more money than I would make in a whole month working at the day job.. Most of my customers are not driving $100,000 cars, and live in million dollar houses either. They are all middle class, and probably a bit better off in terms of finances than I am. Either that or they run high credit debt to afford what they have.

I'm pretty comfortable where my prices are. I just wish it was easier to fill my calendar at my regular rates. Problem is Friday weddings don't occur often. Everybody wants Saturday...I can only work so many Saturdays.

I came to terms that if I started charging $2,500 to everybody, I would find myself working 2, maybe 3 weddings a year. I'd rather work 35+ weddings a year, and I have no interest in adding additional services to get there. I just want to DJ, and provide up lights when they want them, and stick to that.

DJ TJ and others... when it comes to requests... this is once again another thing that SHOULD be discussed with the bride and groom. It takes a minute and I ask them to please tell me how to handle requests. I give them 3 options... accept all requests despite the atmosphere taking place... taking requests ONLY if they fit in line with what the bride and groom have already requested their night sound like... or don't take any requests at all. You'll never have to make any announcements again about it or worry about what the bride and groom will think if you accept it.

Option 1 NEVER gets picked as they don't want guests taking control of their wedding. Option 2 is most often picked as they would like their guests to feel accommodated but only if it is in line with their vision (which is discussed). Option 3 happens about 1/3 of the time where the clients really trust me and want me to create the best atmosphere possible without anyone bothering me.

Personalized weddings require asking questions... lots of them. My finalizations take 2-3 hours because there is no part of the night that is not discussed without input from the bride and groom.

Yes, I believe I just said that in a somewhat condensed form.
And again to reiterate, planned well in advance, not once the event starts.
And in keeping with that train of thought, I see no reason to use Spotify live at an event.

If I have the need to use Spotify or similar live at an event, then it is no longer a tool, it simply shows that I have no more knowledge of what the crowd wants than a computer algorithm does, and I deserve to be replaced by it.

djtaso said:

taking requests ONLY if they fit in line with what the bride and groom have already requested their night sound like... or don't take any requests at all. You'll never have to make any announcements again about it or worry about what the bride and groom will think if you accept it.

Click to expand...

I only make announcements to advise guests to get their requests in early, I don't go into any detail about what I will and won't play. That is discussed only with the requester based on exactly that. Only what will fit in given the nature of the event, and direction from the event hosts.

Gotcha, kind of misunderstood how you were handling that announcement... My bad! I know many others personally that just announce it and pay more attention to fulfilling the requests than the wishes of the bride and groom or paying client... wasn't sure if that was what you were referring to. Thanks for clarifying!

rickryan.com said:

I'm staying quite busy, thanks. You can claim that manually picking songs will keep you "in demand" but it simply doesn't make it so.

Click to expand...

I don't think anyone has made that claim except you in your responses.

Tools, such as spotify, are becoming quite good at picking material, and will continue to replace tasks that a human DJ has done in the past. There are DJs who refused to quit using vinyl records and it didn't keep any of them in demand either. Change is inevitable. Embrace what works and reject what doesn't. Adapt or die.

Click to expand...

The irony of your steely stance is that the adaptation we are currently discussing is the $250 Craigslist ad for your son using Spotify and Facebook. The reality of where you are currently focusing your efforts is quite a contrast. Consider another father/son team such as Johnny Dee and what makes that successful - and then ask yourself if perhaps your methods are training your son for a role that is already obsolete.[/quote][/QUOTE]

ittigger said:

For those of you that are bowing to the 'instant gratification' of a guest, how many of you have booked shows with that guest because you were able to pull it up on a streaming service?

Click to expand...

I'm able to pull it up - from where doesn't matter. Instant gratification is ALWAYS to your advantage as a DJ. There's nothing better than a guest requesting the song currently under your cue point, or making that change within seconds and giving them exactly what they want.

Being a "great" DJ is ambiguous. I book shows repeatedly with the same people and committees because clients think of me as "their" DJ. To be "their" DJ it can't be all about you. Instant gratification is precisely what this job is about - you're only playing for 3 or 4 hours - time is of the essence.

DJ TJ said:

If I have the need to use Spotify or similar live at an event, then it is no longer a tool, it simply shows that I have no more knowledge of what the crowd wants than a computer algorithm does, and I deserve to be replaced by it.

Click to expand...

I think you have it backwards. It's a tool that has a capacity far in excess of your own knowledge and ability. You don't have a snowball's chance in hell of keeping up with what these algorithms can do. How you use it is up to you - but, if you're not using it you will be. You won't survive in the mobile music biz without real time access to the kinds of research and compilation tools these things provide.

rickryan.com said:

Your approach and mine and pretty opposite. I believe strongly in guest requests and educate my clients that allowing those requests gets much more buy-in and results in people staying longer and enjoying the party more. Do I let the guests run wild over the clients' wishes? No. It's a balancing act and that's where I come into the picture. It's a rare occasion that I have more than 1 or 2 clients per year who don't want their guests having any input. If it comes up during the sales meeting I generally won't take the booking. Those clients are a complete PITA and not worth my time or aggravation.

Click to expand...

The clients he's describing are designing an experience - and these events are no more open to requests than a theme ride at Disney. You're not going to find this client on Craigslist or Wedding Wire. It is a very different playing field than your average family event or wedding.

It's just one vertical among many - not better, just different.

Proformance said:

There's nothing better than a guest requesting the song currently under your cue point, or making that change within seconds and giving them exactly what they want.

Click to expand...

Best feeling right there when dealing with requests... get a request, point to the screen showing them you got it already cued to go, and they respond with you're the man or this is why we love you. Wont always happen, but great feeling when it does. Also shows you really understand the crowd and where they want to be taken through music.

Proformance said:

I'm able to pull it up - from where doesn't matter. Instant gratification is ALWAYS to your advantage as a DJ. There's nothing better than a guest requesting the song currently under your cue point, or making that change within seconds and giving them exactly what they want.

Click to expand...

Even if you know it's going to be a floor killer?

I agree.
No question that change is as somebody once said "the only constant", and I agree wholeheartedly with the adapt or die mentality. Basically in a nutshell what it comes down to, is that now in addition to competing against other dj's, you are now also competing against the computer algorithm. As Pro is always fond of saying (and I totally agree with), is that the future belongs to entertainers.

The double edge sword that technology can be, while continually lowering the barrier of entry to this industry, also seems to in many ways "cull" the herd so to speak, in the process.

I also agree that the future of all music will be subscription based live streaming with little or no ownership of the track based on the choice of subscription level.

This thread has fractured a bit here and possibly that's partially my fault but I don't think anyone can or should dispute that the algorithm is another tool to use to your benefit, but the other issue here is should you give up control and allow real time access to the crowd especially for a private event?

To me the music is a very small part of what I do I could care less how I get it what's more important is what I do with. A request is just that a request it's not a demand it's not terrible difficult to explain why you can't play a particular song if you have a tiny bit of intelligence

Agreed. As I've mentioned, I see it's use as an event planning and playlist tool, but if you are allowing the crowd to use it tell you what to play next, then the computer is the dj and you are simply the button pushing roadie/monkey. This will have the biggest effect on generic multi-ops initially, but will cull the whole herd eventually.
As part of the "adapt or die" mentality, you might see a bit of resurgence in the full service PA rental market for consumers that want to have their own playlist played through professional PA systems for their own parties, if you know how to properly market to them.