Nifty, But Could Spell More Trouble for DJs

[Hank Davidson]

I guess this has been around for a bit, but I just happened on it this weekend.

TrackTL is a live social jukebox. It's sort of like an interactive Spotify, etc. The host starts a free playlist page and then invites others to add to and vote up songs on the list. This is a fantastic way anyone to have music at home for parties and such. However, it could simply be applied to any function as practically everyone in attendance has a smart phone. The guests control the music.

If this or other apps like it begin to trend, it could inspire more DIY function music than ever.

What do you think?

Tracktl - Take control over music everywhere

View: https://vimeo.com/79870242

 

[Handinon]

The only "DJ's" that will be negatively impacted by this are not real DJ's - in fact they themselves may actually use it.

If you are comfortable using a mic in front of a large group, actively engage with your audience, do some basic mixing of songs, bring some energy to the party - I don't think this will effect you at all.

I will say this, I've often considered putting my cell phone number out on the tables in the venue, with a note to text me requests, but I've never done it. I don't want to open Pandora's Box!

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

If this cost you some work then you have bigger issues then this thing. This might be a great thing for those price shoppers that we talk about on here. Let them use this and have them rent speakers from you to use. That way you both win. There's more then one way to skin a cat.

 

[Proformance]

The only "DJ's" that will be negatively impacted by this are not real DJ's - in fact they themselves may actually use it.

If you are comfortable using a mic in front of a large group, actively engage with your audience, do some basic mixing of songs, bring some energy to the party - I don't think this will effect you at all.

I will say this, I've often considered putting my cell phone number out on the tables in the venue, with a note to text me requests, but I've never done it. I don't want to open Pandora's Box!

Real DJ's - are not all over the microphone or constantly engaging with the audience. That's called an entertainer, not a DJ. Big difference. DJs are all about the music.

I came from a night club background and in some venues we performed as entertainers, and others it was strictly the music and we were expected to avoid using the mic as much as possible to not intrude on the club's ambiance. Real DJs are able to get the floor packed without saying a word and TrackTL potentially takes the guesswork out of reading an audience. To that end a DJ could easily deploy it as prompter or request generator - not sourcing it, rather following it's lead.

I think TrackTL is yet another perfection of a trend well under way, though this is essentially crowd sourcing the music - something that can work well if popular impact is what you're after. Many events however are directed by the specific design of one subset of people and not left up to the crowd. This is especially true at theme events, or anything connected personally (birthday, anniversary, wedding) to one or more people.

The question remains for any event: "what percentage of the audience actually cares to participate?" I regularly do events with hundreds of people in attendance. I don't get hundreds of requests - so, clearly people are not that interested in directing the music. Put a video screen with the current cue in place - and I think I'm going to get all the disgruntled or impatient complainers in my ear instead of the optimistic requester. Dealing all night with control freaks hoping to circumvent the cue would get old really fast.

Then comes the issue of what might really happen at gigs where it does garner large scale participation. Is it actually a dance floor killer? Will the high school dance become a high school stand-still where teen age zombies stand around texting on their smart phones and manipulating the video cue list all night instead actually dancing and socializing? TBD

People have always had the ability to hand the DJ a record, tape, CD, iPod, smart phone, etc with a given song they wanted to get played. Track TL simply removes the middle man and aligns you with the interests of the equally engaged people around you. Emphasis again - on that question of whether a crowd is ever equally engaged.

 

[DJ Bobcat]

... I will say this, I've often considered putting my cell phone number out on the tables in the venue, with a note to text me requests, but I've never done it. I don't want to open Pandora's Box!

I think we discussed this in another thread quite some time ago, but I had planned to use the same (or similar) method for taking requests. I got a Google Voice number and had it set up on my Video PC so I could get the messages. Then I would copy the song title from message and paste in the search of my music library app to find the song. I was all set to do it, and then I weenied out... decided I might be opening a can of worms.[emoji1] I thought of all the times the guest asked me for a song, but didn't quite know the exact title or artist, but after a little discussion, I was able to figure out what they were requesting... Can't do that with texting very easily.[emoji1]



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[Proformance]

If this cost you some work then you have bigger issues then this thing. This might be a great thing for those price shoppers that we talk about on here. Let them use this and have them rent speakers from you to use. That way you both win. There's more then one way to skin a cat.

It would be more expensive to use this than a DJ in a significant event circumstance. You need a video screen and for larger events where the venue is unequipped that can easily get quite costly. It's the visual aspect of the cue list that drives participation and without it the system will either run out selections or default to the original playlist - which is exactly what an iPod does - so, nothing new. You still need a sound system as well.

If this actually took off beyond the consumer/home small office party realm I could see myself making good money on rentals again.

 

[rickryan.com]

Don't kid yourselves guys, this WILL affect all of us. My take, the rash of newbies has already caused a downward pressure on rates in my area at least. When a spotify-like service nails the tech that lets guests control the party music, it will ratchet up that pressure. Frankly, I love the idea of not having a bellligerent best man, who's threatening a physical confrontation if you don't play his tune next. This would take away that possibility. I know the above isn't a popular thought, but let's face realities. Service businesses change and if you don't evolve you're gonna eventually find yourself as the wagon wheel maker when nobody's using wagons any more.

 

[Scott Hanna]

I think the reality is most people don't want to bother, so you'll have a few people making all the selections., Or you'll have people just voting in songs just because...... Not because it will make it a better party.

 

[Scott Hanna]

Don't kid yourselves guys, this WILL affect all of us. My take, the rash of newbies has already caused a downward pressure on rates in my area at least. When a spotify-like service nails the tech that lets guests control the party music, it will ratchet up that pressure. Frankly, I love the idea of not having a bellligerent best man, who's threatening a physical confrontation if you don't play his tune next. This would take away that possibility. I know the above isn't a popular thought, but let's face realities. Service businesses change and if you don't evolve you're gonna eventually find yourself as the wagon wheel maker when nobody's using wagons any more.

Things change, and will continue to change. This is another dyi option. Just like CD-R 's, iPods, and someone's own computer.

I remember DJ's telling me around 2001 that I was a fool to use computers because then everyone would know they could just use their own computer to play music.

But it's kind of like saying the new fast food joint is going to take business away from a nice steak restaurant. They both sell beef. But people go to each place for much different reasons.

In my area, ive seen no signs of a significant increase of dyi events, even with all the ways they have. The ones that are are typically very low budget that probably would never consider spending significant money for entertainment.

I still haven't heard one report of a high end, or even middle end that did dyi Entertainment where it enhanced the evening. But, for events where the entertainment doesn't really matter, I think this is just as fine an option as any of the other ones.

 

[rickryan.com]

I still haven't heard one report of a high end, or even middle end that did dyi Entertainment where it enhanced the evening. But, for events where the entertainment doesn't really matter, I think this is just as fine an option as any of the other ones.

Let me paint it another way. Venues find out they can set this up and let it run the music. They have a staff member who can make the announcements. They can save the client $1k by not having to hire an outside DJ (and they can pad their own rate in the process). How many venues do you think will not jump on this?

 

[Scott Hanna]

Let me paint it another way. Venues find out they can set this up and let it run the music. They have a staff member who can make the announcements. They can save the client $1k by not having to hire an outside DJ (and they can pad their own rate in the process). How many venues do you think will not jump on this?

I'm all for it. Like I said, if Entertainment isn't all that important to them, they probably weren't going to spend $1000 on it any way.
Some people just are not my customers.

 

[rickryan.com]

I'm all for it. Like I said, if Entertainment isn't all that important to them, they probably weren't going to spend $1000 on it any way.
Some people just are not my customers.

True, but it's worrisome to me. I have a high-end venue here in town, where I used to work fairly often. One of their girls on staff convinced the house she could DJ. My understanding, the girl is mediocre, at best. Yet, guess who is DJing all of the events at that venue? If a venue finds a way to eliminate us, they will.

 

[Scott Hanna]

True, but it's worrisome to me. I have a high-end venue here in town, where I used to work fairly often. One of their girls on staff convinced the house she could DJ. My understanding, the girl is mediocre, at best. Yet, guess who is DJing all of the events at that venue? If a venue finds a way to eliminate us, they will.

They wouldn't be the first venue to try it. Just like we do, venues look for ways to add revenue. Makes sense to me. Most end up finding that DJing is an pain in the butt unless you know what you are doing. Some thing with equipment. I see venues with old beat up systems because their owner thought they could make money by having their own system. Rarely works. But when I do an event at the house of blues, they have their own sound system, it sounds great because they are using great equipment and have a sound guy on hand. It's not a cost savings for them or the customer. It's just a great product.

If it was easy for venues to do it well, they would have done it long ago. This app does very little to change that, IMO

 

[rickryan.com]

They wouldn't be the first venue to try it. Just like we do, venues look for ways to add revenue. Makes sense to me. Most end up finding that DJing is an pain in the butt unless you know what you are doing. Some thing with equipment. I see venues with old beat up systems because their owner thought they could make money by having their own system. Rarely works. But when I do an event at the house of blues, they have their own sound system, it sounds great because they are using great equipment and have a sound guy on hand. It's not a cost savings for them or the customer. It's just a great product.

If it was easy for venues to do it well, they would have done it long ago. This app does very little to change that, IMO

You may be right, I dunno. My jewish friend uses spotify for the front half of his mitzvahs. It's scary how good those programs are getting at knowing what kind of music to play. If you add a platform where it can take guest requests/votes, that could end up being a powerful, powerful platform. I know it still lacks the human element and being able to handle announcements and special dances but still, I don't think it would be wise for any of us just to poo-poo it.

 

[Hank Davidson]

I'm all for it. Like I said, if Entertainment isn't all that important to them, they probably weren't going to spend $1000 on it any way.
Some people just are not my customers.

Scott, I agree with this idea, but here's some food for thought.

As I see it, over the years, many customers have been ours by default. Fewer options meant a larger divide amung us. Now we have more DJs and more alternatives to having one. There's less $1000 clients out there today (depending on where you are). As technology grows, society's mindset does too. Not having seasoned enetertainment is currently viewed by some as "lower class or scale". That may all change sooner than later.

Also, as mentioned above, venues are adopting the means to provide the audio and visual sides of our business. Why should they leave to us what they can profit from within? Especially as it becomes easier and cheaper to do so.

I agree that we should all continue to take pride in what we offer and do our best to maintain public interest. At the same time, we shouldn't dismiss the turning tide. As the playing field changes, so must the strategy.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Real DJ's - are not all over the microphone or constantly engaging with the audience. That's called an entertainer, not a DJ. Big difference. DJs are all about the music.

I came from a night club background and in some venues we performed as entertainers, and others it was strictly the music and we were expected to avoid using the mic as much as possible to not intrude on the club's ambiance. Real DJs are able to get the floor packed without saying a word and TrackTL potentially takes the guesswork out of reading an audience. To that end a DJ could easily deploy it as prompter or request generator - not sourcing it, rather following it's lead.

I think TrackTL is yet another perfection of a trend well under way, though this is essentially crowd sourcing the music - something that can work well if popular impact is what you're after. Many events however are directed by the specific design of one subset of people and not left up to the crowd. This is especially true at theme events, or anything connected personally (birthday, anniversary, wedding) to one or more people.

The question remains for any event: "what percentage of the audience actually cares to participate?" I regularly do events with hundreds of people in attendance. I don't get hundreds of requests - so, clearly people are not that interested in directing the music. Put a video screen with the current cue in place - and I think I'm going to get all the disgruntled or impatient complainers in my ear instead of the optimistic requester. Dealing all night with control freaks hoping to circumvent the cue would get old really fast.

Then comes the issue of what might really happen at gigs where it does garner large scale participation. Is it actually a dance floor killer? Will the high school dance become a high school stand-still where teen age zombies stand around texting on their smart phones and manipulating the video cue list all night instead actually dancing and socializing? TBD

People have always had the ability to hand the DJ a record, tape, CD, iPod, smart phone, etc with a given song they wanted to get played. Track TL simply removes the middle man and aligns you with the interests of the equally engaged people around you. Emphasis again - on that question of whether a crowd is ever equally engaged.

I say anyone that has been a DJ for a long time shouldn't depend on this to read a crowd. That should come over time doing events and learning from your mistakes. Also not putting yourself in a situation where you're not the right DJ for the job.

 

[Ausumm]

There is a big difference between guests making requests, and guests actually choosing songs.
You still need someone to "police" it, otherwise, all the idiots will program stuff like the "I-95 A**hole Song"...
and get all their friends to vote for it.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

True, but it's worrisome to me. I have a high-end venue here in town, where I used to work fairly often. One of their girls on staff convinced the house she could DJ. My understanding, the girl is mediocre, at best. Yet, guess who is DJing all of the events at that venue? If a venue finds a way to eliminate us, they will.

I agree.

There are a number of venues here in Maryland that have in house sound systems. They have a input audio jack into the system, and have their IPAD hooked into it playing music off of Spotify. I know for a fact that at one venue, some of their clients opt to not bother having a DJ, and just let the IPAD shuffle music off of Spotify to save money. If a certain song is requested, a guest of the party or party host can go over and search for the song and play it. ...It's not Seamless Mixed music from a live DJ, but it's a $$$$ saving (budget oriented) option that a big chunk of clientele is willing to try.

Yes, a Venue can have a coordinator make announcements and flow a wedding reception along. If having a great DJ/MC is not a priority, then hooking up a phone or IPAD with Spotify into a house sound system is likely to be sufficient for many clients out there.

 

[rickryan.com]

There is a big difference between guests making requests, and guests actually choosing songs.
You still need someone to "police" it, otherwise, all the idiots will program stuff like the "I-95 A**hole Song"...
and get all their friends to vote for it.

As long as it's not ME who is getting blamed, I couldn't care less what the guests request. I'm not saying that this automation is perfect, just that it's getting scary close to being "good enough" and it likely WILL help diminish demand for our services. If you're a "music specialist" then I think it gives a big cause for concern. If you're an event producer with multiple services (one of which is DJ), then you're much more safe.

I will add this, IF I ever do manage to build a venue, I can assure you that I will be looking at this option. If the software will take care of 80% of the music programming duties, I can hire a much cheaper help to sit in the booth (probably raised and inaccessible to guests) and babysit the system. I sure don't mean to offend anyone here, just talking real-world business decisions.

 

[Scott Hanna]

Scott, I agree with this idea, but here's some food for thought.

As I see it, over the years, many customers have been ours by default. Fewer options meant a larger divide amung us. Now we have more DJs and more alternatives to having one. There's less $1000 clients out there today (depending on where you are). As technology grows, society's mindset does too. Not having seasoned enetertainment is currently viewed by some as "lower class or scale". That may all change sooner than later.

Also, as mentioned above, venues are adopting the means to provide the audio and visual sides of our business. Why should they leave to us what they can profit from within? Especially as it becomes easier and cheaper to do so.

I agree that we should all continue to take pride in what we offer and do our best to maintain public interest. At the same time, we shouldn't dismiss the turning tide. As the playing field changes, so must the strategy.

Hank, I could not agree more. Things change and we must change with it. But I don't believe we are going to see any significant change in the dyi crowd because of this. Sure, I think a few more people that were on the bubble might try it because they haven't seen it fail yet. But talk to someone that was at an iPod wedding. That was going to be huge too. Until they actually tried it or witnessed it.

And I don't mean to come across like I only do only high brow events. I don't. I'm doing a 2 hr karaoke party Friday Feb 24 1230-230pm. We are doing some retail events next Sunday.

And it's very possible that views may change with regards to the DYI. If it gets better, I think some should use it. But I believe a DJ's biggest challenge is not being replaced by technology. It's being more in demand than the other hundreds and hundreds of Djs people can choose from. In Northeast Ohio, I'd bet there are thousands people can choose from.

I just did a corporate party Saturday. This was for a different Dj company. The customer had a great time and asked if they could book for next year at the show. I asked them to please call the office and book then. Contacted the owner and told them they wanted to book for next January and I was available. He called them, booked them. It may be the only show I'm able to do for them this year because thankfully I have few open spots. But I guarantee they will call me and ask if I'm available.

Point is, there's very little I can do about technology. Perhaps adjust a package here and there once I see significant change, adjust some marketing message maybe, But spending any real time worrying about it doesn't seem fruitful to me.
But there's lots I can do to ensure I'm in demand. Getting referrels, networking with other Djs. I've always believed that my competition is not with other Djs. It's not with technology either. My competition is with me and how I spend my time.

And BTW, the other company I booked with was someone i trained in the business. He's become an excellent dj and now s great business person and still a valued friend and colleague. I haven't lost any business since he started his company. I had no problem giving him pointers.