The future of the DJ

It has been a while since I have posted on here, so apologies you haven’t heard from me in a while.

As a DJ that has been in the entertainment industry for 15+ years now, I have seen some significant enhancements in Disco equipment and technology to improve and enhance ones set.

Starting on the decks

Back when I first started (and probably more of a novelty thing), I experimented on vinyl. Many would argue the pro’s and cons of mixing on vinyl. The pro’s being the quality of the sound and that authentic crackling noise you would expect to hear, however on the flip side, the con’s are protecting your collection. This could lead to a degraded sound over time depending on how scratched the record turns out over time.

When I went professional and due to the format of my collection, I started on a CDJ system. The mobility of playing a collection of CD’s as opposed to vinyl’s meant you could transport about four times the music with ease.

Entering the digital revolution

I then entered the digital revolution and began to ‘digitalise’ my complete music collection. With the introduction of Digital controllers, with manufacturers such as Pioneer, Numark, Denon leading the way this meant organising your music collection and transporting it to your next gig never came easier until now.

You could now cue up requested songs from your clients without finding your way through your vinyl and CD collection and like many DJ’s this was always tricky to keep a relevant filing system on these.

Some ‘traditional / old skool’ DJ’s would argue that technology cheats the system and there is little or relevant skill in adapting to new technology, however as I read on a DJ forum the other week:

‘If a palette of bricks were delivered to a warehouse, would you really stack them manually by hand or use a forklift to assist you?’

Don’t forget it’s not just about using technology to your advantage. You need to be able to read a crowd and can keep the dance floor consistent throughout the night. This comes with experience and the more gigs each weekend should help you with this if you are aspiring DJ looking to learn the trait.

So, what’s next?

An abundance of cables… hopefully!

I would quite confidently state that the setup and dismantle for each event usually involves cables and lots of them. Cables to plug into a mixing desk, speakers, microphones and lights.

Wireless microphones are already on the market and improving all the time. In fact, I use a good quality microphone receiver complete with 6 x wireless microphones for corporate functions, wedding speeches or even Karaoke events.

What I would like to see is more integration with stage gantries and lighting with perhaps a wireless system to not only reduce the time it takes to setup and dismantle at the end of the night, but improve the appearance of your setup at any event.

More touch screen devices to control your playout system. In recent years we have already seen a decline in Desktop and Laptop PC/Mac sales with the rise of mobile devices and tablets being the primary device in most households.

This brings me to a cool video I saw (quite old now, so imagine what is next) that demonstrates a new style of controller.

Where do you think technology will take us next? Feel free to have your say.

Thanks for reading!