Can you be a DJ and not own a label or make music?

outraygeous

Well-known member
Just a question I would like to put out there, seems like most people who make music are now DJs

and there doesn't seem to be just djs any more. Obviously I dont know or see everything that is happening in all the scenes but would be interesting to hear what thoughts you have.
 

BareBones

wheezy
yeah but you have to be bloody good and/or have a bit of luck, and kind of be within the scene already.

eg, petchy
 
Youngsta.

He's released one or two things but thats only in the last few years and he doesn't run a label even though he's closely linked with Tempa.
 

Leo

Well-known member
how about some of the rinse guys...marcus nasty? supa d? kismet? oneman just started a label, right?
 
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Sectionfive

bandwagon house
Oneman and BenUFO, not a release a between them and they are miles ahead of the others.
In fact both were central to dubstep etc moving to where it is now.

I don't particularly like the trend of people getting booked soley on the back of their tunes the last few years.
Producing gets you gigs quicker these days but I've seen plenty who very disappointing when they got behind the decks of a packed club.
 

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
Producing gets you gigs quicker these days but I've seen plenty who very disappointing when they got behind the decks of a packed club.

Agreed. I think part of the reason why dubstep didn't really take off in Toronto earlier (i.e. pre-Rusko days) is because virtually every single DJ was a producer-DJ. This usually means that a large percentage of what they play is their own shit, and their friends' shit. When a genre is just taking off, this is particularly annoying to someone who picked up Dubstep Allstars and really just wants to hear Skream and Digital Mystikz. There is always an element of self-promotion in producer-DJ sets, a kind of product placement, that, for me, can take away from the experience. The worst was when Loefah played here and just about played a set of exclusively Loefah tunes.
 

trizla

New member
I think at the moment its hard for anyone to be just a Dj.
You could say that most of the Djs mentioned were kind of pioneers in their respective scenes.
Now as a Dj you have to have a bit more about you especially if you want bookings. With the all the software and such thats out now beatmatching now is easier than ever and even though that's not all being a dj is about the majority of promoters don't really business.
So yeah you need to be producing your own bits, run a label and have access to material no one else has or be able to bring a shit load of people to a dance.
 

Sectionfive

bandwagon house
frankly why would I pay to see someone go and play other people's music.

Clearly clueless there but this always baffles me.
Why would anyone ever have this attitude when other peoples music is so great?

Anon must one of those lads that stands it the top of the room looking at the dj all night.
 

Sectionfive

bandwagon house
Id still put DJ before label boss for either though.
Though it doesn't make any less true I suppose.
 
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Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Clearly clueless there but this always baffles me.
Why would anyone ever have this attitude when other peoples music is so great?
I'm forever being shocked at the weird stuff that people come out with re DJs. It's like when you have 'vinyl vs digital mixing' arguments and people complain that someone mixing on a laptop is "boring to watch"....
 

Elijah

Butterz
EZ is the obvious big one that springs to mind.

Being a label boss is part of being a DJs job though really.

My contribution to Grime music is null and void without Butterz
 

outraygeous

Well-known member
EZ made tunes, I think the first 4 intros were with the help of Paul Z

But yeah he is a DJ over producer/label owner

alot of these DJs who are DJs over anything else have been in the scene for a while. What about for the young'ns who want to play music? do they have a can to get noticed just for dj skills alone?
 

hint

party record with a siren
TIM WESTWOOD, BABY (does one production credit for London Posse nearly 25 years ago count?)

There are plenty of DJs out there making a living without releasing tunes or running labels. They just don't get written about or hyped. They're the ones holding down residencies in places that you'd never go to.
 

alex

Do not read this.
yea I was gonna say, what do you define by 'making it' i know DJ's that play week in week out in pubs in ilford/woodford etc, fair enough they arent in xlr8r etc but they pull in a decent wage, some of the plusher shoe's shirt type event dj's comfortably live off what they get paid.
 

Alfons

Way of the future
I've actually been pondering the opposite lately, how many people run/own labels and/or make music just to get dj gigs and whether or not it's honest to be doing those things just with dj gigs in mind.

As far as labels go I mean is the whole shtick about there "being so much good music out there that people aren't hearing" true today as far as labels go? Does the world need more labels? Will you unearth hidden gems or sign quality stuff if you just start out as an unknown guy who really wants more dj gigs?
 
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