Disc Jockey (DJ)

Introduction:

Decade ago, no one would have thought of a career that can earn a generous amount of money by just playing music. Disc Jockeying (DJying) is one such profession that can sate your passion for music as well as earn you enough to make a living. Individuals involved in this field of sound, rhythm and music are called Disc or Disco Jockey or simply and more commonly DJ (deejay).

The term Deejaying was first used to describe radio announcers who would introduce and play popular gramophone records popularly known as discs. As these records were jockeyed by the radio announcers, they were named as disc jockey and soon as DJs or deejays. Ray Newby from California is considered as the world's first DJ in the year 1909, but the term Disc Jockey was invented in 1935 by an American commentator, Walter Winchell. During the nineties, DJs became a part of gatherings and within a short span, their popularity increased and Disc Jockeying soon emerged as an exciting career option.

Disc Jockey alias DJ can be considered as a showman who entertains the crowd of a discotheque, night club, party or an event by playing music according to the tastes and preferences of the people present there. They liven up parties by mixing tunes, forming beats and creating the right ambience. For that DJ's need to understand the mood of the audience, the performance setting, the preferred medium and know how to manipulate sound. They should also focus on beat- matching to keep the tempo of the party going. Though more regularly in clubs, hotels and discotheques; DJs are also hired for entertaining guests on various occasions such as wedding, engagement, birthday party, school/ college functions or any other social gathering.

DJying is a profession that can be learned with experience on the floor. DJs should always keep in mind that only their skills and reputation will bring future opportunities to them. Their reputation usually spreads through word of mouth. One can be a successful DJ, if he/ she can leave a good impression on the people, so that their names will be recommended to others. In India, the profession has gained a lot of potential during the last three-four years, especially in main cities with the ever increasing number of social gatherings and parties.

Eligibility:

Educational qualification is not mandatory in the field of disc jockeying, and there is no age bar as well. Those with a flair and in-depth knowledge of music can built up a lucrative career as Disc jockeys (DJs). DJ'ing is a field that requires a lot of well- developed personal as well as technical skills. The first and the foremost thing for a person who aspires to become a DJ or Disc Jockey is the love, taste and craze for music. But it is not enough to become a successful DJ. He/ she need to be familiar with different genres of music such as rock, electro, jazz, pop, hip-hop, metal, country and so on.

DJ's must have a huge database of music and should keep updating their database with the latest songs and tunes. They should know the techniques of combining and merging different soundtracks, by making use of software's or other instruments. A pleasing personality, excellent communication skills, punctuality, an understanding of popular demand are some attributes needed for this profession. Moreover, DJ's must be comfortable at working long hours and that too usually late nights till early mornings. They should be creative and have a good sense of rhythm. Good timing and co-ordination is very much needed for this profession. DJ's should also possess good business skills and be able to work calmly under any circumstances.

A good disc jockey should innovate new techniques in mixing; be able to gauge the crowd and know their mood and play in accordance with the event and the venue. DJs should also be aware of new technology evolving in the industry and the latest music trends. One has to master certain techniques such as cueing, equalization, audio mixing, beat matching etc. Training is available in the field of DJing for improving technical skills. Several institutes offer courses of 2-3 month duration in DJying which may cost around 20,000-30,000 Rs.

Job Prospects & Career Options:

Deejaying can be considered as a creative art, since it is the remixing of music with the use of various modern musical devices. DJs should have an excellent collection of music records - from the classics to the latest, and need to be familiar with different genres of music such as rock, electro, jazz, pop, hip-hop, metal, country and so on. While playing music, DJs are performing varied tasks ranging from just playing a series of recordings (like the remixed musical records and tunes) to manipulation of recordings. Manipulation of pre-recorded music is done using techniques such as audio mixing, cueing, phrasing, slip-cueing, cutting, scratching, beat matching, beat juggling, needle drops, phase shifting and more.

To do all these, Disc jockeys (DJs) use a wide variety of high frequent musical equipments varying in sophistication including Mp3 players, turntables, vinyl record, PA (Public address) system, sound system, mixers, tape decks, amplifiers, headphones, graphic equalizers, lighting effects, sound processors, microphones and so on.

Disc jockeys can be:

Radio DJs - Radio disc jockey's or more commonly Radio Jockey are broadcast presenters, working at radio stations who select and play music tracks. Reflecting the personality and musical interests of the Radio DJs, these programs may be filled with jokes, weather reports, traffic reports, conversations, advertisements, interviews etc. Knowledge of digital audio editing software like Cool Edit Pro or Adobe Audition will be an added advantage for Radio DJs.

Club/ Rave DJs - Club/rave disc jockeys are those who mix music and use several techniques to create the ambiance for a dance audience. They mix different kinds of music in such a way that the dancers on the floor do not break their tempo and flow with the music being played.

Home/ Bedroom DJs - Home DJs are persons who owns DJing equipment (ie. turntables, mixer, CDJ (a CD player that allows analogue control of music from CDs) etc.) and have a passion for music, but doesn't play out to crowds at bars or special events (ie. raves). Instead, they opt to play their music at home for their friends, record mix tapes over the internet via audio broadcasting software, such as shout cast.

Hip Hop DJs/ Reggae DJs - A hip hop disc jockey is one that selects, plays and creates music as a hip hop artist and/or rap performer, often backing up one or more MCs.

Mobile/ Commuting DJs - Mobile DJs travel or tour with their own portable sound systems (like vinyl (records) and CDs) and play from an extensive collection of pre-recorded music at a variety of events such as wedding receptions, parties, nightclubs, school dances, social events etc. They try to create a fun atmosphere by being the Master of Ceremonies or Microphone controller (MC).

Computer DJs - Computer DJs are those who play digital music encoded audio files to the public with computer or laptop.

The profession of disc jockeys will remain in demand, as long as people hire them for entertaining guests for parties and other occasions. There are ample avenues in this field with the ongoing boom in the music and entertainment channel shows. It is essential that DJ's should built up their reputation initially in this field. The job of a DJ may require traveling and working odd hours usually late nights and early mornings. Their work environs may include comfortable air-conditioned studios or outdoors in hot, loud and smoky environments.

DJs can work on a contract basis in clubs, discotheques, banquets halls or any other place where events and parties are organised. Certain DJs work on a part-time or casual basis combining the profession with another source of income. Sometimes, DJs serve as Light jockey by controlling the lights on the dance floor contributing to the overall ambience and atmosphere of the club.

For working as freelance DJs, one must have their own group of sound engineers and sound equipment. They will need to promote themselves as a business, by distributing flyers, making contacts with related people such as event management companies where they could get a recommendation.

Many successful DJs in the later stages of their career move on to production field by starting studio; become an event manager or establish their own DJ learning institutes. Some DJs may diversify into related areas like music production, music retailing and recording, bringing out a music album or a remix album of which do well in the market. DJs could also find openings as club promoters, remix producers, record distributors or even musical artists in their own right.

Institutes:

For becoming a Disc Jockey, currently there are no colleges or universities that offer full-time programmes or courses with a defined syllabus or course curriculum in DJ training or development. However, there are many private institutes and training centres that have sprung up across India mainly in Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata that offer short duration courses in DJ development and other related skills such as:

Pro DJ
DJ Training and Development course
Digital Live DJ'ing course
Audio Engineering course

Most of these institutes have been set up by DJs themselves:

I Love Music Academy, Gurgaon - courses such as "Pro DJ" (3 months, part time), "DJ Producer" (9 months, part time) website: ilovemusic.edu.in
Electronyk Academy, Delhi - an institute by DJ NYK (Nikhil Sahni) website: www.electronykacademy.com
Jazzy Joe, Delhi - one of the oldest DJ schools in Delhi, set up in 1997 website: www.jazzyworkshop.com
Skratchlab DJ Academy, Chennai - developed by DJ Kave, twice D.M.C World DJ championship Indian representative, Official DJ for A R Rahman, Blaaze & Hardkaur website: www.skratchlab.com
Global DJ Music Production & DJ Training Academy, Mumbai website: www.globaldj.co.in

Challenges:

First is building a brand. The real challenge actually is in creating a market that recognised the value and importance of DJs.
Being a DJ is a difficult job because of how competitive the current disc jockey scene is. Because of how much technology has evolved, there are artists making music off of their phone and selling the tracks for thousands and thousands of dollars. These gems are few and far between, but that just goes to show you how competitive it is; nearly anybody can be a famous disc jockey at any given moment.
Getting thrown requests from clueless fans reins as one of the most annoying issues to deal with, but working with incompetent club owners who want to make as much money as possible off of you without doing any of the leg work is hard to beat when it comes to the challenges of being a disc jockey.
Software crash! this might be a big issue so you need to be ready with the backup.
Diving into anything defying convention comes with it’s challenges. It will be difficult to convince your family to accept this decision.

Remuneration:

The most attractive part of being a DJ is of course its money factor. DJ'ing is a well paying profession and one can earn a handsome amount in one night. Initially, one might have to play for small amounts or even free of cost to practice and get to know people in the industry.

Most DJs earn self-employed artists or work on freelance contracts. Depending on your credentials and experience, a stint at an event can earn a DJ anything between Rs 30,000 - Rs 70,000 per night. There also several DJs who are employed full-time in the broadcast and hospitality industry. Salaries here vary between Rs 3 lakh - Rs 8 lakh per annum, depending on experience and popularity.

And if you happen to enter the big league like those DJ Suketu, DJ Aqueel (in pic above), DJ Akbar Sami, the world is your stage.

The scope in this field is less for those who remain just a DJ. If a DJ can develop their skill and produce their own music, maybe cut an album, it could fetch them great money.

Bibliography:

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Admission, D., Admission, D. and Admission, D. (2017). CAREER IN DISC JOKEYINGDestination Admission | Destination Admission. [online] Destinationadmission.com. Available at: http://destinationadmission.com/career-in-disc-jokeying/ [Accessed 16 Sep. 2017].

(DJ), C. (2017). Disc Jockey (DJ) As A Career Option - Courses, Jobs, Salaries. [online] Indiaeducation.net. Available at: http://www.indiaeducation.net/careercenter/masscommunication/discjockey/ [Accessed 16 Sep. 2017].

Discjockeymag.in. (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.discjockeymag.in/post_details.php?fldiPostId=NjY=&fldvRemote=66.249.79.128&flddTime=1504881819&fldvSSS=unkdnu5n5488lqvjciioqhs1q6 [Accessed 16 Sep. 2017].

Entri.co. (2017). Challenges of Being a Disc Jockey | Entri. [online] Available at: http://entri.co/challenges-of-being-a-disc-jockey/ [Accessed 16 Sep. 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/Can-I-take-DJing-as-a-career [Accessed 16 Sep. 2017].