The Life of a DJ. Some people think its all fun being a DJ and 99% of time time it is. But a lot of people don’t understand how hard it is to be a good DJ. How many times have you gone to the club and said “this DJ sucks” or “what is this DJ playing”?

There are a lot of factors that most people do not understand about the DJ. The DJ is there to do a job.

Do you think its the DJ’s job to keep the floor packed all night? The answer is no. If the DJ kept the dance floor packed all night, then the bar is not making any money. The DJ has to play for everyone. All night long, the DJ gets complaints on what he/she is playing. No matter what the DJ is playing, someone is complaining. If the DJ is playing Hip hip, there are people that come up and ask for Dance. When the DJ switches to Dance, people are complaining that they want to hear Rap, if the DJ plays Rap, people are complaining that they want to hear Rock. This Cycle can go on and on all night. No matter what club you go into, there are people complaining about the DJ. So, next time you go into a club, just go and have a good time. The DJ is doing the best he/she can do to get the people having a good time.

The DJ gets no respect. Most of your good DJ’s are the ones that take the time to know what is hot and what is not. Half the time the DJ is playing the stuff that is new a good month or 2 before you hear the track on the Radio. So, if its a new song, don’t give the DJ grief on “What are you playing”. The Club DJ’s are the ones that break the new music. When a record label signs and Artist, the record label will usual ship certain Dj’s or Record pools the new stuff to see how the crowds react to it. A lot of these DJ’s have to give feedback to the Record Labels or Record Pools. If the song does good, then the Record Label will spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars to print the Cd’s and other media to support the artist. If the track does bad, then they will not spend all of there money on the track. That is how record labels work.

Back to the DJ:

When you go into the club, do not ask for the “Radio” version. It is a Dance Club. Most of the stuff you hear on the Radio is just that,Radio edits. The DJ’s get the club Versions. When you go to a club, the experience is suppose to be different. If you want to hear the radio version, just go sit in your car, or sit at home and listen to the radio.

Which brings us to Remixes:

A lot of your really good DJ’s remix there own tracks. This is something the DJ’s love to do. The DJ takes the pride in making there own stuff. They have some type of production studio at there house and they take a track and think how they can make it better. If every DJ, in every club, played the same stuff, then what would make customers come back to that establishment. The DJ’s take pride in there club and want to give the customers a great experience.

For years, there has been this Funny Article going around the internet about the Top things NOT to say to a DJ. As these are really funny, all the items in this post are True. DJ’s get this almost each time they play. Here is the List of the Top things NOT to say to a DJ.

1. PLAY SOMETHING GOOD…SOMETHING WE CAN DANCE TO !
The DJ has to play for more than one person…so what you hate may be another’s favorite song and EVERYTHING played here can be danced to one way or another.

2. WOULD YOU PLAY SOMETHING WITH A “BEAT” !
BE SERIOUS! We know of NO songs played in a club that don’t have some sort of BEAT!

3. I DON’T KNOW WHO SINGS IT AND I DON’T KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG, BUT IT GOES LIKE THIS….
PLEASE don’t sing for the DJ. They have to put up with smoke filled rooms and dangerous decibel levels all night long…Do them a favor and DON’T give them a rendition of your favorite song.

4. EVERYBODY WANTS TO HEAR IT !
Oh, sure… you polled everyone in the club and, as their spokesperson, you’re requesting the song.

5. EVERYBODY WILL DANCE IF YOU PLAY IT !
The DJ won’t. I guess that blows a hole in that theory!

6. I CAN GET LAID IF YOU PLAY IT !
Why settle for one night? Buy the album and get laid for a whole month!

7. I WANT TO HEAR IT NEXT !
The ONLY people who can get away with that statement write the DJ’s paycheck!

8. WHAT DO YOU HAVE ?
It’s a lot easier for you to go have another beer and figure out what you want to hear than it is for the DJ to recite the name of every record in the booth!

9. HEY, MAN, NOBODY CAN DANCE TO THIS !
It’s NOT advisable to say this when the dance floor is packed (but some people do anyway) ! HOWEVER, even if there is only ONE person on the floor, it STILL contradicts the statement!

10. PLAY IT SOON, BECAUSE WE’RE LEAVING !
If your gonna leave after he plays it, why shouldn’t he wait till the very last song so you stay all night!

SOME ASSORTED THINGS NOT TO SAY TO A DJ:
1. If you ask for a song and the DJ says he just played it, DON’T SAY “Well I just got here.” It makes absolutely no difference.

2. DON’T SAY “Is this the only music you play?” If you go to a Chinese restaurant, you wouldn’t ask for Italian food.

3. If you ask for a song…BE SPECIFIC. DON’T SAY “I wanna hear something….anything but this!” Try going to the bar and saying,
“I wanna drink something….anything but this…” You can’t complain if you’re not SPECIFIC.

4. HOWEVER, if you are specific and the DJ says he doesn’t have that song, DON’T SAY “What!?!? What do you mean you don’t have it? what kind of DJ are you? HE MAY SHOOT YOU!!!!!

5. SPECIAL NOTE! A night club DJ gets very little RESPECT. They are expected to play everything for everybody. It is impossible to satisfy all of the people all of the time, yet club DJs are expected to do just that. If a radio DJ tells his listeners a song is a hit, the majority of the people figure it must be “Because they say so on the radio.” However 80% of the time that same song was being played in a club long before radio DISCOVERED the NEW song.

So give the DJ a break! The next time you request a song, stop and THINK before you speak.

And above all….if the DJ has one hand on the mixing board, one hand on the turntable, and the headphones on….Don’t bug him

….HE’S MIXING!!!!

So, In closing, next time you go to the club, and you go up to the DJ, try to be nice. The DJ is trying his/her best to make everyone happy. As we know that isn’t going to happen, yet they still try.

Also, if it is one of the Hottest tracks out, you do not even have to request it. The DJ will play it, when it fits into his rotation. Just go to the bar and have a drink and Thank the DJ for making your night great.