Why DJ Quality Control Does Not Exist In The Rave Scene

In my last chapter, I discussed factors that would raise the standard for club DJs to follow. I talked about the club scene's attitude towards money versus the rave scene's. I described the rave scene at its peak in the late 90's, and the media and government attacks that would hurt it. Finally, I ended by describing how the bar scene struggled and the need for a new strategy.

History Repeating

Just as many of us may work 8 hour shifts, the early club DJs worked long hours. It is still common in mainstream clubs to have one resident DJ per night, but it is almost unheard of in the underground rave scene. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, promoters realized that more DJs would be more appealing. By the 90s, DJs were averaging 2 hour time slots, but the events usually lasted 8 hours with multiple rooms. The switch from rave scene to bar scene brought many changes. The bars closed at 2 AM and only had one room of music. We went from 8 to 12 DJs a night to only 2. The events didn't seem as appealing. So to make the events more appealing, the promoters decided to book more DJs. In order to book more DJs, their time slots had to be reduced to only 1 hour.

I'm a multi-genre DJ who takes great pride in story telling. I was insulted when promoters decided to start booking DJs for only an hour. I saw it as a lack of respect for the art form. I now had less time to explore different genres, and less time to explore different energies and emotions. I couldn't show the audience what I was really capable of. What I found very puzzling was that most of these promoters also happened to be DJs as well. Despite my protests, I had to acknowledge that this strategy was effective in boosting attendance.

The Advantages of More DJs

The strategy of booking multiple DJs has many advantages. The first advantage is that it simply looks better on a flyer. If you are excited to see one of your favorite DJs spinning, you'll be more excited to see two or more of your favorite DJs. As the saying goes, "The more the merrier". The increased appeal may also be subconsciously affected by the additional factors I'm about to identify.

More DJs means more variety. Many DJs are genre purists. Instead of having a house DJ and a breaks DJ, you may now have a house DJ, a breaks DJ, a trance DJ, and a drum & bass DJ. Now that single room, 4-hour bar night has a little something for everyone.

Another advantage is that each DJ will draw a certain number of supporters, which in most cases will be their friends. Imagine each DJ convinces 10 people to come out and support them. If you book 2 DJs, then 20 people show up. If you book 4 DJs, then 40 people show up. For a small bar, those additional 20 people may be the difference between a slow night and a successful one.

Booking more DJs can improve networking, improve cross promotion, and increase the chances of trade bookings. I currently live in central Pennsylvania. Imagine I were to book 4 DJs from different regions for a small local bar. I could book a DJ from Philadelphia, a DJ from Baltimore, a DJ from D.C., and a local DJ. Each out-of-town DJ may convince some friends to travel with them, and the local DJ will attract the local ravers. The out-of-town ravers will get a taste of the local talent and the local scene, and each DJ has a chance to showcase their skills to people from different regions. The out-of-town DJs can offer to book the local DJs in exchange for the opportunity to be booked locally. The local ravers get a chance to meet out-of-town ravers and get invited to their events.

There is one other final reason where it is advantageous to book more DJs. I use the term "advantageous" very loosely here, and you will have to wait until later to find out what that reason is and why I use the term "advantageous" loosely.

The Disadvantages of Shorter Set Times

You are probably thinking that the title of this section should describe the disadvantages of booking more DJs to compliment the previous section. But the main disadvantage of booking more DJs is the need to reduce set times, and the reduction of set times brings about multiple disadvantages. As you will learn, many of these disadvantages ruin the quality of DJing.

Perhaps the biggest disadvantage is the promotion of purism. On many flyers, you will see the DJ's name followed by the genre of music they will spin listed in parentheses. Since the DJs don't have the time to explore different genres, emotions, and energies in a coherent fashion, they use that limited time to focus on one sound. This eventually leads to a vicious cycle. Since all their music starts to sound the same, the promoter then has no desire to give this DJ a longer set time. Shorter set times lead to purism, and purism leads to shorter set times.

Ultimately, this purism leads to a lack of creativity. Without the proper tools, these DJs can not work a crowd. Without a wide range of genres, emotions, and energies, these DJs can no longer tell a story with their mix. The ability to tell a story with music has become a lost art form.

I read an interview with Carl Cox, and he stated that in his early days of DJing he would focus on anthems when he only had a short time to mix. Each DJ wants to make a name for themselves, even if it's only to get more bookings. They want you to remember them out of all the other DJs that spun along with them. Shorter set times can cause these DJs to focus only on anthems they know the crowd will want to hear. We are left with underground DJs who each have a mainstream mindset towards music.

In the year 1987, a DJ by the name of Ron Hardy was handed a track by 3 guys who called themselves Phuture. The first two times Ron Hardy dropped the track the dance floor cleared, but he stuck with it. The third time it was dropped, it created a buzz. By the fourth time it was dropped, the crowd went mental. The track was called Acid Trax and it would spark the acid house movement. Shorter set times prevent most DJs from taking risks. Consider how differently history would have turned out if Ron Hardy had not taken that risk on that track, and if he hadn't spun long enough to drop it 4 times.

I once read an interview with a tag team crew who commented on longer set times. They went on to mention that by the third hour they were in a different zone. I used to spin four hour sets and can relate to what they meant. By the third hour, my records were practically beatmatching themselves. Consider the fact that when a DJ starts mixing, they must first get accustomed to the DJ setup, the sound system, and overcome any nervous jitters they may be feeling. These factors prevent the DJ from spinning at their normal skill level, and also explain why DJs sometimes mix better at house parties. The longer the DJ mixes, the more comfortable they become. By an hour into the mix the DJ starts to become on fire, but then their set is up. You don't get to hear the DJ at their fullest potential. The DJ doesn't get to showcase their true skill level. Longer sets allow DJs to spin better which benefits both them and you.

There are other disadvantages unrelated to quality. Consider the amount of travel time to the venue compared to the amount of time spinning. Is it really fair to drive 2 or 3 hours to a venue, only to spin for 1 hour, then drive that far home? There is something sad about mixing for 1 hour and being on the road for 4 to 8 hours. Also, consider the time it takes to set up equipment. We live in the age where some DJs use Traktor, some use Serato, some use Ableton, some spin vinyl, and some spin CD. Every hour you have to deal with some DJ trying to connect their equipment. I've seen DJs wreck other DJ's sets while hooking up equipment.

I think by now I have proven my point. Shorter set times hurt the quality of DJing. Either the promoters are unaware of this fact, or they don't care. Considering all the promoters I've bugged to book longer sets, I'm leaning more towards they don't care. Promoters care about the success of their events, and booking more DJs has many advantages in that regard.

The Exploitation of DJs

The all-night, multi-room raves offered many DJs with longer sets. You basically got the best of both worlds. The 4-hour, single room bar scene chose multiple DJs over longer set times to make the events more appealing. As much as I hated one hour sets, I saw a dramatic increase in attendance. As the health of the scene improved, promoters began planning more raves again. In my area these took the form of weekend camp-out raves. With events lasting 24 to 48 hours, I figured we could go back to longer set times. The promoters felt differently. They realized they had struck gold with one hour set times, and they had no desire to change that. I complained, and they ignored me. This is why I lean towards the notion that promoters don't care about DJs, which is odd since many of them are DJs. Some promoters would even give themselves 2 hour set times and everyone else 1 hour! Flyers for these events would brag about the fact that there were 24 to 48 DJs spinning.

Considering the success of this strategy, promoters began looking for more ways to exploit it. They began coming up with shady gimmicks to book as many DJs as possible per event. This is where I really began to lose respect for most promoters.

The first gimmick was to throw tag-team nights. Promoters love when DJs tag-team as it can allow them to effectively double the amount of DJs on their flyers. Instead of 4 DJs within a 4 hour time period, there were now 8 DJs. I was once given an opportunity to spin at a venue but only if I agreed to do a tag-team set. While I'm usually opposed to them personally, I consented. I drove 2 hours and ended up spinning only 6 records. How are you supposed to make a name for yourself under those conditions, how do you develop a relationship with the audience? I'm not against tag-team groups, but I am against gimmicks to exploit DJs. Some promoters will give the tag-team duos a two hour set since there are two DJs spinning, and I have more respect for promoters who go that route.

Some tag-team DJs work together to go beyond the skill level of one DJ, and we're supposed to assume this of all tag-team DJs. The reality is that most tag-team DJs are of the "take turns" variety. This is where they rotate after so many tracks (in most cases three). While there may be two DJs on stage, only one is mixing at a time. They are no more impressive than if there was one DJ, but that doesn't stop the promoters from hyping them up. Last year I saw a flyer where there were over 30 DJs spinning, and ALL the tag-team DJs had headline status on the flyer. I had to ask what made them so much better than the single DJs, but I got no response. Within the last few years I have seen a dramatic increase in the number of tag-team DJs. Promoters love having more DJs to add to their line-up.

The next way promoters exploit DJs is by starting their nights earlier to squeeze more names on the flyer. I've been to many events where most people didn't show up until after 11 PM. The 10 PM DJ ended up spinning to an almost desolate venue. To book DJs earlier than that is pointless. I wouldn't have a problem with promoters starting their nights earlier if they let those DJs spin long enough so that they were still spinning when people showed up. In other words, let the 9 PM DJ spin until 11, or let the 8 PM DJ spin until 11. Instead, the promoters could care less if anyone actually hears those DJs. They just want the DJs' names on their flyers.

I was once booked to spin a 9 PM set at an event 3 hours away from where I live. I've been in the scene long enough to know most people don't show up before 10, but I went against my better judgment and took the booking. As expected, I drove 3 hours to spin to an empty venue.

The final and shadiest exploitation of DJs is to book them for less than an hour. If you book a DJ for less than an hour, you are basically admitting you could care less about them. I recently heard about a party in New York where they had the "turbo room". Each DJ spun for 30 to 45 minutes. When I get invited to events where DJs are given 45 minute set times, I voice my opinion and I boycott them.

Many promoters use a combination of these exploits. They'll start the night early, and give the first few DJs 45 minute set times. Then they'll book a few tag-team DJs for later. The result is small single room local bar that is only open until 2 AM playing host to 10 or more DJs. Instead of that 48 hour camp-out rave hosting 48 DJs, you'll see them brag about hosting 60 plus DJs, or 100 plus if they offer more than one area of music. It's pathetic, and I have no respect for most promoters anymore.

If you are a fellow DJ reading this, be aware that most promoters could care less about you. If they really cared about you, they would give you the two, three, and four hour sets you (may) deserve to work your magic. You are just a name on a flyer to them. We need to take a stand against such exploitation. Push for longer set times, boycott nightly events where DJs are booked for less than an hour, boycott weekend camp-out raves where DJs are booked for less than two hours, and complain to promoters who act like tag-team DJs are better. We also have to inform ravers that more does not mean better.

I mentioned earlier that there was one more advantage to booking many DJs, and that I used the term "advantageous" loosely. For years I've complained to promoters to give DJs longer set times. But while I've been pushing for longer set times, I've also realized that I wouldn't want to listen to many of these DJs spin longer. As it turns out, most DJs suck. The final "advantage" to be gotten from booking more DJs is to make up for the lack of talent in the scene. If I'm to get promoters to give DJs longer set times, we are going to need better DJs. What we need is quality control.

On a few occasions when I brought up the subject of longer set times, I have had people tell me they don't want to hear DJs spin longer. If you don't want to hear DJs spin longer, then you have never heard a great DJ. This attitude is proof that most DJs suck, and it is a sad commentary on our current scene. A great DJ can mix for 4 hours or more and still have people begging for one more track. In addition, most people are turned off to the idea of hearing the same DJ every weekend. They expect a fresh lineup each week. In years past, people used to travel for miles to see the same DJ every weekend. DJs such as Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage, Ron Hardy at the Music Box, and Frankie Knuckles at the Warehouse are still revered to this day. Legendary residents are almost unheard of anymore. If the idea of hearing a DJ spin for 2 hours or more turns you off, or if the idea of hearing the same DJ every weekend turns you off, then you have not heard a great DJ.

The promoter's favorite strategy is to book more DJs. There are many advantages for doing this, and one advantage is to make up for the lack of talent. Part of the reason we get excited to see so many DJs on flyers is because subconsciously we know most DJs are not talented enough to mix for long periods of time. Most DJs are enjoyable only in small doses.

In chapter four I'll explain the main reason why there is no quality control, but in my next chapter I'm going to explain why I believe most DJs suck. I don't feel comfortable writing it, but in order to improve quality control we need to examine what is being done wrong. I have a vision for a better scene and by the final chapter I'll share my vision and tips for achieving it. My goal isn't to bash DJs, but to raise the bar.

Josiah Cochran
December 18th, 2012