Members Anderton Posted June 13, 2011 Members Share Posted June 13, 2011 As we all know it's been huge in Europe for years, but never got that much traction here in the US. Is that starting to change? Some of the manufacturers I've been talking to say their sales are really starting to boom. All those systems must be going somewhere... What say you? Is there more DJ action in your part of the US? I'm seeing more of it here in New Mexico, from 70s soul people to more techno-type stuff. Last time I checked the local papers it seemed there were more DJs than solo acoustic acts in the events calendar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HP Hovercraft Posted June 13, 2011 Members Share Posted June 13, 2011 As we all know it's been huge in Europe for years, but never got that much traction here in the US. Is that starting to change? Some of the manufacturers I've been talking to say their sales are really starting to boom. All those systems must be going somewhere...What say you? Is there more DJ action in your part of the US? I'm seeing more of it here in New Mexico, from 70s soul people to more techno-type stuff. Last time I checked the local papers it seemed there were more DJs than solo acoustic acts in the events calendar. I suppose the prime was late 90s/early 2000s. This is back when turntables outsold guitars. There's been quite a resurgence lately with the availability of inexpensive controllers that work in conjunction with software. Back when turntables were the norm, DJing was a huge investment, especially considering that you had to pay roughly $10 for a song on vinyl. Now, anyone can start with a few hundred bucks. All songs are downloaded (illegally or not), and the software makes everything easier. The software allows you to see a track's BPM and where the phrases are. Most importantly, it'll actually beatmatch for you, eliminating the need to actually learn how to DJ. There also tends to be surges in popularity when a "new" genre comes out. 5 or 6 years ago it was Electro House. Now it's Dubstep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted June 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 17, 2011 There's been quite a resurgence lately with the availability of inexpensive controllers that work in conjunction with software. Back when turntables were the norm, DJing was a huge investment, especially considering that you had to pay roughly $10 for a song on vinyl. Good point, the price of entry has gone down a lot...and carrying a laptop is a lot easier than cases of vinyl. What's interesting to me is that it seems the mobile DJ side AND the "producer"/club DJ side are growing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Monkey Mouse Posted June 18, 2011 Members Share Posted June 18, 2011 I'm going to agree that the cost of entry has gone down a lot since the heyday of DJing - 1998 to 2002. And the size of what you have to carry has shrunk too - a laptop with 2,000 songs and a controller is still smaller than CD books. But, the volume of danceable music has gone down by at least 60% since 2002, most of what you hear now is pure radio (satellite radio too) cheese that is repeated every 90 minutes on the dance stations. Of course there is a lot of good music out there - if you want to spend hours a week combing through Beatport or other online sites like I do. Not so sure about the production side since the payoffs for songs now is much lower since people are paying $2.00 a digital download vs. $8 to $13 for a vinyl record (with all the middle men). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted June 20, 2011 Members Share Posted June 20, 2011 As we all know it's been huge in Europe for years, but never got that much traction here in the US. Is that starting to change? Some of the manufacturers I've been talking to say their sales are really starting to boom. All those systems must be going somewhere...What say you? Is there more DJ action in your part of the US? I'm seeing more of it here in New Mexico, from 70s soul people to more techno-type stuff. Last time I checked the local papers it seemed there were more DJs than solo acoustic acts in the events calendar. I don't know if I would define it as a "scene" but since at least the turn of the century there have been more DJ gigs than live music gigs - at least out here in the PNW. I'm both a musician and DJ but at least in the clubs, the DJ gigs have really taken over - especially since the recession. It's a more cost effective way of packing out a room. I DJ practically every Friday and Saturday night these days. But for every one of us who are steadily working, there must be 100 bedroom guys. A home DJ setup has kind of replaced the bedroom studio as a way of musically expressing yourself for a lot of young males. I think that's primarily the reason manufacturers are seeing their sales spike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted June 27, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 27, 2011 But for every one of us who are steadily working, there must be 100 bedroom guys. A home DJ setup has kind of replaced the bedroom studio as a way of musically expressing yourself for a lot of young males. I think that's primarily the reason manufacturers are seeing their sales spike. I think you have a point there. I just saw a production model of Numark's NS6 and NI's new controller for Traktor, and they're pretty sweet - don't take up a lot of space, don't cost huge amounts of money, and there are lower-priced alternatives if you don't need something that heavy duty. I wonder if the spike in sales will also translate into more demand for tracks...that would be good for all concerned. But, I also know quite a few DJs who started getting into DAWs and such to make their own tracks. There's definitely a lot of crossover and change going on, and I find that exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted June 28, 2011 Members Share Posted June 28, 2011 I wonder if the spike in sales will also translate into more demand for tracks...that would be good for all concerned. But, I also know quite a few DJs who started getting into DAWs and such to make their own tracks. There's definitely a lot of crossover and change going on, and I find that exciting. I had a friend of mine put together some beats and loops in Reason that I use all the time in Traktor. There is some cross-pollination happening - even for those of us who are simply down in the trenches doing mostly contemporary pop, hip hop, and rap for young adults. I was amazed that Traktor saw them for what they were (loops) automatically and I didn't even have to grid them. It all ported over. These loops are always synced to the music tracks and I can change them up, use them for fills, transitions, whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted July 1, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 1, 2011 I was amazed that Traktor saw them for what they were (loops) automatically and I didn't even have to grid them. It all ported over. These loops are always synced to the music tracks and I can change them up, use them for fills, transitions, whatever. I did a seminar on loops recently, and one of the make-peoples'-jaw-drop moments was when I loaded two 3-4 minutes files into Ableton Live with different tempos and keys, clicked on the complex pro algorithm, and started crossfading between them. They matched up perfectly and even sounded good...it was pretty close to magic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MuzikB Posted July 6, 2011 Members Share Posted July 6, 2011 As we all know it's been huge in Europe for years, but never got that much traction here in the US. Is that starting to change? Some of the manufacturers I've been talking to say their sales are really starting to boom. All those systems must be going somewhere...What say you? Is there more DJ action in your part of the US? I'm seeing more of it here in New Mexico, from 70s soul people to more techno-type stuff. Last time I checked the local papers it seemed there were more DJs than solo acoustic acts in the events calendar. Yes there are more DJ's. I attribute that to technology but I wouldn't say that there are many new good DJ's but I also blame the new tech for that and a lack of principles. IMO, the technology has caused many new DJ's to think less of the craft of Djing. Why do ear training and practice beat matching when you have software to match everything up for you. I have and use Traktor Scratch Duo 2 and love it but I don't practice with its' use. The best thing about it to me is that you no longer need to have the laptop hooked up to use the audio interface so I can just fire up the mixer, lay down some vinyl on the decks, and practice. Appreciate the technology but practice and enhance the fundamentals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted July 9, 2011 Members Share Posted July 9, 2011 Yes, for sure more mobile ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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