DJ Technology has advanced, terminology has not.

The age old discussion online that always riles people up is vinyl vs digital when it comes to DJs, just the mere mention of the word vinyl gives some digital DJs a case of the butt hurt as many want to be on the same plane as them, but that is apples and oranges when it comes to terminology. Then bring up the topic of a controller and the vinyl purists are suddenly sent back to medieval times and they are the ruler of the land and every one else is a peasant and not worthy of their time. It is a verbal war and discussion that will never end. But why?

The main thing that keeps this battle brewing is that with all of the advances in DJ technology the terminology has remained dated. A perfect example is the mixtape. who really still makes mixes on actual cassettes? It was to be a minute fraction, but still the word mixtape is used by the majority to describe mixes posted digitally online or recorded on a CD. Another example is a disc jockey, while CDs were the last true "disc" used by the masses it too is a term that does not truly describe todays DJ. Having timecoded vinyl is not truly having vinyl either.

The war will always continue until new terminology becomes accepted by DJs but that is tough hill to climb.
How many people do you know call themselves a "controllerist"? they want to be known as a DJ. You can break it down to its simplest form and call them button pushers but that seems to cheapen it and insult them.
With this you also have to keep in mind that the act of DJing is still evolving with some using only a launchpad or an iPad for performances.

A few definitions can be found here
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controllerism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turntablism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_jockey



As to what to call yourself that is your choice and what other people want to call you is theirs.The mainstream masses will call you a DJ no matter what you use to play the music on The bottom line is this a discussion that will never end and that is the Gospel

The Downward Spiral Of The Undercutting DJ

We have all heard stories or have been affected by those DJs that offer services at cut rate prices, and ans the saying goes "You get what you pay for" always rings true.

Many DJs are quick to blame those cheaper DJs for them losing their gig, but the 1st person to blame is themselves for making an owner give thought to hiring one at a cheaper rate. The 2nd person to blame is the one who hires them, and that is the one that starts the downward spiral. Here is an example of how this vicious cycle works.

Let's say a DJ is making $300 a night as the resident, the club is doing good, people enjoy the music and bartenders are happy with the money they make. Then that little devil called greed walks in, another DJ offers to play there for $150 a night and without looking at the big picture the owner hires them thinking they will be saving more money. The new undercutting DJ is not as good as the $300 DJ and the club loses a few regulars and the profit drops off. After a while another undercutting DJ sees an opportunity and offers their services for $100 a night, once again, the quality is not there and business drops off more, until another DJ is hired for $75 a night, then $50 a night and by then the club has fallen off so bad that it is forced to close its doors. This sounds crazy but it happens more than you think. And what is really bad is looking at the big picture, an entire nightclub closed it's doors because the owner wanted to save $150. Not a smart way to run a business, but looking at this simple theory you see how a nightclub gets ran into the ground and how there is a lot of turnover in the DJ booth.

And the vicious circle never ends, once one nightclub closes this same scenario starts all over again at another venue and the downward spiral continues once again.