Related Resources • DJ Mixing Software • Try These Virtual Turntables • Radio Directories • Webcasted Radio

Elsewhere on the Web • MB Mobile Beat - The DJ Magazine • Internet DJ.com   • MobileDJNetwork

Finally, I checked the latest “Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary” included in my 2001 edition of “Encyclopedia Britannica” and it said:

“disc jockeyn (1941): an announcer of a radio show of popular recorded music; also: one who plays recorded music for dancing at a nightclub or party”

In 1977, a disc-jockey had to be “on-the-air” to fit the dictionary definition. But, today, that's not the case. The Mobile DJ and Club DJ have moved up in the ranks - and with good reason. Let's face it: these are the only disc-jockeys left who actually perform the services of one: they pick music, they mix it, and they use their skills to accentuate the presentation with scratches, ringtones and other electronic and techno tools.

When I first began in Radio, I actually worked at some stations where the DJ was responsible for picking the music for his show. It was up to him or her to create a show - a presentation - that was skillfully connected by comments, chatter, maybe some humor or whatever. It was challenging but even more than that: fun. Of course, there were still some parameters for picking the music but there was also still room for discretion and thought. Today, one would be hard-pressed to find a station where the DJ was given that latitude or performed those functions.

There used to be a line of thinking in the Radio industry which refused to acknowledge Mobile DJs and Club DJs as “real” DJs. This snobby point-of-view was perpetuated by egotistical Radio disc-jockeys who insisted that in order to be a real “DJ”, you had to be on-the-air. I admit, there was even a time I subscribed to that opinion. But, not anymore.

What does the typical on-air disc-jockey do today? He watches the computer tick off and play one song after the other from a daily playlist of selections that were randomized and generated by computer, usually from a very small library of cuts that have been over-researched, overplayed and many times put in rotation because of ”promo money” (legal payola) that was ”given” (paid) to the station from Independent Record Reps.

So, who's the real DJ here? The guy in the studio who lets the computer play 4 cuts before he gets a 30 second break to read a liner card or the guy working his butt off at a club or party, taking requests, picking songs, mixing BPMs, and providing an interactive experience?

- Corey Deitz

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