Flashback Blog#2Flash-Back Blog#2 Peace. DJ Flash Gee back with ya! Last we spoke I spoke of lessons I’ve been receiving within my Logic/Midi class at LA Recording School(www.lar.edu). Logic Pro is 2nd most used program in music industry(Pro-Tools being the 1st). People interested in recording should do Youtube(www.youtube.com) on Logic and get familiar with the apple software. Every Wednesday or Friday I attend Sound Guild seminar held by Andy Rovins. Andy was my Film & Sound teacher in June 2010. Andy has 30 yrs of Post Production credit under his belt. The seminar for those who like career in Post Production. At Andy seminar he discuss & shows us the in & outs of how sound applied on movie set. Usually we meet at equipment room. Someday we check equipment to shoot live footage on Hollywoood BLVD(Cool b/c people usually think were big production company shoot project) or we’ll use production studio withthin the LA Film School. Very soon we’ll be making field trip to Universal Studio to get idea of how post production is done live! Now that I’ve month to myself I plan on going to basement and banging out bunch mix-cd’s, working with promoter(Chico), guest appearance at Highland Club(Hollywood) & www.launderground.com, working on roommate R.O.E. mix-cd & album(we’re in talk of doing mid-west tour). Here little information about state of Djing from newsletter I receive by email.
· DJ History: The Fourth-Wave of Club DJ Growth, 2003-2009
by DJ Rob Wegner
Summer 2010
[Editor's Note: This will be the second to last Quarterly Tip on Disc Jockey 101. The next Quarterly Tip (Fall 2010) will celebrate Disc Jockey 101's ten year anniversary. It will also be the last Quarterly Tip. After the Fall Quarterly Tip, industry updates will be provided byDJ Times Magazine to current Quarterly Tip subscribers (at no cost via e-mail).]
From January to June 2003, I outlined my concept of DJ history on Disc Jockey 101. As some of you may recall, I contend that DJ history takes place in three distinctive phases or waves of economic growth. The First-Wave, which I addressed in January 2003, appears between 1943 and 1969. The Second-Wave, discussed inFebruary 2003, takes place between 1974 and 1982. The Third-Wave, which is discussed in May and June 2003, takes place between 1985 and 2001. I will argue that this wave now ends in 2000, instead of 2001.
This Quarterly Tip will address my perception of a "fourth" wave of economic growth in the DJ industry. This wave begins in 2003 and ends in early-2009. Since each "wave" is associated with a zeitgeist(i.e., the Second Wave revolved around disco culture), I call this fourth period the "eclectic wave," which is characterized by the "Vegas-flare" short attention span, multiple-genre/mashup mix style. It is my opinion that the popularity of this DJ style reflects the socio-economic volatility of the last decade.
The Period Between Waves (2000-2003)
The DJ industry grew in the late-90's, in part, due to the anticipation surrounding Y2K. Many clubs opened (giving work to DJ's) in hopes of capitalizing on Y2K partying. By the Spring of 2000, the raison d'être of many of these clubs began to wane. While some clubs continued to operate, many others closed. In short, the momentum leading into the Y2K celebrations came to an end.
In addition, the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States had a profound economic, social, and psychological impact on the music industry -- including the clubbing industry.
The Rise and Decline of the Fourth Wave
Partly due to fears that the terrorist attacks would trigger an economic recession, and partly due to general signs of economic decline, the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered interest rates nine times in 2001 (to a 40 year low). As a result, money was easier to borrow and this resulted in economic growth, which in turn, led to jobs in the DJ industry. Because of easier access to money, many people would refinance their home mortgage -- only to use the new money for social activities such as fine dining and clubbing (the so-called "using the home as an ATM" characterization).
Without going into a macro-economic lecture, the easily borrowed money would eventually lead to a housing bubble, which would begin to burst by the summer 2007. Many economists believe that this led to "The Great Recession of 2008." In light of the lag effect, the DJ industry would generally experience a sharp decline by early-2009. In other words, more clubs were closing than opening --and wedding DJ's were also affected by cutbacks.
The graph below shows the relationship between the rise-and-fall of the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Stock Market Average between 2003 and 2009 and the Fourth Wave.
Fourth Wave Innovations
Like other waves in the history of the DJ, several innovations would materialize in the DJ industry before and during the Fourth Wave:
1. Most notably, Serato Scratch Live would debut in May 2004. Employing digital audio files (I.e., MP3's), Scratch Live would eventually become more common than CD's or analog records. In 2008, Serato released the Scratch Live Video-SL plugin, which would give DJ's the opportunity to provide music videos and visuals during performances While not as popular, similar programs such as Virtual DJ and Traktor would also become widely used.
2. First released in late-2001, Ableton Live would become a popular loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for Mac OS and Windows. Unlike other software sequencers, Ableton Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances. It allows DJ's to mix tracks and is the first music applications to automatically beat match songs.
3. While MIDI technology originated in the early-1980's, MIDI controllers would begin to become more common in DJ performances during the Fourth Wave. In short, a MIDI controller can be used in lieu of vinyl turntables or CD players. A relatively recent innovation is the EKS Otus MIDI turntable/controller. The Vestax VCI-300 and the Numark NS7 allows DJ's to employ the MIDI Protocol to communicate with Serato Itch. It should be noted that the Rane TTM 57SL performance mixer also integrates MIDI with Serato Scratch Live.
4. During the Fourth Wave, formalized DJ education began to grow in popularity. From the Scratch DJ Academy, which launched in 2002, to non-credit turntablism classes at Berklee College of Music in Boston starting in 2004, to accredited DJ classes at private arts and media Columbia College Chicago and public institution Scottsdale Community College starting in 2004 (non-credit 2001-2004).
5. In addition to the above innovations, an important "stylist" innovation in the DJ industry would become the DJ "mashup."
Popularized by DJ Z-Trip, the "mashup" is defined as placing the a cappella (vocals) of one song on top of the instrumental of a completely different song (in the same key and BPM). While some DJ's perform mashups on the fly, others purchase professionally-produced mashups (for professional DJ's) from sites such asCrooklynclan.net.
It should be noted that the DJ mashup, while popular, is not the only genre/style being played by DJ's during the Fourth Wave. Other popular genres that grew in this period includes electro-house, crunk, grime, dancehall, emo, reggaeton, dubstep, bassline, as well as the glitch and Auto-Tune aesthetic in production techniques.
6. Another trend that characterized the mixing style of DJ's during the Fourth Wave is the "short attention span" quick mix -- that some DJ's call "Vegas-style." Unlike the Third Wave -- when DJ's would mix songs for an extended amount of time (i.e., progressive house style), many Fourth Wave DJ's would quickly jump from song-to-song and genre-to-genre (with the exception being electronic dance DJ's).
Perhaps the DJ that would be most associated with Serato, mashups, and "short-attention-span" mixing would be DJ AM (Adam Goldstein), who passed away in August 2009.
Conclusion on the Fourth Wave
Like the waves before it, the Fourth Wave of DJ growth and decline would be highly dependent on the strength and weakness of the global economy. As the world economy grew, new opportunities opened for DJ's, as it declined, those opportunities also declined.
As I've stated in 2003, "the DJ industry - like modern capitalism - is resilient (and certainly not a fad)." In other words, there will be a sixth wave, and seventh wave, and so on. We are currently in a downward period, which is an important part of the evolutionary process -- when DJ's, clubs, artists, genres, techniques, and equipment can consolidate and/or get reinvented -- so that the next wave of economic growth in the DJ industry has a new identity -- and new momentum to create opportunities.
Industry News
* "No More Love Parades" Due to the terrible tragedy at the Love Parade at Duisburg, Germany in which 21 attendees died due to panic stampede/overcrowding, the Love Parade will never be held again. According to media reports, organizers planned for a turnout of 250,000 people. Instead, 1.4 million people arrived to hear DJ's Tiesto, David Guetta, Booka Shade, Anthony Rother, Westbam, Fedde Le Grand, deep black, and more.
Until be safe & keep cutting!
DJ Flash Gee
· DJ History: The Fourth-Wave of Club DJ Growth, 2003-2009
by DJ Rob Wegner
Summer 2010
[Editor's Note: This will be the second to last Quarterly Tip on Disc Jockey 101. The next Quarterly Tip (Fall 2010) will celebrate Disc Jockey 101's ten year anniversary. It will also be the last Quarterly Tip. After the Fall Quarterly Tip, industry updates will be provided byDJ Times Magazine to current Quarterly Tip subscribers (at no cost via e-mail).]
From January to June 2003, I outlined my concept of DJ history on Disc Jockey 101. As some of you may recall, I contend that DJ history takes place in three distinctive phases or waves of economic growth. The First-Wave, which I addressed in January 2003, appears between 1943 and 1969. The Second-Wave, discussed inFebruary 2003, takes place between 1974 and 1982. The Third-Wave, which is discussed in May and June 2003, takes place between 1985 and 2001. I will argue that this wave now ends in 2000, instead of 2001.
This Quarterly Tip will address my perception of a "fourth" wave of economic growth in the DJ industry. This wave begins in 2003 and ends in early-2009. Since each "wave" is associated with a zeitgeist(i.e., the Second Wave revolved around disco culture), I call this fourth period the "eclectic wave," which is characterized by the "Vegas-flare" short attention span, multiple-genre/mashup mix style. It is my opinion that the popularity of this DJ style reflects the socio-economic volatility of the last decade.
The Period Between Waves (2000-2003)
The DJ industry grew in the late-90's, in part, due to the anticipation surrounding Y2K. Many clubs opened (giving work to DJ's) in hopes of capitalizing on Y2K partying. By the Spring of 2000, the raison d'être of many of these clubs began to wane. While some clubs continued to operate, many others closed. In short, the momentum leading into the Y2K celebrations came to an end.
In addition, the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States had a profound economic, social, and psychological impact on the music industry -- including the clubbing industry.
The Rise and Decline of the Fourth Wave
Partly due to fears that the terrorist attacks would trigger an economic recession, and partly due to general signs of economic decline, the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered interest rates nine times in 2001 (to a 40 year low). As a result, money was easier to borrow and this resulted in economic growth, which in turn, led to jobs in the DJ industry. Because of easier access to money, many people would refinance their home mortgage -- only to use the new money for social activities such as fine dining and clubbing (the so-called "using the home as an ATM" characterization).
Without going into a macro-economic lecture, the easily borrowed money would eventually lead to a housing bubble, which would begin to burst by the summer 2007. Many economists believe that this led to "The Great Recession of 2008." In light of the lag effect, the DJ industry would generally experience a sharp decline by early-2009. In other words, more clubs were closing than opening --and wedding DJ's were also affected by cutbacks.
The graph below shows the relationship between the rise-and-fall of the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Stock Market Average between 2003 and 2009 and the Fourth Wave.
Fourth Wave Innovations
Like other waves in the history of the DJ, several innovations would materialize in the DJ industry before and during the Fourth Wave:
1. Most notably, Serato Scratch Live would debut in May 2004. Employing digital audio files (I.e., MP3's), Scratch Live would eventually become more common than CD's or analog records. In 2008, Serato released the Scratch Live Video-SL plugin, which would give DJ's the opportunity to provide music videos and visuals during performances While not as popular, similar programs such as Virtual DJ and Traktor would also become widely used.
2. First released in late-2001, Ableton Live would become a popular loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for Mac OS and Windows. Unlike other software sequencers, Ableton Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances. It allows DJ's to mix tracks and is the first music applications to automatically beat match songs.
3. While MIDI technology originated in the early-1980's, MIDI controllers would begin to become more common in DJ performances during the Fourth Wave. In short, a MIDI controller can be used in lieu of vinyl turntables or CD players. A relatively recent innovation is the EKS Otus MIDI turntable/controller. The Vestax VCI-300 and the Numark NS7 allows DJ's to employ the MIDI Protocol to communicate with Serato Itch. It should be noted that the Rane TTM 57SL performance mixer also integrates MIDI with Serato Scratch Live.
4. During the Fourth Wave, formalized DJ education began to grow in popularity. From the Scratch DJ Academy, which launched in 2002, to non-credit turntablism classes at Berklee College of Music in Boston starting in 2004, to accredited DJ classes at private arts and media Columbia College Chicago and public institution Scottsdale Community College starting in 2004 (non-credit 2001-2004).
5. In addition to the above innovations, an important "stylist" innovation in the DJ industry would become the DJ "mashup."
Popularized by DJ Z-Trip, the "mashup" is defined as placing the a cappella (vocals) of one song on top of the instrumental of a completely different song (in the same key and BPM). While some DJ's perform mashups on the fly, others purchase professionally-produced mashups (for professional DJ's) from sites such asCrooklynclan.net.
It should be noted that the DJ mashup, while popular, is not the only genre/style being played by DJ's during the Fourth Wave. Other popular genres that grew in this period includes electro-house, crunk, grime, dancehall, emo, reggaeton, dubstep, bassline, as well as the glitch and Auto-Tune aesthetic in production techniques.
6. Another trend that characterized the mixing style of DJ's during the Fourth Wave is the "short attention span" quick mix -- that some DJ's call "Vegas-style." Unlike the Third Wave -- when DJ's would mix songs for an extended amount of time (i.e., progressive house style), many Fourth Wave DJ's would quickly jump from song-to-song and genre-to-genre (with the exception being electronic dance DJ's).
Perhaps the DJ that would be most associated with Serato, mashups, and "short-attention-span" mixing would be DJ AM (Adam Goldstein), who passed away in August 2009.
Conclusion on the Fourth Wave
Like the waves before it, the Fourth Wave of DJ growth and decline would be highly dependent on the strength and weakness of the global economy. As the world economy grew, new opportunities opened for DJ's, as it declined, those opportunities also declined.
As I've stated in 2003, "the DJ industry - like modern capitalism - is resilient (and certainly not a fad)." In other words, there will be a sixth wave, and seventh wave, and so on. We are currently in a downward period, which is an important part of the evolutionary process -- when DJ's, clubs, artists, genres, techniques, and equipment can consolidate and/or get reinvented -- so that the next wave of economic growth in the DJ industry has a new identity -- and new momentum to create opportunities.
Industry News
* "No More Love Parades" Due to the terrible tragedy at the Love Parade at Duisburg, Germany in which 21 attendees died due to panic stampede/overcrowding, the Love Parade will never be held again. According to media reports, organizers planned for a turnout of 250,000 people. Instead, 1.4 million people arrived to hear DJ's Tiesto, David Guetta, Booka Shade, Anthony Rother, Westbam, Fedde Le Grand, deep black, and more.
Until be safe & keep cutting!
DJ Flash Gee