What Does DJ Stand For? A Useful Tutorial About 5 DJ Types
Have you thought about hiring a DJ? Maybe, you’ve even thought about becoming one? Whatever the case might be, you should really know what the term DJ means.
Luckily, we are going to explain everything (and more) right here. Let’s jump right into the details.
What Does DJ Stand For?
DJ is the abbreviation for “disc jockey”. This term talks about the time when DJs worked with vinyl records. They had crates of records that they would have to carry around — Disc Jockey.
Even though DJs now work with digital files, the term has stuck. And for good reason! They still carry around hundreds of songs but now they are on a hard drive and not in heavy crates.
The 5 Different Types of DJs
Now that you know what the term DJ means, you should get into the real nitty-gritty.
These are the 5 main DJ types that you are going to come across, and each one of them almost has a whole separate job from the others.
What type of DJ are You?
Radio DJs
Radio DJs are the most unique out of the group as they are the ones closest to having a “standard” job where they go in and work for their radio station for forty hours each week.
There is a lot that goes into the job of being a radio Disc Jockey. They are responsible for selecting and playing music on the air while also interacting with the listeners, interviewing guests, taking phone calls, and the list goes on.
Over the course of time, the role of the Radio DJ has shifted further away from being someone who needs to play music, and more towards someone who needs great interpersonal skills and ad-lib skills in order to keep shows alive an entertaining for the listeners.
That is where radio DJs will focus most of their attention on the air.
Mobile DJs
Mobile DJs are exactly that — mobile. People hire them to play recorded music at events like weddings, birthdays, school dances, proms, and other private celebrations.
It would be easy to think that these DJs ultimately just download a lot of music, and then set up their speakers at the venue and push play, but there can be a lot more to it than that.
A large portion of an Mobile DJs job entails finding new music, checking their equipment, screening songs to make sure that they will be appropriate to play during the event, setting up and tearing down their equipment at each venue, and most importantly, communicating with the host of the event to make sure that everything is to their liking.
Event DJs
As you may imagine, event disc jockeys are similar to mobile DJs. The difference being that they typically specialize in particular events.
The type of celebrations that these DJs are involved in varies drastically, including:
- Traditional events (New Year’s Eve parties
- etc.)
- Corporate events (company parties, store events)
- Fundraiser Events (Gala, Auction)
- Fashion Shows
- Festivals (ceremonial celebrations)
- Private Events (anniversaries, graduation balls, reunions)
Club and Bar DJs
Club DJs are fairly similar to Mobile and Event DJs in the sense that they are providing the music that is played during events in bars or at clubs.
These guys are constantly refining their knowledge of the industry to ensure their mixes are perfect. Whether it’s music they’re making themselves or songs they’re piecing together, they want each track to be a crowd pleaser.
The main differences with club DJs would be that they almost exclusively focus on clubs and bars, and they focus a lot more on making their own music by mixing tracks and using other techniques.
In this setting the DJ is a lot more focused on keeping the music flowing right through the entire session, as opposed to Mobile DJs who usually have an itinerary laid out for when music will be played, what music will be played at what time, etc.
EDM Touring DJs
EDM (electronic dance music) touring DJs perform exclusively at their own gigs (like boy bands and singers do). They will sometimes perform at large clubs in Las Vegas and other dedicated EDM festivals.
Touring DJs will spend a lot of time actually working on their craft (as do some club DJs). They are the closest to actually being musicians, and this sort of DJing can be and is considered its own art form.
Put simply, they are always on the move. Everywhere they go, touring DJs (Disc Jockey) leave wild parties in their wake. After all, that’s their job! Ensuring people have buckets full of fun and an unforgettable night.
Being a DJ is Not As Easy As it Seems
There is a common misconception that DJing is easy, and that all the DJs are really doing is bringing recorded music with them to a gig, and then pushing play on a couple of songs.
That is not the case.
Mobile DJs will spend a lot of their working hours trying to find gigs, collaborating with the hosts of those events on what kind of music they want, what songs are okay, what songs are not okay, what the schedule is for the entire event, etc.
Then they will have to transport, set up, and tear down their equipment throughout the course of the event. Actually playing the music is only a sliver of the entire job. Best Vehicles for DJs | Should You Buy or Rent | 2021
Conclusion
A DJ, or Disc Jockey in formal terms, is not just the cool kid at the party that plays recorded music or custom blended music for the crowd.
Now You know what a Disc Jockey means. What Type of DJ Are You? What types of Music do you like?
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What Does DJ Stand For? A Useful Tutorial About 5 DJ Types
Originally published at https://mobiledjbasics.com on January 5, 2021.