Disc jockey

:For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). DJ (disambiguation) A disc jockey (also called DJ, or deejay) is an individual who selects and plays prerecorded music for an intended audience.

Origin of term

The term was first used to describe radio announcers who would introduce and play popular gramophone records, but today there are a number of factors, including the selected music, the intended audience, the performance setting, the preferred medium, and the development of sound manipulation, that have led to different types of deejays.

Job description

The physical act of selecting and playing sound recordings is called deejaying, or DJing, and ranges in sophistication from simply playing a series of recordings (referred to as programming, or composing a playlist), to the manipulating of recordings, using techniques such as audio mixing, cueing, phrasing, cutting, scratching, and beatmatching, often to the point of creating original musical compositions.

Equipment

The most basic equipment that is necessary for a standard disc jockey to perform consists of the following: 1. sound recordings in preferred medium (eg. vinyl records, compact discs, mp3s) 2. at least two devices for playback of sound recordings, for the purpose of alternating back and forth to create continuous playback (eg. record players, compact disc players, mp3 players) 3. a sound system for amplification of the recordings (eg. portable audio system, radio wave broadcaster) The addition of a mixer (used to mix the sound of the two playback devices), a microphone (used to amplify the human voice), and headphones (used to listen to one recording while the other is playing, without outputting the sound to the audience) is strongly recommended, but not required. Other types of equipment can also be added, including samplers, drum machines, effects processors, slipmats, and laptop computers.

Techniques

There are several techniques that can be applied by the disc jockey as a means to manipulate the prerecorded music. These include audio mixing, cueing, slip-cueing, phrasing, cutting, beat juggling, scratching, beatmatching, needle drops, phase shifting, and more.

DJ control and economics

Throughout the 1950s, payola was an ongoing problem. Part of the fallout from that payola scandal was tighter control of the music by station management. The Top 40 format also emerged, where popular songs are played repeatedly. Today, very few DJs in the United States have any control over what is played on the air. Playlists are very tightly regulated, and the DJ is often not allowed to make any changes or additions. The songs to be played are usually determined by computerized algorithms, and automation techniques such as voice tracking have allowed single DJs to send announcements across many stations. Even song requests are sometimes co-opted into this system—a song might be announced as a request by a DJ even though it was already set to appear in the playlist. Economically, this formula has been successful across the country. However, music aficionados look upon such practices with disgust and either seek out freeform stations that put the DJs back in control, or end up dumping terrestrial radio in favor of satellite radio services or portable music players like iPods. College radio stations and other public radio outlets are the most common places for freeform playlists in the U.S.

Types of disc jockeys

By definition, the role of selecting and playing prerecorded music for an intended audience is the same for every disc jockey. The selected music, the audience, the setting, the preferred medium, and the level of sophistication of sound manipulation are factors that create a number of different types of deejays. The following is a list of the most common types of disc jockeys, along with notable examples of each, listed in chronological order by birth.

Radio DJs

A radio disc jockey is one that selects and plays music that is broadcast across radio waves.

Notable Radio DJs

- Christopher Stone (1882–1965), became the first disc jockey in the United Kingdom in 1927.
- Martin Block (1901-1967), the first radio disc jockey to become a star, inspired the term "disc jockey".
- Alan Freed (1922-1965), became internationally known for promoting African-American Rhythm and Blues music in the United States and Europe under the name of Rock and Roll.
- Murray "The K" Kaufman (1922-1982), influential rock and roll disc jockey, for a time was billed as the "Fifth Beatle".
- Jimmy Savile (born 1926), British DJ and television personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It where he made the wishes of members of the public (mainly children) come true. In 1947 he was the first ever DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play after he paid a local metal worker to weld two domestic record decks together.
- Dick Clark (born 1929), host of American Bandstand, television's longest-running music/variety program, as well as a number of nationally syndicated radio shows.
- Casey Kasem (born 1932), disc jockey and music historian, host of the long-running radio series American Top 40.
- Wolfman Jack (1938-1995), drew upon his love of horror movies and rock and roll to create his raspy-voiced, howling persona, one of radio’s most distinctive voices.
- John Peel (1939-2004), one of the original DJs of UK's Radio 1 in 1967, known for the extraordinary range of his taste in music, and for championing unknown musical artists.
- Jim Ladd (born 1948), the last remaining freeform rock DJ in United States commercial radio.
- Johnny Rabbitt (1935-1997), midwest radio icon of the "Johnny Rabbitt and Bruno J. Grunion Show" which broadcast from 1963-1969 on KXOK- St. Louis. See also: :Category:Radio DJs

Rave/Club DJs

A rave/club disc jockey is one that selects and plays music in a club setting. The setting can range anywhere from a small club, a neighborhood party, a disco, a rave, or even a stadium.

Notable Rave/Club DJs

- David Mancuso (born 1944), founder of New York City's first underground party called the Loft.
- Francis Grasso (1948-2001), popularized several new disc jockey techniques, including beatmatching and slip-cueing.
- Larry Levan (1954-1992), leader of New York Garage music.
- Frankie Knuckles (born 1955), the godfather of house music.
- Paul Oakenfold (born 1963), British record producer, remixer, and one of the best-known DJs worldwide, referred to as a Superstar DJ.
- Frankie Bones, one of the early originators of the "rave" sound in the United States.
- Tiesto (born 1969), one of world's leading trance music DJs, voted DJ Magazines 'No. 1 DJ in the World' for the third consecutive year in 2004.
- Keoki (born 1969), famous techno musician, portrayed in the 2003 film Party Monster.
- DJ Digga Denver, Colorado hard house and hard trance DJ See also: :Category:Club DJs
Hip Hop DJs
A hip hop disc jockey is one that selects, plays and creates music as a hip hop artist and/or performer, often backing up one or more MCs.
Notable Hip Hop DJs

- U-Roy (born 1942), pioneer of the Jamaican sound system scene.
- DJ Kool Herc (born 1955), inventor of breakbeat technique, "the father of hip hop culture".
- Grandmaster Flash (born 1958), one of the early pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and scratching. Created the Quick Mix Technique which allowed a DJ to precisely extend a break using two copies of the same record; essentially invented modern turntablism.
- Afrika Bambaataa (born 1960), instrumental in the development of hip hop from its birth in the South Bronx to its international success. Created first hip hop track to feature synthesizers; "The godfather of Hip Hop"
- Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), founder and DJ of Run-DMC, one of the most innovative hip hop groups of all time.
- Eric B. (born 1965), one half of duo Eric B. & Rakim, popularized the James Brown-sampled funky hip hop of the late 1980s.
- Terminator X (born 1966), DJ of the highly infuential hip hop group Public Enemy.
- DJ Qbert (born 1969), founding member of the turntablism group the Invisibl Skracth Piklz and three-time winner of the International DMC Award.
- Mix Master Mike (born 1970), skilled DJ of hip hop group Beastie Boys, three-time winner of the International DMC Turntablism Award. See also: :Category:Hip hop DJs
Mobile DJs
Mobile disc jockeys are an extension of the original radio disc jockeys. Unlike their radio counterparts, mobile DJing is primarily seen as a part-time or second career. Mobile DJs travel or tour with their own sound systems and play from an extensive collection of pre-recorded music, on various media, for a targeted audience. Mobile DJs tend to work for hire at private functions such as wedding receptions, bar and bat mitzvah receptions, school dances, and so on, but they can occasionally be seen in bars, nightclubs, or even block parties. Unlike many club/rave DJs, mobile DJs often play more mainstream selections of music from multiple genres, they often take requests, and for mobile DJs, producing a continuous, beat-matched mix is rarely a priority. The definition and responsibilities of a mobile disc jockey have changed since Bob Casey's first two-turntable system for continuous playback was utilized for sock-hops in 1955. Bands had long dominated the wedding entertainment industry, but with the advent of the less expensive mobile DJ, the demand for live performers dwindled. Even so, in the early years, the mobile DJ industry was seen as a last-resort choice for entertainment, as the DJs were reputed to frequently be unreliable and unprofessional. Mobile DJs companies came and went. However, a few companies of this era did establish themselves as competent businesses and thrived; some even still exist today. During the Disco era of the 1970s, demand for mobile DJs (called mobile discos in the UK) soared. Top mobile DJs in this era would have hundreds of vinyl records and/or cassette tapes to play from. The equipment used in this era was enormous and usually required roadies (similar to those who work for bands) to set up. Because of the high demand for mobile DJs, many people from all facets of life jumped into the industry, hoping to make a few extra dollars on the weekends. These "Weekend Warriors", as they are called by many, helped enhance the negative stereotype of the mobile DJ; many of the same complaints from the earlier era continued. Some tried to improve this image by forming professional associations. The Canadian Disc Jockey Association (CDJA) was one of the original associations formed in 1976 as a not-for-profit trade association for disc jockeys across Canada. It was joined by a much broader online association called the Canadian Online Disc Jockey Association (CODJA), founded by Canadian mobile DJs Glenn Miller (not the famous bandleader) and Dennis Hampson. United States Disc Jockeys were reluctant to form anything similar until 1992 when the American Disc Jockey Association (ADJA) was incorporated. The original Board of Directors were Bruce Keslar, Maureen Keslar, John Roberts, and Lori Jesse. In 1996, after being removed from the ADJA Board from a financial dispute, Keslar then went on to form the for-profit National Association of Mobile Entertainers (NAME), based in the Philadelphia area. Both associations thrive today, with an estimated 5,000 members combined as of November 2005. As the late 1980s turned into the 1990s, new technologies emerged. Compact disc collections were becoming the standard to play music from. Many equipment manufacturers realized the potential market that existed for mobile DJs and raced to make equipment that was smaller, easier to use, and of better quality. Dedicated mobile disc jockey trade publications such as DJ Times magazine and Mobile Beat magazine were founded in this era. These publications helped to spread the word about the emerging technologies and published informational articles that were helpful to the mobile disc jockey. This is also the era when mobile disc jockeys became the top entertainment choice for most private parties including wedding receptions. In the mid-1990s, computers and the Internet had a profound impact on the mobile DJ industry. Professor Jam, a Tampa Bay, Florida disc jockey already known in the industry for having performed for many celebrities and television networks, became one of the first mobile DJs in the United States to regularly use computer technology to play music at his shows, and was the first professionally endorsed computer disc jockey internationally. CODJA cofounder Glenn Miller became the first licensed MP3 DJ under new music licensing agreement that was introduced to Canada in 2000 by the AVLA, and had already pioneered online networking for mobile disc jockeys by starting the first bulletin board system for mobile DJs from all over North America (and eventually the world).[http://web.archive.org/web/19980125231124/www.glenn-miller.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html] In the 21st Century, the role of the mobile disc jockey has expanded. While there are still many conventional, "human jukebox" mobile DJs, many others have assumed more reponsibilities to ensure the success of the events where they perform. These responsibilities include emceeing, event coordination, lighting direction, and sound engineering. The number of resources available for mobile DJs has also expanded. Aside from the many online community forums, there are now annual conventions, regional conferences, and many local seminars for mobile disc jockeys to attend.
Notable Mobile DJs

- In 1955, Bob Casey (born 1941), a well-known sock hop DJ, introduced the first two-turntable system for the purpose of alternating back and forth between records, creating continuous playback.
Timeline of events related to the disc jockey

- 1857 - Leon Scott invents the phonoautograph, the first device to record arbitrary sound, in France.
- 1877 - Thomas Alva Edison invents the phonograph cylinder, the first device to playback recorded sound, in the United States.
- 1887 - German-American Emile Berliner invents the gramophone, a lateral disc device to record and playback sound.
- 1889 - Coin-slot phonograph machines, the general public's first encounter with recorded sound, begin to be mass produced. The earliest versions played only a single record, but multiple record devices, called jukeboxes, were soon developed.
- 1892 - Emile Berliner begins commercial production of his gramophone records, the first disc record to be offered to the public.
- mid-1890s to early 1920s - Cylinder and disc recordings, and the machines to play them on, are widely mass marketed and sold. The disc system gradually becomes more popular due to its cheaper price and better marketing.
- 1906 - Reginald Fessenden transmits the first audio radio broadcast in history when he plays Christmas music from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.
- 1910s - Regular radio broadcasting begins, using "live" as well as prerecorded sound. In the early radio age, content typically includes comedy, drama, news, music, and sports reporting. The on-air announcers and programmers would later be known as disc jockeys.
- 1920s - "Juke-joints" become popular as a place for dancing and drinking to jukebox music.
- 1927 - Christopher Stone becomes the first radio announcer and programmer in the United Kingdom, on the BBC radio station.
- 1929 - Thomas Edison ceases phonograph cylinder manufacture, ending the disc and cylinder rivalry.
- 1934 - American commentator Walter Winchell coins the term "disc jockey" (the combination of "disc", referring to the disc records, and "jockey", which is an operator of a machine) as a description of radio announcer Martin Block, the first announcer to become a star in his own right. While his audience was awaiting developments in the Lindbergh kidnapping, Block played records and created the illusion that he was broadcasting from a ballroom, with the nation’s top dance bands performing live. The show, which he called Make Believe Ballroom, was an instant hit.
- 1940s - Musique concrète composers utilize portions of sound recordings to create new compositions. This is the first occurrence of sampling.
- 1943 - Jimmy Savile launches the world's first DJ dance party by playing jazz records in the upstairs function room of the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherd's in Otley, England. in 1947 he paid a local metal worker to weld two domestic record decks together and became the first DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play.
- 1947 - The "Whiskey-A-Go-Go" nightclub opens in Paris, France, considered to be the world's first discothèque, or disco (deriving its name from the French word, meaning a nightclub where the featured entertainment is recorded music rather than an on-stage band). Discos began appearing across Europe and the United States.
- late 1940s to early 1950s - The introduction of television erodes the popularity of radio's early format, causing it to take on the general form it has today, with a strong focus on music, news and sports.
- 1950s - American radio DJs would appear live at "sock hops" and "platter parties" and assume the role of a human jukebox. They would usually play 45-rpm records featuring hit singles on one turntable, while talking between songs. In some cases, a live drummer was hired to play beats between songs to maintain the dance floor.
- 1955 - Bob Casey, a well-known sock hop DJ, introduces the first two-turntable system for the purpose of alternating back and forth between records, creating continuous playback.
- late 1950s - Jamaican sound systems, a new form of public entertainment, are developed in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica. Promotors, who called themselves DJs, would throw large parties in the streets that centered around the disc jockey, called the "selector". These parties quickly became profitable for the promoters, who would sell admission, food and alcohol, leading to fierce competition between DJs for the biggest sound systems and newest records.
- mid-1960s - Nightclubs and discotheques continue to grow in Europe and the United States. However, by 1968, the number of dance clubs started to decline.
- 1969 - American club DJ Francis Grasso popularizes beatmatching at New York's Sanctuary nightclub. Beatmatching is the technique of creating seamless transitions between back-to-back records with matching beats, or tempos. Grasso also perfected slip-cueing, the technique of holding a record still while the turntable is revolving underneath, releasing it at the desired moment to create a sudden transition from the previous record.
- late 1960s - Most American discos either closed or were transformed into clubs featuring live bands. Neighborhood block parties that are modeled after Jamaican sound systems gain popularity in Europe and in the boroughs of New York City.
- early 1970s - The Vietnam War, oil crisis, and economic recession has a negative impact on dance clubs and disc jockeys. The total number of clubs and DJs dropped substantially, and most of the dance clubs were underground gay discos. It should also be noted that electronics company Technics released a series of direct-drive DJ turntables during this period.
- 1974 - Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc - who is widely regarded as the "godfather of hip hop culture" - develops a technique called breakbeat while performing block parties in his Bronx neighborhood. He would mix back and forth between two identical records to extend the rhythmic instrumental segment, or break. Turntablism, the art of using turntables not only to play music, but to manipulate sound and create original music, is considered to begin at this time.
- 1974 - Technics releases the first SL-1200 turntable, which evolves into the SL-1200 MK2 in 1979, currently the industry standard for deejaying.
- 1974 - German electronic music band Kraftwerk releases the 22-minute single "Autobahn", which is the precursor to the 12" single. Years later, Kraftwerk would become a significant influence on hip hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and house music pioneer Frankie Knuckles.
- mid 1970s - Hip hop music and culture begins to emerge, originating among urban African Americans and Latinos in New York City. The four main elements of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing.
- 1975 - Disco music takes off in the mainstream pop charts in the United States and Europe, causing discotheques to experience a rebirth.
- 1975 - Record pools begin, enabling disc jockeys access to newer music from the industry in an efficient method.
- 1976 - American DJ and producer Walter Gibbons remixes and releases "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure, the world's first 12" single (aka "maxi-single").
- 1977 - Hip hop DJ Grand Wizard Theodore invents the scratching technique by accident.
- 1977 - New York's Studio 54 nightclub grosses $7 million in its first year of business (which is roughly $21 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation). In the same year, the motion picture Saturday Night Fever popularizes discotheques and becomes one of the top-10 grossing films in history (at the time).
- 1979 - The Sugar Hill Gang release "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop record to become a hit. It was also the first real breakthrough for sampling, as the bassline of Chic's "Good Times" laid the foundation for the song.
- 1979 - An anti-disco protest in Chicago's Comiskey Park marks the major backlash against disco amongst rock music fans, who preferred guitars and live drums over electronically generated sounds and beats. This is considered to be the year that disco "died", although the music remained popular for several more years, particularly in underground clubs and in Europe, where the subgenres Euro Disco and Italo Disco were created.
- 1981 - Cable television network MTV is launched, originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. The term "video jockey", or VJ, was used to describe the fresh faced youth who introduced the music videos.
- 1982 - The demise of disco in the mainstream by the summer of 1982 forces many nightclubs to either close or to change entertainment styles, such as by providing MTV style video dancing or live bands.
- 1982 - "Planet Rock" by DJ Afrika Bambaataa is the first hip hop song to feature synthesizers. The song melded electronic hip hop beats with the melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express".
- 1982 - The compact disc reached the public market in Asia and early the following year in other markets. This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution.
- 1983 - House music emerges. The name was derived from the Warehouse club in Chicago, where the resident DJ, Frankie Knuckles, mixed old disco classics and Eurosynth pop. House music is essentially disco music with electronic beats. The common element of most house music is a 4/4 beat generated by a drum machine or other electronic means (such as a sampler), together with a solid (usually also electronically generated) bassline.
- 1983 - Jesse Saunders releases the first house music track, "On & On".
- mid-1980s - New York Garage emerges at DJ Larry Levan's Paradise Garage nightclub in New York. The style was a result of the club DJs who would unsuccessfully try to duplicate the Chicago house sound, for example, leaving out the accentuated high-hats.
- mid-1980s - Techno music emerges from the Detroit club scene. Being geographically located between Chicago and New York, Detroit techno combined elements of Chicago house and New York garage along with European imports. Techno distanced itself from disco's roots by becoming almost purely electronic with synthesized beats.
- 1986 - "Walk This Way", a rap-rock collaboration by Run DMC and Aerosmith, becomes the first hip hop song to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song is the first exposure of hip hop music, as well as the concept of the disc jockey as band member and artist, to many mainstream audiences.
- 1988 - The acid house scene emerges in the UK. Originally called "acid parties" for a select few, the events grew in size and popularity, eventually spreading throughout England, Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world.
- early 1990s - The rave scene grows out of the acid-house scene. Many elements of the rave scene, such as baggy pants and breakdancing, appear to be inherited from the Northern Soul scene of the UK approximately 15 years earlier. The notion of "trainspotting," for example, derives from Northern Soul's emphasis on researching and collecting rare & obscure records; while preventing other DJs from stealing titles via "white labels". The rave scene forever changed dance music, the image of DJs, and the nature of promoting. The innovative marketing surrounding the rave scene created the first superstar DJs.
- early 1990s - The compact disc surpasses the gramophone record in popularity, but gramophone records continue to be made (although in very limited quantities) into the 21st century, particularly for club DJs and for local acts recording on small regional labels.
- mid-1990s - Trance music emerges as a result of producers who wanted to transform repetitive, instrumental rave music into commercially accessible pop songs with vocals. Trance was central to the success of commercial dance music and superstar DJs such as Paul Oakenfold.
- 1992 - MPEG which stands for the "Moving Pictures Experts Groups, releases The MPEG-1 standard, designed to produce reasonable sound at low bit rates. MPEG-1 Layer-3 popularly known as MP3 (a Lossy format) will revolutionize the digital music domain.
- 1993 - The first Internet "radio station", Internet Talk Radio, was developed by Carl Malamud. Because the radio signal is relayed over the Internet, it is possible to access internet radio stations from anywhere in the world. This makes it a popular service for both amateur and professional disc jockeys operating from a personal computer.
- 1995 - The first full-time, Internet-only radio station, Radio HK, begins broadcasting the music of independent bands.
- late 1990s - Nu metal bands such as KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park reach the height of popularity. This new subgenre of alternative rock bears some influence from hip-hop, because rhythmic innovation and syncopation are primary, often featuring DJs as bandmembers.
- late 1990s - Various DJ and Video_jockey VJ_software VJ software programs are developed, allowing personal computer users to deejay or veejay using his or her personal music or video files.
- 1998 - The first MP3 digital audio player is released, the Eiger Labs MPMan F10.
- 1998 - Final Scratch is announced by Amsterdam based N2IT. This program "mapped" digital music files onto timecoded vinyl records that were then played on a traditional DJ setup. This was the first product of it's kind, and later spawned a slew of competing products (including Serato Scratch Live, Ms. Pinky, and Mixvibes). Final Scratch was later bought by Stanton Magnetics, and its software development is now handled by Native Instruments.
- 1999 - Shawn Fanning releases Napster, the first of the massively popular peer-to-peer file sharing systems.
- 1999 - late 1999 - AVLA (Audio Video Licensing Agency) of Canada announces MP3 DJing license. Administered by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. DJs can now apply for a license giving them the right to burn their own compilation CDs of "useable tracks," instead of having to cart their whole CD collections around to their gigs.
- 2001 - Apple Computer's iPod is introduced and quickly becomes the highest selling brand of portable digital mp3 audio player. The convenience and popularity of the iPod spawns a new type of DJ, the self-penned "MP3J". First appearing in certain East London clubs, and spreading to other music scenes, including New York City, this new DJ scene allows the average music fan to bring two iPods to an "iPod Night", plug in to the mixer, and program a playlist without the skill and equipment demanded by a more traditional DJ setup.
- 2001 - late 2001 - Atlanta, Georgia, The fist Computerized Performance System Disc Jockey gathering was scheduled and organized during the small DJ3 convention. CPS mixing culture begins to emerge and organize.
- 2004 - Microsoft's, Redmond-Seattle main compound took a serious look into computer DJing during a private, closed Summit held February 9-11, attended by Grandmaster Flash, Roger Sanchez, Sandra Collins, Tony Touch, Dj Krush, Dj Cheb-i-Sabbah, and others.
- 2005 - Computerized Performance System Disc Jockey Summit is launched. Hosted by Professor Jam and originally developed as a social gathering in 2001, the term "CPSDJ", disc jockey, "CPSVJ", video jockey, or "CPSKJ", karaoke jockey, is now used to describe the growing community of professionals incorporating the marriage of hardware and software during live mixing performances. As the first dedicated CPS industry event, highlights by various industry vendors and attendees, utilizing a variety of software and hardware hybrid systems to mix gave a clear view of the future.
Bibliography

- Poschardt, Ulf (1998). DJ Culture. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0-704-38098-6
- Brewster, Bill & Broughton, Frank (2000). Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3688-5 (North American edition). London: Headline. ISBN 0-747-26230-6 (U.K. edition).

- Lawrence, Tim (2004). Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979 . Duke University Press. ISBN 0822331985.
- Wegner, Rob (2003). "DJ History: The First-Wave of Club DJ Growth, 1943-1969". From: http://www.discjockey101.com/jan2003.html Category:Disco
- Category:Reggae Category:Media occupations ja:ディスクジョッキー

DJ
:For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). DJ (disambiguation) A disc jockey (also called DJ, or deejay) is an individual who selects and plays prerecorded music for an intended audience.
Origin of term
The term was first used to describe radio announcers who would introduce and play popular gramophone records, but today there are a number of factors, including the selected music, the intended audience, the performance setting, the preferred medium, and the development of sound manipulation, that have led to different types of deejays.
Job description
The physical act of selecting and playing sound recordings is called deejaying, or DJing, and ranges in sophistication from simply playing a series of recordings (referred to as programming, or composing a playlist), to the manipulating of recordings, using techniques such as audio mixing, cueing, phrasing, cutting, scratching, and beatmatching, often to the point of creating original musical compositions.
Equipment
The most basic equipment that is necessary for a standard disc jockey to perform consists of the following: 1. sound recordings in preferred medium (eg. vinyl records, compact discs, mp3s) 2. at least two devices for playback of sound recordings, for the purpose of alternating back and forth to create continuous playback (eg. record players, compact disc players, mp3 players) 3. a sound system for amplification of the recordings (eg. portable audio system, radio wave broadcaster) The addition of a mixer (used to mix the sound of the two playback devices), a microphone (used to amplify the human voice), and headphones (used to listen to one recording while the other is playing, without outputting the sound to the audience) is strongly recommended, but not required. Other types of equipment can also be added, including samplers, drum machines, effects processors, slipmats, and laptop computers.
Techniques
There are several techniques that can be applied by the disc jockey as a means to manipulate the prerecorded music. These include audio mixing, cueing, slip-cueing, phrasing, cutting, beat juggling, scratching, beatmatching, needle drops, phase shifting, and more.
DJ control and economics
Throughout the 1950s, payola was an ongoing problem. Part of the fallout from that payola scandal was tighter control of the music by station management. The Top 40 format also emerged, where popular songs are played repeatedly. Today, very few DJs in the United States have any control over what is played on the air. Playlists are very tightly regulated, and the DJ is often not allowed to make any changes or additions. The songs to be played are usually determined by computerized algorithms, and automation techniques such as voice tracking have allowed single DJs to send announcements across many stations. Even song requests are sometimes co-opted into this system—a song might be announced as a request by a DJ even though it was already set to appear in the playlist. Economically, this formula has been successful across the country. However, music aficionados look upon such practices with disgust and either seek out freeform stations that put the DJs back in control, or end up dumping terrestrial radio in favor of satellite radio services or portable music players like iPods. College radio stations and other public radio outlets are the most common places for freeform playlists in the U.S.
Types of disc jockeys
By definition, the role of selecting and playing prerecorded music for an intended audience is the same for every disc jockey. The selected music, the audience, the setting, the preferred medium, and the level of sophistication of sound manipulation are factors that create a number of different types of deejays. The following is a list of the most common types of disc jockeys, along with notable examples of each, listed in chronological order by birth.
Radio DJs
A radio disc jockey is one that selects and plays music that is broadcast across radio waves.
Notable Radio DJs

- Christopher Stone (1882–1965), became the first disc jockey in the United Kingdom in 1927.
- Martin Block (1901-1967), the first radio disc jockey to become a star, inspired the term "disc jockey".
- Alan Freed (1922-1965), became internationally known for promoting African-American Rhythm and Blues music in the United States and Europe under the name of Rock and Roll.
- Murray "The K" Kaufman (1922-1982), influential rock and roll disc jockey, for a time was billed as the "Fifth Beatle".
- Jimmy Savile (born 1926), British DJ and television personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It where he made the wishes of members of the public (mainly children) come true. In 1947 he was the first ever DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play after he paid a local metal worker to weld two domestic record decks together.
- Dick Clark (born 1929), host of American Bandstand, television's longest-running music/variety program, as well as a number of nationally syndicated radio shows.
- Casey Kasem (born 1932), disc jockey and music historian, host of the long-running radio series American Top 40.
- Wolfman Jack (1938-1995), drew upon his love of horror movies and rock and roll to create his raspy-voiced, howling persona, one of radio’s most distinctive voices.
- John Peel (1939-2004), one of the original DJs of UK's Radio 1 in 1967, known for the extraordinary range of his taste in music, and for championing unknown musical artists.
- Jim Ladd (born 1948), the last remaining freeform rock DJ in United States commercial radio.
- Johnny Rabbitt (1935-1997), midwest radio icon of the "Johnny Rabbitt and Bruno J. Grunion Show" which broadcast from 1963-1969 on KXOK- St. Louis. See also: :Category:Radio DJs
Rave/Club DJs
A rave/club disc jockey is one that selects and plays music in a club setting. The setting can range anywhere from a small club, a neighborhood party, a disco, a rave, or even a stadium.
Notable Rave/Club DJs

- David Mancuso (born 1944), founder of New York City's first underground party called the Loft.
- Francis Grasso (1948-2001), popularized several new disc jockey techniques, including beatmatching and slip-cueing.
- Larry Levan (1954-1992), leader of New York Garage music.
- Frankie Knuckles (born 1955), the godfather of house music.
- Paul Oakenfold (born 1963), British record producer, remixer, and one of the best-known DJs worldwide, referred to as a Superstar DJ.
- Frankie Bones, one of the early originators of the "rave" sound in the United States.
- Tiesto (born 1969), one of world's leading trance music DJs, voted DJ Magazines 'No. 1 DJ in the World' for the third consecutive year in 2004.
- Keoki (born 1969), famous techno musician, portrayed in the 2003 film Party Monster.
- DJ Digga Denver, Colorado hard house and hard trance DJ See also: :Category:Club DJs
Hip Hop DJs
A hip hop disc jockey is one that selects, plays and creates music as a hip hop artist and/or performer, often backing up one or more MCs.
Notable Hip Hop DJs

- U-Roy (born 1942), pioneer of the Jamaican sound system scene.
- DJ Kool Herc (born 1955), inventor of breakbeat technique, "the father of hip hop culture".
- Grandmaster Flash (born 1958), one of the early pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and scratching. Created the Quick Mix Technique which allowed a DJ to precisely extend a break using two copies of the same record; essentially invented modern turntablism.
- Afrika Bambaataa (born 1960), instrumental in the development of hip hop from its birth in the South Bronx to its international success. Created first hip hop track to feature synthesizers; "The godfather of Hip Hop"
- Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), founder and DJ of Run-DMC, one of the most innovative hip hop groups of all time.
- Eric B. (born 1965), one half of duo Eric B. & Rakim, popularized the James Brown-sampled funky hip hop of the late 1980s.
- Terminator X (born 1966), DJ of the highly infuential hip hop group Public Enemy.
- DJ Qbert (born 1969), founding member of the turntablism group the Invisibl Skracth Piklz and three-time winner of the International DMC Award.
- Mix Master Mike (born 1970), skilled DJ of hip hop group Beastie Boys, three-time winner of the International DMC Turntablism Award. See also: :Category:Hip hop DJs
Mobile DJs
Mobile disc jockeys are an extension of the original radio disc jockeys. Unlike their radio counterparts, mobile DJing is primarily seen as a part-time or second career. Mobile DJs travel or tour with their own sound systems and play from an extensive collection of pre-recorded music, on various media, for a targeted audience. Mobile DJs tend to work for hire at private functions such as wedding receptions, bar and bat mitzvah receptions, school dances, and so on, but they can occasionally be seen in bars, nightclubs, or even block parties. Unlike many club/rave DJs, mobile DJs often play more mainstream selections of music from multiple genres, they often take requests, and for mobile DJs, producing a continuous, beat-matched mix is rarely a priority. The definition and responsibilities of a mobile disc jockey have changed since Bob Casey's first two-turntable system for continuous playback was utilized for sock-hops in 1955. Bands had long dominated the wedding entertainment industry, but with the advent of the less expensive mobile DJ, the demand for live performers dwindled. Even so, in the early years, the mobile DJ industry was seen as a last-resort choice for entertainment, as the DJs were reputed to frequently be unreliable and unprofessional. Mobile DJs companies came and went. However, a few companies of this era did establish themselves as competent businesses and thrived; some even still exist today. During the Disco era of the 1970s, demand for mobile DJs (called mobile discos in the UK) soared. Top mobile DJs in this era would have hundreds of vinyl records and/or cassette tapes to play from. The equipment used in this era was enormous and usually required roadies (similar to those who work for bands) to set up. Because of the high demand for mobile DJs, many people from all facets of life jumped into the industry, hoping to make a few extra dollars on the weekends. These "Weekend Warriors", as they are called by many, helped enhance the negative stereotype of the mobile DJ; many of the same complaints from the earlier era continued. Some tried to improve this image by forming professional associations. The Canadian Disc Jockey Association (CDJA) was one of the original associations formed in 1976 as a not-for-profit trade association for disc jockeys across Canada. It was joined by a much broader online association called the Canadian Online Disc Jockey Association (CODJA), founded by Canadian mobile DJs Glenn Miller (not the famous bandleader) and Dennis Hampson. United States Disc Jockeys were reluctant to form anything similar until 1992 when the American Disc Jockey Association (ADJA) was incorporated. The original Board of Directors were Bruce Keslar, Maureen Keslar, John Roberts, and Lori Jesse. In 1996, after being removed from the ADJA Board from a financial dispute, Keslar then went on to form the for-profit National Association of Mobile Entertainers (NAME), based in the Philadelphia area. Both associations thrive today, with an estimated 5,000 members combined as of November 2005. As the late 1980s turned into the 1990s, new technologies emerged. Compact disc collections were becoming the standard to play music from. Many equipment manufacturers realized the potential market that existed for mobile DJs and raced to make equipment that was smaller, easier to use, and of better quality. Dedicated mobile disc jockey trade publications such as DJ Times magazine and Mobile Beat magazine were founded in this era. These publications helped to spread the word about the emerging technologies and published informational articles that were helpful to the mobile disc jockey. This is also the era when mobile disc jockeys became the top entertainment choice for most private parties including wedding receptions. In the mid-1990s, computers and the Internet had a profound impact on the mobile DJ industry. Professor Jam, a Tampa Bay, Florida disc jockey already known in the industry for having performed for many celebrities and television networks, became one of the first mobile DJs in the United States to regularly use computer technology to play music at his shows, and was the first professionally endorsed computer disc jockey internationally. CODJA cofounder Glenn Miller became the first licensed MP3 DJ under new music licensing agreement that was introduced to Canada in 2000 by the AVLA, and had already pioneered online networking for mobile disc jockeys by starting the first bulletin board system for mobile DJs from all over North America (and eventually the world).[http://web.archive.org/web/19980125231124/www.glenn-miller.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html] In the 21st Century, the role of the mobile disc jockey has expanded. While there are still many conventional, "human jukebox" mobile DJs, many others have assumed more reponsibilities to ensure the success of the events where they perform. These responsibilities include emceeing, event coordination, lighting direction, and sound engineering. The number of resources available for mobile DJs has also expanded. Aside from the many online community forums, there are now annual conventions, regional conferences, and many local seminars for mobile disc jockeys to attend.
Notable Mobile DJs

- In 1955, Bob Casey (born 1941), a well-known sock hop DJ, introduced the first two-turntable system for the purpose of alternating back and forth between records, creating continuous playback.
Timeline of events related to the disc jockey

- 1857 - Leon Scott invents the phonoautograph, the first device to record arbitrary sound, in France.
- 1877 - Thomas Alva Edison invents the phonograph cylinder, the first device to playback recorded sound, in the United States.
- 1887 - German-American Emile Berliner invents the gramophone, a lateral disc device to record and playback sound.
- 1889 - Coin-slot phonograph machines, the general public's first encounter with recorded sound, begin to be mass produced. The earliest versions played only a single record, but multiple record devices, called jukeboxes, were soon developed.
- 1892 - Emile Berliner begins commercial production of his gramophone records, the first disc record to be offered to the public.
- mid-1890s to early 1920s - Cylinder and disc recordings, and the machines to play them on, are widely mass marketed and sold. The disc system gradually becomes more popular due to its cheaper price and better marketing.
- 1906 - Reginald Fessenden transmits the first audio radio broadcast in history when he plays Christmas music from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.
- 1910s - Regular radio broadcasting begins, using "live" as well as prerecorded sound. In the early radio age, content typically includes comedy, drama, news, music, and sports reporting. The on-air announcers and programmers would later be known as disc jockeys.
- 1920s - "Juke-joints" become popular as a place for dancing and drinking to jukebox music.
- 1927 - Christopher Stone becomes the first radio announcer and programmer in the United Kingdom, on the BBC radio station.
- 1929 - Thomas Edison ceases phonograph cylinder manufacture, ending the disc and cylinder rivalry.
- 1934 - American commentator Walter Winchell coins the term "disc jockey" (the combination of "disc", referring to the disc records, and "jockey", which is an operator of a machine) as a description of radio announcer Martin Block, the first announcer to become a star in his own right. While his audience was awaiting developments in the Lindbergh kidnapping, Block played records and created the illusion that he was broadcasting from a ballroom, with the nation’s top dance bands performing live. The show, which he called Make Believe Ballroom, was an instant hit.
- 1940s - Musique concrète composers utilize portions of sound recordings to create new compositions. This is the first occurrence of sampling.
- 1943 - Jimmy Savile launches the world's first DJ dance party by playing jazz records in the upstairs function room of the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherd's in Otley, England. in 1947 he paid a local metal worker to weld two domestic record decks together and became the first DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play.
- 1947 - The "Whiskey-A-Go-Go" nightclub opens in Paris, France, considered to be the world's first discothèque, or disco (deriving its name from the French word, meaning a nightclub where the featured entertainment is recorded music rather than an on-stage band). Discos began appearing across Europe and the United States.
- late 1940s to early 1950s - The introduction of television erodes the popularity of radio's early format, causing it to take on the general form it has today, with a strong focus on music, news and sports.
- 1950s - American radio DJs would appear live at "sock hops" and "platter parties" and assume the role of a human jukebox. They would usually play 45-rpm records featuring hit singles on one turntable, while talking between songs. In some cases, a live drummer was hired to play beats between songs to maintain the dance floor.
- 1955 - Bob Casey, a well-known sock hop DJ, introduces the first two-turntable system for the purpose of alternating back and forth between records, creating continuous playback.
- late 1950s - Jamaican sound systems, a new form of public entertainment, are developed in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica. Promotors, who called themselves DJs, would throw large parties in the streets that centered around the disc jockey, called the "selector". These parties quickly became profitable for the promoters, who would sell admission, food and alcohol, leading to fierce competition between DJs for the biggest sound systems and newest records.
- mid-1960s - Nightclubs and discotheques continue to grow in Europe and the United States. However, by 1968, the number of dance clubs started to decline.
- 1969 - American club DJ Francis Grasso popularizes beatmatching at New York's Sanctuary nightclub. Beatmatching is the technique of creating seamless transitions between back-to-back records with matching beats, or tempos. Grasso also perfected slip-cueing, the technique of holding a record still while the turntable is revolving underneath, releasing it at the desired moment to create a sudden transition from the previous record.
- late 1960s - Most American discos either closed or were transformed into clubs featuring live bands. Neighborhood block parties that are modeled after Jamaican sound systems gain popularity in Europe and in the boroughs of New York City.
- early 1970s - The Vietnam War, oil crisis, and economic recession has a negative impact on dance clubs and disc jockeys. The total number of clubs and DJs dropped substantially, and most of the dance clubs were underground gay discos. It should also be noted that electronics company Technics released a series of direct-drive DJ turntables during this period.
- 1974 - Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc - who is widely regarded as the "godfather of hip hop culture" - develops a technique called breakbeat while performing block parties in his Bronx neighborhood. He would mix back and forth between two identical records to extend the rhythmic instrumental segment, or break. Turntablism, the art of using turntables not only to play music, but to manipulate sound and create original music, is considered to begin at this time.
- 1974 - Technics releases the first SL-1200 turntable, which evolves into the SL-1200 MK2 in 1979, currently the industry standard for deejaying.
- 1974 - German electronic music band Kraftwerk releases the 22-minute single "Autobahn", which is the precursor to the 12" single. Years later, Kraftwerk would become a significant influence on hip hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and house music pioneer Frankie Knuckles.
- mid 1970s - Hip hop music and culture begins to emerge, originating among urban African Americans and Latinos in New York City. The four main elements of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing.
- 1975 - Disco music takes off in the mainstream pop charts in the United States and Europe, causing discotheques to experience a rebirth.
- 1975 - Record pools begin, enabling disc jockeys access to newer music from the industry in an efficient method.
- 1976 - American DJ and producer Walter Gibbons remixes and releases "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure, the world's first 12" single (aka "maxi-single").
- 1977 - Hip hop DJ Grand Wizard Theodore invents the scratching technique by accident.
- 1977 - New York's Studio 54 nightclub grosses $7 million in its first year of business (which is roughly $21 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation). In the same year, the motion picture Saturday Night Fever popularizes discotheques and becomes one of the top-10 grossing films in history (at the time).
- 1979 - The Sugar Hill Gang release "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop record to become a hit. It was also the first real breakthrough for sampling, as the bassline of Chic's "Good Times" laid the foundation for the song.
- 1979 - An anti-disco protest in Chicago's Comiskey Park marks the major backlash against disco amongst rock music fans, who preferred guitars and live drums over electronically generated sounds and beats. This is considered to be the year that disco "died", although the music remained popular for several more years, particularly in underground clubs and in Europe, where the subgenres Euro Disco and Italo Disco were created.
- 1981 - Cable television network MTV is launched, originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. The term "video jockey", or VJ, was used to describe the fresh faced youth who introduced the music videos.
- 1982 - The demise of disco in the mainstream by the summer of 1982 forces many nightclubs to either close or to change entertainment styles, such as by providing MTV style video dancing or live bands.
- 1982 - "Planet Rock" by DJ Afrika Bambaataa is the first hip hop song to feature synthesizers. The song melded electronic hip hop beats with the melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express".
- 1982 - The compact disc reached the public market in Asia and early the following year in other markets. This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution.
- 1983 - House music emerges. The name was derived from the Warehouse club in Chicago, where the resident DJ, Frankie Knuckles, mixed old disco classics and Eurosynth pop. House music is essentially disco music with electronic beats. The common element of most house music is a 4/4 beat generated by a drum machine or other electronic means (such as a sampler), together with a solid (usually also electronically generated) bassline.
- 1983 - Jesse Saunders releases the first house music track, "On & On".
- mid-1980s - New York Garage emerges at DJ Larry Levan's Paradise Garage nightclub in New York. The style was a result of the club DJs who would unsuccessfully try to duplicate the Chicago house sound, for example, leaving out the accentuated high-hats.
- mid-1980s - Techno music emerges from the Detroit club scene. Being geographically located between Chicago and New York, Detroit techno combined elements of Chicago house and New York garage along with European imports. Techno distanced itself from disco's roots by becoming almost purely electronic with synthesized beats.
- 1986 - "Walk This Way", a rap-rock collaboration by Run DMC and Aerosmith, becomes the first hip hop song to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song is the first exposure of hip hop music, as well as the concept of the disc jockey as band member and artist, to many mainstream audiences.
- 1988 - The acid house scene emerges in the UK. Originally called "acid parties" for a select few, the events grew in size and popularity, eventually spreading throughout England, Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world.
- early 1990s - The rave scene grows out of the acid-house scene. Many elements of the rave scene, such as baggy pants and breakdancing, appear to be inherited from the Northern Soul scene of the UK approximately 15 years earlier. The notion of "trainspotting," for example, derives from Northern Soul's emphasis on researching and collecting rare & obscure records; while preventing other DJs from stealing titles via "white labels". The rave scene forever changed dance music, the image of DJs, and the nature of promoting. The innovative marketing surrounding the rave scene created the first superstar DJs.
- early 1990s - The compact disc surpasses the gramophone record in popularity, but gramophone records continue to be made (although in very limited quantities) into the 21st century, particularly for club DJs and for local acts recording on small regional labels.
- mid-1990s - Trance music emerges as a result of producers who wanted to transform repetitive, instrumental rave music into commercially accessible pop songs with vocals. Trance was central to the success of commercial dance music and superstar DJs such as Paul Oakenfold.
- 1992 - MPEG which stands for the "Moving Pictures Experts Groups, releases The MPEG-1 standard, designed to produce reasonable sound at low bit rates. MPEG-1 Layer-3 popularly known as MP3 (a Lossy format) will revolutionize the digital music domain.
- 1993 - The first Internet "radio station", Internet Talk Radio, was developed by Carl Malamud. Because the radio signal is relayed over the Internet, it is possible to access internet radio stations from anywhere in the world. This makes it a popular service for both amateur and professional disc jockeys operating from a personal computer.
- 1995 - The first full-time, Internet-only radio station, Radio HK, begins broadcasting the music of independent bands.
- late 1990s - Nu metal bands such as KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park reach the height of popularity. This new subgenre of alternative rock bears some influence from hip-hop, because rhythmic innovation and syncopation are primary, often featuring DJs as bandmembers.
- late 1990s - Various DJ and Video_jockey VJ_software VJ software programs are developed, allowing personal computer users to deejay or veejay using his or her personal music or video files.
- 1998 - The first MP3 digital audio player is released, the Eiger Labs MPMan F10.
- 1998 - Final Scratch is announced by Amsterdam based N2IT. This program "mapped" digital music files onto timecoded vinyl records that were then played on a traditional DJ setup. This was the first product of it's kind, and later spawned a slew of competing products (including Serato Scratch Live, Ms. Pinky, and Mixvibes). Final Scratch was later bought by Stanton Magnetics, and its software development is now handled by Native Instruments.
- 1999 - Shawn Fanning releases Napster, the first of the massively popular peer-to-peer file sharing systems.
- 1999 - late 1999 - AVLA (Audio Video Licensing Agency) of Canada announces MP3 DJing license. Administered by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. DJs can now apply for a license giving them the right to burn their own compilation CDs of "useable tracks," instead of having to cart their whole CD collections around to their gigs.
- 2001 - Apple Computer's iPod is introduced and quickly becomes the highest selling brand of portable digital mp3 audio player. The convenience and popularity of the iPod spawns a new type of DJ, the self-penned "MP3J". First appearing in certain East London clubs, and spreading to other music scenes, including New York City, this new DJ scene allows the average music fan to bring two iPods to an "iPod Night", plug in to the mixer, and program a playlist without the skill and equipment demanded by a more traditional DJ setup.
- 2001 - late 2001 - Atlanta, Georgia, The fist Computerized Performance System Disc Jockey gathering was scheduled and organized during the small DJ3 convention. CPS mixing culture begins to emerge and organize.
- 2004 - Microsoft's, Redmond-Seattle main compound took a serious look into computer DJing during a private, closed Summit held February 9-11, attended by Grandmaster Flash, Roger Sanchez, Sandra Collins, Tony Touch, Dj Krush, Dj Cheb-i-Sabbah, and others.
- 2005 - Computerized Performance System Disc Jockey Summit is launched. Hosted by Professor Jam and originally developed as a social gathering in 2001, the term "CPSDJ", disc jockey, "CPSVJ", video jockey, or "CPSKJ", karaoke jockey, is now used to describe the growing community of professionals incorporating the marriage of hardware and software during live mixing performances. As the first dedicated CPS industry event, highlights by various industry vendors and attendees, utilizing a variety of software and hardware hybrid systems to mix gave a clear view of the future.
Bibliography

- Poschardt, Ulf (1998). DJ Culture. London: Quartet Books. ISBN 0-704-38098-6
- Brewster, Bill & Broughton, Frank (2000). Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3688-5 (North American edition). London: Headline. ISBN 0-747-26230-6 (U.K. edition).

- Lawrence, Tim (2004). Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979 . Duke University Press. ISBN 0822331985.
- Wegner, Rob (2003). "DJ History: The First-Wave of Club DJ Growth, 1943-1969". From: http://www.discjockey101.com/jan2003.html Category:Disco
- Category:Reggae Category:Media occupations ja:ディスクジョッキー

Announcer
An announcer is a voice actor who works in television, radio and film, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in television commercials or a guest on a talk show. Announcers usually read prepared scripts, but in some cases, they have to ad-lib commentary on the air when presenting news, sports, weather, time, and commercials. Occasionally, announcers are also involved in writing the script when one is required. Sometimes announcers also interview guests and moderate panels or discussions. Some provide commentary for the audience during sporting events, parades, and other events. See also: Sportscaster, News anchor, Disc jockey, Japanese announcer
Notable radio and television announcers:

- John Benson (The Eamonn Andrews Show, Sale of the Century)
- Jack Buck (St. Louis Cardinals baseball announcer)
- Harry Caray (St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs baseball announcer)
- Vernon Corea (A pioneer announcer of Radio Ceylon/SLBC and the BBC)
- Howard Cosell (Sports announcer)
- Alan Dedicoat ("voice of the balls", BBC National Lottery Show, Dancing with the Stars)
- Peter Dickson (Family Fortunes, The Price Is Right)
- Hal Douglas (Many film trailers)
- Rich Fields (The Price is Right, CBS Network promos, Flamingo Fortune, Film and television advertising)
- Johnny Gilbert (Jeopardy!, The $25,000 Pyramid)
- Edd Hall (The Tonight Show)
- John Harlan (Name That Tune, People's Choice Awards, Bob Hope television specials)
- Ernie Harwell (Detroit Tigers announcer)
- Stuart Hibberd (early BBC Radio personality, chief BBC announcer from 1924 to 1951)
- Bob Hilton (Blockbusters, Trivia Trap, Card Sharks (Eubanks version))
- Alan Kalter (The Late Show with David Letterman)
- Don LaFontaine (Many film trailers)
- Ed McMahon (The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson)
- Herbert Morrison (radio announcer who reported the Hindenburg disaster

Playlist

In its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. The term has several specialized meanings in the realms of radio broadcasting and personal computers. The term originally came about in the early days of top 40 radio formats when stations would devise (and, eventually, publish) a limited list of songs to be played. The term would go on to refer to the entire catalog of songs that a given radio station (of any format) would draw from. Additionally, the term was used to refer to an ordered list of songs played during a given time period. Playlists are often adjusted based on time of day, known as dayparting. As music storage and playback using personal computers became common, the term playlist was adopted by various media player software programs intended to organize and control music on a PC. Such playlists may be defined, stored, and selected to either run in sequence, or if a random playlist function is selected, in a random order. Playlists' uses include allowing a particular desired musical atmosphere to be created and maintained without constant user interaction, or to allow a variety of different styles of music be played, again without maintenance. Some websites allow categorization, editing, and listening of playlists online, such as Webjay and Plurn. Others such as Soundflavor focus on playlist creation aided by personalized song recommendations, ratings and reviews. Playlists are lists of songs (or other audio files) that you can create to organize your library or burn to a compact disc. For example, you might want to create a list of songs to listen to at a dinner party. Or, if you want to make your own CD, you add the songs you want on the CD to a playlist, then burn the playlist onto the CD.

Celebrity playlist

A list of songs prepared by a celebrity and is represented on the Apple iTunes Music Store as such, is referred to as a celebrity playlist. This has become popular because a fan of a particular celebrity may have an affinity towards the celebrity's choice of music. This arms-length connection between the fan and the favored celebrity has become so popular (2004-2005) that "celebrity playlist" has become a part of recent vocabulary.

Audio mixing

Audio mixing is used in sound recording, audio editing and sound systems to balance the relative volume and frequency content of a number of sound sources. Typically, these sound sources are the different musical instruments in a band or the sections of an orchestra. Sometimes audio mixing is done live by a sound engineer, for example at rock concerts and other musical performances where a public address system (PA) is used. A typical concert has two mixers, one located in the audience to mix the PA heard by the audience, and the other is located at the side of the stage, mixing for the monitor speakers positioned directly in front of the performers so that they can hear one another. Another example of live mixing is a DJ mixing two records together. Break beats are created by mixing between identical breaks. Often the end of one pre-recorded song is mixed into another so that the transition is seamless, which is done through beat-matching or beat-mixing, and possibly pitch control. At other times, audio mixing is done in studios as part of multitrack recording in order to produce digital (generally at 44.1kHz/16bit) or analog audio recordings, or as part of a film or television program. See: remix. An audio mixing console, or mixing desk, has numerous rotating controls (potentiometers) and sliding switches (faders) that are used to manipulate the volume, the addition of effects such as reverb, and frequency content (equalization) of audio signals. On most consoles, all the controls that apply to a single channel of audio are arranged in a vertical column called a channel strip. Larger and more complex consoles such as those used in film and television production can contain hundreds of channel strips. Many consoles today, regardless of cost, have automation capabilities so the movement of their controls is performed automatically, not unlike a player piano. A recent trend is to use a "control surface" connected to a computer. This eliminates much of the electronics in a conventional console. Audio mixing on a personal computer is also gaining momentum. More and more independent artists are starting to use their personal computers for digital recording and mixing their work. Audio editing on the computer is also easy and generally preferred. A recent trend is mixing to 5.1, which is "surround" audio. This requires 6 channels of audio: left, center, right, left rear, right rear, and low frequencies. In commercial release, only DVD video has a standard. So far there has been little demand for 5.1 in the audio and music domain, but it seems destined that one of the several commercial formats will ascend. Category:Audio engineering Category:DJing

Phrasing (DJ)

When DJing, phrasing refers to the timing of a DJ's mixes with respect to song structure. Song transitions are lined up to prevent any of the main melodic or rhythmic elements of either song from clashing inappropriately. This smooths the transition between songs, allowing the mix to appear as more of a cohesive whole than as two separate songs. Category:DJing

Scratching

Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique originated by Grand Wizard Theodore, an early hip hop DJ from New York (AMG). The technique is designed to accentuate the work of the DJ by creating an assortment of sounds through the rhythmical manipulation of a vinyl record, and has spread from hip hop culture to a number of other musical forms. Within hip hop culture, scratching is still of great importance in determining the skill of a DJ, and a number of competitions are held across the globe in which DJs battle one another in displays of great virtuosity.

Sounds and technique

A simple (or baby) scratch technique is produced by moving a vinyl record back and forth with your hand while it is playing on a turntable. This creates a distinctive sound that has come to be one of the most recognizable features of hip hop music. Ideally, scratching does not damage a record because the needle stays within the groove and does not move horizontally across the record's surface. Theodore developed scratching from DJ Grandmaster Flash, who describes scratching as, "nothing but the back-cueing that you hear in your ear before you push it [the recorded sound] out to the crowd." (Toop, 1991) Kool Herc was also an important early figure. There are many different types of scratch techniques, including tear, flare, orbit, twiddle,ripples, crab, tweak, chirp, and scribble scratches. The names can indicate the scratch's sound, required hand motions and equipment set up, or the name of the DJ who developed it. Recently, DJs and turntablists have begun developing systems of notation for use in learning different scratches and writing compositions. The practice is not yet widespread. Sounds that are frequently scratched include but are not limited to drum beats, horn stabs, spoken word samples, and lines from other songs. The two most commonly scratched sounds are "aaaah" and "frrresh", taken from the record "Change the Beat" by Fab Five Freddy. Any sound recorded to vinyl can be used, though a new generation of CD players providing a turntable-like interface has recently reached the market, allowing DJs to scratch not only material that was never released on vinyl, but also field recordings and samples from television and movies that have been burned to CD-R. Some DJs and anonymous collectors release 12-inch singles called ScratchTools battle records that include trademark, novel or hard-to-find scratch fodder. Some DJs prefer to rotate the turntable 90 degrees counter-clockwise in an orientation known as "Battle-style" to put the tonearm of the turntable at the top, furthest away from the DJ. This frees up more of the platter to manipulation without interfering with the needle.

World of Scratching

Scratching is a complex, yet mis-understood art. During the 90's up to the present day its usage in popular music has seen a substantial increase. Some examples of this would be within Nu-Metal acts (Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park) and in some pop music (Nelly Furtado). Dj's are also often included as 'stage-props' (especially in the urban genre) where they stand behind turntables pretending to emulate scratching and mixing. The majority of these Dj's are there simply to add effect to the stage and create more of an atmosphere. Because of this, many people perceive scratching as an easy and simple skill to aquire where all one needs to do is move your hand back and forth to create the associated "wikki-wikki" sound. The reality is, scratching is a skill that requires considerable practice. While scratching is becoming more and more popular within pop music, the art-form itself is still predominantly underground. One of the most influential groups to the world of scratching would be the Invisibl Skratch Piklz hailing from the San Fransisco area. Forming in 1994 as Dj's Qbert, Disk & Shortkut and later Mixmaster Mike the group took scratching to a whole new level. With their focus primarily on scratching, the group displayed exactly what the turntable is capable of. "The turntable is the most versatile instrument. You can be a drummer, you can be a guitarist, you can be a lead vocalist — anything." Dj Shortkut With the departure of Dj Disk, enter two new members, Yogafrog followed by D-Styles. Dj A-Trak from Canada was also a guest member of the group after winning the Technics DMC World Finals in 1997. After releasing their Shiggar Fraggar cd series and touring various countries around the world the group dispanded in 2001. Each of its members however have continued to prove they are at the forefront of the scene by pursuing their own projects. In 1998, Dj Qbert made scratch history by composing the first ever album made entirely by scratching - from the beats to the sound effects. The album was entitled 'Wave Twisters' and was later released in 2001 as a feature length movie. Dj D-Styles (now a member of the Beat Junkies crew from Los Angeles) who contributed the 'Razorblade Alcohol Slide' chapter to Wave Twisters was at the same time working in his own 'scratch music' album entitled 'Phantazmagorea' - released in 2001. Both these albums displayed an array of new scratches & techniques, further proof that these guys were still out there pushing the boundaries. In 1996, while both still a part of the ISP group, Dj's Qbert & Yogafrog set up their own company Thud Rumble, dedicated to the art of scratching. There main goal was to spread the art of scratching on a global scale. They released their own video's called Turntable TV where Dj's from around the world would hang out and scratch. In July of 2000, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts held Skratchcon2000, the first DJ Skratch forum that provided “the education and development of skratch music literacy”. By bringing the globe’s important DJs together in one arena, professional and amateur DJs were given the chance to learn and utilize various skills, techniques, and styles. In the past, Thud Rumble was involved in contribution to producing important historical DJ events like ITF (International Turntablist Federation) and the Vestax World DJ Championships. After being praised by Source Magazine as the “Greatest DJ event of all time”, Thud Rumble had successfully added Skratchcon2000 to the list. In 2001, Thud Rumble opened their office doors to become an independent company that managed and maintained the production and distribution of their own products. By working with various DJ artists to produce and distributed scratch records, Thud Rumble was able to provide a wider range of practice and/or performances tools for DJs. As a result, 80% of the skratch DJ market is distributed by Thud Rumble. Thud Rumble have close ties with many of the leading electrical Dj equiptment companies and have often been approached to help design new products for the Dj community. Most notable of all these is the Vestax QFO released in 2004. The QFO is a turntable/mixer in one, allowing Dj's a portable device able to set up literally anywhere. Designed mainly for this reason it has met mixed reviews however since its release all of Qberts shows have seen him using only the QFO. ----

Dj Qbert

Richard Quitevis aka. Dj Qbert (or Q) is regarded as one of the most important figures in the scratch community today. The extent of his arsenal of turntable tricks and techniques can be seen in his self-produced DIY scratching DVD's released through Thud Rumble. Here he explains equiptment set-up, gives advice on hand and arm strengthening techniques and offers a one-to-one tutorial on various different scratches from the most basic through to the most advanced. The DVD also offers a five part battle section where Dj's take it in turns to perform scratches over a looped beat.

Scratching outside hip hop

Scratching has been incorporated into a number of other musical genres, including Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Classical music performances. For recording use, samplers are often used instead of physically scratching a vinyl record. The Beatmania music video game series simulates scratching with a "turntable" on the side. Scratch is a documentary film about the origin of scratching and its modern practitioners.

Sources

- [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040402070125133172&sql=B6sxsa93gi23a All Music Guide's Grand Wizard Theodore biography] (also at [http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/bio/0,,853362,00.html?artist=Grand%2bWizard%2bTheodore Artist Direct])
- DJ Grandmaster Flash quoted in Toop, David (1991). Rap Attack 2, 65. New York: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1852422432.

External links

- [http://www.ttmethod.com/ Turntablist Transcription Methodology]
- [http://www.turntablism.info/ Turntablist resources] Category:DJing

Beatmatching

Beatmatching is a mixing technique employed by DJs that was popularized by Francis Grasso in the late 60's/early 70's. While originally it involved counting the tempo with a metronome and finding a record with the same tempo, today it involves changing the speed at which a recording is played back so that its tempo matches that of the song currently playing. In this way, the DJ can either simultaneously play two songs of different original tempos without their beats clashing or "galloping" or can more smoothly transition between two songs. The tempo of the recording can be changed through the use of specialized playback mechanisms. In the case of vinyl records, for example, the turntable would have a separate control for determining the relative speed (typically listed in percent increments) faster or slower the record can be played back. Similar specialized playback devices exist for most recorded media. Changing the speed the record is playing is called pitching or pitch shifting. For a DJ wishing to beatmatch using vinyl turntables, the general procedure involved is relatively simple to explain, but harder to master. Assume, as is the case for most DJs, that we have two turntables with records on them, T1 and T2, and a mixer capable of variably blending the outputs of T1 and T2, and also allowing the DJ to cue the music playing on one or other of the turntables (listen to it on headphones without outputting the sound to the audience). In order to control the records on the turntables, the DJ must be competent in moving the vinyl record with his hand whilst the platter of the turntable is moving. Typically a slipmat is placed on the turntable between the record and the platter, to reduce the friction between the two, and allow the DJ to search through a record by moving it with his or her hand, as well as momentarily speed up or slow down the record, by pushing/nudging it on, or holding it back (typically by pressing a finger against the side of the turntable platter to reduce its speed). Now, if T1 is playing to the audience, and we wish to mix the beginning of T2 into the closing sections of T1, we will most likely need to adjust the pitch of T2 in order to match the tempos of the two songs, and the beats. To do this, the first thing a DJ must do is find the start of the beat in T2. For a lot of dance music, this is typically the first sound of the song, often a kick drum. The DJ can find this beat by playing the record until he hears the sound of the first beat in his headphones, which will be set to cue T2. Once the first beat has been found, the DJ can hold the record with his hand and prevent it from spinning, thus pausing the sound. To start it again, he or she must simply release the record, and the spinning platter will start the record moving again. To find the first beat again once the song has begun playing, the DJ can rewind the record, again with his or her hand. In this way it is possible to start T2, rewind it, start it again, etc... Once the DJ is confident he or she has found the first beat, and can start it at the exact moment they desire, the process of beatmatching can begin. The basic process is as follows: Hold T2 on its first beat (the DJ hears it through headphones, the audience cannot). Listen to T1, and try to follow the beats to a bar (i.e. know which is the first beat of the bar). Start T2 on the first beat of a bar (ideally this will be the first bar of a section of T1, see below). Assuming the tempos of T1 and T2 are close, the two tracks will sound 'in time' to begin with. If the tempo of T2 is too slow, it will fall behind T1 (listening to the drums often highlights this). If this is the case, speed up T2 (see above) until it is again in time with T1. If the tempo of T2 is too fast, it will overtake T1 (again, the drums are often the easier way to hear this). If this is the case, slow down T2 (see above) until it is again in time with T1. Repeat this process until you are sure that T2 is definitely slower or faster than T1. Now, once we know if T2 is too fast or too slow, we can temporairly adjust the pitch using the pitch slider (found to the side of all DJ turntables) to adjust the tempo of T2 and bring it closer to that of T1. Next we must repeat the whole process of testing T2 to see if it is too fast, too slow, or just right to blend with T1, and adjusting as necessary. After a few iterations of this procedure (the time at which it is performed varying according to the skill of the DJ) the tempo of T2 should be very close to that of T1. If this is so, the DJ will find that even after listening to T2 for a (relatively) long time, it will not fall out of time with T1. At this point we can be sure our beats match, and T1 and T2 are at close enough speeds that they could be blended. The next step though is to note the total percentage of the variation in speed needed, and divide it by two; so the resulting music (voices especially) are not too modified or "pitch-shifted" on T2. Thus instead of leaving T1 at neutral and having to "pitch" T2 at +6% (making Barry White sound more like the Bee Gees), gradually slow down T1 to -3% and "pitch" T2 at a more reasonable +3%. Now we can simply start T2 at the desired point in T1 to create a nice effect, layering the outro or better still the break of T1 over the intro of T2. To beatmatch, a DJ must be aware of both the songs he or she wishes to blend at all times. A fact that makes the life of a dance music DJ a lot easier is that the majority of dance music is based around the 4/4 time signature. In broad terms, this has the effect that the sections of a dance music song will have length equal to some multiple of 4 bars. Most commonly, if you count the bars in a section of a song, they will be 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64 bars in length. This information helps the DJ decide at which point during T1 he must start T2 in order for the sounds of one track to fade as the other builds, or whatever effect is desired. Category:DJing Category:Disco