Who are the richest DJs in the world? In terms of getting money, glory and girls, a lot of people probably wish they were a professional athlete like Tom Brady or Derek Jeter. But if it were up to me, I would, without a doubt, choose to be a world famous DJ over every other profession. Think about it. The richest DJs in the world fly around in private jets to exotic nightclubs where they get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for a few hours of work. They’re paid to make people have a good time and for just doing their job, DJs are worshiped like Gods. It also doesn’t hurt that the night clubs are always jam packed with the best looking women in the world including famous actresses and super models.
But who are the richest DJs in the world and how much do they make per show? The richest djs in the world are really off the charts in terms of coolest lives on the planet. If you are a fan of electronic music, you will probably recognize the names on this list but we think you’ll be very surprised and impressed at just how rich and highly paid the top DJs are. These DJs put out their own albums and produce songs for other mainstream artists like Madonna and Britney Spears, but their main bread and butter still comes from private shows. If you’re one of the top ranked DJs in the world, you can earn hundreds of thousands and possibly even millions for a single concert depending on the date and location. A private birthday party at a Suadi Prince’s palace in Dubai or one Vegas New Years Eve show can earn a top DJ more money than most people will earn in a lifetime. So get ready to be amazed, and start practicing your turntables.
The 30 Richest DJs in the World:
#30: Afrojack Net Worth – $2 million
#29: Markus Schulz Net Worth – $2 million
#28: Darude Net Worth – $2.5 million
#27: Kaskade Net Worth – $3 million
#26: Martin Solveig Net Worth – $3 million
#25: Eric Prydz Net Worth – $4 million
#24: Swedish House Mafia Net Worth – $4 million each
#23: Gareth Emery Net Worth – $5 million
#22: Avicii Net Worth – $6 million
#21: Skrillex Net Worth – $8 million
#20: ATB aka Andre Tanneberger – $8 million
#19: Calvin Harris Net Worth – $10 million
#18: Deadmau5 Net Worth – $12 million
#17: Benny Benassi Net Worth – $14 million
#16: Carl Cox Net Worth – $15 million
#15: The Chemical Brothers Net Worth – $15 million
Fraudster DJ charting a 1.5 Million $ iTunes scam.
AN obscure part-time DJ from Wolverhampton became as popular as Madonna after fraudsters downloaded his songs in a swindle on iTunes and Amazon, a court heard.
Denver White, 26, sold so many tracks he featured in the download sales charts after thousands of stolen credit cards were used to buy his music.
White – known as DJ Denver – and 11 others were allegedly involved in the scam which cost iTunes and Amazon up to $1.5 million in royalties.
Gang members used at least 24 laptops with sophisticated software designed to disguise their location and bought music with stolen credit card details. They uploaded about 20 tracks produced by White and a number of other artists to fleece iTunes and Amazon between January 2008 and June 2009.
Jurors heard 11 others including “main man” Craig Anderson, 24, had admitted their involvement in the con. Anderson and fellow fraudsters discovered they could upload songs via agents on to iTunes and Amazon.
“They got hold of literally thousands and thousands of compromised credit card details, both from America and the UK, and they used those cards to download their own music from iTunes and Amazon,” prosecutor Helen Malcolm told London’s Southwark Crown Court. “Every time they downloaded their own music an amount of royalties was generated.”
White was a part-time DJ in the Wolverhampton area and not a “big-time rockstar”. “Somebody at iTunes noticed that a complete unknown from Wolverhampton called DJ Denver . . . was selling so much on iTunes that his name featured in the volume sales charts,” Malcolm said.
The jury was told that after the fraud was discovered royalty payments were stopped and White’s music was removed from the site. White denies the charge of conspiracy to defraud.
We strongly think that, on a smaller scale, scams like this are taking over and they are suffocating the real artists. Soma Records‘s post on Facebook today is the proof that things are getting out of control in the music business and something needs to be done.
“Facepalm. This is either hilarious, or very sad, and I can’t figure out which!
In 2012 you can pay someone to make a track for you, pay someone to buy it enough times for you on different accounts so it enters the beatport top100, pay someone to get you loads of soundcloud plays so it looks popular, what’s next? Pay someone to mix records under the table for you while you stand there in the dj box, twisting knobs, fist pumping and blowing kisses to the ladys?
We, the electronic music community, don’t care about chart positions, plays or (fake) hype. We care about carefully crafted, quality, non disposable music that has been made with love, and as a result: touches our soul. Share this photo if you agree with us. This madness needs to be called out!” – Soma Records
Something needs to happen as it is tiring for a Dj or even a normal listener to find the 1 good track in a pile of 100 other bad productions.
Beatport, JunoDownload, iTunes and all the major stores should drastically filter the productions submitted for sale to a wide audience!
Business is business, art should always be free and uncensored, but there has to be a limit in promoting crap and allowing non-values to thrive making the true musicians / producers to struggle!
Share this if you agree as everybody needs to WAKE UP!
Making a living as a musician is not easy. Indie-folk band Uniform Motion recently posted a revealing blog post on how much an artist can expect to generate releasing music online – through digital distribution channels such as Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, eMusic and Bandcamp.
In today’s infographic we drill down into theses numbers, looking at the economics of both digital and physical distribution, and how much an artist can expect to make from each channel.
How Musicians make Money Online Infographic (Click to Enlarge):
Pioneer, that best-known brand of DJ hardware, wants you to use hardware alongside software. And they’re uttering the word “remix” rather than “DJ.” And they have something that really doesn’t look like a CDJ, so much as a remote control for a spaceship carrying CDJs.
Pioneer has a new horse in the race. The hardware looks completely different from what we’ve seen elsewhere – and it doubles as standalone hardware for effects and sampling, too. It might lead some to a kneejerk “toy” reaction, just because of this novel design and its preset push-buttons, but Pioneer has some very loyal DJs in their … stable. (Okay, obviously the appearance of sun and spring has me thinking about the Kentucky Derby or something. Moving on…)
Pioneer is taking hardware effects and packing them in a package you can use with software or on its own. Their RMX-1000, they say, is three devices in one. This product has so many ideas going on at once, I lost count as to what those three were, but I would count them as effects, sampling, and dedicated DJ controller.
Here’s where the whole thing gets rather fun. Because the RMX is a stand-alone hardware unit, you can use it as an effects unit and sampler, only returning to software when you’re back in the studio. Pioneer has offered impressive effects before, but the only way to get at them was in high-end mixers. Now, you can buy this unit for a price that starts to make this look like high-end competition for things like a KAOSS Pad. And that could put it on the radar of producers and not just DJs.
Europe: The product is due in May for 599 GBP/699 EUR, including VAT.
USA: June, US$999. (Actually, for once I think Europe gets the more favorable price.)
The whole thing is customizable, says Pioneer, so much so that they’ll also provide for download presets by DJs Chuckie, Kissy Sell Out, Kutski, James Zabiela, Doorly, and Laidback Luke, in a play to some name recognition for DJ youngsters. They emphasize “macro” controls that give you push-button access to more complex effects. On the other hand, it appears for fans of those effects, you could go in and do some customization of your own.
Now, those names aren’t going to make everyone happy, but where the box looks impressive is in the effects macro department.
Specs:
- SD card storage for presets.
- Scene FX: macros for up to ten effect types. Set a type (Noise, Echo, Spiral Up, Crush Echo, Spiral Down, Reverb Down, or something customized), and use that big knob for wet/dry.
- Time and Resonance parameters.
- Isolator FX (think EQ, in the terminology of Pioneer’s DJM-1000 mixer).
- Cut/Add, Trans/Roll, Gate/Drive dynamic effects.
- X-Pad sampling with pitch controls, from the DJM-900nexus mixer. Sample right into a drum slot (kick, snare, clap, hat), then roll the samples. Overdub, roll, mute.
- Quantized sampling.
- Release FX – basically, you use “spin back,” echo, or break effects to cut out effects temporarily or for good.
And it’s a USB MIDI controller.
And it’s a controller for Pioneer’s own DJ software (VST and AU).
Tech specs:
Inputs:
- RCA x 1
-6.3 mm jack x 1
Outputs:
- RCA x 1
- 6.3 mm jack x 1
Other ports:
- USB B port x 1
Sampling rate: 48 kHz
A/D and D/A converter: 24 bit
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Total harmonic distortion: Max. 0.005%
S/N ratio: 102 dB
Head room: 20 dB
Software remixboxTM, RMX-1000 Plug-in
External dimensions: 334 x 157 x 57 mm
Mass: 1.3 kg
We are proud to announce that two of our oldest artists, Ricky Ambilotti and Danmad, have team up to create Punchy Techno, an essential loop pack for any techno producer out there.
This fresh sample collection is influenced by the current leaders in the Techno arena and will inspire producers who are fans of the current Deep and Underground sounds.
Produced by Ricky Ambilotti and Dan Mardan, this collection is influenced by artists including Umek, Gary Beck, Stefano Noferini and Richie Hawtin, and labels including Cocoon, Great Stuff and Octopus.
Featuring Deep Underground Subs, Massive Atmospheric Breakdown Synths, Glitched Builders, Broken Risers, Big Drums, Cold Chords and Synthetic Pulses – its a huge construction kit of ideas that will work together or on top of your own inspiration.
Ricky and Dan have worked incredibly hard to produce a truly unique sample collection which we expect will be caned by Djs and Producers in the coming months to create new and exciting music which will no doubt climb the charts.
Dan Mardan has already produced several award winning sample collections for Loopmasters, and here he worked with Ricky for the first time, a producer who has topped the Beatport charts and been supported by Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Mark Knight, Chris Lake and Claude Von Stroke amongst many others.
Punchy Techno weighs in at 750MB and includes 294 24Bit samples, with 187 Loops and 107 One Shot Sounds. 29 Ready to play patches are available for Reason NNXT, Halion, EXS, SFZ and Kontakt compatible soft samplers. Apple Loops, Reason Refill and Ableton Live versions are available to purchase separately.
In detail Punchy Techno includes 14 Bass Loops, 41 Music Loops, 69 Drum Loops, 57 FX Loops, 6 Full Bonus Mixes, 67 One Shot Drum Samples, 5 Bass Multis, 7 Synth FX and 16 Synth Multis.
Lets talk about how to be more productive by not only using your right brain and left brain functions correctly, but also using them in the right sequence. You might not be aware that how you separate your functions in any creative endeavor can make all the difference in how easy and enjoyable the creative experience is. The more enjoyable and relaxing the experience is, the more your mind will gravitate toward being inspired, thus more creative output as well as a more authentic personal expression.
Lets take a look at some words to best describe the left and right side of the brain:
Left brain:
- Logical
- Detail oriented
- Fact oriented
- Interprets words and language
- Mathematical and scientific
- Order and pattern perception
- Strategic
- Practical
The left brain functions are often more associated with right handed people. The left brain is great with details, organizing and quality control. you would want to use the left brain when planning out ideas, figuring out which tools are going to be best for the job, and guesstimating how much time something might take. In musical terms, these are some things you may want to put your left brain to work doing:
- Creating templates that will best work for the type of music you create. This would include fx you would most likely use and sounds you may need access to. Having this done keep you from having to slow down or stop altogether when you are in a creative groove.
- Making sure all of your studio wiring and routing is complete. This will give you easy access to your hardware and software.
- Getting all of your samples and loops at easy access
- Checking all of your recording levels
- Creating a creative mood with proper lighting and aroma. Also making sure you don’t have any distracting noises that can interfere with your concentration or recording process.
Right Brain:
- Feeling oriented
- ”Big picture” oriented
- Interprets sounds, symbols and images
- Philosophical and spritual
- ”out of the box” thinking
- Inspiration oriented
- Imaginative
- Risk taking
- Deals with the realm of possibility
The right brain is vital to the creative process, and if it is allowed to create uninterrupted and without left brained second guessing, you can expect a fantastic creative experience. The right brain needs to flow freely with ideas without judgement. Creating for 10 minutes and then analyzing for the next 20 minutes is like driving in stop and go traffic. It is counterproductive and frustrating.
The right brain is best at these functions:
- Messing with loops, samples and sounds uninterupted
- Getting “lost” in the music
- Experimenting
- Mixing and panning
- Real time or “in the moment” creativity
Given how each side of the brain functions so differently it is very important to put each side to work in the proper order so that one side doesn’t interfere with the other.
Lets take a look at one way to approach creating music while keeping the information above in mind.
Start with the right brain:
This is where you dream up an idea. You don’t have to have a song idea in mind at all. The point of this process is to prime your mind for creativity by giving it a clear direction.
Spend a few minutes imagining your desired audience listening to and enjoying your new song. Imagine, or even physically create the way your CD cover might look. Perhaps you can imagine your song getting raving reviews in magazines.
The point is to get yourself in the mental state of mind that you are not only capable but also quite talented and creative at what you do. You don’t want to get into the creative process thinking “Well crap, I hope I can at least finish something“. It’s much better to get yourself to the phase of “This song is gonna knock ‘em dead”.
If you think of all the people who seem to crank out hit after hit (not that I’m saying a hit song should be your aim) it’s got to strike you that these guys are able to keep that creative excitement because they have experienced the positive results of their work in the past. You are going to have to create this in your head. This may sound like a silly step, but give it a shot, you might be surprised.
Once you have done this and gotten yourself to an excited state, just let it go for the day.
Get yourself organized:
This is the part that your left brain loves, so let it play. In this step you will get organized by creating song templates. In these templates you will want to create
Plenty of audio and midi tracks loaded with instruments and sounds you are most likely to use. You will also want to set up some send fx with a couple good reverbs, delay and compression (or whatever is important for you creating your type of music).
Check all of your cables from any hardware, sound cards, external hard drives, midi controllers, and monitors. Make sure you have any microphones set up and ready to go when needed and amp settings dialed in etc..
Make sure your recording levels are good and that your recording environment is set up for inspiration and creative flow. This might involve special lighting, candles, incense or inspiring pictures. Make sure you have access to any sample CD’s, loops or other resources as well.
Make sure your workspace is clean. A mess rarely inspires.
The whole point of this is so once you start creating, you will have no obstacles slowing you down or stopping your process.
Have you ever been so involved in reading a book that you no longer realize you are reading words, that you are instead seeing imagery? Have you ever been interrupted and find it hard to get back to the “zone” you were just in? This is what we want to do our best to avoid when you are in that musical zone. It can be tough to get yourself there to begin with and even tougher once you have a roadblock or technical issue slowing you down.
Time to Create:
This is where all this work is going to really pay off by letting your right brain do what it was meant to do. Just play and experiment. Throw things around, mess with sounds, have fun with samples, loops and rhythms. Don’t worry about trying to be a genius, just realize that the genius will come out when you just let yourself have some fun without any second guessing.
It’s best to just record everything you do because often it’s the mistakes that end up being your best most unique sounds and give your music some real personality. Don’t even worry too much about creating a song, simply enjoy making sounds and taking note of what strikes your interest. Continue to do this for as long as you enjoy it. By the end of this, you should have a few inspiring parts to work with.
Copy, Paste, Delete:
You have let your creative mind play and have come up with a few ideas that you like. This is about the time you are going to want to let your left brain make some judgement calls.
The important thing is that you don’t get too attached to any of your noodling around. Just accept that some things are gonna stay and some things need to go. Don’t take too much time with this, the less second guessing the better. Your mind processes things much faster than you are consciously aware, so just go with your gut feeling. Listen to something and decided quickly, stay or go.
You will quickly find your most inspiring work and get rid of anything that would end up cluttering your music. Just roll with it and enjoy the process. Don’t let yourself get caught up on one or 2 sounds or loops. You need to manage your ideas first, then you get to create again once you have you best pieces.
Arrange:
Arranging your ideas and adding parts as necessary is going to be a balance between left and right brain functions. Don’t get yourself too lost in your head, but also don’t do too much second guessing (as you can see, I think second guessing is usually a bad thing and counter intuitive).
If you are finding yourself stuck, feel free to listen to another song and borrow some of the arrangement ideas. You aren’t attempting to make everything perfect, but more trying to create the big picture.
At the end of this process, you should know how long your song is going to be and have your overall arrangement in order. You should also see where the gaps are in your song that will need to be filled.
Fill the gaps:
Here you will add the parts that are missing to your arrangement by getting right brain creative but left brain practical. You’ll want to get your reverb and delays dialed in as well as compression and creative effects.
You will also want to get your parts EQ’d and strip away unwanted frequencies in each sound to remove mud and keep everything clean. You want to get yourself prepared and organized for the mixing phase.
Mixing:
Mixing should be a very right brained function and should be perhaps one of the most enjoyable parts of the creative process.
You’ll want to relax yourself into the vibe of the song and get the levels and panning placed. Don’t be tempted to simply pan things where you usually do (although there are some rules you may want to keep in mind). It’s better to play with a few channels that work well together and set your levels and panning until you feel some kind of shift in yourself.
You should start to feel like you are getting a bit lost in the music. This is a very good sign. Although sometimes its great to start with your drums and bass and work up from that format, you may want to also try mixing from the most inspiring sound down. You may find some interesting result.
Start with what you consider to be your most magical part and try adding another sound to it. If you lose that feeling, turn it down and try another sound. This will make sure you are mixing from your songs strengths.
You may notice that this approach sounds quite different from a normal mixing approach. Find out which is more inspiring to you and go with it.
Hopefully todays ramblings have inspired you and not left you feeling like I am a complete nut!
Juno Download have partnered with the world’s leading online electronic music magazine, Resident Advisor, to make high quality music downloads available to buy directly through their site at www.residentadvisor.net.
Initially, download tracks will be available for purchase via the DJ Charts section, with the potential to expanding across the site later in the year. RA readers will be able to easily listen to and buy tracks being charted in high quality 320 MP3 and WAV formats.
Founded in 2001, the Webby Award-winning Resident Advisor with over 1.3 million unique readers a month, has grown to become one of the world’s most influential electronic music websites. It has played a significant role in bringing fans and artists closer together with a daily flow of news, reviews, features, podcasts and charts.
This partnership promises to be a great opportunity for labels already working with Juno Download, as it will reach a new audience of dedicated electronic music fans and enthusiasts, providing them with more opportunities to legally purchase music from their favourite artists and labels online.
The store is hosted at Resident Advisor, but all preview clips, release data and full length audio files will be stored centrally on Juno’s own servers. Although customers will purchase tracks directly from RA, the download will come from Juno’s systems.
Driven by RA’s charts system digital downloads will be available from track pages already available on the site. For tracks to appear on sale, they must be:
1) Charted by artists on RA
2) Approved by RA.
This means not all releases on Juno Download will make it onto the store, as RA will be managing what’s made available.
Perhaps you’ve seen the demo videos, as people do astounding things by moving their body around and using the Kinect camera to make music. Now, a set of Max for Live devices makes it reasonably easy to access your body as input inside Ableton Live.
FaceOSC Mapper
Pictured at top, this builds on Kinect superstar coder Kyle McDonald’s face-tracking tool and lets you use your face – position and even facial movements – to control Ableton Live parameters.
Kinect Camera
For use with the V-Module and vizzABLE systems, you can plug in one or more Kinect cameras, and get tilt, distance filtering (to remove backgrounds), depth maps, RGB and IR modes, and plug in your depth-sensing camera for more goodness.
Kinect – OSCeleton
The home run: look at skeletal tracking for extremely precise human control of parameters, as seen in the video. It only gives your left and right hand, but stay tuned for further developments. See also this example patch.
Example video shows how to “track hand positions and translate to volume and send levels.” Not impressed? Remember, it’s a proof of concept: you can assign to other parameters, practice your movements, change the musical content, and even modify the patch to make it work better.
It’s Electronic Body Music! (Sorry, couldn’t resist. Kids, ask your … parents jeez we’re getting old, aren’t we?)
In less than 18 months, the iPad has successfully built a strong foundation on innovation and ease of use, qualities that resonate with a market that, prior to its release, never even existed. Of course, a limitlessly morphing touch screen would be the medium of choice for forward-thinking developers, creating beautifully powerful apps on the monolith-like device’s blank, depthless canvas.
It’s easy to dismiss the iPad as a gimmicky, ubiquitous unit that sits beside all your other gear to “wow” an unassuming audience member, but before we dismiss this new form of “DJing” as a flash in the pan (remember those mixers with twin iPod docks?), let’s not forget that this was also the same sentiment when CD players came out. Ditto when the first generation of laptop software made its clunky debut all those years ago!
Why DJ with an iPad (and Why Not)?
The Ups…
We need to keep pushing forward.
The arrival of the iPad isn’t a death knell for “traditional” forms of DJing, rather, it provides us with a unique opportunity to participate in and observe a new method of performance as it goes through the motions from growing pains to maturity. DJing and Controllerism are continually evolving art forms that are special in the sense that they rapidly react to changes in technology, constantly putting us at the front of music performance tech.
Portability and convenience.
If you travel regularly with your laptop, controllers, 1200’s and what have you (I took around 33 kilos of gear during my previous trip), imagine ditching all that for a huge touchscreen with tightly coded software that only weighs as much as your headphones? Or what if you need to sketch out some ideas for mixtapes or playlists and you’re miles away from your mixing setup? Having an iPad full of your tunes and a pair of cans in your backpack means you can do both your regular club dates as well as your recreational/down-time mixes all from the same set of gear.
Flexibility.
Want to use the club’s high-end mixer for its smooth faders and sweet analog EQ’s? Just hook it up to the line inputs. Need a controller to handle jogwheel duties and MIDI? Grab an iDJ and connect it to your iPad (more on that later). Two-person-“afterparty” at your girl’s flat? Turn down the lights and use it as is!
…and the Downs
Lack of tactile control.
Folks who swear by timecode CD’s (let alone vinyl) will certainly feel shortchanged by the tiny screen real estate with which you drag your finger on to search and scratch. Having to look at the unit instead of your audience while performing basic functions because of the lack tactile variety will definitely be unappealing to those who already don’t enjoy DJing while glancing at a laptop.
Single stereo output.
You’re still tied to the iPad’s onboard sound card as your main audio out, which means you’ll have to use those adapter dongles that split the signal just so you can have a headphone out.
Bugs.
While I did achieve decently long playback times (a 3-hour iPad set!), there were some minor glitches in the interface such as certain screens not appearing properly in DJ Player 4.0, but these were quite rare in my use and none that made the app crash or make the playback stop.
If you adore your current Traktor/Serato setup just as it is, the iPad won’t make you change the way you feel about it and might even make you feel a bit restricted with the interface. But if you toyed with the idea but were unimpressed with the first generation of apps, you’re in for a treat!
iPad DJing in 2011
Forget about all those novelty apps that promise you that you’ll “spin like Guetta in front of all your fist-pumping friends!” There are tons of apps aimed at DJ’s in the iTunes store ranging from loops-based sequencers and turntable emulators to party-friendly superstar DJ-branded apps, and it can be quite a chore to narrow them all down and figure out which one is the right one for you.
This article rounds up two essential DJ apps for the iPad you should be using if you want the best stability and functionality currently offered by the platform: No gimmicks, just no-BS excellent app performance. After going through each one in detail, we’ll also take a look at some nifty features that are unique to both apps and a summary that will help you decide on which one to invest in.
1. DJ Player 4.0
Price: $37.99
Communication: Touchscreen
Available: Now
System Requirements: iPad 1, iPad 2
Don’t judge an app by it’s trademarked name: The app’s highly unimaginative moniker is redeemed by what it can actually do! Tucked under the hood is a powerful DJ mixing solution complete with a variety of touchpad FX, looping and organizational functions.
My favorite way to gauge a piece of DJ software is the ease with which I can get it up and running. I hate thumbing through manuals (let alone pdf’s!) just to figure out a software’s basic functions, so I tend to dive right in before anything else.
Organization
Firing up DJ Player 4.0 takes you straight to the track selection screen where you can filter your songs according to Artist, Title, BPM and Comments. There’s a search bar as well for quickly locating the track you want, and there’s also a playlist button that brings up all the iTunes playlists you synced to your iPad. Getting to the song you want is fairly straightforward, although I do wish there was an option to create playlists within DJ Player 4.0 instead of iTunes (e.g. What if I wanted to make a playlist on the fly?)
The Deck Screen
Pressing a song in the list will make the app cache the track, after which you’re taken to the Deck screen. I found the caching to be a bit of a hindrance to my flow at first, especially since the track will still be analyzed after, but the wait time is rather negligible and you get used to this workflow after a few minutes of playing around with the software. Thankfully, you’ll only have to cache a song once ever.
Once the track is loaded, you’re given a graphical representation of the waveform ala Traktor but without the option to zoom in. DJ Player makes up for this by having a window on the right side of the deck show you where exactly you are in the track in magnified form. It’s quite confusing at first, but again you easily get into the flow of things after a few minutes and you can set cue points quite precisely with this method. You can store up to 8 cue points and launch them by pressing the cue buttons, which is something that would appeal to beat jugglers and controllerists.
Looping can be a tricky affair, though, since the buttons for loop in/out only appear when you’ve set a cue point already. Otherwise, they remain as pitch bend buttons, or fine tune buttons for the playhead if you haven’t played the track yet. Huh, what? Yup, confusing I know, but don’t worry because that’s probably the app’s biggest shortcoming, and it definitely gets better.
The Mixer Screen
This, I believe, is the heart of the app and probably where you’ll be spending a lot of time DJing. If the Deck Screen’s buttons were a bit unwieldy because of the amount of functionality packed into it, the developers made sure to make the Mixer Screen simple and intuitive. Aside from the usual headphone cues, volume/x-faders and 3 band EQ, DJ Player cleverly puts the Play and bend buttons for both decks here, effectively reducing the need to switch between screens for simple playback duties. Like I said, you’ll be spending the bulk of your time on this screen!
The FX Screen
DJ Player 4.0 packs a ton of club-standard FX presented in a touch/kaosspad fashion. You have Loop (beatmasher-esque), Echo, Reverb, Flanger, Lo-Fi and Filter, which are enough tools to create your own build ups, depth and flavor to your tracks and transitions.
Given that you’re essentially working with a touchpad to generate FX parameters, you can run the gamut of lush reverb sounds, long/short delays and deep flanges with a touch of your finger. If you love the variety and deep effect programming that laptop software like Traktor offers, DJ Player may pale a bit in comparison since it only offers the basic set of FX, but it does shine due to its well thought-of presentation and ease with which you can get a good and usable effect sound going. The Lo-Fi in particular sounds like a true Bit Crusher and I find it to be more flexible than the one found in Traktor!
The Sound
As mentioned at the start of this article, you’re stuck with the iPad’s onboard soundcard and headphone out for your audio. DJ Player 4.0 offers you accurate -/+16% pitch control that plays back audio properly without any weird noises. The iPad’s hardware can certainly handle this sort of time and pitch manipulation. The EQ’s are short throw sliders, but you do develop a sense for the way they react after first using them, and they’re quite smooth, meaning they’re transparent and comparable to what you’d expect in a digital EQ such as those found in Traktor. You can attempt to “scratch” on the tiny zoomed in window of the waveform and it’d sound fine, but there just isn’t enough space on the interface’s window to do a proper routine.
Special Features
DJ Player has an impressive array of output features that make it extremely flexible for a variety of DJing situations. If you’re using a split cable adapter for output and monitoring, you get the usual Split Cable mode which gives you true mono for the master ourput, as well as Double Deck mode which disables the in-app mixer for situations where you’d want to use a hardware mixer. If you’re adamant on keeping your output in true stereo, the app has an Auto Stereo mode which keeps your master output in true stereo and automatically switches to mono if you’re pre-listening to your track in your headphones.
For those with multiple iPads, DJ Player has the Classic Club option which allows you to use two units (one for Deck A and one Deck B) and a hardware mixer, making for a impressive dual setup that minimizes screen switching. If you have an iPhone or other iOS device, the app comes with a separate add-on called NetOut (downloadble in the App Store for $9.99) that lets you output your iPad in stereo while you monitor on headphones via the outputs of your second device, all in latency free transmission over WiFi! I found this to be quite useful and easy to setup without the usual programming hijinx of localhosts and IP addresses.
2. Djay
Price: $19.99
Communication: Touchscreen
Available: Now
System Requirements: iPad 1 (no Key Lock), iPad 2
If the deep GUI and functionality of DJ Player 4.0 seems daunting, here’s an iPad DJ solution that’s right up your alley. Djay provides a simplified user interface (two decks and a crossfader, mostly!) complete with most of the features that make digital DJing attractive and practical.
The Main Screen
Starting up the Djay app takes you directly to the two decks and crossfader screen. In stark contrast to DJ Player 4.0’s multi-screen layout, Djay presents you with only one: The other usual DJing functionalities like playlists and EQ’s pop-up through windows that appear when you click on their icons in the main screen. Algoriddim did a good job condensing vital features here, leaving you with a layout that gives you enough control of only the essential functions while DJing.
Loading a track in one of the decks is done by clicking on the playlist icon and sorting through your iTunes playlist. Again, it doesn’t give you the ability to make your own playlists in-app, meaning it’s reliant on you syncing your tracks through iTunes software. There’s the usual caching/analyzing wait like in DJ Player 4.0, but what’s pretty cool with Djay is that when drag your finger on the vinyl, the waveform display at the top of the screen zooms in to show you exactly where you are in the song. Setting a cue point or playing the track back makes the waveform zoom out automatically, and I found this to be less confusing than the way waveforms are presented in DJ Player.
Organization
Cueing is a pretty straightforward affair in Djay: Just click on the “Set” button while you’re seeking or playing the track back. Although you only get to place up to four cue points, this is quite enough for simple beat juggling if you don’t mind the vertical orientation of the cue point window’s buttons.
Looping’s quick and easy too! Bring up the loop window and you can set an Auto Loop with the loop length parameters that you want. If you want to specify specific Loop in and out points, there’s a manual function as well as a “Bounce Loop” feature for improvisational looping. Despite the initial confusion with the changing buttons, I did enjoy the depth of DJ Player 4.0’s loop function, but for simple looping Djay certainly gets the job done in decidedly Spartan fashion.
For basic mixer functions like EQ and Gain, Djay gives you a separate floating window for that (it’s the same one that has tabs for Looping and Cue Points).
FX Functions
The latest version of Djay (v.1.4) comes with standard FX that you’d expect to find like Flanger, Gate and Filters as well as a small X-Y touchpad to manipulate certain parameters. Compared to the onboard effects found in laptop DJing solutions, you might find them a bit shallow in terms of just how deep you can go in mangling your sound. With that being said, the FX are thoroughly usable in a club DJing situation, and it’s fairly easy to get a good sound going.
If you’re a heavy audio FX user, you’ll appreciate the palette that DJ Player 4.0 offers since it’s more sophisticated and detail heavy: The difference between the two would be analogous to painting with broad strokes versus making fine details on canvas. Again, DJ Player gives you plenty of control and depth that Djay eschews in favor of simplicity and easier use.
Djay makes up for it by coming packed with 6 combo preset FX that you can use to spice up your tracks like Drift, which sounds like a delay and autofilter on top of each other, and Twist, which is basically a reverse plus delay combination. Note that these FX combos can’t be achieved in DJ Player 4.0: You can only control one effect at a time in that app.
The Sound
As with DJ Player 4.0, you’re stuck with using the iPad’s built in soundcard, which isn’t such a bad thing really except that you have to use a split cable for headphone monitoring. Keylock only comes with the iPad 2, so if you’re still using the first generation unit you, unfortunately, have no access to that feature. I feel like scratching on the Djay sounds more convincing, mainly because you have more room to wiggle your finger around than in DJ Player 4.0’s small window. The pitch faders and sync buttons work as they should, slowing/speeding up your tracks without any noticeable artifacts. The vertical fader EQ’s are responsive and seem to have a slightly wider Q than DJ Player, but other than that it’s pretty standard digital EQ fare, nothing special here.
Special Features
Djay offers tight integration with Numark’s iDJ controller, giving you full hands on control of Djay with two jog wheels, EQ controls and transport buttons. Fun to use if you’re just starting out or looking for a really portable controller + iPad solution (it runs on your iPad’s battery), but the lack of controls for FX and loop buttons make it a tad less attractive.
An interesting feature that Djay has is iOS5 integration. If you’re using the app across other iOS devices, all your song information like BPM settings and cue points are stored in the cloud, ensuring consistency in your playlists among all your iCloud connected stuff. It’s not a real deal-breaker, but you have to admit that it’s pretty nifty if you’re heavily invested in Apple’s line of products.
Summary
As the article’s title suggests, iPad DJing has certainly been given a shot in the arm thanks to these two heavyweights. DJ Player 4.0 offers a reliable platform to mix tunes all night long. It’s a no-nonsense app that doesn’t have stellar graphics but makes up for it in functionality and depth. If you find the Traktor-style waveform decks and multi-screen interface to be cumbersome to use and easy to get lost in, then Djay will provide you that what-you-see-is-what-you-get DJ experience coupled with some powerful FX combos and intuitive design that only takes seconds to get used to.
These apps are constantly updated by their respective developers, making each one a work in progress that, although not perfect at the moment, are steadily refined and will continue to bring laptop-like DJing features to the iPad. There will undoubtedly still be a lot of naysayers and platform skeptics when it comes to DJing with the iPad, but the latest versions of these two apps are definitely steps in the right direction toward a serious future with * shudder * an iPad in the club booth!
Here are 10 recommendations for strategies that can lead to success in music, and in life. Take them with a grain of salt. With this new year comes the promise of digital music, the power of the entrepreneur and the tools to connect with an audience and deliver the goods.
1. Living a life in music is a privilege. Earn it.
There is very little more satisfying then spending time making music. If you make this your life’s work, then you can be truly joyful. However, the chances of being successful are extremely low and the only people who are going to get there are going to have to work hard and earn the right to be a musician. Respect the privilege of being free enough to have this choice (if you do) and honor the opportunity.
2. No one is in charge of your muse but you. Be happy and positive.
People can be their own worst enemy. Countless times I have heard artists tell me the reasons why their career is not working out. Most of the time they are putting blocks in their way and pointing fingers at people and things that are holding them back. Stop whining and blaming other people and make the conscious decision that you are going to be successful and that things are going to work out in your favor. You are creating your own reality every day, so make it a good one and excel.
3. Practice, practice, practice – then go for it. Over prepare.
You can never be ready enough for opportunity. Your live shows can always be better, your songs can be more amazing, and your playing can only improve. As the CEO of your own musician business, you can learn how to run the company more effectively, reach out to more fans and be an more effective social media marketer. Don’t hold yourself back by not being ready. Be a professional.
4. If you suck, you will never make it. Find a way to be great.
Lets face it, it is really hard to be amazing. Some people have the natural talent and you can see it in the first 5 seconds of meeting them. They are truly blessed. The rest of us have to find our niche, our passion, our calling and then reach for it. Ask people around you for feedback. Find what you are good at and focus on that. Get other people to help you. If you don’t stand out and rise above the pack, you will struggle forever. Be amazing.
5. Learn how to breathe and keep your focus. Stay calm.
There is nothing more pleasant than working with someone who knows who they are and what their goal is. Remember the old adages of thinking before you speak, and taking a deep breath before you lay into someone. Most of us have a lot going on in our lives and we can all benefit from staying focused on our goals and remaining calm in most situations. Learn yoga, exercise, run, meditate, sit still, breathe, learn who you are.
6. Don’t take yourself too seriously, no one else does. Have fun.
I am amazed at how many people spend so much time looking backwards and trying to understand what people think of them. This is worrying about the past and not embracing the future. Reviews are important, but don’t run to them or let them ruin your day. Not everyone is going to like you, but more people will if you are having a good time.
7. No matter how difficult things get, move forward. Don’t give up.
The only thing that will help your career take off is forward momentum. That is how you are going to reach your goals. A lot of people are stuck in their own mud. Take action, make a move and then see what happens. Don’t spend time procrastinating or worrying about how hard it is, just do something positive to advance your cause. You will feel much better by acting instead of waiting or worrying.
8. Find a way to make money. Start small and grow. Avoid being in debt.
This is probably the most important strategy of them all and why so many artists have gotten into trouble in the past by taking label advances. All that is, is a big loan. Get some kind of cash flow happening right away, no matter how small. Sell merch, play for the door, license your songs, play sessions, teach, write, start your musician business. The biggest mistake you can make is to borrow a lot of money and then spend it on things that don’t matter.
9. Be unique and true to your vision. Say something.
The people that we remember are the ones that are unique, exciting, special, provocative, fascinating, original, inventive, interesting. Music is a basic form of communication. The really successful artists have something to say and work on delivering their message. Your chances of success go up exponentially if you have a unique position and message and create a following of fans who really listen to you because you have something important to say.
10. Work and play with people you like every day. Collaborate Often.
Music is a tribal experience. You cannot make great music alone. Surround yourself with talented people, write together, play together, try new things. Bounce inspiration off of each other and learn. Listen to each other and let the music weave it’s way around you. Find a producer, songwriting partner, other musicians and dive in together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
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