Mobile disc jockeys (also known as mobile DJs or mobile discos) are disc jockeys that tour with portable sound, lighting, and video systems.[1] They play music for a targeted audience from a collection of pre-recorded music using vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, or digital music formats such as USB flash drives or laptop computers.[1]
Mobile DJs perform at a variety of events including wedding receptions, Bar and Bat Mitzvah receptions, company parties, school dances, anniversaries, and birthday parties. They also perform in public at taverns, nightclubs, and block parties.[2]
Business models for mobile disc jockeys include full-time, part-time, multi-operator, and single-operator companies.[2]
History
The concept of mobile discos started in the United Kingdom in the late 1940s when in Boston, Lincolnshire, Ron Diggins built his first 'Diggola', a mobile disco unit featuring twin 78 rpm turntables. In all, Diggins built 5 units (possibly 6) and he took his Art Deco 'Diggolas' around village halls to play records at dances. His first method of transport was a Hillman Minx estate car. During the 1950s in Boston, he had two 'Diggolas' running concurrently and all Bostonians of that era remember Diggins, few realising that he was the inventor of a new concept in mobile entertainment. The Musicians' Union ensured that Diggins never expanded his operation but he was still active during the 1970s.[3] Decades later, DJ Jimmy Savile claimed he had invented the mobile disco earlier than Ron Diggins, but there is no evidence for this.[4] The next mobile DJ was in 1966, when Roger Squire began an entertainment service in North London named "Roger Squire's Mobile Discothèques". The word discothèque is French for "disco". Within two years, Squire had fifteen mobile discothèques performing approximately sixty functions each week. He performed at events attended by celebrities and royalty, at countless college dances, wedding receptions, and all kinds of social events. Over the next few years, many copycat "Mobile Discos" started to emulate his successful formula. During this period, London got its "Swinging London" reputation. Squire later set up a disco equipment supply service that sold disco sound and lighting systems to budding DJs, both in the United Kingdom and abroad.[5]
In the 1980s and 1990s, mobile DJs began to form associations and create professional business networks that evolved into annual trade shows and internet discussion forums. The early 1990s saw the emergence of organized professional trade shows such as the "Mobile Beat Show" in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the "DJ Times Expo" in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Seminars by numerous respected DJs such as John Rozz, Ray "Ray Mar" Martinez, Stacy Zemon, Mark Ferrell, Peter Merry, Randy Bartlett, and Steve Moody[citation needed] have helped DJs to better understand their profession, how to be more professional and to treat being a DJ as a business operation.
1991 saw the publication of Mobile Beat, a magazine geared specifically toward mobile DJs. In 1992, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), released The MPEG-1 file standard, designed to produce reasonable sound from a digital file using minimal storage. The lossy compression scheme MPEG-1 Layer-3, popularly known as MP3, later revolutionized the digital music domain.
In 1998, Final Scratch debuted at the BE Developer Conference, marking the first digital DJ system to give DJs control of MP3 files through special time-coded vinyl records or CDs. While it would take some time for this novel concept to catch on with the "die hard" vinyl-oriented DJs, it was the first step in the new digital DJ revolution. Manufacturers joined with computer DJ pioneers to offer professional endorsements, the first being "Professor Jam", also known as William P. Rader, who went on to develop the industry's first dedicated computer DJ convention and learning program, the "Computerized Performance System" (CPS) known as "DJ Summit", which helped spread the word about the advantages of this emerging technology.
The American Disc Jockey Awards Show was established, and its first edition was held in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1998. Since then, thirteen mobile DJs have been elected to the American Disc Jockey Hall of Fame. The thirteen members include John Rozz, Al Lampkin, Joe Martin, Robert A. Lindquist, Jon Michaels, Mike Buonaccorso, Sid Vanderpool, Bobby Morganstein, John Roberts, Ken Knotts, Ray "Ray Mar" Martinez, Cesar Cosio, and Bernie Howard-Fryman.[6]
The American Disc Jockey Awards Show annually recognized and honored individuals who had given of themselves to benefit their community or a charitable cause in the name of the ADJA or the DJ Trade as a whole.It is currently in hiatus since 2013.
The "DJ of the Year" winners at the DJ Times Expo include three-time winner Marcello Pedalino, Roxanne Greene, K.C. KoKoruz, Shawn "Big Daddy" McKee, Marz Lawhorn, Gerry Siracusa, Adam Weitz, Steve Moody and Pascal Levesque who, in 2013, was the first Canadian to take part in the competition. Pascal Levesque from Québec, Canada, was named "DJ of the Year Runner-Up" and won the "Best Dance" award.[citation needed] On May 10, 2020, John Walter, The Chief Tabulator of votes for The DJ of The Year Award passed away from complications with COVID-19.[7]
Developments
A number of books have been written about the business, and by furthering their education at trade shows and seminars, mobile DJs have gained a positive public perception. In the 1970s Mobile DJs were averaging $350–500 per four-hour event; now a wedding reception can cost between $800–2,500 per event, with the national average being around $1,038.[8]
While many club disc jockeys still use traditional vinyl records, many mobile DJs also currently use compact discs, computer-based files (such as MP3s), or a combination of sources. In addition, professional-grade equipment created by a variety of companies expressly for the mobile DJ industry has allowed for faster set-up and break down times and improved quality of performance.[9]
With the advance of in-home sound systems, the audience expectation level of sound and lighting shows for concerts, conventions, and weddings has increased. LED technology is the most recent light show technology incorporated by the trade. A large selection of music, professional-grade equipment, good organizational skills, vocal talent as a Master of Ceremonies, mixing skills, quality lighting, insurance for liability, and on-site back-up equipment are typical of the expectations customers have when hiring a mobile DJ.[9] Suggestions for hiring mobile disc jockeys include requests for referrals, approximate age of equipment, level of insurance, contract terms and fees, and provision of electrical sources.
Many mobile DJs also promote themselves as event planners, organizers, and master of ceremonies (MC). They work closely with their customers, guests, and the event's other vendors (e.g. venue staff and photographers/videographers) to provide quality entertainment that fits the event in terms of style and performance.[2]
This increased role in event planning has been facilitated by the emergence of sweet sixteens, popularized by the MTV reality show, My Super Sweet 16. Today's mobile DJs are tasked with putting together major productions for these events, which require customization in every element of “her big night”. As huge as the demand for qualified teen-event DJs is, the equipment list to bring a full production on the road for a successful event is more than most can afford. With large-screen video, fog, light up dance floors, glow lights, lasers, high end dance lighting, and booming sound, today's Sweet Sixteens are setting the bar high for future generations.
Beatmatching or pitch cue is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching an upcoming track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track, and to adjust them such that the beats are synchronized—e.g. the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously. Beatmatching is a component of beatmixing which employs beatmatching combined with equalization, attention to phrasing and track selection in an attempt to make a single mix that flows together and has a good structure.
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs, club DJs, mobile DJs, and turntablists. Originally, the "disc" in "disc jockey" referred to shellac and later vinyl records, but nowadays DJ is used as an all-encompassing term to also describe persons who mix music from other recording media such as cassettes, CDs or digital audio files on a CDJ, controller, or even a laptop. DJs may adopt the title "DJ" in front of their real names, adopted pseudonyms, or stage names.
Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two records simultaneously.
The twelve-inch single is a type of vinyl gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compared to LPs which have several songs on each side. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the mastering engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality. This record type is commonly used in disco and dance music genres, where DJs use them to play in clubs. They are played at either 33+1⁄3 or 45 rpm. The conventional 7‐inch single usually holds three or four minutes of music at full volume. The 12‐inch LP sacrifices volume for extended playing time.
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interpolated between sections of a song, to provide a sense of anticipation, signal the start of a new section, or create variety in the arrangement.
Francis Grasso was an American disco music disc jockey from New York City, best known for inventing the technique of beatmatching which is the foundation of the modern club DJ's technique.
A DJ mixer is a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys (DJs) to control and manipulate multiple audio signals. Some DJs use the mixer to make seamless transitions from one song to another when they are playing records at a dance club. Hip hop DJs and turntablists use the DJ mixer to play record players like a musical instrument and create new sounds. DJs in the disco, house music, electronic dance music and other dance-oriented genres use the mixer to make smooth transitions between different sound recordings as they are playing. The sources are typically record turntables, compact cassettes, CDJs, or DJ software on a laptop. DJ mixers allow the DJ to use headphones to preview the next song before playing it to the audience. Most low- to mid-priced DJ mixers can only accommodate two turntables or CD players, but some mixers can accommodate up to four turntables or CD players. DJs and turntablists in hip hop music and nu metal use DJ mixers to create beats, loops and so-called scratching sound effects.
Vestax Corporation was a Japanese musical instrument, turntable and audio equipment firm founded by Hidesato Shiino in 1977. The company started by designing and manufacturing electronic guitars. In the 1980s, Vestax produced multitrack recorders and later moved to making DJ mixers, professional turntables, compact disc players and signal processors. Debt troubles led to the company's bankruptcy at the end of 2014.
A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players or computer sound cards, sometimes with the addition of samplers and effects units, although it is possible to create one using sound editing software.
A music pool or DJ record pool is a regionalized and centralized method of music distribution that allows DJs to receive promotional music to play in nightclubs and other events such as weddings, festivals and on the radio. Record labels worldwide send their newest releases to the pool of DJs; in exchange, the pool provides feedback on each release as well as exposure in the clubs and other venues they play in. DJs typically pay a monthly subscription to join the service provided by these record pools. Music pools originated as vinyl record pools in 1974 New York City, evolved into CD distribution networks, and later online music distribution between DJs. A music pool may have a "brick and mortar" office or may be entirely virtualized.
Tony Prince is a British radio disc jockey and businessman. He broadcast on Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg in the 1960s and 1970s, later becoming a programme director and then businessman.
A nightclub is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
The Scotch Club in Aachen was the first discothèque in Germany, opening on 19 October 1959. It was closed in 1992.
DJ lighting is a variant of stage lighting that is used by mobile DJs and in nightclubs. DJ lighting is generally used by mobile disco DJs and in most modern nightclubs and many late-night bars.
JiveBop Dance Party TV Show is an American dance-based television program created by American Top 40 disc jockey and nightclub operator Alan White.
Aron "Bugsy" Siegel is a film producer, film location sound recordist, TV producer, record producer, remixer, and club DJ/VJ considered one of the most influential in the southern United States since the early 1980s.
The Crisco Disco was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of modern dance, LGBT and nightclub cultures.
DJing is the act of playing existing recorded music for a live audience.
Karen Mixon Cook became the first professional female nightclub disco disc jockey in the United States in 1974. While there had been female professional radio disc jockeys in the U.S. since at least 1966, none had been focused on the disco club music scene.
1 2 Graudins, Charles A. "How to Be a DJ. Boston: Course Technology PTR, 2004.
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