Wednesday, February 22, 2012

My latest piece for Mobile Beat- The Art of the DJ: Why DJing is a performing art. Are you an artist?

Is DJing a performing art? If it were considered a performing art by our clients - that is, if DJs were considered artists - our profession could be elevated to a point where we could overcome stigmas of DJs being no more than glorified serving staff or musical bartenders (no disrespect to serving staff or, particularly, bartenders, without whom I’m sure I could not live). Then could corresponding prices be far behind?

When I think of “entertainment”, I think of performances in disciplines that would most likely be considered performing arts. Things like theatre, dance or music performance. I’m a singer in a band as well as a DJ. I consider a band performance a performing art. A band is actually “performing” music live with skills we have worked a lifetime to develop - our “art”. Artists who have practiced for hours each day and spent years perfecting musical talent and skill generally don’t think twice about what to charge a client for their time and talent. But DJs do.

(Click here for the full story on MobileBeat.com)

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