Do you think Spotify will effect bar gigs for DJs?

Bootsy.

Well, the question's in the title.

As of today Spotify is available in Ireland. I notice over the past few years when I've been in music-orientated bars in other countries Europe, a lot tended to have Spotify on rather than a DJ, even on busier nights.

These would be places without a dancefloor as such, maybe a late bar, the type of places that would typically have had DJs, and often still do here. I'm not talking about top 40 stuff either.

Do you think some DJs will lose their bar gigs in favour of the far cheaper option of Spotify playlists? After all, everyone seems to think they can do it these days!

I know here people will make the argument about what a DJ can do that a playlist can't, but perhaps some people don't realise the real value that a DJ can bring and are just concerned about the bottom line? Or am I just worrying over nothing?

The_Honeybadger

Bars have had the ability to do this for years via an iTunes playlist if they were that worried about the money, it's not rocket science. Doubt the availability of spotify will change much tbh, it may make it a little easier and make music more accessible though. If you have a bar residency that's busy I wouldnt worry, unless you are playing to only a handful of customers every weekend. What will happen is fees for bar work will continue to slide downwards as the bar trade is dying on it's a""e, but that has nothing to do with spotify.

Bootsy.

I should probably point out that I have regular gigs that I'm in no fear of. I've been lucky enough to have regular club gigs for years now, and the recent bar gigs came about by playing a once off and it going so well that I've been asked back ever since. So I'm not concerned about my own position.

It comes from being in Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh, and in all those places, pretty much every bar I've been in has had Spotify playing in them. So that's why I was thinking about this.

Actually I think it could save publicans a fortune, not on DJs, but on those touchscreen jukeboxes that cost them €250-€400 per month, which is a ridiculous rip-off tbh.

F*ck it, we're still going to have the place completely jumpin' and going nuts like we've always done.

That's what we do, and we're damn good at it too. There's nothing that can replace that human connection, that hands-in-the-air, smiles-on-faces, funkin', soulful, grooving buzz that only a f*cking good DJ, with - most importantly - a great crowd of beautiful people can reach. Keep it real.

Sleep tight brothers and sisters, we're in good hands!

Bootsy.

MickeyK, I take your point about fees sliding downwards.

They've dropped anywhere between 25-50% since the heights of the "boom times" (f*ck I really hate using any vaguely economic terms but ya know what I mean).

Part of the problem is that publicans don't have the money to be spending anymore. As I said, I'm lucky and grateful to be getting good gigs and regularly. To be honest, I don't mind the drop in fees too much as it's probably more realistic. I was a barman before I was a DJ, so in a wage/hours-worked comparison I certainly couldn't complain!

But good DJs will always be in demand, and in a time where everyone and their donkey is a DJ I'm always glad to see good DJs getting work in good places, and so are the punters, so long may it continue.

ghostdancer

i don't think it will affect DJs at all.
any place which would use Spotify for their music probably already had a few mix CDs playing for background music anyway, or one of those digital jukeboxes as you said.
if they care enough about the music to hire a DJ in the first place, i doubt they'll see Spotify as any sort of replacement...

eZe^

Bootsy. wrote: »

It comes from being in Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh, and in all those places, pretty much every bar I've been in has had Spotify playing in them. So that's why I was thinking about this.

You're going to the wrong bars then, plenty, of bars in London not only have a good set of cdjs, but even a set of 1210s. You just need to know where to go.

Executive Steve

99% of bars don't hire DJ's because we're needed for music, they hire DJ's because they know that every single one of us is terrified of not getting hired because there's nobody in the bar that we make a massive deal about it on facebook and spam thousands of people of whom maybe a fraction will turn up to hear whatever it is we're going to play.

They could save the expense and stick on spotify, but they'd see a sharp reduction in the number of people in their bar.

If they're a busy pub with a jukebox, as pointed out earlier, then yes, spotify will save them ****loads.

Executive Steve

Obviously if Spotify ever evolves to the stage where it can leg it out for a smoke and to frantically text all it's friends every time the bar is looking a little bit empty then we might be in for some competition though.