DJ History: The
Third-Wave of Club DJ Growth, 1985-2001 (Part II)
by Rob
Wegner
June 2003
Special Thanks to
Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton (Authors of Last Night A
DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey), as well
as Doug Shannon (Author of Off the Record).
Continued from Last
Month:
A House Divided
Based on elements of house, garage,
and/or techno, a multitude of sub-genres started to proliferate
around the late-80's. Any variation in bpm, drum pattern, and/or
electronic rhythm patterns seemed to spawn an entirely new sub-genre
of music. For example, if a producer adds a few bongos and Spanish
lyrics, the track may become Latin house. If he or she slows
the bpm down and adds some industrial elements, it becomes Belgian
New Beat. By adding hip hop elements, it may become hip-house.
Combine fast techno beats with breakbeats and dancehall reggae
and it becomes jungle (which can become drum-and bass when a
producer adds industrial elements). Add the squelch of a Roland
TB-303 bass line generator and the track becomes acid-house.
(2) The Rave Scene
The rave scene grew out of the
acid-house scene, which started in the UK in 1988 ("Class of 88").
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.
As Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton
correctly point out, 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
(Brewster and Broughton, p. 77). The notion of "trainspotting,"
for example, derives from Northern Soul's emphasis on researching
and collecting rare/obscure records; while preventing other DJ's
from stealing titles via "white labels" (Brewster and
Broughton, p. 98, 101).
Perhaps ironically, raves were
often commercially successful because they were anti-commercial.
Raves appealed to those seeking an "underground" place
to escape from life's everyday problems. Unfortunately, this
included drug usage, which tainted raves and the image of ravers.
For example, the concept of PLUR (peace, love, unity, and respect)
is rarely addressed in media reports depicting raves.
Why - from a socio-economic perspective
- was there a demand for raves? The DJ's and promoters would
like to think that it was because of the music. On a deeper level,
the appeal of raves appears to be linked to endogenous reactions
to social dysfunction.
Nevertheless, the rave scene
changed dance music, the image of DJ's, and the nature of promoting.
It's the innovative marketing surrounding the rave scene that
created the first superstar DJ's.
Takeover Trance
If dance music and superstar
DJ's were to make money beyond the rave scene, the music (often
characterized by repetitive-looped beats) needed to have commercial
appeal. "Takeover trance" was central to the success
of commercial dance music and superstar DJ's such as Paul Oakenfold.
According to Paul Thomas of KISS FM radio (London):
What happened with dance music
over the last ten years is it got more fragmented and more specialized,
and to your average punter it became really inaccessible. Pop
trance came about because a producer said "I know let's
get the girls back on the dance floor." What they did was
simple - to put vocals over their trance tunes. BBC
Radio 1
(3) The Commercialization
of CD Technology
CD technology was first introduced
to the European market in 1982 and the United States in 1983.
By 1985, the third generation CD players were released and by
1988, the first CD recordable (CD-R's) discs were introduced.
Without delving into the intricacies
of CD technology and the growth of the CD and CD-R markets, let
me summarize the impact of CD's on the DJ industry.
First, DJ speciality stores began
to grow in popularity when the record labels decided to abandon
vinyl records in favor of compact discs (CD's). DJ's - who were
accustomed to beat mixing on 12" vinyl records - created
a niche market for vinyl that also included DJ gear and accessories.
Second, CD-R's contributed to
downloading piracy, which would ultimately prove to have an adverse
economic impact on record labels, artists, producers, distributors,
and retail stores. For DJ's, this resulted in a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, DJ's were able to procure, share, and edit music
- particularly rare remixes. On the other hand, because the average
listener could download and record versions of songs intended
for DJ promotional usage, the exclusiveness of many dance songs
declined considerably.
Third, DJ's began to demand CD
players capable of duplicating the pitch adjust functions on
turntables. This includes "instant start" cueing (which
would be analogous to slip-cueing). Because a newcomer could
download a music library from the Internet and purchase DJ friendly
CD players, the entry level into the DJ profession was lowered.
When this is combined with generally lower prices on DJ gear
(particularly when the patent expired on the Technics SL-1200MK2)
- as well as improved retail accessibility - the number of DJ's
increased substantially. By the end of the 1990's, it is estimated
that there were over 200,000 DJ's in the United States.
Conclusion About the Third-Wave
The third "growth"
wave came to an end in 2001 for many of the same reasons that
previous waves declined: global economic downturn; declining
dance music sales (due mostly to Internet downloading); and later,
increased peace activism (Iraqi War). The wave essentially peaked
during the Y2K transition and dropped sharply during the following
year.
Conclusion About Growth Waves
and the DJ Industry
One reason why scholars study
recurring trends is because they seek to develop models in order
to predict future trends. If there is anything that can be learned
from the three former waves of economic growth in the DJ industry
is that there will be a fourth wave. The DJ industry - like modern
capitalism - is resilient (and certainly not a fad). The downward
periods, when DJ's and other industry professionals are forced
to innovate in order to keep their dance floors and/or business,
are crucial to the process.
We are currently in a down period
- and a few innovations have already started to materialize;
such as, Stanton's Final Scratch, DJ education, and satellite
radio. While these innovations may not launch a new growth period
per se, the industry's players are positioning themselves for
a turnaround, which will most likely occur when the global economy
turns.
Resources
Brewster, Bill and Frank Broughton (1999) Last Night A DJ Saved My Life:
The History of the Disc Jockey. Grove Press.
Poschardt, Ulf (1995) DJ Culture. London, England: Quartet Books Limited.
Shannon, Doug (1982) Off The Record. Cleveland, OH: Pacesetter
Publishing House (Out of Print).
Webber, Stephen (2000) Turntable Technique. Boston, MA: Berklee Press.
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