a question of dj ethics

C

citytank

New member
so my roomate has started to put together a demo - of which half is his style (hard house/trance) and half is more progressive house & house (my style). The catch is that this half is primarily composed of my records.

I myself, would never think of blindly taking his records and using them in a demo (maybe ONE & at least asking).

Am I being anal here? I mean these tunes are what defines my style.

What am I to do?

Of course maybe he'll land that sweet weekly, and help the little guy (me) on my way up.
 
I dunno, roommates shouldn't go through their other mates stuff unless they were given permission, but other than that...they're not really "your" records. you bought them sure, but they were made by other people.
 
So why dont you raid through his stacks and find his best tracks and mix them with your best wax ,
and blow his mix out the water???

:hello:
 
WHAT THE ****???????

THAT WAS crazyily hysterical.....too bad i dont speak (Japanese?)

so when r u gonna post a link of your mix????
 
Personally, I think that is pretty ****ty. If someone that I trust asks me to borrow some records, I do it in a second. I am not ever planning to make a living spinning, so if a DJ I respect wants to borrow my vinyl, I take it as a compliment.

After saying that, I treat my records and equipment like my nonexistant children, and I expect everyone else to also. If somebody, even a close friend, did something like you described, I would feel really upset. I would not go crazy and destroy the mix or anything, but I would talk to them and ask them to talk to me first in the future. I am sure that your roomate did not mean anything by it, and you have a point about the possiblity of success for the tape, but I still think that it was not right.
-Peasant Nikon
 
citytank said:
...Am I being anal here? I mean these tunes are what defines my style....
Click to expand...

The tunes are not what define your style, it's the way you mix them that defines your style. Remember that you didn't write the tunes and you're not the only person on the planet that has them...
 
good call Siv...

and city, don't forget what jack told us.....

In the beginning, there was Jack, and Jack had a groove, and from this groove came the groove of all grooves. And while one day viciously throwing down on his box, Jack boldly declared, Let there be House, and House music was born. I am, you see, I am the creator, and this is my House, and in my House there is only House music. But I am not so selfish, because once you've entered my House, it then becomes our House and our House music...
 
Re: Re: a question of dj ethics

Siv said:
The tunes are not what define your style, it's the way you mix them that defines your style.
Click to expand...
The tunes define your style as well, surely. It's WHAT you mix that matters, next to how you mix of course.
 
And if the promoter he is giving the demo to thinks 'Yeah, if he played these tunes it'd go down really well', and then he turns up with his own style of records the promoter might be a bit annoyed.
 
Imho, the one thing really to determine your style, is your selection. How, when or how good you mix isn't really that important (well except for anal dj's in the crowd).

As it all started way back, the dj didn't do much besides changing tracks to what people wanted to hear and dance to. When the culture got more popular, an increasing demand for seamless sets started to grow.

Put it this way (assuming the crowd isn't all dj's), a memorable night under the spell of a "good" dj is remembered by his (the dj's) selection, the build and the atmosphere. This also assuming there hasn't been any major ****ups such as spilling beer on a turntable causing a blackout.

My two centies, merry christmas btw :cheers:
 
btw...last time I saw DJ Ethikz his selection AND his mixing were superb.
 
4etski said:
good call Siv...

and city, don't forget what jack told us.....

In the beginning, there was Jack, and Jack had a groove, and from this groove came the groove of all grooves. And while one day viciously throwing down on his box, Jack boldly declared, Let there be House, and House music was born. I am, you see, I am the creator, and this is my House, and in my House there is only House music. But I am not so selfish, because once you've entered my House, it then becomes our House and our House music...
Click to expand...

This is a lovely sentiment, and I fully agree, but still, when my former roommate (was and is one of my very best buddies) started borrowing my records it made me really uncomfortable so I asked a few other guys how they felt about lending records and they ALL said that they were against it, and that it wasn't worth losing a record or a friend (You: Hey, that scratch wasn't there before! Them: Yes it was! etc. ) over. I wouldn't borrow records (except to burn to cd) because I know how valuable they are to their owner, and also because for some reason I feel like if I haven't gotten my own copy it's not *mine* yet... Silly? Maybe. Hard to explain.

lol, one guy, a mentor of mine (and kind of a ***** =] )with MAD skills and a big residency, gave me a big lecture about how I should "never, not ever, under any circumstances, ever!!! Ever!!! Lend anyone any of my records." That was enough for me.

Carry on, just my $0.02 :)

BS otherwiselovestoshareherstuff G
 
thanks for all the input. yeah - its definitely an uncomfortable feeling. not outright pissed off or anything, just a "why would you build a demo with someone else's music collection?" i know part of the answer is that he's not making much $$$ and has far less records than I do.

i kinda let him know last night i was against it, but i wasn't gonna padlock my record bags or anything. of course he ain't takin' 'em with him when he plays out. i gots ta draw the line somewhere!

definitely will get my mix up asap - hopefully just after xmas - and if it sounds familiar....j/k
 
But look,
Say he lands a gig at a top club, and all he has to bring is his style of records.
The people who hired him might be like WTF! this isn't what I head in the demo.

So it might all come back to slap him in the arse.


:D
 
or you could just slap him really hard and sell him the records tremendously expensive. also make sure to give the wax some good ol' scratching before giving em away
 
Yeah man remember Jack had a groooove.... Haha great post 4etski. All i know is that i would be stoked if i had a roomate that might be getting a break with a mix, as long as he askes then whats mine is yours right?
 
i`ve lent records to a friend for a house party before....
i was there and he wanted to play hip hop and does not have enough records to do that so i went and did it...

would i do this to every dj i know... nope.... however he`s the only dj i`m good friends with he doesn`t have any decks so i he always at my house spinning... i let him play some of my records(the hip hop) but tell him he can`t touch a few crates mostly IDM/expiremental stuff....
 
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Re: Re: Re: a question of dj ethics

Tristano said:

The tunes define your style as well, surely. It's WHAT you mix that matters, next to how you mix of course.
Click to expand...

Have to disagree with that. The only reason one guy has a different set of records to another guy is money. Not 'style' - if a guy has loads of cash then he'll have every tune he wants and won't be restricted to the few that the poorer guy has.

If someone took your record bag, did a mix and you listened to it you'd probably think - hey, got that tune... and that one... and that one. You'd never think - hey, he's stolen my style!

The point I'm trying to make is that it's the human behind the records that defines the style, not the records themselves. Remember, you're not the only one who has those tunes, they are released in their 1000s...
 
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