Summary of my main project findings in 100 words or less and what I think is the main benefit of my findings

On analysing the results of my interviews on of the main findings I can report that is that Web 2.0 is a key part of learning the craft especially in the sense of social sites like YouTube being used as an educational platform.

Web 2.0 is also a big player when it comes to networking, as sites like Facebook have now made discussions more digital rather than having to be a physical ratiety. It also allows more global discussion. What does this now mean for me? Well my training approach will most definitely now be incorporating Web 2.0.

Collecting & Analysing My Data

So, over the past few weeks I've interviewed a variety of DJs and several different career levels (Novice, Mid-Level, Experienced & Retired/Non Active).

The questions I asked were set around helping me gain an understanding of the following from a range of perspectives;

• How DJs learnt the craft of DJing.
• How they expand their music knowledge and keep updated on trends.
• What they think about new technology like streaming.
• Do they discuss and network with other DJs and how do they do this?
• Are these DJs more experienced or a variety?
• What equipment are these using modern technology like controllers or older systems like CDJs?
• Is there anything in the industry that is annoying to them?

On interviewing them I recorded there responses in writing categorising them with a letter i.e. N1 for Novice number 1 to up keep with data protection.

Once I had conducted all the interviews I had to analyse it so each time a key term was brought up i.e I learnt using social media I would write it on a sticky note and place it on the wall then if another person mentioned a similar thing I would stack it above. But if a new idea was mentioned it would get it's own stack.

The idea being that each question would eventually present me with a visual understanding of what the majority were saying in the relation the the questions and it would look like a bar chart style object.

Like this...

This has been useful as it has helped me to understand key topics for example social media sites like Youtube are a big contribution to how people learnt/are learning the craft of DJing and social media also is key in communities of practise and this is the main way people told me they network with other practitioners.

I also found that in these communities it was a common trend that practitioners discussed a variety of topics and these discussions took place with with a mixture of practitioners at different levels of ability.

On the technology side of things I found that the main trend showed me even more experienced practitioners now had chosen to use newer technology i.e controllers but the majority didn't trust streaming services in the industry due to fear of internet reliability issues.

and lastly to keep up to date with any music trends etc it was a close call between the use of DJ subscription services and using the Top 40 for reference.

I feel this is a useful foundation of data to have for my enquiry as I can now see technology does play a key role in terms of both induction (learning the craft by watching videos online) and discussions within communities (social media) but also in terms of the physical equipment DJs now choose to use. Armed with this data I know feel more confident going into my inquiry.

Updates on my inquiry progress and sharing discoveries

On reviewing my feedback from Module 2 I am very happy that both my tutors and the board were pleased with the majority of my work.
What I gathered from the feedback is I need to gather more academic literature sources which is what I struggled on the last module as I was not sure how I could relate some DJ sources to my work i.e most literature on DJs is about Club DJ and mixing which is different from event DJing.
In terms of the project itself I want to keep the title as “Understanding Evolving change in the Disc Jockey Industry”
With regard to questions I want this inquiry to explore I feel the following are good ideas;

• ●  I want to give my opinion on the current state of the industry.
  
• ●  How do novice/new Disc Jockey’s get inducted into/learn about the DJ industry? (Sub questions could look into if new DJs are getting involved with communities and groups etc)
  
• ●  How do more experienced DJs play part in the evolution of personnel in the industry?
  
• ●  How do employers view the industry and the changes that are happening?
  
• ●  How have new technologies changed the workplace in terms of both performance and induction into the industry?
  In terms of literature I’m hoping you can give a little guidance in what to look for I am thinking things like national statistics on the whole of creative industry particularly looking at age ranges to understand what age group is most active in the industry.
  With the surveys I will be following my guidelines I set in the ethics form and agreed with you so not collecting names or any identifiable information and using a series of tick boxes to make the process quick and easy for employers. Then I will carry out interviews with a range of different skilled DJs using informed consent forms where necessary.
  So that pretty much sums up where I stand so in terms of what I need to look into I believe I should explore things such as;
  
  1. Is the type of literature I’m considering okay and relevant?
  
  2. For the interviews can they be written or do they have to be recorded as communication may be a struggle?
  
  I'm glad I am starting to explore this early as I am worried that I will start falling behind when work gets hectic in the latter months of the year such as December when my DJ schedule becomes non-stop. 
  

Does Technology Go Hand In Hand With Pricing?

Now for those of you who I haven't had a chance to chat to yet might not know that my professional practice is being a Mobile DJ all over the UK. The topic I am looking at for my inquiry is how the rapid evolution of technology has affected the DJ Industry and the good and bad points to this.

This being said recently on looking around the web for other opinions on the matter I came across a YouTube Video from a user called the ellaskins but he is also know as The DJ Tutor and has been making tutorial/how to style videos for nearly 10 years now, the video was titled "IS THE MOBILE DJ INDUSTRY CRUMBLING WITH ALL THE NEW CHEAP LAPTOP DJ'S?" but throughout this video the topic of price keeps being brought up which made me think is there a link?

He's starts by stating that ten years ago people would book DJ's for around £200 - £300 but now there is practically people going out and doing the same half that. He than proceeds to ask is it because technology has made is easy for people to buy cheap kit coupled with how it's easy to download music now. Does this mean DJ's are just going out and buying a cheap controller, plugging it into a laptop and cheap mixer then using some cheap powered speaker and a few lights and then going and and gigging?

Another point he made to back up his technology argument was that a top of the range DJ CD Player from Pioneer now would set you back around £2000. Whereas a DJ now could buy a whole DJ setup for that and start earning money.

So is it that technology is making it easy for DJs to undercut or is it that there as now too many DJs and the pond is full? I personally feel that technology is a big factor cause if DJs still had to invest highly in their equipment they would value their services more. But either way this is defiantly something I want to explore more.



Bibliography:

ellaskins, (2016). IS THE MOBILE DJ INDUSTRY CRUMBLING WITH ALL THE NEW CHEAP LAPTOP DJ'S?. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhRaHClRQq8 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2016].

Embracing Streaming Services In The DJ Industry

While I was waiting for some files to convert on my computer I decided to record a video voicing my opinions on streaming services and the DJ industry and if I think we as an industry should be ready to embrace them or not.

To put it short I believe we are not ready just yet due to things like internet issues still being a common factor in everyday life as well as clients then expecting us to have almost anything readily available to play which might not be the case, On another note I do think it would be a handy tool opening up a massive music library to DJs and I think it's coming whether we want it to or not.

Let me know what you think about streaming services evolving even if you just listen to music in the car do you like Spotify? if not what do you use and why?

Module 2 - Professional Inquiry Idea

So last night/the early hours of this morning me and my roadie and close friend Rich were on the way back from DJing a party and started just rambling on about the industry and different things as we usually do. But this time I thought I'd put the camera on a record part of our discussion where we were talking about how technology has affected the industry and if it has helped or hindered it.

To give a brief overview of what we concluded we decided that while the technology has made our job as DJ's incredibly easier to do it also has down sides for example making the job look too easy to do in our guests eyes so then they might not feel we deserve to be paid as much and try shop for lower prices which could drive the industry down as a whole. We also said new technology is so much more affordable these days and also makes people think they could do our jobs so they go and try and and could potentially do a bad job which could give our industry bad reputation. We even touch on consumer technology making it's way into the stores and how we feel about it.

I think this could be a great topic for me to do for my professional inquiry as it will influence whether I evolve with technology or stick with what I've got and I can also find out how other professionals feel about this.

If you want to see the full video I have attached it below.