I recently came across a post from a newer DJ in one of our industry groups who seemed to be in a pickle because the venue he was going to be working at didn't have wifi, and cell service at the location was shotty. He asked

How does your DJ manage their music? Technology is always changing. For those of us that have been in the DJ business long enough, we have seen several different media types used over the years. Records, Tapes, CDs, Digital MP3s, and now Streaming.

Streaming music is the hot new thing for consumers. With the era of Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon Music, and others that seem to pop up daily, there is no doubt that streaming is here to stay. In fact, there have been rumors that Apple may stop selling music altogether in favor of their Apple Music streaming platform. What does this mean to you the consumer? If you are a subscriber to one or more of these platforms it is great for you. You have virtually unlimited access to millions of songs anytime anywhere for a low monthly price. I myself have been a subscriber of Spotify since day 1 when they came to the USA. This may sound like a great idea for a DJ too! UNLIMITED MUSIC FOR $9.99/month WHERE DO I SIGN UP??? What's really cool is at least two major DJ apps actually integrate with Spotify. AWESOME RIGHT! WRONG! Here is the major problem with streaming music. You need to rely on a wifi connection or have a robust data plan for your cell phone complete with tethering. So what seems like a great low-cost way for a DJ to jump into business using a streaming plan, can instantly become a huge party blunder.

"But my venue does have wifi so that doesn't matter."

Maybe not, but I imagine you like all consumers have experienced first hand the frustration when your internet seems to go out for no reason, or when you are in a densely populated area, and the wifi is so slow that you can't even refresh your Facebook feed. Every day we place a larger demand on the bandwidth of our internet resources. We are downloading and streaming larger and larger files. So the more devices that are connected to a single wifi will consume more of that bandwidth limiting the speed in which we can work and download content. So if you have a hundred guests connected to your venue wife, uploading pictures to Instagram, live streaming on Facebook, or whatever else people do with their phones at weddings now. You increase the risk that your DJ if only relying on a streaming platform may not be able to download the music, or worse it might start, then stop, then start again. (You know this has happened to you while binge-watching your Breaking Bad on Netflix).

Streaming services are great if your DJ finds him/herself in a pinch and doesn't have a song that you or a guest just requested. It's extremely convenient to have access to large music collections to play that request, but if your DJ relies on streaming as their primary source of Music I would urge you to find a new DJ. There are many problems associated with this approach, not to mention it is also against the terms of use policy of at least the major players. Music isn't cheap to purchase and maintain and is one of many reasons why DJs tend to demand a premium. Those who charge less than $500 I would question the legitimacy of their music collection, It's easy to stay cheap if you are only paying $9.99 per month for music, but I wonder what the DJ above is going to do without a source of wifi for his music. I have a music subscription that is only available to DJs through a company called Promo Only this subscription provides me with the latest releases daily and they are physical files that I download, backup, and own. So whether a venue has wifi or not doesn't affect the way I do my job. In fact, sometimes it makes it better because guests are actually present rather than being on their phones. Let's not forget the next time Taylor Swift or another artist is upset with the royalty payouts from streaming platforms and pulls their music.

DIY option... YES!

Professional DJ Option... NO!