Check out this awesome interview with internationally known dance music DJ Pete Tong from Wired. He has some really interesting things to say about how technology is affecting the art of djing, how aspiring spinners can start gaining a following, and what Apple needs to do in order to keep folks like him feeling good about the company…among other things. Here are some highlights:
“Be as entrepreneurial as you can; no one will do everything for you. There’s no better way I know to build a reputation as a DJ than to do your own thing, do something different, start your own night, get your own crowd. If you are getting 50 people to a bar on a Tuesday, people will check you out. Once you have a crowd, you have a scene, it’s human nature. Taste is the most important thing.”
“Things have changed so much. Bands can build an audience all by themselves. Market research has gone out the window, labels just follow the heat, really. They maximize artists who are already doing well. I think it’s really honest, actually. Almost everyone who arrives at a label’s door already has a story.”
“In terms of radio, podcasting‘s the most exciting development ever. For anyone with a niche or specialist reputation it’s manna from heaven… Podcasting is the next stage: You can grab it, download it to your iPod and subscribe to it. I just want to be in there to see where it takes us.”
