A survey from Pirate has found that 65 per cent of DJs don’t play their favourite music at gigs.
In the survey, 260 DJs from across the UK were asked about their everyday listening habits (using data from their 2022 Spotify Wrapped) as well as the types of music they play in their DJ sets. For 65 per cent of them, their most listened-to genre was different from the music they play when they are behind the turntables.
Meanwhile, 63 per cent of those surveyed said that their music taste changes with their surroundings. “I wake up to shoegaze/dream pop every morning,” said one UK bass music DJ in the survey. “During the day I’ll listen to soft acoustic or jazz records and tune in to my local station. At night, I’ll listen to lyrically powerful music (Nick Cave, Kae Tempest etc.) or fully emotive electronic music (Burial, Ross From Friends etc.). In the clubs it’s mostly UKG & bassline stuff with the odd hyperpop banger.”
The DJs were also asked about how they discover new music. Three-quarters of the respondents said that they find new music during DJ sets, many of them praising SoundCloud for exposing them to new sounds.
“I mainly just use SoundCloud to find new music, the related tracks section is great. They also have a Stations section which generates a list of tunes based on what you’ve listened to,” one respondent said.
Furthermore, 60 per cent of DJs say they discover new music through friends.
Elsewhere, Deadmau5 joked last week that his signature mouse helmet had caused him spinal problems. He later that said, in reality, “My neck is messed up from probably sleeping like an idiot, or slouching behind a computer. I doubt wearing a mouse head has much to do with it.”