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What makes a good dj..great?

A

ahummel83

Guest
I hear a lot of negative comments on stations, formats, lack of creativity..so I was thinking we could starting something different. In your opinion what makes a good dj ?
 
A good dee-jay has a nice voice.
A great dee-jay knows how to use whatever voice he has.
A good dee-jay knows lots of people.
A great Dee-jay has a lot of friends, who are loyal to him.
A good dee-jay is comfortable in front of people.
A great dee-jay knows how to engage and entertain people.
A good dee-jay gives a full 8 hours every day.
A great dee jay never stops looking and listening for ideas.
A good dee-jay knows about popular culture.
A great dee-jay knows what popular culture means to his listeners.
A good dee-jay will bounce from station to station, town to town.
A great dee-jay builds the kind of following that allows him to stay with a station and a town.
A bad dee-jay thinks his poop has no aroma, insists he knows best what songs to play, has an 'assertive' attitude and doesn't suffer fools. He won't answer the studio phone. He does his shift, then he goes home, cranks up the A-C and turns on the satellite tv.
 
grantchester said:
A good dee-jay has a nice voice.
A great dee-jay knows how to use whatever voice he has.
A good dee-jay knows lots of people.
A great Dee-jay has a lot of friends, who are loyal to him.
A good dee-jay is comfortable in front of people.
A great dee-jay knows how to engage and entertain people.
A good dee-jay gives a full 8 hours every day.
A great dee jay never stops looking and listening for ideas.
A good dee-jay knows about popular culture.
A great dee-jay knows what popular culture means to his listeners.
A good dee-jay will bounce from station to station, town to town.
A great dee-jay builds the kind of following that allows him to stay with a station and a town.
A bad dee-jay thinks his poop has no aroma, insists he knows best what songs to play, has an 'assertive' attitude and doesn't suffer fools. He won't answer the studio phone. He does his shift, then he goes home, cranks up the A-C and turns on the satellite tv.
Click to expand...

A Great DJ also has Charisma.
 
grantchester said:
A bad dee-jay thinks his poop has no aroma, insists he knows best what songs to play, has an 'assertive' attitude and doesn't suffer fools. He won't answer the studio phone. He does his shift, then he goes home, cranks up the A-C and turns on the satellite tv.
Click to expand...

A bad DJ also raids the company fridge, swipes promotional items, leaves empty beer cans in the studio trash can, doesn't straighten up the studio as he's leaving (i.e. doesn't put CD's away, leaves paper all over the place, etc...), abuses station equipment and comes in late and leaves early.
 
Base on what I hear on the air, it really doesn't make any difference.
 
Jay Weaver said:
Base on what I hear on the air, it really doesn't make any difference.
Click to expand...

Luck has a lot to do with it: being on the right station at the right time (usually mornings) with a PD or GM who decides to promote your show.
 
Well, the list several messages ago was interesting and entertaining. I would suggest that these may be helpful, but I think there are some "great djs" who come up weak or absent on these:

Some great sounding djs are INTROVERTS. They don't know very many people.
They don't have many friends. But they can make the listener think they do.
A good dee-jay knows lots of people.
A great Dee-jay has a lot of friends, who are loyal to him.
A good dee-jay is comfortable in front of people.
.
You can be on the air 8 hours every day, or you can be a good dj. Take your pick.
A good dee-jay gives a full 8 hours every day.

The following is optional. Not needed for Classical music DJ... or Polka DJ. ;D
A great dee-jay knows what popular culture means to his listeners.

The next two are contradictory. How can you both bounce and stay?
A good dee-jay will bounce from station to station, town to town.
A great dee-jay builds the kind of following that allows him to stay with a station and a town.

I am not trying to rain on your parade. This IS a great topic. I think we have only scratched the surface. Since there must be "50 ways to leave your lover", surely there are at least 150 ways to be a GREAT dj.
 
I may be drawing straws here, but this is my take:

  • A good DJ knows he has an obligation to himself and his listeners to do the right thing by them.
  • A good DJ chooses to behave like a moral citizen and makes sure he treats ALL listeners with respect.
  • A good DJ KNOWS that treating women like sexual objects is NOT a good idea!
  • A good DJ DOESN'T beat his fiancee, go to jail, and return to the airwaves UNTIL the situation has been resolved to the satisfaction of his region's officials
  • A good DJ chooses to be a MAN and RESIGN when the situation like the one I'm describing here has not been resolved amicably, NO MATTER WHAT!

Now, here's some stuff for a good program manager:

  • A good PD KNOWS his/her obligations to his/her station's listeners to do the right thing
  • A good PD understands that doing the right thing will not be popular with the majority of listeners, but will do the right thing anyway
  • A good PD chooses to put ratings and revenue aside in order to do the right thing
  • A good PD understands how much flak he/she will get from domestic violence prevention groups if he/she chooses not to FIRE someone like the bad DJ described here
  • A good PD chooses to cater to the domestic violence prevention groups as opposed to the listeners while DOING the right thing

To summarize:
  • A good DJ ISN'T Russ Martin
  • A good PD ISN'T Gavin Spittle
  • And a good radio station REPLACES these two morons with people who understand what it MEANS to do the right thing by Christ

But enough about the lack of morals in Dallas-Fort Worth radio... or radio anywhere in the country...[/list]
 
Here are a few thoughts on a GREAT topic ...
A good DJ ...
...respects and knows his P1's and relates to them on a personal level.
...runs a tight board and follows the format clock (yeah, I'm OLD SCHOOL and damn proud of it).
...gets paid for the 20 hours OFF-AIR to prep the show by living in your P1's world - the 4 hours on-air are free because they should be FUN!
...can stay sober during club gigs. You CAN have fun without being a drunken a-hole.
...respects the fact that like it or not, you ARE a role model to someone. Behavior and ethics are of paramount importance, and when you screw up be man or woman enough to admit it and move on.
 
good stuff, I read the boards often and dont comment much but I thought this is something that would be good to discuss. i won't like either because I do dj here in dallas, and was curious of peoples perspectives on what makes a dj good etc.

so thanks for the comments...

Adrian
 
A DJ that is willing to work for mimium wage?
 
Brother Bear said:
...runs a tight board and follows the format clock (yeah, I'm OLD SCHOOL and damn proud of it).
Click to expand...

Think the listener has any idea what a format clock is? Or cares how closely it's being followed?
 
little1 said:
Brother Bear said:
...runs a tight board and follows the format clock (yeah, I'm OLD SCHOOL and damn proud of it).
Click to expand...

Think the listener has any idea what a format clock is? Or cares how closely it's being followed?
Click to expand...

Ummmm.... you'd be surprised.
 
Ron Chapman was a great DJ......

Just imitate him......

If it's pop music that you're playing.

As for Rock/Classic Rock......

Most of these DJs are Team Players, as they should be..... But.... what they're asked to do, to be "over the top" on everything.... hyper-excited... about anything that they talk about.... Well, that gets old fast. I know they're lying through their teeth, when they put out all this faux enthusiasm over some tired old commercial rock song, that they're excitingly playing for you. That's to expected in the souless world of pop radio... but, rock, at one one time, was and did have more credibility than pop music. That's pretty much a non-issue on Classic Rock stations.

If there's any measure of credibilty.... why, you'll find it in a discussion of musicon a "Sports" station, like The Ticket. That's right, what integrity that there is left on radio concerning rock music... is found not on Classic Rock stations, but on Sports stations....

But the minions that gleefully listen to Classic Rock radio, and their Team Player DJs... wouldn't begin to know the difference..

BTY, by definiton, a great DJ, is NOT a Music Personality. I don't buy into that Cult of Personality.... Little Steven .... spinning his favorite tracks for you stuff... :p
 
--- Someone wrote: A good PD chooses to put ratings and revenue aside in order to do the right thing

Are you kidding me? That PD is also OUT OF A JOB. A good PD can helps sales produce revenue from things that make sense for their listeners.

Oh and if you are putting ratings aside... that means you must be only making the radio station for yourself.
 
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