User:Hrc77/History of djing

1980s
In 1981, the cable television network MTV was launched, originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. The term "video jockey", or VJ, was used to describe the fresh-faced youth who introduced the music videos. The first group of MTV video jockeys, otherwise known as “VJs” was Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, J.J Jackson and Nina Blackwood. Martha Quinn is an American actress and radio show host that has been named as “MTV’s Best-Ever VJ” in Rolling Stone. Nina Blackwood, another member of the original VJs is also an actress and model, known for her pronounced raspy voice. In 1982, the demise of disco in the mainstream by the summer of 1982 forced many nightclubs to either close or change entertainment styles, such as by providing MTV-style video dancing or live bands.

Released in 1982, the song "Planet Rock" by DJ Afrika Bambaataa was the first hip-hop song to feature synthesizers. The song melded electro hip-hop beats influenced by Yellow Magic Orchestra with the melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express." Suzanne Ciani, was the first female synth player and was given the title “America’s first female synth hero”. Ciani is a five time Grammy Nominee and her most popular solo album is “The Velocity of Love”. In 1982, the Compact Disc reached the public market in Asia, and early the following year in other markets. This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution.

In the early 1980s, NYC disco DJ Larry Levan, known for his electric mixes, gained a cult following, and the Paradise Garage, the nightclub at which he spun, became the prototype for the modern dance club where the music and the DJ were showcased. Around the same time, the disco-influenced electronic style of dance music called house music emerged in Chicago. The name was derived from the Warehouse Club in Chicago, where resident DJ Frankie Knuckles mixed old disco classics and Eurosynth pop. House music is essentially disco music with electronic drum machine beats. The common element of most house music is a 4/4 beat generated by a drum machine or other electronic means (such as a sampler), together with a solid (usually also electronically generated) synth bassline. In 1983, Jesse Saunders released what some consider the first house music track, "On & On." Kym Mazelle, also known as the “first lady of house music” has been called a trailblazer for house music in the United Kingdom and Europe, working with artists such as Mick Jagger and Chaka Khan. The mid-1980s also saw the emergence of New York Garage, a house music hybrid that was inspired by Levan's style and sometimes eschewed the accentuated high-hats of the Chicago house sound.

During the mid-1980s, techno music emerged from the Detroit club scene. Being geographically located between Chicago and New York, Detroit techno artists combined elements of Chicago house and New York garage along with European imports. Techno distanced itself from disco's roots by becoming almost purely electronic with synthesized beats. In 1985, the Winter Music Conference started in Fort Lauderdale Florida and became the premier electronic music conference for dance music disc jockeys. Kelli Hand or “K-Hand” was a Detroit DJ who performed and produced techno music in Detroit night clubs throughout her lifetime. In 2017 Hand was named “The First Lady of Detroit Techno '' by the Detroit City Council and is credited with changing the techno industry to be more inclusive to women.

In 1985, TRAX Dance Music Guide was launched by American Record Pool in Beverly Hills. It was the first national DJ-published music magazine, created on the Macintosh computer using extensive music market research and early desktop publishing tools. In 1986, "Walk This Way", a rap/rock collaboration by Run DMC and Aerosmith, became the first hip-hop song to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was the first exposure of hip-hop music, as well as the concept of the disc jockey as band member and artist, to many mainstream audiences. In 1988, DJ Times magazine was first published. It was the first US-based magazine specifically geared toward the professional mobile and club DJ.

2000s
At the start of the new century, the introduction of advances in technology made it possible for new sounds and new DJ styles to be developed. Pioneer DJ came to be the digital standard. Audio and Video Mixers were developed, bringing the MTV world of the 80s and 90s to the world of DJ personality of the 2000s. New technologies concentrated in analog sound brought another high tech digital era, sound mixers made a whole new culture of DJ integration. These new technologies inspired DJs to merge past music genres and new-age sounds, creating alternative genres based on music from the 80s and 90s. One of the DJs at the forefront of mixing new technology with older, more nostalgic sounds was Miss Kitten. She was known for her “'80s-inspired synth-pop and Italo-disco influence” and unique party music. She released a set called First Album with The Hacker, a fun spin on 80’s dance music with comical lyrics and a carefree vibe. In the 2000s, EDM found its way into pop music and became somewhat mainstream. Artists and DJs like NERVO and David Guetta, who both co-wrote the Grammy-winning song “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland, were big names in the industry and played a role in integrating EDM with pop music. Experimentation with music and technology continued with artists such as Björk, who combines music producing and DJing and creates microbeats by using small everyday sounds on her album, Vespertine. She introduced this as a new method of DJing music in 2001.

DJs were more virtual than ever. This means that mixtapes flooded the online world and there was a boom in the number of DJs. With this boom came new developments in DJ history such as Charlotte De Witt becoming the first female DJ to “close out Tomorrowland's main stage”. Her sets have acid and dark techno influences which have given her an international following. This boom also meant DJs began to merge and network with classic DJs. The proliferation of Internet technologies has also created a culture of disc jockey enthusiast groups who proliferated social and mass media groups, however, the DJ culture has kept its underground essence in most metropolitan cities.

2010s
DJing continues to move into the mainstream. Soundcloud, a platform for uploading one's own music, officially established itself as a main media platform. It reached 1 million users in May of 2010. Music becomes easier to stream with Spotify being introduced to the United States in July of 2011, opening people to more music of their choice. Dubstep begins to become a huge part of DJing in 2010 as Rusko's "Woo Boost" brings it into more mainstream music. Socialite Paris Hilton is inspired by music in Ibiza and begins her DJing career in June of 2012, later being named one of Forbes' richest DJ in 2016. Ibiza is a huge inspiration for 2010's DJs in general, with Nancy Noise using Ibiza as inspiration to help start the acid house movement in England. DJing is completely mobile in 2013 when Traktor DJ is now available on iPhones. Many companies use DJs as events to add to ambiance. This is how Nikki Pennie ("the British Bardot") got her start as a DJ when fashion events wanted to start using DJs as their source of music in 2013. She was trained by Dave Garnish and began working for Jimmy Choo, H&M, Dior, and other fashion companies.

Festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza become huge places for DJs to perform. In 2018 Alison Wonderland, an Australian DJ, became the highest billed female DJ in Coachella history. The 2010s began what the 2020s would know as the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) movement. Artists like Swedish House Mafia, Tiësto, and LCD Soundsystem bring EDM into the 2010s mainstream scene. EDM festival L.A. Coliseum home, now known as Electric Daisy Carnival, had it's best selling year at the time in 2010.