This will be the first occupation to be completely eliminated by AI.
No disrespect to the women featured here, but any article serious about female DJs in NYC should include Jeannie Hopper of the Liquid Sound Lounge fame. Her contribution on the underground non-commercial soulful house scene runs in the decades.
So if these women DJs are only of mediocre talent and the their pay reflects that obviously the root cause is male misogyny. Do they get a percentage of the night's take? Does the nightclub make lots on money when these crusaders are on the job? I see one little clip of the crowd in the background of the DJ and they are just milling around, not dancing to the tune.
"Emotional, Funky, Fierce..." Right, all of that in a stylish article. Its not just Brooklyn where female DJ's are big. Denver's dance scene has its share of them, for years. Like first class musicians, they draw on their knowledge of music and create an experience. The DJ is the focus of the nightclub, and pulls in the crowd the owner wants. Many goers have a few select DJs and only go to their gigs. And some DJ's can create very different experiences, depending on the kind of night, or created an alternate experience on a different dance floor at the same club. Or female and male DJ's can collaborate at the same floor on the same night. Some times they will alternate on consecutive songs. Not all male DJ's are ego driven, and not all female DJ's are ego free.
Women have always DJ'd, and they are also simply called DJs (not female DJs, DJanes, or any other moniker that puts gender before the work). I love when we are featured (Hi Discwoman!), but I also love when women of color are highlighted. Next time, try promoting women and non-binary DJs of a variety of backgrounds and tastes who create for their communities - the nightlife of NYC that is so rapidly disappearing. See DJ Rimarkable, DJ Reborn, DJ Natasha Diggs of Soul in the Horn, Suzi Analog, Zephyr Ann, DJ Waichi and JackEO of ILIKEITBK, and BAE Collective - just a few women of color dominating dance floors all over New York with a lot to say about representation.
Signed,
Leah King, a member of female:pressure international DJ network (look us up, too)
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The presentation of this article in the digital format is extremely difficult to navigate and read. What's the point? It's as shallow as the electronic dance music that it seems to be promoting (unable to finish the article because of presentation).
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The user interface works better on mobile phones/tablets.
Very cool article. And glad to see things changing to a more balanced, diversified, and equitable landscape. I'm a male DJ of thirty years, and it has felt male saturated for way too long. There is a sea of aggressive male DJ egos and it has become tiring. We need to mix this thing up (sorry no pun intended). Women bring a fresh approach to the DJing art, and I'm looking forward to learning from it.
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There is a difference between 'playing tracks' and DJ'ing. Playlist, beat sync, etc. is not DJing or being a DJ, regardless if they are a male or female. It's akin to everybody claiming to be a 'photographer' because they have a high end phone with a camera....
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This is all well and good, that female DJs are starting to get as much 'play and pay' as male DJs. But I don't like when 'trends' like this stem purely from a kneejerk response to what were previously seen as problems (i.e., lack of diversity among DJs). Are female DJs really now being seen as equal to male DJs, but they just so happen to be female? Is it now 'cool' for clubs to feature (gasp!) a female DJ? And is this merely a trend that will fade away once there's no more talk like MeToo, Empowerment, Resist and The Future is Female? To me it all feels very transparent...just a way to try and appeal to a certain crowd...to jump on the Future is Female/All Men are Bad movement.
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Now, this presentation is why the NYT digital version is fire. It's graphic presentation is as much a part of the story-telling as the pictures, video and copy. Well done!!! One question: why are you burying the lead??? Your stories like these should be the new front page of the Times online. The King of Print is Dead; Long love the New King!!! All the news that's fit to showcase...
No, it's a lousy presentation; I can't even read the article in a Safari browser (I admit I only tried for five minutes, smh).
Pardon me, but Paris Hilton has been doing this for years. Or is she not someone to be taken seriously? (yeah, I already know your answer to that)
The fact remains that she has been a professional DJ long before these crusaders were and she was getting big dollars for it too, all by herself, on her own. It was something she was interested in and she just did it.
Paris Hilton's primary source of income is from DJing? Because that's a key requirement for the "professional" tag ... which is why the focus of so many people in the article is on rate of pay.
Whether it is her primary source of income is her private business. She provides professional level DJ services for a fee and her fees per night are in the tens of thousands of dollars. Apparently she has talent too. She has been a DJ since these women rights crusaders were in high school. I don't keep up with Paris Hilton news but I do remember reading that she was a very successful DJ for internationally known nightclubs and she was making herself and the nightclub lots on money. She also explained how she got into the business, which was quite legitimate. She started small, got experience , got training from experienced DJs, men by the way, and advanced on her merits. She did it on her own.
Where is DJ Maya from Brooklyn, NY