Why do you call yourself DJ? (Page 2 of 3)

Bit wish wrote:

Yea, Dj= disc jokey, and if im correct, that's some one who changes cd's at parties.

Little bit of DJ history:
For about 50 years they were the people who played records over radio broadcasts and were the moguls that made new (and good) music accessible to audiences. They were not mixers, mashers, or masters of scratching razzle dazzle. They were people who listened to tons of music, and simply played it over the radio. During times of racial tension in the US, white DJs pretended to sound black (jive, slang, etc) and would spin black music like blues and early rock'n'roll. Later, white kids would listen to the music on the radio, and liked the abrasiveness (abrasive to what their parents listened to) of the announcer and the music. The white (and some black) DJs who played black music over the air were forced out of their broadcasting jobs due to pressure from higher ups at broadcasting companies, and got gigs playing for clubs and bars where it wasn't so tense. There was a demand for the music to never stop, which was the birth of turntablism, and things eventually involved into what they are today.

tl;dr They weren't/aren't the people who change CD's at parties, real DJ's are people who know music worth listening to or dancing to for sizable groups of people. How they choose to make that music accessible is up to them.

Chip musicians who are "DJ's" are rare. I DJ at a local bar from time to time, but it doesn't make me a "DJ'ing chip musician." I mix my own tunes up, and mash up others, it's not DJ'ing. As long as I am playing someone else's music, it is like I am being a disc jockey in some fashion. When I am "performing" my works live, it is all done "in the mix." It's just how I feel, but whatever. DJ'ing is a rather new art, and chipmusic is even newer. I feel like it's not easy to debate this given the actual lap of overlap between the two, despite the similarities between sampling and (re)production techniques (from my perspective).

I wouldn't want to be called a performer, its hardly performing for me, i press start.

Additional question: In electronic/VGM/chipmusic, what's the difference between a cover and a remix? It's kind of an extreme analogy because she performs rock, not electronic music but bear with me. Linda Ronstadt would never consider herself a DJ even though her claim to fame is re-interpreting rock songs.