The DJ is the most controversial musician in history. The only ones who aren’t criticizing him are the people at the bar, watching from afar, oblivious to what he is doing with his mixing skills and feel. If a DJ plays a song that you like and it makes you dance for hours without paying for drinks or getting kicked out of the club, would you call them an artist? 

If so, consider these questions: What does it mean to be an artist? Why do we need someone labeled “artist” or producer tag to be appreciated as such? Do artists even exist anymore? This article will explore and analyze those questions while finally giving you a definitive answer on whether or not DJs are indeed artists. 

 

Art is generally defined as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination to visual, plastic or tangible form, in such a way as to affect the observer”.

The definition seems clear enough. Art is the work of an artist, and therefore, an artist is someone who creates art. But wait? What if the definition has been misused? Maybe it’s been taken out of context? What about the following argument: “An artist is a person who makes paintings.” This clearly states that artists are those who create paintings but does not explain why we need them. The argument “a carpenter is a person who makes furniture” is similar.

When you think of an artist, what comes to mind? An artist is someone who creates objects of art. But why do we need someone to create them? Because they appeal to our senses in such a way as to affect us deeply. The definition then becomes vague, and uncertainty remains. Who are we defining? Artists or artworks? It seems as if they are the same. We do not need someone to create them, but in fact, their creation makes them necessary! So back to the question then: Why are artists or a producer tag is necessary? It seems obvious that we need them for anything else to exist (i.e. if objects did not exist, we could not enjoy art). To answer this question we need to examine the experience of art.

But why would you need certain things to experience anything? Why would something be necessary for something else to exist? Let’s think about the workings of our brains and nervous systems. Without healthy functioning brains and nerves pain can never be experienced, nor can pleasure. So the way our brains and nervous systems function creates the possibility for these emotions (and other ones as well) to be felt in the first place. If no sounds were being made somewhere, such as a car screeching its tires in a parking lot, we wouldn’t know what it sounded like. It is the necessary existence of certain things (in this case sounds) that allow us to experience them (in this case the sound of screeching tires). It would be impossible for us to learn what anything sounded like without it being created somewhere. 

Now consider a painting.

To understand how an artwork affects us we need to consider two major factors: what it looks like, and what its purpose is. Some paintings are intended to make people feel emotional, sometimes even sad. These are not meant to inspire or motivate. They simply make you reflect on your inner pain or troubles in life and seem somewhat depressing because they remind you of unhappy aspects of yourself. Other paintings show you exactly what they look like, nothing more and nothing less. These can be considered as artworks in the sense that they have an objective reality, but they don’t inspire any emotions.

The fact that some paintings can be said to have objective reality while others are valued purely for how they make us feel underscores the fact that the effect of art depends on what kind it is. In other words, there are different types of artworks, and some of them don’t affect us very much at all. Consider a house. It can represent something to you (maybe a place where you once lived) or simply be exactly what it looks like: four walls and a roof that protects you from storms and weather. This house may seem as if it has an objective reality, but its purpose is to provide you with a place to live and sleep at night.

There is one more type of art that does not affect us in the same way. It is information. What exactly is information? The information provides us with data that can be used to create other things (i.e. music). These are not the things themselves, but rather the stuff that allows for the creation of artworks. This was first done by writing on stone tablets which were then discarded after they were no longer needed, so information cannot be considered an object of art itself. It can only be used to create an object of art. This is not to say that all art is created by information, but rather that some of it are. It takes information to create a painting or piece of music, and in some cases, the data itself becomes the artwork.

To summarize, there are many different types of artworks out there and they don’t all affect us the same way. For example, paintings that depict things in their physical form have an objective reality but do not affect us very much at all. Still, their purpose is to make us feel emotions by evoking memories or by making a person think about things. The main thing to remember is that these artworks are affected by the information which allows them to be created. Without information, a painting could not be created. Therefore, as has been shown, it is clear that an artist is anyone who creates artworks, whether in paintings or music. However, it may be true that some of them do not affect us in the same way as others do because some things simply cannot be made into artwork through information alone (i.e. a house). They would not have an objective reality since their purpose would not involve affecting our senses to any great extent.

So why are artists or a producer tag necessary? Because without them we would not have art at all.

FAQs on a DJ

  1. What are the roles and responsibilities of a DJ?

A DJ is a presenter who plays music and presents an audience with what they are listening to. The roles of a DJ include deciding on the mood of the audience, providing feelings and emotions, gathering data and information, delivering news, informing listeners through sound (i.e. historical facts, social information), and much more.

Are you saying that a DJ is a person who gathers information? Yes. A person who gathers data that can be used to create other things like paintings or music is called an artist. Someone who creates music by playing instruments directly (i.e. guitar) is not considered an artist here because they are a performer rather than someone who creates music itself (i.e. its data). 

  1. What is the source of a DJ’s power?

A DJ’s power comes from the audience or a producer tag who appreciates their work. A man can only be powerful if other men respect him and are willing to give him what he wants or needs which makes his life easier. This is not to say that there aren’t any women DJs, simply that it is irrelevant in this context since it does not change the fact that a DJ depends on an audience for good information and for people to buy their music so that they have something valuable to give them in return (i.e. money).

  1. What is the reason for a DJ’s success?

DJs are successful because they can make people aware of who they are, how they live their lives, and what they like to listen to. The DJ would not need to get approval for their job if the audience did not want him or her to be there in the first place.

  1. How do DJs make people listen to them?

A DJ takes something that a person is interested in, then presents it in a way that brings it out as best as possible so that the listener will be more stimulated by it. A DJ is more successful when his/her work makes people eager and excited about listening to him/her.

  1. What are the most important things to remember about a DJ?

A DJ is a presenter who plays music and presents an audience with what they are listening to. The roles of a DJ include deciding on the mood of the audience, providing feelings and emotions, gathering data and information, delivering news, informing listeners through sound (i.e. historical facts, social information), and much more.

Conclusion-

To be a successful DJ with a producer tag, you must be creative and know how to use music as a tool to do things such as changing people’s moods, giving them feelings and emotions, or even just keeping them happily occupied.