Spotify Is Brilliant. It Just Isn't A Wedding DJ.

27 Jul

Spotify is brilliant.

I use it. You use it. Pretty much everyone uses it.

You can build playlists, discover new music, save your favourite songs and listen to practically anything you want whenever you want.

So when couples tell me:

“We're thinking of just making a Spotify playlist for the wedding.”

I completely understand.

And you absolutely can.

You could also make your own wedding cake.

The question isn't whether you can.

It's whether you want to be responsible for doing it when there are 120 people waiting for the next song.

The playlist isn't the difficult bit

This is probably the biggest misunderstanding about having a DJ.

People think the DJ's job is to choose songs.

It isn't.

Choosing songs is easy.

You can sit down with your partner, open Spotify and come up with 200 songs you both love before dinner.

Done.

The difficult bit is deciding which one should come next.

And then the one after that.

And then what to do when the thing you thought would work brilliantly absolutely doesn't.

That's where DJing comes in.

Spotify can't read your dancefloor

Imagine you've spent months putting together the perfect playlist.

You've got disco.

You've got Motown.

You've got some 80s.

A bit of indie.

A few guilty pleasures.

Your favourite party tracks.

Everything is there.

Then the first 40 minutes of dancing happen.

And something unexpected happens.

Everyone absolutely loses their minds when you play three big disco tracks in a row.

The dancefloor is packed.

People are singing.

Nobody wants it to stop.

So what do you do?

Your playlist says the next song is an indie classic.

Spotify has no idea that the room is currently having the time of its life.

It doesn't know that you've got 100 people singing along.

It doesn't know that switching genres right now could kill the momentum.

It doesn't know that the best thing to do might be to play another disco track.

It doesn't know anything about the room.

I do.

That's the job.

A good playlist can still make a terrible party

This is the really important bit.

You can have an absolutely brilliant playlist and still have a rubbish wedding party.

Because great songs aren't necessarily great DJ choices.

A song can be brilliant.

It can be one of your all-time favourites.

It can have 4.8 billion streams.

And it can still be completely wrong right now.

Maybe the dancefloor has just exploded and the song you've chosen is too slow.

Maybe everyone has had enough of 80s pop.

Maybe the room needs something familiar.

Maybe the crowd is ready for something slightly more adventurous.

Maybe you've just played three huge singalongs and need something that gives people a moment to breathe.

There isn't a spreadsheet for this.

There's no algorithm that knows your Uncle Steve has just gone to the bar because the last song was terrible.

You have to be there.

A DJ can change direction

This is where things get interesting.

A playlist follows a plan.

A DJ can abandon one.

Suppose you've planned a run of 90s classics.

Everything is going well.

Then someone requests a particular funk track.

You play it.

Suddenly half the room is dancing harder than they have all night.

So you follow it.

Maybe you stay in that world for another twenty minutes.

Maybe you pull something unexpected from your collection.

Maybe you gradually move from funk into disco, then house, then something completely different.

The plan has changed.

That's fine.

In fact, that's often the best bit.

A wedding isn't a playlist.

It's a room full of human beings reacting to music in real time.

A DJ knows when not to play something

This is a surprisingly important part of the job.

A good DJ isn't just looking for the next great song.

They're constantly deciding which great songs not to play.

You've got a brilliant track in your head.

You know everyone will love it.

But the current song is absolutely flying.

So you wait.

Another song comes to mind.

You hold it back.

Someone requests something.

You decide it doesn't fit.

That's DJing.

It's not about having the biggest possible collection of songs.

It's about having the judgement to know which song belongs in this particular moment.

And then there are the requests

Spotify doesn't have to deal with your guests.

I do.

And that's important.

Because weddings are full of people with very different ideas about what constitutes a good party.

Your best mate wants hip-hop.

Your dad wants Motown.

Your aunt wants ABBA.

Someone's girlfriend wants Taylor Swift.

Someone you've never met wants Mr Brightside.

And somebody will inevitably request a song you've already played.

The answer isn't necessarily to play everything.

Unlimited requests aren't necessarily a good thing.

The job is to listen, understand what people are asking for and decide whether it actually makes sense.

Sometimes the answer is yes.

Sometimes it's no.

Sometimes it's “not yet.”

That's part of being responsible for the music.

Then Spotify starts doing Spotify things

Let's assume you've solved the difficult bit.

You've made an excellent playlist.

You've ordered it carefully.

You've checked everything twice.

You've got the phone ready.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well...

Your playlist runs out.

An advert appears.

Someone accidentally hits shuffle.

A notification pops up.

Your phone rings.

The Bluetooth connection drops.

Someone connects another device.

The volume is wrong.

The next track is suddenly much louder than the previous one.

Your carefully selected playlist finishes and Spotify decides to follow it with something that its algorithm has apparently decided is “perfect for your wedding.”

Or perhaps the person who's been volunteered to operate the phone has had three glasses of prosecco and is now more interested in dancing.

None of these things are particularly unusual.

They're just things you don't have to worry about when there's a professional DJ standing there.

And then there's the actual mixing

There's another difference that you don't necessarily notice until it's missing.

A good DJ can mix.

That means the music doesn't necessarily have to stop, fade out, pause and then start again.

Songs can be blended.

Tempos can change gradually.

Energy can be controlled.

The next track can arrive at exactly the right moment.

Sometimes you won't consciously notice any of this.

That's the point.

The music simply feels like it's moving.

And when it works properly, you don't think:

“Excellent transition.”

You think:

“This party is absolutely flying.”

The biggest difference is responsibility

This is the bit that matters most.

If you hand a playlist to an usher, you're asking them to operate music.

If you hire a DJ, you're asking someone to take responsibility for the atmosphere.

That's a completely different thing.

A DJ is watching.

Listening.

Adjusting.

Making decisions.

Keeping an eye on the clock.

Watching the dancefloor.

Taking requests.

Managing the energy.

Adapting when the plan doesn't work.

And occasionally rescuing the evening when someone has decided that playing six slow songs in succession would be a good idea.

Someone is responsible for what happens next.

That's what you're actually paying for.

So should you make a Spotify playlist?

Absolutely.

In fact, please do.

Tell me what you love.

Send me your favourite songs.

Tell me the tracks that mean something to you.

Tell me what you never want to hear.

Give me a sense of your taste.

That's incredibly useful.

But then let me do the bit that Spotify can't.

Take that information.

Look at the people in the room.

Listen to what's happening.

And decide what comes next.

Because I'm not interested in ignoring your music taste and playing whatever I fancy.

I'm interested in taking your music and turning it into your party.