Whats Next for the Quarantine DJ
It's going on two months since DJ D-Nice exposed the world to the value and potential of live streaming. By no means is this a new and original concept. The technology has been available for years but wasn’t until everyone was forced to stay home, did it seem like an attractive idea. Now my Instagram timeline is flooded with every DJ on earth broadcasting live. But is it a little too late? Has the novelty of it begun to fall into the oversaturated category of "what was once cool” that much of the music business tends to fall into after only a short period of time. What next, I ask. Clearly D-Nice has opened the doors for opportunity, but who is taking the baton and creating the next phase of the quarantine DJ.
I was recently made aware of a production company in Las Vegas by two Orlando AV techs who ran production for most of the clubs here in town. Both recently relocated to Vegas to work with a company called https://www.digital2physical.net/. What I saw was nothing less than amazing. Originally started by a couple of 3D content creators has turned into a virtual 3D world specifically designed around the live streaming of DJs on a custom-built stage set. At first glance behind the scenes, the set is nothing more than a green screen and a fold up table for a DJ to set up on. What you don’t see is how this has turned into the most creative virtual world currently available to DJs, with the back end rivaling a professional animation studio. Basically, the final product resembles what you would see at any major EDM festival, with a multimillion-dollar stage production behind them, except it's all produced in one room. A small team of creatives are controlling a lighting rig, 3D content in real time, and multi camera switching so the live streaming viewer feels engaged in the action.
Granted, this may seem a little overwhelming to most. And it should. This is a well-executed performance that brings DJs through for specific set times, and each DJ would bring his or her own audience via Twitch. Twitch is the companies streaming platform of choice. Mainly used by gamers, it has become the go to for professional streamers of all sorts. What I found interesting and had never experienced before, was while one DJ was finishing their set, the next DJ had a fan base ready to log into the live stream and basically just take it over. Imagine being in the club and as one DJ finished and the next was getting ready to start, a rush of hundreds of people came through the door at the very same time. Almost a flash mob mentality, but in a streaming virtual world. The visual product is so impressive that it has attracted the attention of not only major EDM DJs who's career thrives on high end production, but also the management company that controls some of the biggest nightclubs around the world.
I say all that to say this. This is my challenge to Orlando DJs, many of which are my friends. How are you elevating this newly found platform? We are fortunate enough to live in a city that has multiple high-end production schools teaching every aspect of this new direction. There are a lot of young 3D modelers sitting at home right now. There are show production and lighting students with nothing to do right now. There are even studios in town with rooms not booked to full capacity right now. That camera over your turntables is only a fraction of what your musical set and vision could be.
Soundcloud and Twitch has recently teamed up specifically to assist in monetizing DJs live streams. This partnership lets users of the platform the ability to sidestep the normal criteria from Twitch to monetize and now allows DJs to simply fast track the affiliate program and get straight to generating money off their stream. There has never been a better time to create and think outside the box when pertaining to your creativity and art form. The proven examples are there, the resources to do so live in your backyard, and even prominent streaming companies are developing ways to monetize these efforts. The question now is, what are YOU going to do?
BY: Scotty Jewlz