[ludwigschubert]

A large part of the “value” a DJ brings is track selection; for sure. Playlists can do part of that, say to create a certain mood. But DJs get to adjust these on the fly as they observe the crowd reaction. Additionally, DJs rarely play full songs. Transitions can be drawn out over 16,32,64 bars, taking 1-2minutes. During that time DJs use tools like EQs or stem splitters to ensure the two tracks playing don’t clash. There’s lots more detail; just take my strongest recommendation to try DJing on hardware with a friend at some point; it’s a richer and more rewarding experience than the “Skrillex pressing play on his MacBook” meme suggests.

Edit: there’s lots more to say about DJing of course, maybe someone else will chime in. One aspect to keep in mind is that DJing is important primarily in dance music. If you don’t go dancing at clubs you may not be aware how different dance music is to traditional music meant for listening. A lot of the focus of dance music is generating tension (“build”) and releasing it in a pleasant manner (“drop”). Doing that at a pace that works for the energy level of the crowd at that moment, without unexpected shifts in energy levels, is not trivial. It requires taste and experience, and aims to create a more cohesive and unified experience for the dancers than a playlist could.

Phew! Can you tell I recently got into DJing? ;-)

[solardev]

Ah, cool! Thanks for the explanation :)

Although I've never really been the "clubbing" type, I do other types of dancing (swing, salsa, Scottish, country, etc.). They usually go off playlists, but I can see how having a live DJ who interactively adjusts the music to the crowd's energy level would be fun. I'd love to experience something like that!

In terms of streaming, it would also be really cool to get a live DJ for D&D and other board game nights, who can dynamically respond to what's happening in the game world and blend the tracks (and sound effects?) appropriately. Does anyone do stuff like that? I'd pay for that service!

[ludwigschubert]

Yeah, in ballroom one takes a break between songs iirc. (It’s been a decade or two.) The harder styles of dance and deeper kinds of house music seem designed to put you into a mild trance, thus the need to keep the rhythm consistent.

For D&D, have you seen https://tabletopy.com/ ? I think I saw it here on HN a while ago.