Doubts about DJing

[gensaku]

Hi. I've been searching google about how to become a DJ in Second Life, and the newest tutorial I found was of 2014. Is there any news, or can I follow this one?

Also, it says to have a good mic to capture voice. Is it required to voice, or only stream the music does the job? (I'd like to do it in my male alt, and I'm a female). 

[SAULGOODiE]

On 5/15/2017 at 2:26 PM, gensaku said:

Hi. I've been searching google about how to become a DJ in Second Life, and the newest tutorial I found was of 2014. Is there any news, or can I follow this one?

Also, it says to have a good mic to capture voice. Is it required to voice, or only stream the music does the job? (I'd like to do it in my male alt, and I'm a female). 

Hello, @gensaku

If you have found information from as recent as 2014, most or all the information will still be relevant, not much has changed since then in terms of DJing. 

You should think about how serious you are about DJing in Second Life. With very little investment and time, you can get a basic setup working that will allow you to broadcast to a small amount of people. For beginners, this is perfect, because chances are you will NOT score an incredible DJ job right away. There are plenty of clubs of every genre that are constantly hiring DJ's, and some of the most important things are consistency with shifts and the quality of the music you play. 

If you really want to get serious, you need to start thinking about more details. The more popular clubs on the grid will have higher expectations for their DJ's. Some REQUIRE that DJ's use voice to interact with the crowd during their set. Some clubs are very picky about the style of music you play, or even how you play it, with more elite clubs looking for DJ's to do "Live-Mixing" as opposed to running tracks off a playlist. 

All-in-all, you can get yourself going with some streaming software and a cheap shoutcast/icecast server. This will allow you to get your foot in the door at some clubs, then maybe once you have lost your Doubts you can invest more time and money into your new DJ career  

Good luck!!

[Monti Messmer]

A DJ without voice is playing internet radio ... no use for a club.

Don´t forget you need all the music (legal), softare (legal or free) AND a DJ license (in some/most countries) I know the last is the most ignored thing but if someone reports you  - ouch.

Choose free software is ok, some of them do a great job for an SL-DJ.

One last thing, most clubs now only hire DJs with their own group of followers, it´s less about music more about guests. The cost for the music and server are usually more than you can make in L$:

Monti

[SAULGOODiE]

11 hours ago, Monti Messmer said:

A DJ without voice is playing internet radio ... no use for a club.

Sorry, but I will straight up LEAVE a club if the DJ is over-active with their voice, its obnoxious to me personally. Plenty of DJ's I regularly check out do NOT use voice, but utilize interesting mixing and/or scratching in their sets. Plenty of "use" for a club where folks aren't just looking for top 40's and/or voice shoutouts for their tips 

Also @Monti Messmer I believe you are misinformed about the licensing that needs to be done to DJ in Second Life. There is documented correspondence between a resident and Sony/BMI stating "The licensing obligation falls on the website from which music is made available. Therefore, if the music is appearing somewhere other than your own website, you are not responsible for securing a Public Performance license for that use." Even if you were DJ'ing in real life, unless you are gigging places besides typical concert halls, the VENUE obtains the license. If you were say, a Wedding DJ, you would need to acquire a license yourself because there is no venue you are working under.

[SierraStyles]

Timothy Scarborough on Helping Haven has a DJ class there. Good info, he answers questions RE: DJ-ing on SL too. Also helpful is his class on hosting in clubs.

[Buttacwup Float]

I just want to second @SAULGOODiE comment on voice and DJs. Talk over the music once or twice in between tracks providing some thanks yous to the venue etc and I am ok. Break in to the middle of a track to welcome someone or make another comment and I am very likely to leave. i come for the music, i come to hear the arrangement that the DJ puts together. 

I will say this, if you are going to voice get a REAL mic. Not the one on your head set, not the one on your pc.  Get a nice condenser mic and make sure you can control that channel separate from the music. The only thing worse than having the music interrupted by a DJ that feels the need to talk is when its done on a scratchy, low end mic.

[Duke Avelino]

The information above has been put up very nicely. @gensaku Yes, if someone helps out in-world and lays out a few foundation it would be more encouraging. But I'm sure you came to know about a lot of inworld complexities. I wanted to learn to stream my music but more then creating a playlist its more about making mixes and playing music that appeals to the crowd.

The clubs that attract a good amount of tip enough to get you profit and pay for your shoutcast subscription needs very specific requirements. Personally, I go to this EDM club where you could request a song you like. And the Dj actually takes up requests from the local chats. You would want to go there again if your hopes are met.

But dont let that discourage you from giving the new experience a try. Go out there start from scratch make friends and play for them in small clubs. Build a strong circle and run your own fan group eventually. Might take months to years. Its a commitment of a lot of time and work So make sure you are able to invest the time trust and money to build a carrier.

[mQQnie]

i've been a DJ for about 5 years now... personally, if i go into a club and the DJ doesn't speak at ALL, i'll leave... if i want to hear JUST a music stream, i'll stay on my Homestead and listen to my own.

This is only my humble opinion, but I've seen over the years that it works, a DJ has to show THEIR own personality. I never talk over songs unless it's just music playing, i do about 30 minutes of music and then a an instrument song for my "voice break".. i pump up the crowd, i talk to them, i read local and respond to them... etc. Again, in my own opinion, this is the best way to get followers... let them fall in love with YOU! Granted, i do agree, most music CAN speak for itself, especially in the case of blues. I'll usually cut my voice breaks down on my blues sets.

Alot of really good advice here as far as music and licensing, be VERY aware of that in 2nd Life. And last but not least, use YOUR personality, and i cannot stress enough... use your VOICE! 

[Paul Hexem]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 6:59 PM, SAULGOODiE said:

Also @Monti Messmer I believe you are misinformed about the licensing that needs to be done to DJ in Second Life. There is documented correspondence between a resident and Sony/BMI stating "The licensing obligation falls on the website from which music is made available. Therefore, if the music is appearing somewhere other than your own website, you are not responsible for securing a Public Performance license for that use." Even if you were DJ'ing in real life, unless you are gigging places besides typical concert halls, the VENUE obtains the license. If you were say, a Wedding DJ, you would need to acquire a license yourself because there is no venue you are working under.

This is correct. The venue is supposed to get the license. Guess how many SL clubs actually do that, though.

 

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 7:20 AM, Monti Messmer said:

One last thing, most clubs now only hire DJs with their own group of followers, it´s less about music more about guests. The cost for the music and server are usually more than you can make in L$:

This is also true, and why I gave it up. When you tell club owners, "I'll DJ for you, and here's my overhead, so here's what you need to pay me since you have no patrons that tip", they act all indignant that you don't just steal everything like everyone else does.

[SAULGOODiE]

3 hours ago, Gadget Portal said:

This is correct. The venue is supposed to get the license. Guess how many SL clubs actually do that, though.

To be perfectly honest, I am not sure it's the Clubs responsibility, or LL's? I believe BMI says something along the lines of License needing to be obtained by the party that stands to benefit the most or make the most profit, it seems to be a bit of a grey area when we start talking about virtual world performances. LL is, after all, technically the landlord for the whole grid.

I haven't been able to find an official statement from LL regarding a DJ license owned by the company, but I also haven't found any documented evidence of a SL Club being sued or approached for not having proper Licensing.... You think by now someone would have been guilty enough for some attention, like the many copyright and content creator cases that exist. 

[Alwin Alcott]

have a look here

https://radio.co/blog/do-i-need-a-license-for-internet-radio/

[Paul Hexem]

5 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

have a look here

https://radio.co/blog/do-i-need-a-license-for-internet-radio/

That doesn't really apply to this case. In that case, the person setting up the radio station owns the venue. SL is a unique platform, but the DJ definitely does not own the venue in SL. Usually.

[Alwin Alcott]

4 hours ago, Gadget Portal said:

That doesn't really apply to this case. In that case, the person setting up the radio station owns the venue. SL is a unique platform, but the DJ definitely does not own the venue in SL. Usually.

with internet (=SL) radio it's not about the venue, but about the stream and who broadcasts... this is 99% the DJ in SL.

Edited June 2, 2017 by Alwin Alcott

[Paul Hexem]

12 minutes ago, Alwin Alcott said:

with internet (=SL) radio it's not about the venue, but about the stream and who broadcasts... this is 99% the DJ in SL.

No, an Internet Radio station is not the same as an SL DJ. If anything, that website you linked applies to LL or the club owner in SL.

Back when I still did it, I even emailed BMI about this, same as Saul mentioned above.

If the DJ owned the club he was working at, it'd be different, but in most cases, the stream for an SL DJ is treated as another piece of equipment required to do the job.

Edited June 2, 2017 by Gadget Portal

[Alwin Alcott]

2 hours ago, Gadget Portal said:

No, an Internet Radio station is not the same as an SL DJ. If anything, that website you linked applies to LL or the club owner in SL.

Back when I still did it, I even emailed BMI about this, same as Saul mentioned above.

that you don't look further than the first topic there is something i can't help. For each country are different rules.

I have no business with BMI so yours and Sauls post aren't relevant for my situation, as they are not for anybody out of your country.

[SAULGOODiE]

So, in the many years that DJ Streaming has been used in Second Life, where are the documented instances of people being prosecuted for this? Would there not be some precedent set at some point, resulting in an official statement from LL? In my opinion, anyone who is streaming ONLY to people in second life is hardly a blip on the radar of any licensing or copywriting company. These laws are talking about internet radio stations, which typically broadcast 24/7; If you were to setup a Internet Radio that played top 40's hits, competing with mainstream radio etc, you would likely be at risk for not having a license. The number of people listening to a DJ broadcasting to SL alone for only a few hours every day might not be worth the time of day for anyone to prosecute. 

The point is, all these people saying how necessary it is to get a License, and I am nowhere near convinced. There is no evidence of residents being affected by this, nor anything in the TOS that would prevent people without a license from broadcasting. Until I can see something concrete, I cannot suggest people pay hundreds of dollars a year just to try out DJing in second life when it is clearly not a risk. 

[Sim Myoo]

Hey Gensuka DJing in SL is a blast the 3 main programs to use would be Sam's, Virtual DJ, or Winamp. IMO those are the 3 best for me I use Virtual DJ because I like how easy it is. Now I've done this professionally and in SL for a long time. RL DJing is nothing like SL DJing, In RL you do not want to here the DJ you just want music going to grind with some hot babe Grins. In SL Djing is more like working in Radio you have to be an Announcer. I've worked at radio stations where I never played or picked the music an intern did that for me I was getting paid to talk on the mic. SL is sort of the same way but you pick the music. I've had clubs ask for my play list and that's another thing I never do in SL is set up a play list, pick your music on the fly pick your music based on what's being talked about in chat pick your music based on current events don't just give me some play list you made 2 days ago its not relevant anymore. Also never say ummm on the mic never it shows you don't know what your getting ready to talk about and never start a sentence with the word "well" that's how you feel or something that holds water its not a word for starting a sentence. If you download music from y@#tube make sure you get good clean songs not songs from video's and make sure to change the name of the song so it looks right when it comes up in chat. That's just a bit of what I know about DJing in SL its fun and there's not much pay but hey you might hook up with some hot AVI. grins