Your answers: Is DJing becoming too easy?

As more and more technological developments come to market, we asked you the question: is DJing becoming too easy?

Once an art form that had as much to do with technical prowess as musical curation, the role of the DJ has become increasingly important over the last 20 years. There seem to be more superstar DJs than ever before, thanks in part to the rise and rise of EDM, but has their job been made easier since DJing went digital?

Products from a long list of companies - including Native Instruments, Pioneer DJ, Numark, Denon DJ, Serato and Ableton - have been instrumental in changing the way people mix tunes. Nowadays, a whole mix can be formed from songs purchased online, curated in software and then uploaded to a USB stick to be plugged into a growing number of DJ controllers, where cue points and tempo information are also included.

But maybe the craft is in the curation? Finely selecting floor-filling bangers and knowing when to drop them is another string to the DJ's bow. Perhaps this is what distinguishes the best from the rest?

Needless to say this was a hot topic on our social channels, here's the pick of your responses…

Your answers: Is DJing becoming too easy?

"Changing tracks was never hard, better DJs still have better tricks. Technology helps DJing to get to the next level."

Tuomo Salonen

"Easy?! Try boring! Nobody fukn cares about your laptop assistant and CDJs and audio controllers. The fact is, you can remove the DJ prefix and call this bullshit something less creative. Oh yeah, a producer! #lame"

Eric Ramos

"Technology does make things easier, but it will never replace track selection, crowd control, expressing moods through sound and knowing exactly when to drop the bombs"

Jeremy Voltage

"It's interesting, if you ask longtime DJ's, they love Traktor, so I don't understand all the animosity. I don't think people having a good time dancing around care how the music is arranged."

Heath Hensel

"Yes. Incredible, I started to DJ with record decks and a variable wheel moving it left to right tough, then technics, then cd players. Now I use Traktor S8, mix with sync play stems & remix/mash up on the fly… So why try harder."

Mark Keilaus

"No. Being a truly good DJ is really hard and requires a myriad of skills, including curating music, which takes an entire career to develop. I can name maybe two handfuls of house DJs, for instance, who actually get the point of house music. They know what, when & how to play music that feels good to discerning heads that want to lose their shit on the dancefloor. Lastly, I think it's always been about the message, not the means you choose to deliver that message."

Jason Soditch

"Yes, technology makes it so easy these days that everybody with a controller can call him/herself a DJ, it becomes so hard to find a good one"

Nino Noniboy Katic

"I suppose it depends. For the average DJ I suppose it is rather easy, although it may cost you a bit of money, but money doesn't determine skill. For a truly good DJ, then no. To be a good DJ, or to be a good anything, you must bring something new to the table. Then again, what do I know? I'm not a DJ."

Matt Somerfield

"Noooo, pushing buttons and moving faders up and down is just as demanding as it ever was and don't you ever let anyone (especially those musicians who can actually play an instrument) tell you any different."

Mick Wright

"DJing bores me now. I used to love playing only vinyl because it was a skill which took me years to master, now I press buttons and the cdj does most of the work for me, There's no fun in it anymore and any old mug can do it."

Stefan Harvey

"Apparently technology is making everything easier in music, in the eyes of some. Possibly to some extent it is. However, it still requires work ethic, persistence, and some level of creativity to really make yourself stand out. If everything is becoming easier and more people are doing it, then it requires more innovation to rise above the crowd."

An Ordinary Day

"The best controller won't save a tired playlist. Good taste and sensing the mood of your audience can't be automated!"

David Wilkinson

Simon Arblaster
Video Producer & Reviews Editor

I take care of the reviews on MusicRadar and Future Music magazine, though can sometimes be spotted in front of a camera talking little sense in the presence of real musicians. For the past 30 years, I have been unable to decide on which instrument to master, so haven't bothered. Currently, a lover of all things high-gain in the guitar stakes and never one to resist churning out sub-standard funky breaks, the likes of which you'll never hear.