There are diff types of live music DJ’s are by trade musicians just not in the traditional sense of sitting there and playing an instrument. Yes there are some internet radio dj’s which alot of the time they playlist tracks but a DJ itself is a musician there are varying degrees of dj’s so at least get that straight. A playlist DJ is not a musician in a traditional sense but is in fact still a live performer. A music producer DJ’ing/Playlisting their own tracks is a musician. A DJ Live mixing vinyl doing track cuts and remixes and mashups is a musician.

And all of them are considered to be live musicians/performer. There is more to a performance of a DJ then simply playing songs. There is interaction with a crowd being able to work it and many other things that go along with being a live performer that many people that take the role “live musician” or “musician” seem to be snobby about and overlook just because they dont want to tie them into the same pool but im afraid to say your all in it together.

Saying a DJ isnt a live performer/musician is a more ignorant statement then claiming they are not. In fact the very person (Slim Warrior) is an Electronic/Ambient producer who has done festivals and the like what she does would be considered DJ’ing when put to SL and in fact the festival i know she was at was a DJ festival/Electronic music festival. So are you in fact turning around and then claiming that she isnt a live musician because to me that is even if the tracks may be prerecorded for a show.

Electronica is hard to do 100% live lets face it thats why alot of them operate the way they do so really just get over yourself. Just because you dont think a DJ constitutes a live performer/musician doesnt make it so. You have to look at the whole picture there. Electronic music has become alot more popular and is quite big in SL ousting those people as live performers is a bit daft as they make up the majority of the live music scene.

A club’s DJ only lists under Nightlife/Entertainment because of the simple fact the venue/event isnt setup as something that is live but i assure you i could easily list alot of the DJ’s that work for me under live music as they mix live and some produce their own tracks…

As far as ways to really improve the music scene in SL there are ways. But at the same time some of these ways involve the artists sucking it up and looking at themselves and doing things for the Music rather then to make money or “cover themselves” which when i think about it what are their costs directly? I mean are they in a studio session where they are renting time being unable to interact with their crowd etc. And if they arnt are they going out and renting equipment specifically for an SL show.

And if they have the equipment needed before hand what costs other then time? At republik we have had live performers. Montage (underground Electro Punk band from Brazil) And Galaxy Girl. No word of pay came up to them they never asked because our venue does it for the music not money. The key factor is publicity and getting your name out there for both the club and the live performer. Not all clubs are made of money and some artists seem to think that some people have this mass expendable income. (which some places do but alot of us dont)

It can be mutually beneficial to both parties if a performer shows up. If you say have a CD you sell and people like the music plug the site on banners or decorate certain ways etc there are ways to earn income from these events and get your name out there without having to charge the venue owners of places who are already quite often paying alot so as it is. Plugging events on the main page and the sl login would be good listed under the live performance category….. Making sure to randomize it so not one list of events takes up the entire screen….

For artists there are alot of publicity mediums out there available for free as well and if all else fails word of mouth is still a powerful tool…