Following the EDM scene, you can justify a LOT when it comes to the quality of DJ performances. Sometimes, it's all about the selection, so a more stoic selector can be forgiven because the tunes they're dropping are next level, or just perfect. For the most part, DJs are being paid to make people dance... right? That's why we started hitting clubs: to hear music that made us dance. Escapism on the dancefloor. Magnetic Mag recently found an hour-long set of Paris Hilton's from her performance at Pacha Portugal on August 12, and it looks like the most basic shit ever. It feels like the perfect definition of what the stereotypical EDM sound is, but when you hear that she's getting paid #347,000 per hour to "DJ," getting this backstage/bird's eye view of what she's actually going on is necessary.
Or unnecessary, if you're really about that DJ life.
When I go out, I like soaking up the atmosphere of the space we're in. I love hitting a venue and seeing people losing their shit to their favorite tunes, and really going ham on the dancefloor. Hell, if I'm just going to be an ornery android on the sidelines, I'd at least want everyone else to get their shit off. The thing is, going to see Paris Hilton isn't about any of that, and this 61-minute video proves it. This is about going to see a celebrity, someone who's seemingly above the very music we're congregating to enjoy. When I saw how much Paris was making out in Ibiza, then coupled it with the EDM DJ community openly saying "Ibiza is getting to be too expensive," it goes from a culture that's truly progressive (and subversive) and continues to place those behind the decks onto the rockstar pedestals that many DJs have been placed on since the electronica craze in the 1990s. Paris Hilton is already rich, put out a shitty sex tape, made loot off of reality television, then realized how much she loved EDM. That's awesome! Do you, boo boo. But when you start to call yourself a DJ, and your sets are just anthem for anthem for anthem, with little crowd interaction or personality, one has to question what's really going on here. And this isn't to say that great DJs shouldn't be elevated; there are a number of DJs that I will check for just because they're on a bill or drop a new mix. I'm not sure if Paris Hilton's ever dropped a studio mix, nor am I even sure that this SoundCloud page is hers. But I damn sure know that after seeing this clip, I have no desire to be around a venue that's catering to Paris Hilton headlining sets.
This video just highlights what little fun is being had by the people shelling out cash to see Paris hit the decks. You have what appears to be paparazzi (and maybe some "EDM journalists") trying to snap photos a few feet (or less) from Paris' face while she's doing whatever she's doing (which seems to be bending over while she twiddles low, mid, and hi knobs), and during the spots where you're seeing the crowd, rarely does it look like the people there are enjoying themselves. They're looking at the DJ booth in awe, itching to see what Paris is going to do, aka that thing where people get shitfaced for an entire night at the club just to ogle the headliner. They might sing along to "Summer" and the other anthems that Paris drops, but there doesn't appear to be a lot of dancing going on. Mostly a bunch of people staring at other people, trying to look cool. This might be the move for trendier clubs, where the amount of bottles purchased and VIP guests catered to is the bread and butter of your business, but we come from a place where hitting raves and clubs that play dance music was about eschewing what was "popular," not paying top dollar to see a millionaire throw her hand up to her "let's get jamming" playlist for an hour, and really feeling alive for at least a few hours.
Look, it's not like I can stop Paris (or any DJ) from getting loot: as long as she can pack these clubs in Ibiza, she'll have a career as a "DJ," but go there knowing what the fuck you're going to hear. If you're down to see a "DJ" play music any other DJ will play, go ham, but when we're continuing to fight for this scene to be taken seriously during a time when corporate dollars are being funneled in, attempting to homogenize the scene many of us have seen grow from "some shit you go hear out in the desert" to Super Bowl status, it's hard to not get alarmed. Especially when a litany of more capable DJs are not only doing what she (and other big-name DJs) are doing, but doing it at a higher level.
With so many levels to what can be considered a "DJ" these days, too many quality selectors are being neglected for those who are regurgitating what's on the Beatport Top 100 instead of truly exploring what's out there, leaving many lost in a sea of Instagram photos and hashtags. Continue to funnel funds to these DJs if you want to, but its only getting harder to compete out there.
