Are DJs musicians?

[PunkinDrublic]

I vote no. I mean in old school hip hop it was kind of cool to see guys scratching records but these guys who play records in clubs are not musicians. I can't believe dingbats who will go to clubs because a certain dj is spinning that night. Just because you can find obscure records and mix them in with drumbeats doesn't make you a musician just like me putting a cd in my stereo and pushing play doesn't make me a musician either.

[ZepSinger]

They are no more musicians than web surfers are programmers.

[Pants]

:shake:
Define DJs. There are DJs who come up with their own stuff and "spin" it in the clubs. They're muscians and very gifted ones at that. Armen van Burren is a good example.

[Reaper16]

:shake:
Define DJs. There are DJs who come up with their own stuff and "spin" it in the clubs. They're muscians and very gifted ones at that. Armen van Burren is a good example.
I was gonna say the same thing. There are plenty of electronica, trance, etc. artists that go by the "DJ" moniker. If we're just talking a simple club DJ that plays records, then no, he's not creating music.

[NewChief]

Yeah, there's a lot more to DJ'ing than just finding a record and pushing play. One of the coolest and hardest things to do is to match beats, which is to make one song flow seamlessly into another song without pause, and if done well, without you even realizing it was seguing until all of a sudden you're like, "Woah! That's -that- song."

When you get into DJs like Sasha, Digweed, and all of those types of guys, you're talking serious talent levels. They are musicians, imo. On top of that, as someone else said, many of the DJs create their own music that they then sample. A good friend of mine, who was in bands for years and years, now exclusively DJs raves because he was sick of the band dynamics. He has a full studio in his house, sits around and samples himself playing guitar and other instruments, feeds it into his computer and then uses it all later when he's actually DJing.

[Katipan]

Some DJs are musicians. The vast majority are entertainers.

[Katipan]

"and remember gentlemen, tipping isn't just a city in China."

ROLLEYES

[DomerNKC]

no

[burt]

I made my living outa DJ'ing in the 80's. I had cutting edge music...I mixed beats.... IDcan't play a note, and I don't read music....DJ's are entertainers....they ARE NOT MUSICIANS. Uncle Cracker is both...not a musician because he is a DJ...

[Mr. Flopnuts]

So if scratching records to mixed music qualifies you as a musician, can I bang pots and pans together and qualify too? The answer to this question is a resounding **** no.

[Nzoner]

Some DJs are musicians. The vast majority are entertainers.

I used to be in the vast majority,those were some good times though.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Not just no... but **** no.

[sedated]

what would be considered an instrument?