Say what you will about Traktor, but the software's existence has come a long way in the last decade to push forward the hybrid performance of a DJ and live set. Upgraded and developed over time, the Traktor Pro has been running on its own legs for a while now, and the introduction of a plug-in (of sorts) that is set to revolutionize the relationship of DJ and audience is due.
Enter the Twitter DJ app. Essentially, Traktor communicates what the DJ is playing during his set and transmits it to the public via social media tools that are widely used, updating it every 30 seconds. The best choice for such a platform is Twitter, where even on the dancefloor you can check your incoming "tweets" to tell you exactly what Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Digweed or the many other DJs who use the program are spinning. While this is a great way to further insight on how a DJ builds a set, track by track, from start to finish, the greatest benefit is to give instant credit to the lesser known artists that are being played. "The Twitter DJ application would not only drag the likes of GEMA*, PRS** and SOCAN*** kicking and screaming into the 21st century," says Hawtin, in a press release, "but make sure the real artists get paid instead of performance payments simply being carved up between the Madonnas and U2s of the world."
Richie tested this out last night at a gig in Rotterdam, and I was fortunately already following him on Twitter but didn't realize why I was getting updated tracks until the press release was sent out today. Once this becomes more popular, it could be an excellent tool, but it would be good to stay careful of how many different feeds one subscribes to so that way your Twitter homepage doesn't end up look like nothing more than a Last.fm feed.
Twitter: Richie Hawtin
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