How Long Until DJs Don’t Even Have To Turn Up?

Here’s a question for you. When do you reckon big name DJs will be streaming their sets from a single location into one or more clubs rather than fly there to play in person? It can’t be that far into the future, can it? After all, being booked in one place in the evening would leave the day free to play another timezone where it’s already night time without the jet lag, travelling and so on.

Sound crazy? Hear me out on this one. I imagine a clubbing future where:

1. It’s a two-way stream – The audience can see the DJ on a big screen, either Boiler Room style on the dancefloor, or projected on a huge screen up on a podium. Meanwhile, the DJ can see the crowd react to the music. Additionally, the DJ could perform in front of a green screen, so the venue could be shown in the background to give the illusion of the DJ being there in the flesh
2. Organizers can “book” a DJ to play a slot, and add the name to the roster along with a “via up link” to the flyer – The DJ fee is much smaller, meaning small-time organisers need not take out a mortgage on their home
3. Several venues over one country can stream simultaneously – and the different clubs can see the people from the other places on screens too
4. People of all ages can pay an even smaller fee to see the big DJs from the privacy of their own home – They can dance along with the people in the club using headphones, so the neighbours can sleep tight all night, and without the audience needing to be of drinking age to get in

Now, actually this kind of thing has been done before. Phil Morse, founder of Digital DJ Tips, recalls a time a whole 15 years ago when Judge Jules played both London and Manchester with a “satellite link” on New Year’s Eve (to limited success as it happened). And my local cinema used to stream the opera from New York with hi def video.

But with technology advancing including VR taking a foothold, surely this kind of thing becoming more mainstream is only a matter of time?

What do you think? Are we about to enter an age when DJs will be able to play live across multiple clubs, even in living rooms, with high quality audio and video links and maybe even VR playing a role? Or is this one of those things where you truly do “have to be there”? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.