10 Reasons Why People Love DJing

Last updated 1 April, 2025

DJing isn’t just about pressing play, as we all know – it’s a passion, a journey, and for many, a way of life. We asked our community of DJs and students to tell us what they love most about the craft, and as ever, we were laughing, smiling, and nodding along at the combined wisdom of our awesome collective.

10 Reasons People Love To DJ

So from heart-pounding drops to spiritual self-discovery, here are the biggest reasons people fall head over heels for DJing:

1. The music Itself

An older white male DJ stands behind a heavily decorated booth. Surrounding the black CDJ set-up in front of him are several plants and candles. The DJ is scrolling through their music library with their right hand, while their left hand rests near the play button. In the background, several people appear to be having lunch. — Boiling it right down to basics, people love to DJ because they love sharing music!

For many, of course, it starts and ends with the music. DJs in our community (like Ceyda, Michael Haynes, DJ Ol’School, Jose Mejia, and Richard Ortiz) say it plainly: music is the heartbeat of everything. Arturo Álvarez called it “the most versatile thing – you have all the music in the world to curate and share.”

2. The connection with the crowd

There’s nothing like seeing a room move in unison to your set. Dani Foxwell, Dave Barron, and Jules Little talked about the electricity of a crowd that’s totally in sync. Jules summed it up perfectly: “If you could bottle that feeling, you’d make a fortune.”

3. That euphoric crowd reaction

In the foreground, a young male DJ leans over the booth, smiling. He's wearing a hooded jean jacket, tan baseball hat, and silver headphones. In the background several people are dancing, laughing, and drinking. The setting looks like an evening rooftop party. — Dropping the right track, at the right time, for the people in front of you? Truly one of the best feelings in the world.

Sean Savage and Richard White live for those peak moments when the dancefloor goes wild. Gilbert Hamel loves hearing the cheer when you drop the right track. DJs thrive off that energy, those “peaks” in a night where it all just comes together…

Watch the show

Prefer me to talk you through this? In this video, a recording of a live show from the Digital DJ Tips YouTube channel, I talk you through everything in this article, and we take questions from our community on the subject.

4. The journey and storytelling

Many DJs liken mixing to storytelling. But sometimes the “journey” is not one you’re taking the crowd on, but one you’re going on yourself. Stephen Finane, Max Landy, and Ste Tekna Collier described DJing as a personal journey – “Finding the real me and having the time of my life doing so,” Ste said.

5. Creative expression

DJing lets you make something new from something old. Johnny C Torres, Angelo Amoojee, and DJ Enzo love finding ways to “invent” mashups, remixes, and so on from tracks everyone already knows. For the purists though, such as Shaun Maree, it can be enough simply to master harmonic mixing and manual beatmatching.

6. Escapism and mental health

For some, DJing is therapy. Duncan Croucher and Hysterix talked about getting lost in the music and how it supports their mental well-being. John Dowd said it helps him feel more connected to what he loves.

Read this next: Improve Your Mental Health With DJing – 7 Brain Hacks

7. Learning and growth

A silver laptop sits on a cozy wooden table. In the daylight, it reflects the surrounding greenery. A pair of black headphones rests over the screen. — Don’t hang up your headphones just yet – with a DJing hobby or career, there’s always something new to learn, especially in this ever-changing musical landscape.

Peter Scates reminded us: “You can never complete DJing. You can always learn, change, and improve.” It’s a lifelong pursuit. This is so true. While it’s possible to learn the skills, the technical side of DJing, there are too many variables involved in music, genres, crowds, changing times, and so on for you to ever be at a point where you’ve learned it all.

8. The unexpected perks

From free drinks to, ahem, new friendships and even love (I met my wife when she came to the club I DJed at, for instance), DJing can come with some attractive “fringe benefits”. However, for us introverts, it can actually be our excuse to get out! Ian Hadassi enjoys not having to socialise, and I know what he means!

9. Discovering “your people”

Two DJs stand underneath a tent during a sunny beachside music festival. They both appear to be young white men.

The one on the left is wearing sunglasses, a white and blue striped tank top, a grey baseball hat, and a festival pass lanyard.

The DJ on the right is wearing a plain white shirt, sunglasses, and silver headphones with black flourishes. He's looking down and smiling while selecting the next track on Pioneer DJ CDJs.

In the background is a crowd of people in beachwear enjoying the festival. — Whether it’s going B2B or just bonding over shared music tastes, the world of DJing tends to bring a lot of like-minded people together.

Phenexia BloodRose captured the deeper meaning of DJing as “healing, oneness, connection, and love.” (Didn’t that used to be called “PLUR”?). Meanwhile Chili Millie loves meeting people worldwide who share the same “musical soul”.

Learn to DJ with us: The Complete DJ Course

10. The laughs and chaos

Let’s face it — DJing is fun – and often funny. Mark Horsley ruefully reports how he gets requests shouted at him mid-set, dealing with it all stoically. Dan Melnik drops “Sandstorm” at every type of event, no matter how inappropriate. And Shane Marchant? He just loves being asked to look after coats! (We’ve all been there, Shane).

Finally…

Whether you’re spinning vinyl in your bedroom or stepping up to a festival stage, DJing will have its own set of meanings for you, just as it means something personal to everyone. It’s creativity, emotion, storytelling, and technical wizardry wrapped into one unique, amazing hobby. And it never leaves you.

So the next time you step up to the decks, remember: you’re not just mixing music, you’re mixing memories, meaning, and maybe even sprinkling on a little bit of mayhem, too. And for that, we salute you.

Phil Morse

Phil Morse is the founder of Digital DJ Tips. His DJ career has taken him from a 15-year residency in Manchester, England, to the main room at Privilege in Ibiza - the world's biggest club. He is also an award-winning club promoter, and has taught music tech and DJing since 2010. He regularly speaks at DJ seminars and events worldwide. His book, “Rock The Dancefloor!”, is a global best-seller on how to DJ.