New data just surveyed that 65% of DJs say they don’t play their favorite music at shows. This comes from Pirate, where they listening habits of artists from Spotify Wrapped. I had a feeling this would happen, but now the rumor is confirmed. Pirate asked 260 DJs from across the UK for their end-of-year Spotify summary. It showed the genre of music typically played at their events. Here are the results.

Behind decks, 65% of DJs didn’t play their favorite tracks. They found a techno DJ with the most plays of The Who. Similarly, they found a jungle DJ with the most Lana Del Reyplays. Nice. Another house DJ demonstrated his most-listened afro-pop plays. The survey showed 63% of DJs change their taste in music depending on their surroundings. So, it makes sense why depending on the festival or stage, the music is different at times. I mean, I think we all knew this.

“I WAKE UP TO SHOEGAZE/DREAM POP EVERY MORNING. DURING THE DAY I’LL LISTEN TO SOFT ACOUSTIC OR JAZZ RECORDS AND TUNE IN TO MY LOCAL STATION. AT NIGHT, I’LL LISTEN TO LYRICALLY POWERFUL MUSIC (NICK CAVE, KAE TEMPEST ETC.) OR FULLY EMOTIVE ELECTRONIC MUSIC (BURIAL, ROSS FROM FRIENDS ETC.). IN THE CLUBS IT’S MOSTLY UKG AND BASSLINE STUFF WITH THE ODD HYPERPOP BANGER.” – UK bass DJ

Many DJs actually use SoundCloud for finding new music since the related tracks section offers a lot. They have a Stations section that generates lists of tunes based on what you listen to. Furthermore, DJs also find new music through friends. If we got to hear our favorite artists play the music they wanted, I think we would also find new music through them. What is the reason for this? Management, branding, crowd trends? Now we need the survey on how this makes DJs feel.