Rise of the DJ: An Examination of Electronic Disc Jockeys in the Digital Era

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of social media on Electronic Dance Music (EDM) culture and, more specifically, on EDM Disk Jockeys (DJs). As a result of the technological advancements of the internet, as well as, because of the popularity and communicative convenience of social media, DJs within the EDM industry have evolved into recognized global music ambassadors. This study will define and explore the history of EDM culture and the DJs that form the foundation around which the genre has been built. In addition, this paper will define social media and explore, through historical context, how social media platforms developed into what they have currently become. Finally, it will investigate how electronic music DJs utilized social media to market themselves and transform a genre, once considered fringe into an internationally embraced mainstream multi-billion-dollar industry that eventually catapulted the DJ into celebrity status.