DJing is not a legitimate profession because it lacks creative skill and artistic merit
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/phil-mongredien. "The hill I will die on: ‘Being a DJ’ isn’t a proper job | Phil Mongredien | The Guardian." February 16, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that DJs don't deserve to be called professionals because they just play other people's music for huge amounts of money. He thinks it's too easy - anyone can pick songs that will make drunk people dance, and the fact that celebrities can do it proves it's not a real skill.
Conclusion
Being a DJ is not a proper job but rather a glorified hobby that doesn't deserve professional status or high compensation
Premises
- DJs earn enormous sums (up to $1 million) for just playing music created by others, making them proficient laborers rather than artists
- Getting people to dance is not difficult when the audience comes specifically to dance and many are intoxicated
- With decades of floor-filling music available, selecting popular tracks requires minimal skill
- The worship of DJs stems from a defensive reaction against past dismissal of dance music rather than genuine artistic merit
- Many celebrities can easily transition to DJing, proving it requires no transferable skills or real expertise
- DJs receive disproportionate credit compared to other contributors (bar staff, lighting engineers) who also make the evening successful
Assumptions
- Artistic value requires creating original content rather than curating existing content
- High compensation should correlate with skill level and difficulty of work
- A 'proper job' requires specialized skills that cannot be easily replicated by amateurs
- The ease with which celebrities can DJ demonstrates the activity's lack of professional legitimacy
- Curation and selection of music is inherently less valuable than music creation