DJing is no longer a hard trade: sync killed the merit

DJs are a scam: sync and the surplus turntables

The idea that DJing is no longer a demanding craft is gaining ground. The argument: technology has dismantled the myth of the trained ear and pinpoint coordination. What once set a selector apart from a jukebox comes down, on this reading, to matching rhythm and tempo. And anyone who doesn't see it, they say, simply doesn't want to.

The invention that blew up the merit

The arrival of sync, the automatic tempo matching between two tracks, marks the point of no return. With it, beat matching — lining up beats by ear and by hand — is delegated to the software. The harshest critics argue that since then the trade has become a pose: picking tracks and turning your back on the crowd. Others point out that sync doesn't mix for you, it just frees your hands; the judgment of what plays and when is still human. Nobody is obliged to use two turntables when one is enough.

Cristian Varela's six decks: talent or showing off?

The counterattack comes from virtuosity. Cristian Varela regularly plays with four decks and has performed with six at once. Óscar Mulero is cited as a technical prodigy, and Pepo's closing set at Aquasella is held up as proof that the well-built set still exists. The retort is blunt: what do you need six decks for to play one track? What some read as a antiestéticat, others see as unnecessary showing off. In Spain's Levante region there is a long list — Paco Maroto, Beto Delgado, Javi Always, Laura Llanes — to argue that real judgment hasn't died.

Scratch still commands near-unanimous respect: it is the only discipline that, by consensus, demands genuine skill. Everything else depends on where you set the bar. And there the analysis stalls.