DJs React To DJ Mag’s Top 100 List on Twitter; Further Validate its Pointlessness

DJs React To DJ Mag's Top 100 List on Twitter

Earlier this week, DJ Mag unveiled the results of their 2014 Top 100 DJs poll and, once again, Dutch powerhouse Hardwell snagged the #1 spot. It may not have been the most surprising win, especially since its extremely common to rank consecutively at #1 for at least two years on this list. In the past, Paul Okenfold, Paul Van Dyke, Tiesto and Armin Van Buuren all basked in the glory of being rewarded #1 for more than one year. Collectively these 5 artists, Hardwell included, have dominated the charts at the #1 spot a total of 14 times over the past 18 years that the polls has been around.

Despite the DJ Mag’s poll having received a handful of positive responses, it appears that the general consensus among those in the industry, even those ranked on DJ Mag’s Top 100 List, is one of complete indifference. The problem is that DJ Mag attempts to rank DJs on their list solely by polling music fans on their favorite acts, but in the end, the results boil down to a popularity contest of recognizable names sprinkled with social media and popularity influences, and even some bribery. While many who voted on the poll are somewhat musically savvy, at least to the point of knowing who their favorite artist is and why, some other voters may not even know the difference between a DJ and a producer, nor know the difference between any of the DJ they’re deciding to vote for. It is all too easy to give a skewed and distorted perspective, which leaves the extremely gifted and truly talented DJs completely out of the picture, like A-Trak, for example. Or literally 90+ members of the Resident Advisor Top 100 list. 

Overall, there may be some truth to the results when you consider that in order to reach the top of any industry, an artist must have some amount of genuine talent that got them there. That being said, if you are looking for a true reflection of who the world’s best and most talented DJ is, look somewhere else.

Here are what some of the ranked artists on the DJ Mag Top 100 list had to say:

Knife Party (Ranked #53) & Dillon Francis (Ranked #54)

Deadmau5 (Ranked #16)

  Other DJs chimed in on Twitter as well to express their opinions on the list:  Â