…he would rather you vote on a charity. A charity that will accept the $15,000 that “should be spent on Twitter advertising” in order for Gareth Emery to be able to compete in the annual DJ Mag polling results this year; that is, according to an unsolicited call from a publicity company he received this weekend. In a continuously spreading trend among producers/DJs in which more are choosing to buck the trend of popularity-seeking and campaigning for votes by in turn asking fans to continue supporting them in way that they have been throughout the year: such as buying their releases, seeing them live at their shows/festivals, and staying engaged with them on social media.
Even producer Lange took to Facebook earlier this week to say that “Last year was the first year in 8 that I wasn’t in the #Top100DJPoll. But since then this has turned out to be the best year of my career to date. So I’m not asking you to vote for me this year, please just continue supporting me as you are. I’m no longer a number!”
Check out Gareth’s full Facebook post about the incident below to see his rationale for his feelings and to fully understand what a good guy Gaz really is:
Just took a bizarre unsolicited phone call from a publicity company who help DJs promote themselves for the Top 100 poll, who told me I should be aware one of my ‘competitors’ (as she put it) was spending $15,000 on Twitter advertising alone, and unless I got on that sort of level, I would find it ‘hard to compete’. Obviously not going to say who the DJ was, but I was nearly sick in my mouth.
So here’s an alternative Top 100 message: Don’t vote for me. Seriously, when you buy a ticket to see me in a club, I consider that a vote. When you blast my music in your car, or share it on Facebook, or tell your friends about it, that’s a vote too. Those votes, and the amazing support you’ve shown over the last year, is what matters to me.
If you did plan on voting for me, give that vote instead to the DJs you see spending their money on promoted tweets, sponsored stories, banner adverts, rebranded twitter pages, etc. If they care that much about their number, just let them have it.
In return for your non-votes, rather than spend an amount on a campaign that would probably buy a school in Africa, I am going to donate the same amount to charity, and maybe some good can come out of this.
Actually how about this… I’ll post a poll of my own tomorrow with some various charities that I like and you guys can vote to decide which ones I will donate to. Together we can do something good. A poll where I’ll be proud, rather than ashamed, to ask for your votes.
Back soon,
Gaz
Update:
Following through with his Facebook promise, Gareth has released his 5 charitable foundation choices to receive the $15,000 “DJ Mag cost” he was advised to spend on self-promotion for the upcoming poll. We will keep you updated on the results as they become known, but as of now Macmillan Cancer Support is in the lead with 1,849 votes followed by Doctors Without Borders at 1,153 votes. C’mon people, get out there and cast a vote here that will directly and positively contribute to someone’s life in the world. Scope out Gaz’s full Facebook message below, as well as full descriptions and links to the 5 charitable foundations he has chosen.
I wanted to write some words about the charities in our poll, and explain a little why I have chosen these five. Each charity is for an amazing cause, and it would be great if you could check them out, like their pages etc. as well as voting in this poll.
Trying to narrow down a choice of just 5 charities was really challenging, and opened my eyes to a lot of the amazing work, and moving causes there are out there that are deserving of help. I also felt slightly guilty that in ten years in the music business this was the first time I had publicly used my position for this sort of good, and vow to do more in the future. Between the 100s of posts about clubs, festivals, airports and “buy my record” plugs, it can’t be a bad thing a few times a year to use my position to potentially raise the profile of organizations that are extremely deserving.
Anyway. Enough blab. Thanks for reading – back to the studio for me now. After you have read the below please remember to vote here:
https://www.facebook.com/garethemery/posts/10151480937642273
Ignito Project
http://www.ignitoproject.org/
I obviously wanted to include a music related charity in here, and I personally know numerous volunteers who work with this amazing project. They provide music lessons and opportunities for under-privileged children in the UK.Macmillan Cancer Support
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/
It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t been affected by cancer. This charity provides hospice care and home visits and I have personally seen how much of a difference they make.Daughters for Life Foundation
http://daughtersforlife.com/devdfl2013
I find it extremely sad how challenging it still is for women in some parts of the world to access education. This charity advances the education and health of young women throughout the Middle East regardless of religious or cultural heritage.Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
I have always had a huge amount of respect and admiration for the exceptional work that this organization does around the world.Brainwave
http://www.brainwave.org.uk/
I had many suggestions from you guys but this charity, which provides help for children with developmental disorders, stood out for me after a recommendation from one of my Twitter followers for helping his daughter.
