Laidback Luke Takes to Twitter to Share Thoughts on DJ Mag

Like many other DJs, Laidback Luke is not afraid to express his true feelings about the DJ Mag Top 100. Originally once a poll that ranked DJs based on their musical ability, it has quickly turned into a popularity contest based on which DJ has the biggest tracks.

Actually, who are we kidding? We all know it’s actually based on who has the biggest marketing budget.

Dozens of DJs will actually create campaigns every year to rally up votes. However, the end result is actually quite detrimental. When you vote for your favorite DJs, and they rank higher, realistically, you are going to end up paying more to see them. And they’ll probably end up doing fewer small, local shows, too.

Back in July, Laidback Luke expressed his opinion through a vlog, where he began by enlightening viewers of the origins of the poll. When the DJ Mag Top 100 first began in 1991, the results were based off of journalist insights, instead of a popular vote system which was adopted in 1997. Since then, he says, many DJs began spending large amounts of money to market themselves to the public in hopes of gaining a higher rank in the poll.

Last night the Dutch DJ and producer shared a series of tweets on Twitter, saying he was not on the magazine’s popular Top 100 list because of comments he made in this particular vlog. He singles out three DJ Mag contributors: club editor Ben Hindle, global editor Carl Loben, and Digital & Ibiza editor Charlotte Cijffers. He shared screenshots of email snippets with editors and claims they fought with him over his words, calling him “not popular enough” and “a has-been-EDM DJ.”