Its Saturday night, you walk through the doors of your local nightclub and all around people are dancing to the freshest new beats being flawlessly mixed. Nothing new there, that is until you realize that there's no DJ in the room.
Well according to Swedish software company Laerton this is the future of clubbing. Laerton are in the process of developing the first unmanned DJ software. Thats right, the first 100% self reliant DJ program! The company claims that as long as the software has access to the internet it will be capable of looking after all your venues musical needs unaided.
The program will automatically establish a link to Laerton's server which will contain a vast libary of music. The library will be categorized into set lists containing the most popular music at the time. Tempo and styles will also be considered in order to create the most effective set lists possible. The music will then be directly downloaded to the laptop or computer in the venue where it will mixed live by the software.
Laerton insist that their software will mix music more intuitively than any other automatic mixing software on the market. Using innovative key mixing algorithms the software will determine how best to introduce new tracks into the mix. A frequency analyzer will evaluate the track being played and then decide what the next track should be. The software will then choose an effect variation that will best compliment the transition.
So what does this mean?
This could have massive implications for DJ's who are struggling to survive in an economic downturn. If the software makes an impression on venue owners looking to cut costs then a lot of resident DJ's could find themselves out of a job.
Laerton say "Technology has removed most of the talent and skill required to be a good DJ so why not hand responsibility over completely".
Up until now DJ's have embraced the changes in technology, unfortunately they can't stop its progression and whether they like it or not the risk of being made obsolete is becoming ever more evident.
