The Hardest Working DJs of 2023
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It’s undeniable that the pandemic and the cost of living crisis having an impact on the UK’s nightlife scene. In fact, MixMag reported that over 30% of the UK’s clubs closed between June 2020 and June 2023. However, for those still in operation, it’s more crucial than ever to book the right DJs for the right events to draw back the crowds. Here at A2D2, we particularly love Disc Jockeys that play with vinyl (for obvious reasons), but this got us thinking, who are the UK’s most booked DJs, where are they playing and how hard are they working?
Using DJ Mag’s list of the UK’s top 100 DJs and data from Resident Advisor, we’ve identified this year's hardest-working DJs, exploring their global reach, and stylistic choices.
Claptone Named the Hardest Working DJ of 2023
German DJ Claptone leads the pack as the most hardworking DJ of 2023. According to Resident Advisor, he has worked an incredible 94 gigs, which is equivalent to him working an event approximately every 4 days. What is even more impressive is that he has also gigged in the highest number of countries than anyone in our list, at a total of 33 countries in 2023. Quite the year, and not a bad way to travel the world.
Closely following Claptone is South African House DJ Black Coffee at 94 gigs and Psy-trance DJ Indira Paganotto from Las Palmas on 89.
Top 10 Hardest Working DJs:
|
Rank |
DJ |
From |
DJ Style |
no. gigs (2023) |
Countries Visited |
|
1 |
Claptone |
Germany |
House |
94 |
33 |
|
2 |
Black Coffee |
South Africa |
House |
93 |
25 |
|
3 |
Indira Paganotto |
Las Palmas, Gran Canarias |
Psy-techno |
89 |
28 |
|
4 |
Jamie Jones |
UK |
House |
82 |
19 |
|
5 |
Vintage Culture |
Brazil |
House, tech-house, melodic house |
75 |
25 |
|
6 |
Deborah De Luca |
Naples, Italy |
Techno |
67 |
20 |
|
7 |
Charlotte de Witte |
Belgium |
Techno |
67 |
23 |
|
8 |
Amelie Lens |
Belgium |
Techno |
65 |
23 |
|
9 |
Solomun |
Germany |
Melodic techno / house |
64 |
17 |
|
10 |
Fisher |
Australia |
Tech-house |
62 |
14 |
Female DJs found to gig nearly twice as often as males
It’s great to watch the continued rise of female DJs, however despite there only being 11 female DJs represented in DJ Mag’s top 100, our own research reveals that they account for 40% of the top 10 hardest-working DJs. Delving further into the data, we identified that on average female DJs gig nearly twice as hard as the men on the list. The average number of gigs for a male DJ was 13 in 2023, whereas the female DJ’s average was 23, quite a considerable difference. This speaks volumes about their determination to make a mark in an industry historically dominated by males.
House and Techno: The UK’s Dominant Genres
Our analysis further identified the dominance of House and Techno in the UK's EDM landscape as over a third of the DJs analysed specialise in these thumping tunes. These genres have become the styles of choice for many top DJs, including a significant number of the most active DJs, including industry legends like Carl Cox and new-age icons such as Charlotte de Witte. The global appeal of House and Techno is evident in festivals and clubs across the UK, where these genres consistently draw large crowds.
House music, with its roots in the discotheques of Chicago and New York, has evolved into a global phenomenon, influencing numerous sub-genres and artists. Techno, originating from Detroit, has equally spread its wings globally, finding strongholds in Berlin, London, and beyond. This geographical spread signifies the universality of these styles, resonating with fans who seek both the classic rhythms and the innovative beats that define contemporary electronic music.
German and Belgian DJs are becoming increasingly popular
While The Netherlands has traditionally been the hub of EDM, boasting icons like Tiësto and Armin van Buuren, this year has seen a surge in the prominence of German and Belgian DJs. Our research finds that Dutch DJs continue to dominate the scene with a significant 25% representation in the top 100, while German, Belgian, and UK artists collectively contribute another 24%. Artists like Boris Brejcha and Amelie Lens from Belgium have risen to fame through their unique interpretations of Techno, contributing to the genre's expansion. The Belgian scene, in particular, has gained recognition for its deep-rooted Techno culture, hosting world-renowned events like Tomorrowland, which attract huge global audiences and artists alike.
Furthermore, the growth of EDM in these countries reflects a deeper cultural integration of electronic music. In Germany, cities like Berlin have long been celebrated for their vibrant club scenes and avant-garde music culture, fostering an environment where electronic music is not just entertainment but a form of artistic expression.
Sources:
Mix Mag
DJ Mag
Resident Advisor
Methodology
Our analysis is based on data from DJ MAG's Top 100 DJs of 2023 and Resident Advisor, focusing on the total number of gigs, countries visited, correlation between DJ styles and work rate, and geographic and gender representation. This multifaceted approach has allowed us to gain insights into the hardworking nature of DJs and the dynamic trends shaping the EDM industry.
2 comments
very interesting, but did you also analyse techno vs other genres? since techno gets streamed much less until recently, i would pose that techno djs need to play more gigs if they want to make as much income. And all these 4 female DJs in the top 10 are the only techno DJs in the top 10.
My parents are in their 80s and still do actual manual labor for a living. That’s hard work. DJing is not hard work, and to use rates of bookings as some indicator of how hard someone has to work to get similar recognition in some community is a shaky analysis.
On average, each female DJ simply has a higher booking chance than the average male DJ. We book female DJs far more than their numbers warrant because, on average, we’d rather see pretty girls dancing behind the decks rather than dudes, but there are far fewer female DJs than males. If you have far fewer of a particular category but you preferentially book, on average the count of bookings goes up for that category. The enormously higher rate of male DJs, though, still means that the majority of the ‘top’ DJs (by most count methods you’ll use) are likely to be male.
The more liberal estimates of the proportion of all DJs (not including radio & karaoke) who are female is about a third, probably inaccurate because it’s based on self-reporting DJing as a form of actual steady employment, which is a self-fulfilling stat if there’s preference in bookings disproportionate to their numbers and a resulting attrition in self-reporting DJing as employment. The conservative estimates of the proportion of female DJs are much lower (by nearly an order of magnitude) than that and are based on equipment purchases and demand for content: in other words, who’s buying DJ gear and the media to play on it.
Why historically has DJing predominantly been a male thing? I suspect it’s because DJing actually has its origins as a weird, audiophile, OCD movement in the nightclub scene… between the sounds systems, the turntable speed control improvements & isolation, the mixer quality, and the very preoccupation with the transitions between songs. If you’ve ever been to audiophile stores or conventions, you see the same sort of low single digit percentage of attendees being female… and most dragged along by a man in their life.
As the sound quality & gear capability has increased to sort of a default decent level without much effort, though, I think DJing not being so closely tied to the OCD audiophile scene has tended to make it more appealing to average ladies beyond just the rare gal who was buying a pair of Bozak speakers… and just as likely for decor as sound. That’s good, because we’d much rather be seeing ladies behind the decks, and we like variety rather than booking the same people all the time.