Editorial: Polls in Our Industry Are A Futile Exercise That No Longer Serve An Ethical Purpose
Full disclosure: I wrote this article yesterday, on November 21st 2017, and woke up this morning to the news that Resident Advisor was no longer continuing its Poll
First of all, I have to say that DJ Mag’s poll is only good as scrap paper, or at best as the source of pre-game laughter with your crew. That is if you ever even took a look at a printed version of it. The chart is a joke (artistically), it serves no real purpose (business-speaking), and is useless (as far as understanding the quality of DJs, its actual intended purpose). It’s talked about for months leading up to and following its results, a peculiar media that does not give a damn about the actual music but is all to do with money and pompousness. Sadly, it’s been like this for years now.
What is new though is the thin wind of dissatisfaction that is now affecting the Resident Advisor. On top of a ranking that has seen Dixon crowned unceremoniously as #1 DJ in the world for 5 years now, in recent years we have also seen the increase of election campaigns by DJs (and their management0 to win votes. What was once an organic poll from real dedicated fans once again lost its intended purpose. Indeed, the problem was not the ranking itself: it can be challenged. It may not be in agreement with your views as far as placements or exclusions, but that is another story, or controversy for that matter. The problem, we are beginning to understand, is what it takes to end up in that ranking. Artists and their management understand it very well. It is an excuse to raise the stakes, in some cases to double or triple them, and to convince the artists to get involved with the tactics necessary to end up on the poll, and rank higher than years before.
