Why DJs Don't Take Requests
I get a lot of questions about requests and why DJs don't take requests. I can't speak for every DJ, but I can most definitely speak to why I don't personally like taking requests.
First of all, as a partygoer, you have to consider that I'm not just YOUR DJ. I'm EVERYBODY'S DJ. So if there are a few hundred people in the club, I have to make an assessment about who I'm playing to (reading the crowd) and then guessing at which music genres and/or artists will get the most people on the floor at the same time. If I'm unable to do that, then why am I really there? So if you have a request, sometimes your request might not fit into the genre that I'm playing at the time. Or it might not fit the overall flow of the party.
Secondly, and this is my personal experience of course, people who make requests tend NOT to be the people who dance. If there are 200 people on the dance floor, my job is to keep those 200 people dancing. I'm not going to end that by playing your one sing only for you to go hide out in the corner of the club and sit down.
Now, there are exceptions to every rule. I once DJ'd a comedy show for the Evil Genius and Nate Jackson. It was early, just before the start of the show, and a young lady came to the DJ booth and asked me to play a song. Since there wasn't a whole lot of people at the show yet; I said, "Sure." This lady went out on the dance floor, dropped it down low, twerked it back up slow, and every dude's eyeballs were locked on her at that point - *CLICK*. I looked at her and thought, "Oh wow, she's going to be the life of the party..." I got on the mic and said, "Young Lady, bring me your WHOLE ENTIRE PLAYLIST! As a matter of fact, just hand me your phone. I'll plug it straight into my mixer..." Needless to say, she did NOT disappoint. But like I said, this was the exception and not the rule.
With that said, here are a few suggestions for increasing the likelihood that a DJ will entertain your request:
Do listen to what styles of music the DJ is playing and make sure your request roughly fits in with that. So when a DJ is playing hip hop don’t ask for a song by Tom Petty and when he is playing Neo-Soul don’t ask for Guns N' Roses.
Don’t be vague when making requests by saying “play something more modern/mainstream/chart music” and then when something like that is played specifically for you, return five minutes later to ask for something from the 1970’s.
When making a song request, make sure you know at least the artist’s name or the song title.
Remember that just because someone is a DJ it doesn’t mean that he owns every single song ever made. So don’t expect them to have that rare b-side or outtake that only a collector/muso is likely to have in their collection.
Remember that the DJ has usually been booked to play because they know how to DJ and have a good selection of music appropriate for the venue or event. Just because you want to hear a particular song doesn’t mean that everyone else in the venue wants to hear it, especially if you are requesting The Macarena.
DO NOT EVER ASK ME TO PLAY GANGNAM STYLE. Yes it is the most popular song ever written and will always fill the floor with people of all ages doing the silly dance for a few minutes. However, it is impossible to find an appropriate song to follow it and usually the dancefloor will empty as quickly as it filled.
Of note, and this ALWAYS applies, if it's a birthday party and you're the birthday girl or you're the person signing the check, I'll play whatever you want me to.