Interesting read

https://www.facebook.com/notes/john...204533816262256

quote:

think everyone knows my thoughts on this poll now. Clued up people know how the DJ poll game works, and no matter how much ranting I/we do, most of the general public wont get/see it. They just see their hero’s as the best in the World. So I’ve come to terms with the fact it’s here to stay. There’s no doubt this poll is a big deal. It can make or break careers. Some of today’s superstar DJ’s have forged very successful careers off the back of this very poll, and is the reason they fight so hard each and every year to stay in it. Without their number, history shows they can disappear. Why? Because they had no other substance behind them. No strong productions. No strong residencies/DJ skills. No strong mix compilations. No contributions to the scene. They only play the marketing and poll game. No More rants: No doubt everyone reading this is gearing up towards a Fleming rant against the poll…don’t worry you can relax this will be a positive blog. I’m living proof you don’t need the poll to have a successful DJ career. I kinda break all the rules in today’s production focused World, because I always put myself as a DJ first. Yet I’m at the height of my career without a poll number and not production led. I focus all my energy into making myself the best DJ I can possibly be. Still 25 years later, I spend hours practicing sets. I dedicate at least two days a week searching through shops to find music. I still get that buzz finding a new track. That’s the key for me, the music always comes first; not me. I’m just the bloke who shares the music with likewise people on the dance floor A common question I get asked when being interviewed: what are your next goals? I’ve pretty much done everything. I’ve played all major festivals and clubs around the World…and still do! I’ve made a whole load of mix compilations. I’ve remixed some of my favourite bands, I’m making music for the movie and TV World and recently made my first debut solo album... So what are my next goals? I have absolutely no ambition to be famous or a pop star. I don’t want to be number 1 DJ of the World. I’m actually uncomfortable with fame and the new social network World. It’s taken me years to open up and speak more on Facebook etc. So have I achieved everything? No. History: The best times of my whole career where in the mid/late 90’s early 2000. I held residencies at some of the best clubs I’ve ever played in my whole career. Zap Club, Sunnyside up, Trade, Chunnel club, Golden, Leisure lounge, Cloud 9 and more. I’m actually getting tearful as I write the names of these clubs as wonderful memories come flooding back. These underground clubs are where my heart belongs. They are the roots to the John 00 Fleming you know today. These are the clubs I played on a weekly basis alongside fellow music lovers. The fellow resident DJ’s around me were more than just colleagues, they were like family. We had such a strong bond that fuelled onto the extended family on the dance floor. The same was happening around the World with each localised community. We would create our own anthems that only the locals would know and respond to. Drop that track and the whole place would unite and go crazy, because it was our own home bread anthem. The local DJ’s created their own unique sounds. We saw Detroit Techno. Chicago House. Tribal sounds of New York (Twilo days) in the UK we had the Progressive sounds of the North, while London offered harder edged Trance. Antwerp, Berlin, Tel Aviv, and Stockholm…all cities around the World offered their own unique sounds that were built from locals working closely together. If we skip forward to today, all the localised underground scenes have gone. This saddens me. We have an unprecedented amount of local talented DJ’s and producers out there who should be playing gigs on a weekly basis. These guys should be injecting a new lease of life into the electronic world, again making localised scenes with innovating sounds and ideas pushing things forward. Instead we get force fed what we should be listening to, instead of getting a taste for it. All I see in today’s World are competitive DJ’s desperate for fame. Once a year they beg for votes in order to show the World they are better than others, in return they increase their fees thus the rising door and ticket costs of festivals and clubs. I don’t see these guys putting anything back into clubland? It’s all about them and building their own brands, sucking the life out of territories then moving on the next one that has a bigger cheque book. That poll number is a very important tool, because it also attracts sponsors. Mr corporate company doesn’t have a clue about any DJ’s, but they will release a load of money to a ‘number’. The power of this number also has the same effect in the media World with most magazines only supporting the stars. I see this first hand with myself. Many of you have seen, I’m desperate to help rebuild and support these aforementioned localised communities, but often feel I’m hitting my head on a brick wall trying to get sponsors and media to support. They wont listen unless I can throw ‘numbers’ at them. I’m super lucky because, as I mentioned earlier, I have a solid strong career behind me with a solid fans base, so don’t care about having a number behind me. I don’t need it. But it’s not about me. I care about the next generation of DJ’s and producers who should be the driving force for the next generation. As things stand that infrastructure isn’t in place or even supported. Helping: So it looks like I do have one more goal in my career, I want to help rebuild the specialist scene. Over the past decade I’ve been writing none stop blogs with advice to help new DJ’s, producers and promoters. But it seems Words are not enough and it’s time to roll my sleeves up and get fully active. If we look back, DJ’s set some of the greatest scenes/clubs up frustrated that there was no specialist places/events for them to DJ or party. Richie Hawton’s Plasticman events in Detroit, Danny Rampling’s Shoom in London, John Digweed’s Bedrock in the UK, the list is endless. I played my part with my nights at the Manor and Sterns in the UK. I think we’re at this very same point, I truly believe in these historic cycles that repeat themselves and it’s now time to happen again. Difference back then, the media supported genuine good talent and events, today they only support a ‘number’. We also don’t have the specialist media infrastructure in place supporting this specialist scene. It’s not just clubs I want help, it’s the infrastructure as a whole. I want to help start online magazines, forums, communities for likewise clubbers and music lovers. I need to get shops to start listening and supporting specialist producers and offering a dedicated place to sell specialist music. Magazines need to offer dedicated pages to support specialist producers. Once this support is seen for the specialist market, it will unlock club/promoters brains and show them that there is another way to fill their clubs. It’s a lot of work needed by a lot of people. I need a big team of people and support (I’ll be looking to you lot to get involved and help, possible jobs too), but if I turn to sponsors for investment they will want to see that dreaded ‘number’? The Poll: So for the first time in many years I’ve thought about hitting hard to get myself back in the poll to get a ‘number’ in order to make these things happen. This is NOT for me, but for a tool in order for me to get people to listen in order to make these things happen to get sponsors etc. In a way, it’s a kind of manifesto and I’m a Trance conservationist. The day I leave this planet, I want people to look back my career, not to say John 00 Fleming was the best DJ, the best producer or a Superstar, but to be proud of my contribution and dedication to the scene that I truly love. I’ve dedicated my whole working life to it so far. Being apart of the next specialist cycle of the Trance scene will be the panicle of my career. If at any point people think I want to get in this poll for myself, then I’ll back out and try another way. I was in the Poll for a good seven years (until I rebelled) so I know the difference it makes when it comes to the media listening, so I have to give this another shot. So now I ask you all, is this a good thing and will you support? Or do I try another way?

Accompanying MD thread
http://tranceaddict.com/forums/show...62&forumid=1&s=