>but the newer generation are using it to get more creative. Without spending half the time beat matching, they now have time to interact with the tracks more - play with stems, loops, filters, fx, scratching etc.

>It’s becoming more of a live performance

while this is true in theory, i find that sometimes the new tools end up becoming a crutch making djs extremely boring

the extra time freed up from not having to concentrate on beatmatching etc. is replaced with nothing

a lot of the time i have no idea what people are even doing they may as well just be playing a playlist from spotify

whereas i can generally discern what a vinyl dj is doing, and watching someone like jeff mills dig through piles of records & spinning 3 decks while being on the edge of trainwrecking has a kind of energy and tension that gets lost and is not replicable with newer technology

it's sorta like someone being able to sing really well naturally vs someone with autotune

that being said i've still seen amazing sets from digital djs or people with interesting live setups

One of the commonly extolled virtues of playing vinyl is that you're "just playing records." As in, not using any fancy effects and tricks. For a lot of people, this is enough, and it's mostly about your music collection and song selection. If you're really good at vinyl, you're not doing much most of the time either and you can dance around and dig through records. Nothing about this needs to change when switching to CDJs.

People get hung up on all this stuff that has very little to do with what matters most at the end of the day, which is the sound coming out of the speakers, and the experience of the audience (which I will grant that the visual aspect of watching the performer is a part of). Deadmau5 talks about stuff like this...basically everyone at a major festival is playing a prerecorded set so that visuals and lights and the rest of the show can be synced up. It doesn't matter what tools you use or how much work you're doing as long as people are entertained. It's about putting on the best show you can.

Jeff Mills is a God-like legend, of course your average local DJ isn't going to compare. It is a bit like being a real estate agent in that the barrier to entry is super low now but you still have to be skilled in some way or another to be really successful.

I know what you mean. It’s just becoming a different thing for some people.

Playing records the old way is great.

I saw a Hor Berlin video by Serafina and she looks to be fully beat synced the whole time but is making her own music from the 4 decks she has going.

Although 1 does seem to just be a drum loop.

Presumably James Hype uses beat sync too? Surely he doesn’t have time to beat match between all the loops/hot cues etc

Becoming?

May I introduce you to the DMC World Championships

https://www.dmcdjchamps.com/

edit: Also, I take offense to the insinuation that "old skool" DJs are not using new things to be more "creative". Old skool DJs are not old dawgs that can't learn new tricks.