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Mark Settle over at DJ Worx is frustrated. He’s impatient with Native Instruments and Serato … any of those companies DJs have come to know intimately, all except Pioneer DJ.

He argues that Pioneer DJ is the only company that has continued to innovate and create new equipment and new technology for DJs. Everyone else is stagnating and, as a result, doing an injustice to DJs everywhere. He’s entirely entitled to his opinion, of course. But, I must disagree.

What’s the point of bringing new equipment onto an already saturated market? Every time any of those companies mentioned above release new stuff, I have to ask: ok, but what problem does it solve? I guess what I’m really asking is how much money do DJs actually have to put out in order to be able to do what they do?

If all Pioneer is doing is releasing a new mixer that has a better feel or more knobs and buttons, then what’s the point? Most established DJs already own a whole suite of equipment. They don’t need to upgrade every year.

I’d say it’s more important to look into real problems that DJs are experiencing with the equipment and the technology – like ergonomics and compatibility.

What do you think? Do you drool over every new product that’s released to market? Or are you looking for a solution to a problem that none of the DJ equipment and technology designers and manufacturers are even thinking about?

Let me know!

You can read the article that inspired my response here.