Tale of the Tape: DJ Mag vs. Resident Advisor’s Annual Top 100 DJ Polls

Uncle Sam is a weirdo and wears weird clothes, but he’s right about one thing: Voting is totally cool. People love to vote. I mean, American Idol ran for 15 seasons on the power of fan voting alone (public humiliation played a part in it, too, but whatever).

The dance music world is vast, but it too is not immune to the allure of the popularity contest. Whether you’re a kandi kid, a trance addict, a house freak, or an insufferable hipster, you are addicted to lists and get especially passionate about it when you personally affect the outcome. That’s why every year, people on Twitter and Facebook go absolutely b-a-n-a-n-a-s over the DJ Mag and Resident Advisor Top 100 DJ polls. This is the stuff that matters, whether you like it or not.

Of course, both of these lists represent two very different sects in what is supposed to be one giant PLURy world. They have to be different; otherwise, why would there be more than one, right? I took a closer look to see just what the big deal is.

DJ Mag

Inception
1991, UK

Polling dates
Mid-July to mid-September

Who votes?
DJ Mag’s poll was voted by editorial staff until 2010, when votes were opened to fans. In 2013, a total of 345,000 votes were cast by email, although publisher James Robertson disqualified several DJs for voting fraud.

#1 in 2014
Hardwell

Winner’s booking fee
Starts at $100,000

Crossovers in 2014
#90 Richie Hawtin
#59 Carl Cox

Who you’d never see on this list
Lee Burridge
DJ Tennis

Who cares?
Kids with glowsticks. People who say they listen to “EDM.” Everyone standing in front of every mainstage around the world. People who pay $100 to go to a pool party in Vegas.

Is it accurate?
Obvi! If Hardwell weren’t the greatest DJ alive, why would he get paid so much and headline so many festivals? His sets truly connect with me as a fan. I fell in love at his Ultra performance, but I lost the guy’s number. He was a great kisser. -sadface emoji-

Typical tweet

who wants solo DMs with Martin? 🙂 tweet me a proof that you have voted for him on the #Top100DJs!

— MARTIN GARRIX PH (@MartinGarrix_PH) July 6, 2015

#Top100DJs 1. Martin Garrix 2. Oliver Heldens 3. Kygo 4. Hardwell 5. Nicky Romero

— daph* (@fireinyourveins) July 9, 2015

1. 7up 2. Caitlyn 3. Clyde Drexler 4. John Bishop 5. Trump’s thetans Bonus: Bill Bellamy #Top100DJs

— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) July 8, 2015

Projected winner
Tiëstwell Van Garrix, for sure.

Resident Advisor

Inception
2006, The Interwebs

Polling dates
A few days in November

Who Votes?
RA readers, but you can’t count them because they’re too “underground.”

#1 in 2014
Dixon

Winner’s booking fee
Some people say $8,000. Some people say $50,000. Apparently, DJ rates are totally bogus and trivial, and people think this shit is a game.

Crossovers in 2014
#13 Richie Hawtin
#49 Carl Cox

Who you’d never see
Steve Aoki
Krewella

Who cares?
House heads who wear all black and wide-brimmed hats. Skinny European girls who party from sunset to sunset. People who overuse pray-hand emojis. People older than 30 who refuse to be like the lames they went to high school with, who drive minivans and cheer at little league soccer games.

Is it accurate?
Of course! You should have seen Dixon spin at 4am during that illegal warehouse rave in the English countryside. There weren’t any lights. People were just huddling around their lighters, really getting lost in the groove. Some people actually just got lost. It was a transcendent experience.

Typical tweet

Finally, a poll we can be proud of! Well done everyone for voting! Resident Advisor Top 100 of 2014… http://t.co/vNRN8msHXD

— Phonetic Recordings (@phoneticlondon) December 11, 2014

por eso Resident Advisor Top 100 es mejor real DJing is underground inb4 “underground is amateur” jokes

— Philip (meren)Glass (@djantonymo) May 2, 2015

Honestly, 60 percent of them are in some other language.

Projected winner
You’ve probably never heard of him.

Share

Tags