It's a new trend. Many clubs and bars now let their customers choose the music...
Forget that old jukebox. Now if you want to listen, and make the crowd listen, to your favorite music, simply come and plug your portable music player in one of the many bars and clubs that allows their clients to control the ambiance. Already known as "FightPod" in clubs, where you choose 1 to 3 songs, and you are opposed to another amateur-DJ, the phenomenon is now widely known in UK and US bars. "Everybody wants to be a DJ"... generally bar managers request a playlist before, so they can choose a theme or genre for the day (or hour). Numark recently made the iDJ, a device fitted for this kind of performance... It doesn't allow any traditional DJ technique (such as scratch, pitch, beat matching), but let you plug 2 iPods. As people bring their own music, "it's always something different", and it's also a good way to meet other people. For once, technology is actually encouraging people to socialize. John von Seggern, a laptop DJ and producer in Los Angeles,'' also sees DJing as part of an overall movement toward decentralizing control of many forms of media -- whether it be through podcasting, blogging..."