DJ’s on cusp of success, don’t worry, you’re just one call way.
Former senior director of promotion for Bad Boy Records, Shawn Prez, has created the Power Call, a weekly conference call consisting of the industry’s top turntablists, as well as upstart wax handlers and guest speakers, in an effort to give voice to the community of DJ’s.
“This power call is a great forum for DJ’s,” Prez, CEO of Power Moves Inc, told AllHipHop.com. “[These guys] aren’t formatted or playlisted; so they have the ability to play what they want, when they want—their feedback is genuine and dictates trends.
“Quite frankly, it’s the realest talk in the streets,” he added.
Once a week, a range of club and mixtape DJ’s take part in the Power Call, which features topics ranging from new technology to techniques to dealing with promoters. The conversations are as varied as the DJ’s who participate, from underground dwellers to more mainstream spinners.
“The best thing about the call is the intimacy,” said DJ Irie of Miami’s 99 Jamz. “The intimacy in this call, keeps it moving. Everyone is heard. People actually pay attention. Anything anyone brings up becomes a topic of discussion. It’s not all about what record is gonna be hot, it’s about things that matter in our industry—it goes across the whole spectrum of things that matter to our culture.”
Past guest speakers have included high-profile DJ’s such as Funkmaster Flex and rappers Pitbull and Saigon. In addition to artists, corporate entities like AOL Music also have taken part in the Power Call. Network opportunities abound.
The call gives a DJ’s a chance to have two-way conversations with guests and a forum to offer suggestions and receive criticism or suggestions.
After online giant America Online introduced the concept for a mixtape channel, many of the DJ’s on the call not only assisted in crafting the channel but now have their own shows with AOL.
“It’s incredible for networking,” said Irie, who has been participating for the past 5 months and is one of the DJ’s working with AOL. “I’m definitely in a better place since day one of that call.”
For more information on the Power Call check: www.PowerMovesInc.com.
