And the horse you rode in on...

So recently there was a minor crisis in the DJ coalition of which I'm a member.  The issue was that a member that was brought in for her talent as a DJ abandoned the group in favor of another group of DJ's.  She said it was a business decision made to advance her career. That was not the entire truth but it was enough for her to leave.  Now stuff like this happens all the time especially when the DJ feels that membership is not conducive to his or her advancement in this field.  This was the general feeling throughout the group.  Oh, well, on to the next thing.  The problem that some of the members had with it was that she dropped out of the group without telling anyone that she was no longer a member.  It was kind of like she was testing out membership in the other group before she made a commitment to leave the first.   Some of you may say big deal but put it in perspective.  This is like dating a new person before you break up with the old person.  When the old person finds out, they want answers.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, I have a different take on the matter.  Her membership came at a time when the group was actively throwing parties.  I mean A LOT of parties.  She was at a lot of these functions and would DJ some of them.  In her eyes she may have believed that if she was a member she would get to DJ more often at the coalition's functions and she would also have the support of the group at her functions.  I know I personally attended a couple of her functions as a member complete with me wearing the group's t-shirt.  I also know that she had the benefit of the vast talents of the group's producers and songwriters in the form of unpublished music.  If the group believed her membership to enhance the group it was definitely a symbiotic relationship.

The funny thing to me is that her leaving came at a time when the group was hibernating for the winter.  Our activities slowed down during the winter months due to the weather and maybe a bit of plain old laziness.  There was also the fact that a new DJ had been put up for membership.  A person she didn't like andshe made that fact known.  When confronted with the issue she stated that this was a business decision.  That means this move was well thought out and , in her mind, justified   She had convinced herself long before she had to justify it to anyone else.  She also had reasoned that it was the right thing to do because "no one had been supporting her functions and  no one in the group put her on to any functions."  I can't say that I showed up to all of her functions but I did make it to a few.  I didn't have any functions of my own so I could not "put her on" with me.  At that point the question was put up that if that was the case when did she offer to put any of her group members on to her functions.  The whole situation was getting to be like a nasty divorce.

The real issue I had with it was that the only reason she joined was to get more parties for herself.  When that didn't happen like she wanted she jumped ship.  Did she do anything to help the group promote more functions?  No.  Did she bring any of our DJ's up when promoting HER functions?  No.  Did she properly promote the group by wearing our gear at her functions?  Not that I saw, no.  Now I don't lend a lot of credence to female DJ's as it is.  I think it's a gimmick at best because most female DJ's are not very skilled as they are playing up to the fact they are females.  The ones that are skilled get my support because I respect the talent.  If you are good then you are good and your gender has nothing to do with that.  If you suck then you suck.  This particular DJ is good and the loss of her talents was not a good thing for the group.  Will the group suffer?  No, not really.  The group has about 20 really good DJ's if not more.  It just leaves a bad taste in the mouths of the guys that stayed despite the fact we were dormant.

The group she joined believing she would prosper there?  That group recently lost half of its members due to internal strife.  That group also seems to focus on  Rap related artists and music.  She is a House DJ.  I understand that she felt it to be a career advancement but if that is true I don't think she researched it very well.  The truth is she left because she didn't feel like she was making the money she wanted.  The other truth is she left because a new member was proposed and she didn't like the guy for some personal reason and she gave an ultimatum:  Him or Me!  She didn't even wait to see if the guy wanted to join or not and then she got an answer for which she didn't bargain.  That's what happens when you put people in a corner and force them to choose.  You force them to choose whether or not you are worth the trouble.

Now those of you that read this may call a foul saying that I'm putting business out in the open.  I named no names but the rumblings of the internet is enough for you to draw a conclusion over the identity of the person.  I'm not trying to make it public but sometimes you have to vent otherwise things like this will eat you up inside.  Yes, I'm bothered by this because I put my support behind this person.  I attended the same amount of her functions in the last year as I did the group as a whole and I've known these guys for nearly 18 years.  I feel as betrayed as the group does and I can't even talk to her directly to ask my questions.  I feel like the kid in the divorce.

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