From ten year old DJ/producer “sensation,” Aiden Jude, to nine year old John Anthony, who just played on the main stage of Sunset Music Festival alongside the likes of Skrillex, what used to be considered an art is now being diminished to a feat that even a child can accomplish.
Clearly the motivation for these children’s desires stems from their parents, and this case is no different as Anthony’s dad is rumored to be one of the primary promoters for SMF. But the issue goes beyond parental influence, and responsibility ultimately lands in our lap, the audience.
Sure it’s cute when kids make headlines after their parents teach them the basics of mixing, and promptly video them behind a pair of decks in their bedroom. However, when festival attendees are receptive to a third grader playing a cherished time slot on the main stage of a major festival it reinforces the stereotype that “all you need is a laptop, some talent, and one track” (We Are Your Friends Trailer)… or in this case, a well connected parent.
There are aspiring DJ/producers, adults, who spend hours upon hours a day perfecting their craft while living with their parents hoping to one day make it. I personally knows hundreds, if not thousands of people who would give anything to have the opportunity that nine year old Anthony was handed for practically nothing.
While I don’t desire to crush Anthony’s dreams or devalue him in any way, I do look glaringly at SMF for allowing this to happen.
When a third grader gets a dream slot for simply knowing how to mix, and yet the audience is completely receptive of it, the only question left is: what’s next?
H/T DA
