A fad is something that pops up in a culture for no particular reason and then disappears as quickly as it came.
A trend is something that happens for a reason and stays around for the long haul because it fulfills a genuine need.
As a full-time professional DJ for more than 30 years, I have some insights that definitely suggest Silent Disco is a trend instead of a fad, but don’t take my word for it! Take a look at my evidence.
Let’s take a look at known history and how it points us toward the Silent Disco format emerging as the industry standard instead of the new kid in town status that it currently enjoys.
Think of the history of a party from a guest’s perspective.
First there was the live band.
Guests had no choice in the type of music or the songs that the band played. They also had no control over the volume. Because of the volume question, party planners had to be careful when and where the party was – or the cops would show up to shut it down.
Next there was the DJ playing pre-recorded music.
Suddenly the listener’s choice of songs and styles had exploded. One band could only play the songs they knew while the DJ could play any song every recorded. Likewise, one band could only play their own style of music whereas a DJ could play any style of music as long as they had the record.
The historical trend was toward more music options and more listener empowerment. We’ll see by the end of this article how Silent Disco headphones have become the next logical step.
There were additional factors from the past that drove the demand by users to want more control over their own music.
Technology at home increased the guest’s expectations when they got to the party
1) Home stereo systems gave listeners control of their own volume. They developed their own concern about disturbing other people with their music.
2) The party guest soon had as much music at home as the DJ did.
Proliferation of Radio and Internet continued to expand listener’s music preferences to a point where being subject to a DJ’s choice seemed limiting.
3) People started wearing headphones in public. Handheld players and streaming digital music give them unlimited music choices available to them any time. With the addition of headphones, users could listen to their own music without disturbing other people.
Nowadays, when they are not at a party, people simply expect to have unlimited music choice, headphones and their own volume control.
They always have control over their music. They have autonomy over whether they want to listen to music. They have listening comfort in the form of their own volume knob.
So, how does that make them feel when they go to a party with a traditional speaker system that is playing so loud that they can’t listen to their own music and they can’t control the volume?
Suddenly they’ve been sent back about 20 years in terms of user empowerment. They can only listen to someone else’s song choice and they have to listen to it because they don’t have a volume control.
Viewed in this light, a silent disco dance party doesn’t seem futuristic at all! It seems like it should have come around years ago!
Look at the problems the headphones solve from a user experience standpoint!
1) Three channels of music instead of one! This means you get a choice! Also there is no more feeling guilty about liking a different song than your dancing partner!-
2) Their own volume control! This means you get a choice! No more feeling bad about wanting the music louder or softer than your dance partner!
3) They get the option of not listening to the music at all! This may be the biggest win of all! Especially for people who want to talk to each other at parties.
And with the noise problem taken care of, event planners don’t have to worry when or where they throw the parties.
4) You can now have a party anywhere and anytime without the noise – within reason, of course. Not only do the headphones allow dance parties in libraries and on lakeside beaches, but they allow multiple entertainment acts in the same space without volume problems.
From a historical standpoint, the changing expectations of party guests point toward Silent Disco as a trend that is going to grow in magnitude and stay with us in the years ahead as a popular dance party format.
But wait! There’s more!
Supply-side reasons why Silent Disco is a trend instead of a fad:
There are other factors driving the trend from the supply side that make the equipment readily available and attractive to the consumer. I’ve listed a few of them below:
A) The technology has become good enough and inexpensive enough to make it cost effective.
B) The technology is easy to add onto existing DJ sound systems. Professional mobile DJ’s don’t have to change anything in order to add headphones to their list of options.
C) The technology is easy for the general public to use; -No professional DJ required. If you rent the equipment from someone like us, music can be streamed from a Spotify playlist (or other similar services) through consumer level devices like a phone, iPod or tablet.
D) Shipping services are inexpensive enough that we can rent the equipment to you at cost effective rates. Companies like us at www.silent-disco-rental.com ship it to your door no matter how remote.
E) There is still room for growth momentum, making an already remarkable experience even better, so the user Wow-Factor will continue to drive demand through word of mouth.