08/07/2025
Some DJs still move their hands like they’re using old vinyl records—even when they’re playing music on modern digital gear. A 2024 study by Hamid Foroughi, Micki Eisenman, and Samantha Parsley found that these movements aren’t random. DJs do them because they know other DJs are watching. It’s a way to prove they understand how things used to be done and to show they belong in the culture.
The study was published in the Journal of Management Studies and looked at how new DJs try to fit in by copying the old ways. The authors called this a “mnemonic community,” which basically means a group that stays connected by remembering the same stuff. In DJ culture, a lot of that memory is tied to gear like vinyl, CDJs, and analog mixers. Even if a sync button could do the job faster, DJs still learn to beatmatch or spin jog wheels like they would’ve done with records.
The idea is simple: showing these old-school moves makes you look like a “real” DJ, even if you’re using a USB stick. It’s not just about the sound—it’s about showing you respect the history. That’s how gear, memory, and performance all work together in the DJ world.
