Business Models van iBooks

This dissertation investigates the experiences of female disc jockeys (DJs) in the DJ industry of The Netherlands, which is dominated by men in numbers. It starts off by setting the context in which the research is embedded by presenting a brief history of disc jockeying, proceeding to also present the most relevant developments in the Dutch DJ industry. This research is is based on theoretical contributions pertaining to gendered discourses, particularly gendered practices in the music industry, that have been observed to be unfavorable to women who want to partake in specific sectors of the music industry. For that matter, it tests the notion of the glass ceiling among female DJs in order to explore the kind of obstacles they encounter throughout their career trajectories, aiming to find the affect of female gender in to their experiences in a male dominated industry. The research method applied to help answer the thesis question regarding female DJs experiences is the qualitative interview. 10 interviews were carried out with different female DJs in various cities of The Netherlands, out of which 2 were done on Skype. During interviews, female DJs shared their experiences regarding formal education, entering the disc jockeying scene, obstacles and opportunities they encountered, and they also opened up to surprising extents on their personal experiences as women in particular in the DJ business, revealing some of the threats female DJs must be aware of when traveling abroad for gigs, and also how they must be cautious of the way in which they interact with men in the industry. Although there are a few gender-related obstacles female DJs face when entering the industry, the results and analysis of the interviews show that female DJs experience being a gender minority as overwhelmingly positive, although they are not too concerned with gendered practices in the DJ industry themselves. The advantages of being a woman in the DJ industry override the disadvantages. Namely, the scarcity of female DJs makes them exclusive, and it appears that they are moreover even changing the industry by delivering a more eye-catching show and subtly sexualizing their performance through their music and looks. Existing research on the DJ industry is relatively scarce, and this dissertation serves as a well-founded building block for future research pertaining to gendered discourses in the DJ industry, as well as it provides deep personal insights that are unknown to the general public. This research is however limited in that it is not holistic, as it addresses the DJ industry only from the perspectives of female DJs. For that reason, further research that addresses the perspectives from other agents in the business is encouraged, and especially when investigating the obstacles that women encounter in their career trajectories it is perhaps useful to also address the experiences of women who have not yet “made it” in the industry.