Apparently Martin Garrix Is The Best DJ In The World

As another year passes, another DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll is released with EDM maestros topping the list. 

This year, Martin Garrix was crowned the best DJ in the world, as voted by over 1.3 million votes from over 243 countries. 

Garrix is still only 26 years old and has also taken out the top spot in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He broke onto the scene with his big room EDM hit Animals and has worked with some of the biggest acts in the world including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Usher & U2. 

The DJ Mag top 100 DJ list has consistently been controversial, with many criticising the list for its clear lack of diversity and its heavy skew towards marketability rather than DJing technical ability. Rarely does it highlight pioneering artists or reflect the stalwarts of scenes doing creating revolutionary art in dance music. 

While the list is a democratic poll, it has no weight on the true representation of a DJ skills, it instead reflects the marketing titans behind the commercial electronic dance music worlds. 

So what does the 2022 year list tell us about the current state of DJing culture around the world and in Australia? What does it say about the current trends in dance music globally? The answer is not a whole lot. 

Charlotte De Witte, Peggy Gou, Amelie Lens, NERVO, Deborah De Luca, MATTN, Miss K8, Honey Dijon, Le Twins, Kaka, Alison Wonderland and Maya Jane Coles are the only non-male artists on the list, meaning that the list only features 12% non-male acts. On the list there are only 9 brand new entires, signalling that the list is a revolving door of the same acts every single year. The top 10 remained exactly the same in a different order and was made up of exclusively major EDM acts.

These EDM acts are marketing giants and are extremely efficient in mobilising their audiences to vote in these polls, but for artists that are truly dedicated to their art and practice of selecting, they don't stand a chance. The list does not reflect the wide, diverse world of electronic dance music, nor does it reflect its routes as a revolutionary genre force for people of colour or LGBTIQ+ expression. While in the early 2000s it was a clear indicator of mainstream popularity and success of a DJ, its merely turned into a popularity contest of EDM titans battling it out for the same top 10 spots every single year.

So is Martin Garrix the best DJ of 2022, probably not, but he is he the best at marketing it? Probably.

You can check out the full list HERE.