Friday Roundup: So Will Simon Cowell Really Find The Next Big DJ?

In this week’s Friday Roundup, we’re peeking between fingers at the news that Simon Cowell’s Ultimate DJ contest has the green light, we report of QBert’s mini-computer hack that aims to replace laptops in DJ booths, and deliver tips on how to bag gigs in cities with smaller dance music markets. All these stories and more in our weekly muster of DJ news from around the web. Have a great weekend!

1. Ultimate DJ Launches In 2016 – Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Simon Cowell has launched many a pop career. Can he properly use his resources to find the next great DJ, or is this just an attempt to cash in on EDM? NME has the scoop Read more
2. WhoSampled Now Lets You ID Movie And TV Sounds –  WhoSampled is an online database that links songs that have been sampled off of and connects them to other tunes. It now lets you search for effects and dialogue found in TV and movies, too. Details over at the Serato Blog Read more
3. QBert Wants Laptops Out Of The DJ Booth – No matter how small controllers have got, you still need to lug around a (relatively) big laptop. Scratch virtuoso QBert teamed up with Intel to come up with a solution. Fact Magazine has the story Read more
4. Madeon’s Music Removed From SoundCloud – In more SoundCloud bad news, the latest takedown wasn’t done by the music service itself, but by Madeon’s parent label Sony as a result of failed negotiations. Find out what happened over at The Fader Read more
5. Get Folks To Come To Your Weeknight Gig – Everyone loves a party on weekends, but what about Tuesday night? Here’s some sound advice on getting people in the door courtesy of Sonicbids Read more
6. How To Bag Shows In A Small Market – DJ Techtools has some great tips on making a big impact in a small city Read more
7. Zac Efron’s EDM Movie Is Frighteningly Accurate – THUMP points out why We Are Your Friends is a 1:1 representation of EDM and festival “bro” culture Read more
8. Cats Can Now Cut Like QBert – The latest technology to hit analogue DJing is built for… cats? Resist if you dare: YourEDM has the Amazon buy link Read more

Think Simon Cowell should leave his hands off DJing? Feel like EDM-themed flicks like Zac Efron’s do more harm than good for the dance music scene? Let us know your thoughts, opinions, and slightly violent reactions in the comments below.