A vote is everything in a poll

In recent years there have been numerous reports of cheating in the DJ Mag Top100 Poll and various artists, big and small, have been found guilty. Surrounding the 2010 poll is a black cloud of cheating that has been found on various "freelance" jobs websites, implicating that Agencies, Managements as well as artists are paying for votes.

One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that a Top 100, Top 50 or better finish in the poll could substantially increase earnings for both Managers, Agencies, and Management companies. We have come over, unconfirmed figures, that a top 10 finish could mean an increase of thousands of Dollars or Euros per gig, which in return gives the agent, manager, and artist more money. Clearly, cheating would be a natural and unhealthy progression, since it means that you can potentially increase your earnings in an industry where hype, media exposure, and fan base is everything.

Many people are voicing their opinion regarding the recent year's top 10, which has basically stayed the same, a few changes here and there, but the names are the same. Does this mean that the upper ten percent in the poll are controlled or bought votes?

One thing is clear and that is that the poll itself has grown from being an industry insider poll to a global and very public fight for votes. Megamind Magazine, and most online music magazines, get on daily basis emails from DJs around the globe searching for votes. The marketing is tougher and on the verge of becoming spam-like in nature.

The sad part is, in this quest, for votes is that most DJs, Agencies, and Management companies have little to no idea on how they can connect to their voters outside the frenzy of the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll. If they spend more time in connecting and building the brand "DJ ABCDEF" they wouldn't have to resort to cheating and enormous mail-outs, that mostly end up in the trash or spam filters of their recipients.

The history of DJ Mag Top100 Poll
The first Top 100 DJs Poll open to public voting was held in 1997. Before this, DJmag's poll was intermittent, and only people in the dance music industry contributed towards a candidate short-list. Back in 1997, DJmag.com didn't exist, so all votes were sent in the post. Altogether, about 700 people voted in Top 100 DJs poll in 1997. In 1998 we started accepting votes by email, opening up the poll to many more international voters. The number of votes received more than trebled, and Paul Oakenfold was crowned people's champion for the first time. In 1999, there were 31 new entries. Only four women made it into the whole poll. The 2000 poll was the first time that Dutch superstar DJ Tiësto featured (at number 24). In 2001, votes came in from 50 countries.

Over 500 DJs were nominated, and the top 25 garnered almost 60% of the vote. In 2002, the vote was up by 20% in 2001, with 38,481 dance music fans taking part around the world. Votes came in from 65 countries. In 2003, there were 61,529 votes, up 50% of 2002's total. Votes were received from 120 countries around the world. There really was no disputing Tiësto's position in the 2004 poll. Previously, Paul Oakenfold and Carl Cox had both won the award twice, but last year Tiësto took things to a whole new level. His 25,000 capacity stadium gigs, and his DJ set at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games to a TV audience in excess of 4.5 billion, meant no other DJ could compete. In 2004 Tiësto was crowned No.1 for the third year in a row. In 2005, after years of being in the top 10, Paul van Dyk finally reached the top spot and claimed the crown as the No.1 DJ in the world. In 2006, Paul van Dyk was crowned No.1 for the second year in a row. In 2007, Armin Van Buuren finally made it.

Five years after entering the Top 10 of our DJmag Top 100 DJs poll, Armin van Buuren has been crowned the World’s No.1 DJ. After edging into the No.2 spot last year, he’s now clinched the title. In 2008, Armin Van Buuren is still at the top. Six years after entering the Top 10 of our DJmag Top 100 DJs poll, Armin van Buuren has been crowned yet again the World’s No.1 DJ. After edging into the No.2 spot in 2006, he’s now clinched the title again. In 2009, Armin Van Buuren is still at the top. Seven years after entering the Top 10 of our DJmag Top 100 DJs poll, Armin van Buuren has been crowned yet again the World’s No.1 DJ. After edging into the No.2 spot in 2006, he’s now clinched the title again.

Here are the past five (5) years DJ Mag Top 100 Poll results
2009
1. Armin Van Buuren
2. Tiesto
3. David Guetta
4. Above & Beyond
5. Paul Van Dyk
6. Deadmau5
7. Ferry Corsten
8. Markus Schulz
9. Gareth Emery
10. Sander Van Doorn

2008
1. Armin Van Buuren
2. Tiesto
3. Paul Van Dyk
4. Above & Beyond
5. David Guetta
6. Ferry Corsten
7. Sasha
8. Markus Schulz
9. John Digweed
10. Infected Mushroom

2007
1. Armin Van Buuren
2. Tiesto
3. John Digweed
4. Paul Van Dyk
5. Sasha
6. Above & Beyond
7. Carl Cox
8. Ferry Corsten
9. Infected Mushroom
10. David Guetta

2006
1. Paul Van Dyk
2. Armin Van Buuren
3. Tiesto
4. Christopher Lawrence
5. DJ Dan
6. Ferry Corsten
7. Sasha
8. John Digweed
9. Above & Beyond
10. Deep Dish

2005
1. Paul Van Dyk
2. Tiesto
3. Armin Van Buuren
4. Sasha
5. Ferry Corsten
6. John Digweed
7. Hernan Cattaneo
8. Deep Dish
9. ATB aka Andre Tanneberger
10. Carl Cox

DJ Mag Top 100 isn't a talent poll, it's a popularity poll and it has been that since 1997 or even before 1997.