Disc Jockeys, Except Radio
In short: today's best AI models could do about 22% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 23% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 77% of the time, stays with people.
Play prerecorded music for live audiences at venues or events such as clubs, parties, or wedding receptions. May use techniques such as mixing, cutting, or sampling to manipulate recordings. May also perform as emcee (master of ceremonies).
7,920 people do this job in the US. $44,949 a year (BLS publishes hourly pay only for this job: its hourly median for a full year of 2,080 hours).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on9 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people31 h
Disc Jockeys, Except Radio, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 9 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 31 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Create tailored playlists by aligning music with event functions (about 5 h); Maintain up-to-date knowledge of music releases and trends (about 1 h); Communicate with clients or venue owners to determine event information, such as music preferences, scheduling, and anticipated attendance (under an hour).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 23%
- 0%
- 77%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 15%. Today's estimate: 22%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 19 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 17% of this job's working time as physical work. For 17% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 15% in a purpose-built cell, 2% in a structured facility. 0.18 of 3, the 451st highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 83%
- In a purpose-built cell 15%
- In a structured facility 2%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 19 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operate disc jockey controller and other equipment, such as microphones.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 21% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Select and play music incorporating crowd preferences and mood.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 21% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Adhere to schedules to keep events running on time.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 14% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Create tailored playlists by aligning music with event functions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 12% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Mix, cut, or sample recorded music using DJ controllers, CDJs, or DJ mixers.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate visual effects equipment, such as lights, fog machines, or lasers.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Engine Lighting by SoundSwitch (inMusic) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain up-to-date knowledge of music releases and trends.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Conduct sound checks to ensure equipment is working and appropriate for the venue.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, OptoFidelity FUSION (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Communicate with clients or venue owners to determine event information, such as music preferences, scheduling, and anticipated attendance.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 2% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Assemble audio and video equipment.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, HIL-SERL (Human-in-the-Loop Sample-Efficient Robotic RL) on Franka arms (UC Berkeley) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Listen to music before playing at events to ensure recordings are appropriate and meet quality standards.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 2% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Advertise services using media such as internet advertising and brochures.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 99%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys76% now, 79% by 2028
- Sound Engineering Technicians32% now, 39% by 2028
- Music Directors and Composers44% now, 85% by 2028
- Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes68% now, 69% by 2028
- Audio and Video Technicians48% now, 56% by 2028
- Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners38% now, 45% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Disc Jockeys, Except Radio is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 22% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 23% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Disc Jockeys, Except Radio come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Create tailored playlists by aligning music with event functions (99% of the task's time now); Maintain up-to-date knowledge of music releases and trends (100% of the task's time now); and Communicate with clients or venue owners to determine event information, such as music preferences, scheduling, and anticipated attendance (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Disc Jockeys, Except Radio stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Operate disc jockey controller and other equipment, such as microphones; Select and play music incorporating crowd preferences and mood; and Adhere to schedules to keep events running on time. Together such tasks are about 77% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Disc Jockeys, Except Radio?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Disc Jockeys, Except Radio?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 17% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 17% of the working time, 2% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.18 of 3. One example: Engine Lighting by SoundSwitch for "operate visual effects equipment, such as lights, fog machines, or lasers". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 19 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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