“Hypothetically”…..
Just Imagine what would happen to the industry if inMusic could somehow purchase the rights to Pioneer DJ!! 
Total domination !! lol 
Still, most rental companies have some network of local DJs who they encounter a lot on local gigs. Back in the days I even remember an AV renter that spontaneously bought a MX240 to cater for the fact that we consistently brought our own tabletop denons as a surplus to the rented dual technics and twin Denon setup…
I mean, if I would be on Rekordbox, and that same AV rental called me and said, “hey so I have these fantastic denons that are supposed to work on Rekordbox sticks, do you want to try them out?”, ofcourse I would be cautious not wanting to ruin my gig. But if that same rental company said to me, “but hey, otherwise, try them out for a week at home”, I would definitely do it, and afterwards probably be OK with him providing Denon…
In the local circuit you have these relations where you encounter the same rental on half of your gigs. Anything is possible if you cherish this kind of trust relationship…
oh, and at the private gigs I play today I had people ask for a couple of times already if it was OK if another DJ played for an hour or so. Politely said OK, but we bring Denon, not Pioneer, but it should read Rekordbox. And I never heard those DJs complain….
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I completely agree with you.
The problem is that few rental companies are truly willing to invest in promoting a product that falls outside the “industry standard,” and I don’t know many who would be prepared to offer this kind of equipment trial for a few days.
On the other hand, I find that most of the DJs I know are more open to trying something other than Pioneer compared to a few years ago. They generally have a certain degree of appreciation for Denon DJ products.
The bar where I DJ got an SC Live 4, and a friend of mine who sometimes plays gigs there and has only ever used Pioneer equipment tried the SC Live 4 for the first time and was quite pleasantly surprised. He’s used to mixing on Serato with an FLX 10 and was apprehensive about mixing on Live 4.
After 15 minutes, he told me the encoder loop system was fantastic, and after 30 minutes he said he loved being able to preview the track without loading it onto the deck. After his gig, he told me he’d really enjoyed Live 4, felt very comfortable, and was even considering selling his FLX 10 to get one or a Prime 4+.
And yet, this guy has always sworn by Pioneer.
I think this article by Phil explains Pioneer’s market dominance quite well:
true, it’s not their task. But:
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Remember when Chamsys was relatively new and trying to take their share in the lighting console market? I was doing weekend work as a lighting technician back then, and already played with the (free) software. But I wanted to try the hardware console… Well, contacted the dealer (AVL here in Belgium), and took an MQ200 with me, for free, to try it on a gig… Well, and if the technicians are raving about a new toy, a year later the rental company had it’s own MQ100 + wing… You have to let people test-drive stuff if you really care… That’s InMusic’s task, or their dealers, and that’s what separates you from a consumer brand to a pro brand. Pro’s want to test before they invest…
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If an AV rental company decides to save money on the investment in DJ gear, and buys 3 SC6000 sets instead of CDJ3000 sets, they pretty much took it on theirselves to do the marketing of 1)… Its now up to them to convince their clients an SCC6000 is as good, maybe even better than a CDJ…
And sidestepping to something we said earlier: the fact that there was a free Chamsys software version, working on its own, meant technicians could try it out on gigs and become enthusiastic. If the Chamsys software back then was only a librarian for the consoles, I’d had to first drive to the dealer, not really knowing what I was into. As a 20 year old lad I would never have done that, and subsequently, the AV rental I was working for wouldn’t have bought a Chamsys… See any similarities with Engine DJ and kids without money being unable to invest >2000 euro blindly? Now I think about, Chamsys is a Linux application running hardware, just like Engine OS 
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I think one of the main problems with InMusic and its subsidiaries (Denon DJ, Numark, Rane, etc.) is that the general public isn’t familiar with them. I mean, the people who know these brands are already interested in the world of DJing. It’s already a bit of a niche market.
Pioneer understood quite early on that there were market segments to capture among the general public—those same people who go to clubs and festivals, who love or are passionate about good sound, and who would love to be “like their favorite star DJs.” And since this market segment naturally sees Pioneer everywhere, their first instinct is to look at this brand “used by pros.”
That’s why Pioneer has developed a whole range of segmented products, from beginners with the FLX4 to professionals with the CDJ 3000. In parallel, Pioneer participates in events like “Solidays” here in France, where they set up educational workshops to introduce the world of mixing to the general public from a very young age. They also organize training workshops and product demonstrations at various physical retailers. In my opinion, this remains a successful marketing strategy that greatly contributes to maintaining a high level of brand awareness.
I think InMusic should take inspiration from this, because even if their products are quite good, they are absolutely terrible in terms of communication and marketing to appeal beyond the niche of DJs interested in equipment.
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This is where guerrilla marketing could help. 
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Yes, and I think that the strategy of grouping all products under a single brand is less confusing for the general public than InMusic’s strategy of segmenting them across its different brands.
This way, the general public can enter the brand’s ecosystem as beginners and upgrade their equipment as they progress as DJs. It’s simple, clear, and effective in terms of marketing and communication.
And since Pioneer is simultaneously pursuing a strategy of:
→ “show the product” (sponsorships, brand presence in clubs, festivals, events, etc.)
→ “Discover the product” (educational workshops, training, and product demonstrations at retailers)
→ “sell the product” (selling any product, including entry-level ones, to bring consumers into the Pioneer/rekordbox ecosystem)
This creates a virtuous, self-sustaining cycle.
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Ahhh, good ol’ Chamsys… They’re based around 10 mins from my house here in Southampton.
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LOL. Did they just say James Hype stayed with the CDJ-2000NXS2 just because of the hot cues’ placement? Similar fib to claiming the Euphonia can’t be clipped, its DACs are “floating point”, and the bottom volume rotaries’ unity is somewhere between 7 and 8.5? No, actually the former’s worse, because it’s misrepresenting someone else’s statements rather than just hilariously misrepresenting their own product’s technical specs.
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Four years on, history is repeating itself with the new £2,399 AlphaTheta CDJ-3000X. “The home market has seen the biggest uptrend,” Anderson confirms. “While rental companies have placed orders for the party season ahead, it’s enthusiasts and bedroom DJs buying the most units.”
Hmmm… Well, you saw the same trend in guitars, and it isn’t as good news as you would think.
It means the average age of DJs is getting higher, so more DJs are at an age (and subsequently income) were they can afford professional gear at home. Just like that guitarist that has come of age and finally can afford a vintage Les Paul or Strat, something he has been dreaming about since he was 16, but couldn’t afford all this time.
The next question is if there are enough young people starting out with DJing. You really can’t figure this out based on sales figures. You clearly saw rock music’s popularity decline parallel with the rise of EDM, all while guitar sales were rising. Contradiction? No. Nostalgia? Yes!
And right now, the average age of a Tomorrowland visitor is going through the roof as well, while my 13 year old daughter is back listening to ABBA and other classics, and (easy) strummed guitar is getting quite popular again with idols like Billie Eilish, SOMBR, and so on…
Moin @Johan ,
I think there is a hype for this
Suddenly I’m requested as DJ again (72,5 yo; first gig Easter 1976).
My proficiency may be, to know the tracks since this time and there is a lack in DJ’s knowing the beginning of Disco and DJing.
Brgds from HAM BeatMaster
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To be honest, “article” is really giving the “calm rant” a little too much credence and credibility.
Yeah, it’s great how music divides generations, but in the end unites them again! I know a DJ who got back into the youth circuit when his son asked him to play at a local event organized by the soccer team his son played at. Suddenly other youth organizations ask him and he is back in the game! It’s one of the rewarding things of playing all-time pop music instead of hanging around in your own favorite genre…
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http://nachtasyl.de/index.php/1231-dare
one of the coolest locations HAM can offer 
and the most crazy monthly party in town, not to say the “Best Disco in Town” —Richie Family—
btw: none of the DJs is using equipment starting with P…
Brgds BeatMaster
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From the article:
We changed our company name to AlphaTheta a long time ago [January 1, 2020]. We just decided we wanted to introduce products under that brand.”
Why is it suddenly very smoky in here and my hiney is warm?