‘Silent Disco’ Help

Nitefly

Nitefly

Nitefly

Man of Honour
Joined
24 Sep 2005
Posts
36,761
Hi there - not entirely sure where to post this but I thought GD may give the most responses.

For a party, I’ve arranged a silent disco. There will be four different and curated playlists running at the same time, for several hours. These playlists exist on my Apple Music account, where I have access to all of that music. The ‘broadcasting’ device I will be getting requires a headphone input for each channel.

I therefore need four devices that can be loaded with music with head phone inputs, which can easily be used to run the playlists simultaneously. All of these devices would ideally be compatible with Apple Music playlists so that I don’t have to spend an eternity re organising all of the music into or from a different software player.

Also, some the devices will be used to play different playlists at different times of the day, so they need to be very easy to navigate (i.e. with a display). There’s probably 25 hours of music in total.

One solution is to buy four iPod touches and run it all that way… then sell them second hand. That would give me peace of mind. It seems like a very expensive solution though! At the same time, I don’t want to fart around for hours trying to import music and create new playlists again. It feels a little fiendish!!

Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
LuckyBenski said:
Apple Music runs on Android surely? So I imagine 4 cheap Android phones (second hand or borrowed even) would do it.
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^ this. I have a drawer 'full' (2) I use as dumb Spotify devices (or actually quite smart as you can control them as an endpoint remotely).

I don't know if Apple Music differs much to Spotify but you can cache the music if WiFi is a worry too.

Edit: also silent discos are massively cringe
 
4 phones sprang to my mind when reading your OP. Depending on how long the disco goes on for, it's just as easy to have them plugged in charging.

Also the luxury of android is a microsd port you could download the playlist to for offline streaming.
 
Semple said:
Also the luxury of android is a microsd port you could download the playlist to for offline streaming.
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dLockers said:
I don't know if Apple Music differs much to Spotify but you can cache the music if WiFi is a worry too.
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Great point - if you can possibly keep them offline I'd highly recommend it. Live playout does not need interference from other loads on the device. Especially if Apple Music doesn't have an offline mode and you hit an account limit or similar.
 
Ah that’s really helpful, I didn’t know that Android was an option with Apple Music. I’ve been stuck in the Apple-sphere for too long.

Is there a ‘lower level’ of Android devices to avoid? Or would any ~£50 device do? Thanks again.

edit - yes, my intention would to have it all running ‘offline’. Thanks.
 
Nitefly said:
Ah that’s really helpful, I didn’t know that Android was an option with Apple Music. I’ve been stuck in the Apple-sphere for too long.

Is there a ‘lower level’ of Android devices to avoid? Or would any ~£50 device do? Thanks again.

edit - yes, my intention would to have it all running ‘offline’. Thanks.
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Buy used, no phones out there for £50 will give you a smooth evening, you'll spend the night fiddling with phones that are running out of their comfort zone and locking up / freezing etc.
 
This is really weird
We've been in lockdown all this time so inviting people to a party and isolate them all with headphones and then isolate them even more by giving them different playlists :)
I've been to Burslem Festival this afternoon where I've watched 4 rock acts and everybody actually talking to each other, it was amazing.

LuckyBenski said:
I love the crusties complaining about people who might actually like to go somewhere and enjoy an activity with other humans :D
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Sounds like you're isolating from everybody to be honest.
I'm going to a party but I hate people, I know, I'll put headphones on.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
This is really weird
We've been in lockdown all this time so inviting people to a party and isolate them all with headphones and then isolate them even more by giving them different playlists :)
I've been to Burslem Festival this afternoon where I've watched 4 rock acts and everybody actually talking to each other, it was amazing.



Sounds like you're isolating from everybody to be honest.
I'm going to a party but I hate people, I know, I'll put headphones on.
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Have you actually been to a silent disco though?

It's a bit of fun and it's different. It's a fun experience, more fun than sitting in a cinema or theatre not talking. Shrug :)
 
Had an amazing time at the silent disco tent at Download festival a few years back. For extra hilarity there were classics on the alternate channel such as the Backstreet Boys. Perfect for a rock/metal festival. Interaction with humans is the same as with any other loud music event.
 
tom_nieto said:
Perfect for a rock/metal festival. Interaction with humans is the same as with any other loud music event.
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Can't be much fun kicking the **** out of each other in the pit if you're wearing headphones. I must've been to thousands of gigs over the years, and not one would've benefited by wearing headphones. Metal is meant to be loud enough to make your ears bleed and the bass should shake the teeth from your head and cause your belly to rumble. It's as much a physical experience as it is an audible one.

Actually, tell a lie I was dragged to see 'Black' back in the day and noise cancelling headphones would've improved that experience 100%.
 
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Malevolence said:
Can't be much fun kicking the **** out of each other in the pit if you're wearing headphones. I must've been to thousands of gigs over the years, and not one would've benefited by wearing headphones.
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Get with the times Dude, we can meet in the pit, you smacking my head in while you listen to Children of Bodom and me kicking your legs while listening to Devildriver - it will work.
The thing is you might as well tell everybody to turn up to the party with their own music and headphones and listen to what they prefer, it will be like sitting on a train.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Get with the times Dude, we can meet in the pit, you smacking my head in while you listen to Children of Bodom and me kicking your legs while listening to Devildriver - it will work.
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It kind of misses the point though - Gigs are a shared experience for all those who attend, where everyone reacts together to the music whereas these Silent Disco's are the complete opposite, random folks not joined together in a single experience but instead remaining seperated in their own worlds. It really doesn't look "good" in any way shape or form but I guess I'm just a Luddite :D
 
Thanks for the ongoing input / comments, have made me smile :p

Everyone will have their preferences and you will never please everyone with your choices, but I have very much enjoyed every silent disco I have been to, hence my enthusiasm with running one. Some of the comments though have made me wonder whether some people have ever actually been to a silent disco tbh…. one of the massive benefits of a silent disco is that you can take the headphones off and talk free amongst yourselves (at normal volumes), so don’t have a song you don’t like blaring in your ears. You’re not obliged to wear them all the time! :confused: :p

I’ll be running three very different channels (pop and dance / rock and metal / classics and feel good) so should be something ideal for most people on the go at once. The fourth playlist will be low level background music for those not wearing headphones. So plenty going on. Obviously, if it’s a song you don’t like, you just change the channel. Plus, you don’t have to put faith in a DJ consistently playing blaring one song at everyone at a loud volume.

Otherwise, it’s very much a shared experience. At every SD I have been to, it results in hopping between channels to find what else is on, and figuring out what other people are dancing to. It’s particularly fun when you see a bunch of people jumping around to something and you think… ahh what is that!! *change the channel* The headphones I’m having have lights which are colour coded for each channel i.e. red for channel 1 etc, which will communicate what everyone is listening to.

Plus, it’s fun observing without headphones - just a ridiculous spectacle.

A party is a party. If you find yourself at a silent disco and it isn’t your preference, I’d suggest getting involved. You may surprise yourself with how much fun you have :)
 
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I'd just get some cheap mp3 players tbh.. there are still various options there even though most people probably use their phones as portable music sources these days. I did buy one for a comedy night once though sent it back/didn't get a chance to use it as I managed to find my old ipod - (basically I needed a cheap player that could be hooked to a sound system up in a central London pub but which, unlike my phone, I'd not worry about leaving unattended briefly).

I do wonder about different tracks though - doesn't that sort of undermine part of the shared experience? Like a particular tune comes on that a group of people love etc... doesn't have the same impact if some people are listening to something totally different, I mean you'd all be listening to the same music in a regular disco too. If you're going with different playlists then is there much point in having set playlists at all - you might as well have people bring their own device/headphones and listen to whatever they want?

Edit - oh, just seen your explanation above, I guess that could be fun if people start flicking to the same channel etc.. not been to one myself before, though have heard of them, I'd assumed people were all listening to the same music.
 
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