‘Silent Disco’ Help

[Nitefly]

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.

 

[Nitefly]

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]

Thanks for the ongoing input / comments, have made me smile

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!

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

 

[Nitefly]

@dowie yeah that’s right you flick between them. Just picking out a few tracks from the playlists as examples, so you can get an idea of how it facilitates variety.

Blur - Song 2
Artic Monkeys - I bet that you look good in the dance floor
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Give it Away

Pitbull - Fireball
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop
Ed Sheehan - Sing

Journey - Don’t Stop Believing
Wham! - Wake me up before you Gogo
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger

You just hop between them as you fancy. It’s quite humorous to be dancing to, say, Wham!, and then see people moshing to something else.

Having so many songs on the go also allows you to be way more playful than with just one playlist running. I wouldn’t usually dream of putting on Slipknot or the Mortal Kombat theme at a party…. But they are both on there. People that love it will love it, others can just change the channel.

Really good. I’m a fan… obviously!

 

[Nitefly]

A wild update, just to explain what I ended up doing.

I was a big fat lazy oaf and just bought the four ipods, being an exceptionally expensive way of addressing the practical difficulties. But I figured, you know what, I want idiot proof devices that (a) won't let me down and (b) are familiar to the persons that will be stop and starting the music (which won't be me).

But sweet lord has it been convenient. I've unwrapped all four and have loaded them up with the respective playlists in maybe 30 minutes, all ready to go. Just held my phone near each of them to sign in, it pre-loaded the playlists and I then downloaded them to play in 'airplane mode'. Have tested running all four simultaneously and it works like a dream. Really chuffed.

So that's one way of doing it!