Recent chatter about the skills required to perform as a DJ is heating up with two of the biggest names in the business—deadmau5 and A-Trak—weighing in on the top with recent posts online.

A-Trak "pushing buttons" at SXSW earlier this year.

A-Trak, who rose to international fame scratching records before founding Fools Gold record label, offers his voice to the conversation after deadmau5’s recent tumblr post “We All Hit Play”.

In his post, deadmau5’s states, “I think given about 1 hour of instruction, anyone with minimal knowledge of ableton and music tech in general could DO what im doing at a deadmau5 concert. Just like i think ANY DJ in the WORLD who can match a beat can do what “ANYONE else” (not going to mention any names) is doing on their EDM stages too.”

A-Trak counters on Huffington Post: “Esteemed electronic producer deadmau5, who recently graced the cover of rock bible Rolling Stone wearing his namesake, robo-rodent mask, decided to blow the whistle himself with a refreshingly frank tumblr post entitled “We All Hit Play.” Explaining how his pre-planned stage show works, he admits that the term “live” is an overstatement. But his tone is strangely defensive and he unjustly lumps DJs into the argument, reducing their craft to mindless beat-matching…”

It’s an interesting conversation that could use a few more voices, especially as EDM events continue to dominate the concert industry and more DJs are pulling in six- and seven-figures annually in booking fees. Tiësto and Guetta, you’re up!

• Tag: A-Trak, Deadmau5, DJ, scratching, SXSW