New app from two CSU business students could revolutionize DJ song requests

Colton Strickler

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Two Colorado State College of Business students have been hard at work the last few months creating an app that they hope will revolutionize the way people experience nightlife. 

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Senior marketing student Jacob Taylor and junior managing and finance student Devin Binford are in the process of creating an app that they call “UDJ.” The app aims to make it easier to request songs from DJs by going through the app instead of having to fight through a crowd.

Currently in the fundraising stage, “UDJ” would allow users to request songs by donating $1 to the DJ through the app, who would be able to see the requests as well as tips as they come in through their own version of the app. 

Along with taking requests, DJs would be able to receive payment wherever they work each night through the app.

Taylor came up with the idea while living in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2015. 

“I noticed that there was really no way to submit a song request besides going up and hassling the DJ,” Taylor said.

Along with doing his own research, Taylor began to speak with different advisors who encouraged him to pin this idea down. When he returned to Fort Collins for the fall semester, Taylor recruited Binford to join him in building this idea into something they could work with. 

Taylor and Binford came up with the business and revenue model by themselves, but they have not been able to make it this far on their own. 

“A majority of people who aren’t actually entrepreneurs think that if you have a great idea you need to keep it to yourself,” Binford said. “The interesting thing is, it’s kind of the opposite. Everyone is more willing to help out than you actually think.”

Taylor and Binford have received guidance from a team of advisors throughout the entire process. These advisors came from connections both Taylor and Binford made along the way and while at CSU. Along with offering guidance, they have set the two up with a legal counsel as well. 

Binford and Taylor recently returned from a meeting in Los Angeles where they engaged in negotiations related to a sizable partnership agreement with an unnamed prominent individual in the DJ and nightclub industry. 

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“We are in a point in the process that we really don’t want to jump the gun,” Binford said.

Within the next year, Binford and Taylor hope “UDJ” will be a standard in nightlife across the country. 

“We want to turn nightlife into a truly interactive experience,” Taylor said. “We want to turn it into something that’s truly interactive, just like every other industry.”

The app is set to debut in Fort Collins early this summer before expanding to Denver.

For more information on the app, visit their official website or Facebook page.

Collegian Reporter Colton Strickler can be reached at news@collegian.com or via Twitter @coltonstrickler.