I Built an App Because I Was Tired of Song Requests...

Introducing JUKEZ — The Smartest Way to Run the Room

July 5th, 2026 | By Jay Patel (beatsbyjay)

Every DJ knows the moment. You're locked in. Headphones on. Reading the room. And then a hand taps your shoulder, a phone's in your face, and someone's yelling a song title over the music like you're not in the middle of something. I've had that moment a thousand times. So I built something to fix it.

It's called JUKEZ.

What It Actually Is

JUKEZ is a digital jukebox. Guests request songs and tip you straight from their own phone — no app to download, no login, no account. Just a link.

Here's the part that makes it actually work: The tip only clears if you approve the request. No play, no charge. Ever.

A guest's card gets authorized when they submit — held, not charged. You see the request come in on your dashboard. You decide if it fits the room. Approve it, and the tip captures and lands straight in your account. Decline it, and the guest is never charged a cent.

You're still the one running the room. JUKEZ just removes the interruption.

Why I Actually Built This

I didn't build this because I thought it'd be a cool side project. I built it because I was sick of the same fight every single set — phones in my face, people camped at the booth refusing to leave until their song played, the constant negotiation that pulls you completely out of your flow. I wanted something that let guests still feel like they're part of the night, without it costing me my set.

DJs Keep 100% of Their Tips. Always.

This was non-negotiable for me. A lot of platforms take a cut of every tip you make. JUKEZ doesn't. Zero. Every dollar a guest sends goes straight to your account — we only ever charge a flat monthly fee, and that's optional depending on what kind of DJ you are.

I built this because I'm a DJ. I wasn't about to build something that takes from other DJs to make money.

Built for Both Worlds — Clubs and Weddings

This is where JUKEZ does something nobody else in this space is doing.

For club and festival DJs — the live request-and-tip flow works exactly how you'd expect. Guests scan, search, tip, you approve, money's in your account before the song's even over. $20/month, first month free.

For wedding and private event DJs — it's free. Forever.

Here's why: weddings aren't about live tipping in the moment, they're about knowing what the room wants before you ever walk in. So I built a whole separate side of the platform for that — a private link the couple gets weeks before the wedding where they can build out a real Music Wish List. Multiple lists if they need them — Baraat, Sangeet, Reception, whatever the day looks like — every song tagged Must Play, Would Love, or Do Not Play, with notes attached.

By the time I show up to DJ a wedding now, I already know exactly what the couple wants and exactly what to avoid. No guessing. No surprises. No awkward "do you have a song list?" conversation ten minutes before doors open.

I tested this for real for the first time this past weekend at Paula & Peter's wedding — sent them the link, watched them build out their wish list together over a couple weeks, and walked into their reception already knowing their day inside and out. First real couple, first real test, and it worked exactly like I hoped it would.

What's Coming...AI

JUKEZ is live now at jukez.ai, and I'm in the process of getting real DJs — friends, people I trust, people in different markets — actually testing it at real gigs before pushing this out wider.

AI...The AI features that I am creating are built and catered around DJs really just enjoying the craft. With trial and error you get to really develop your skills (MORE ON THIS COMING SOON)

If you're a DJ and any of this sounds like something you've been wishing existed, I'd genuinely love for you to try it. It costs nothing to start, and if you're a wedding or private event DJ, it costs nothing at all, period.

The Bigger Picture

I'm not building a tip jar. I'm not building a request app. I'm building the layer that sits between the crowd and the people performing for them — something that lets guests still feel like part of the night, while DJs stay completely in control of the room and actually get paid fairly for it.

It's the same idea that built jukeboxes a hundred years ago — a coin and a choice, a room deciding what plays next. I just gave it a phone instead of a slot machine, and a DJ instead of a fixed catalog.

Same room. Same choice. Just built for right now.

jukez.ai — built by a DJ, for DJs.

— Jay

📍 @beatsbyjaynj🎧 [@jukez.ai handle if you have one]