  Although the live music entertainment sector does not directly fuel the
current debate on automation, it might harbor positions that resonate with it.
In this paper we study a prototype software application helping DJs and VJs to
accurately manage and even automate the synchronization of visuals with music
during amateur or professional live performance. The goal of the study was to
unravel VJs' and DJs' ambivalent positions about this software. We
preliminarily investigated VJs' and DJs' perception of their sector of activity
with seven face-to-face interviews and an online survey (N = 102); then, we
asked DJs and VJs (N = 25) for their opinions about our prototype software
application. Four core controversies were identified in their answers, along
with a set of arguments mobilized to take side on them. The advantages of
focusing on ambivalence and argumentation when studying users' response to new
media are discussed.
