I've DJed on vinyl, CDs and Ableton. My most creative sets have come from Ableton as I've been able to mash up music from genres I simply couldn't have if I were beat mixing them on vinyl (which was actually the reason I learned Ableton in the first place). However I'm still ostensibly just playing other peoples music.

There is a lot of ego amongst some DJs where they liken themselves to musicians but it is a great deal harder to write music and perform that - live - than it is to DJ (this I know from experience as well). Which is why I objected when the OP made the comparison of himself to a band performing.

As an example I have mixed from house at 125bpm straight into drum and bass at 175, gradually adjusting the tempo during the transition with ableton live while keeping both records perfectly in sync and without pitch shifting either. You simply can't do that with turntables..