Regardless of how America’s financial crisis pans out in the coming months or years, its safe to say that people will be cutting back big time on un-necessary expenses. Something tells me that dropping $100 at club every weekend may be the first things to go and some of the higher paying gigs will soon dry up. Even if you don’t happen to live state-side, djs around the globe might feel the crunch as our remarkably interconnected economies all start to show painful slow downs. So here are 3 essential rules to remember if your a dj and the economy goes bust.
Rule #1: Diversify your gigs
Throughout the years, time has shown that a getting smashed is a good cure for the newly broke so don’t expect people to stop drinking, they will just be doing it in different places. Clubs with cover charges and steep drink prices are going to have a harder time filling their dance floors so you will need to look elsewhere for gigs.
Small Bars
Start by trying your local bar or smaller venue that never charges a cover. If they don’t currently have a dj then your competing with the Juke box so pitch accordingly. Offer to do a few nights for free drinks and if patrons stick around more than usual because your willing to pander to their every musical desire then ask the owner to kick down some bread. Ask him how much money would normally go into the Jukebox, and use that as a starting rate to shoot for. Try to convince him that they are spending that money at the bar instead 🙂
Weddings
These are the worst gig ever but ironically pay the best. In good times or bad people always get married so buy yourself a tux, 2 powered mackies, a rotating light and hit the wedding circuit. Getting these jobs is relatively easy, just prove your not an idiot and give the couple your best price.
Rule #2: Change your Music style
Fortunately for you, I have been through all of this once before. It was circa 2001 when all the high paying gigs in San Francisco dried up overnight. While many of my contemporaries went from billboards to UPS jobs, I managed to stay in djing full time but it required some serious strategy shifts. The main reason my gigs dried up was because I was still trying to play house music, the dominant style in San Francisco for many years. Once the economy crashed and the .com dollars poured out, people seemed to loose interest in house and rediscovered their dormant love of pop music.
Ironically, it was the economy crash that got me into digital djing in the first place. A friend who was using final scratch 1 came to me and offered a simple proposition to solve the problem. “Ean, buy a laptop and I will give you all the basic hip hop tracks you need to play some simple pop gigs and get some money coming back in again.” Instead of final scratch I chose the first version of Traktor with a midi controller and the rest was history.
In the coming years, even though electronic music is re-surging, expect people to be looking towards music they find familiar and comforting. Especially in smaller venues where the patrons don’t expect to hear new amazing beats but instead go to get wasted and sing along with Van Halen.
Rule #3: Get a residency
Even if you do manage to get a few bookings here and there its going to be a hustle to keep your schedule filled without a regular gig. So look to get in the door at venues that can offer you something every week. Once you’ve established yourself as a go-to guy that will keep the people happy they are not likely to want to rock the boat and you can ride out the storm on a reliable pay check.
Dont just offer your dj skills if you want to really make yourself valuable to a venue. Consider bringing some other skills to the table and they will be sure to keep you around even if competing mix tapes start piling up. These might include:
Audio engineering.
Offer to keep the sound system and wiring up to date and functional. If your the guy they call when something breaks, you will get the gigs. This worked like a charm for me.
Promotions
Offer to help spread the word and bring more people into the bar. Show them how many friends you have on facebook! Once a djs proves he will help a bar make more money, then its a no brainer to hire him.
Booking other Djs
This is the ultimate sweet deal. You get keep all the jobs for yourself and your friends and in turn they kick you back more gigs in exchange. A sure fire win-win deal.
The bar route is a good one to go. It does take smart programming to cut it though i.e knowing your audience and catering to their tastes. Be prepared to take requests. Your job here is to set the right atmosphere that gets people comfortablely cozying up to the bar, and keep them there. That keeps your client happy and you will be coming back. Mix it up. Keep it fun and uplifting. And watch your crowd carefully for signs of disinterest and boredom. It takes trial and error but after a while you become good at knowing what works vs what doesn’t for your particular audience. Good luck. And get paid!
So in hard times you have to be imaginative, right! I got an observation and some comments. It seems that everyone is out to get thiers. I can remember several instances where working as a group or collective seemed to benifit the whole. Okay here are some examples.
1990’s Seattle Grunge scene, 1980-90 Hip-Hop (BDP, Tribe Called Quest, DelaSoul,WuTang,RuffRyders Dirty South Scene) 1990-2000’s (Orange County punk & ska scene,Sublime,NoDoubt, SugarRay, NOFX,)
All those scenes produced some of todays hottest artist. They all started as independent artist but found strength in the collective or as we used to call it the “CREW”. In these collectives when nothing was going on and people were comfortable with the status quo. These srtist knew that there were some music fans that wanted something new or different. many of these music fans were local in their own neighborhoods. Many of the artisit found like minded people on their blocks or at their colleges or at work. Sure at first there were small venues, freebie shows, and uninspired crowds. But after staying true to what music they did, they found a few passionate fans maybe one or two. Shows got a little bigger and so did the crowds. However at some point the individuals united and created a scene from nothing. Uniting thier crowds playing smaller places and packing them. Turning local dive bars into the place to be on freakin’ weekday! So Djays form Crews and Collectives unite for the common good! Sounds corny, but it works! I have witnessed it (Hip-Hop 1980’s-90’s) and I took part in another (Punk & Ska scene Orange County CA 90’s – 2000’s). The cream of those fore mentioned crews rose to the tops and play for millions, while the others got exposure and may never have to work a day job again.
This concept seems to work in DJ culture too! Look at Masters At Work two individuals who attack the globe seprately. What about Ben Watt & Jay Hannan of Lazy Dog(R.I.P.)? Lazy Dog a short lived weekly in the UK. Lazy Dog started in a stuffy & cramped pub in Notting Hill by two self professed bedroom djays who joined forces just so they could play some tunes they liked to local friends. Eventually they brought house “back” to the super clubs in the UK. Internationaly these two brought their fave tunes to the masses while creating a cult following. So to all the Deejays out there and to those who are about to rock the decks, in the words of Morrissey “Unite and take over!”
[quote comment=””][…] froh, den staatsdienst nicht wegen der kohle verlassen zu haben…)
ok, genug geschwafel hier der artikel:
kenne ihn halt vom tr?by trio, die ja eher sehr gechillte musik produziert haben. allerdings […][/quote]
I agree with Ean. I used to be a Trance DJ in a Major California City. I touaght myself how to play with my own records and so on. After a couple years perfecting my skills I then got offered a gig with a production company as an opener. The pay I was offered……$2 a head for everyone that came off of my vip list. I made $100 for my first gig! How did I do that you ask? I used to offer my services to the local college fraternities. I would charge $200 for four hours of music and I didn’t take requests! I provided all the sound and everything. I see some of you are to Prima Donna for that, but what I would do is hand out business cards and demo cds at these events. Once I got my first club booking I emailed all those people and managed to get some of them to show up to my shows. As for the venue owners being cheap and all that. Yes they are but don’t believe for once instant that they care about the “Art Of DJing” any more than you care about the art of bartending. You will be spending a lot of time at home if that is the case. In a club you need to be more than a dj and you need to play requests and work for the crowd because if you don’t the owner won’t have you back. The owner wants to make as much money as they can for as little moeny as possible just like the rest of us. If I could pay a dollar a record and get paid 200 dollars and hour I would but that is not reality. Sometimes tough times require imagination and flexibility to survive. I have managed to make a decent living for the past seven years being a dj. I make anywhere from 500 to 1000 dollars a week and I play weddings, dances, clubs, bars, kareoke, all the stuff that most of you don’t seem willing to do. In closing, I want all of you to quit because that just makes more room for me. I can beatmix, beat juggle, scratch, and all of that stuff but I make way more money by being an entertainer and dj then I would if I were just a dj. Good Luck to you all. Peace, Love and Unity through Music!
I'm a full time musician and have been for many years. All the djs and karoke singers have ruined it for musicians. You think you have alot invested? I've invested thousands of dollars in equipment and years in learning several instruments. I don't make money of other people's talent – I showcase my own talent.
And on the other end of the unrealistic spectrum we have Tiesto, whom the club I work for paid 1 million euros for 12 consecutive Mondays in Ibiza this past summer… Anything wrong with this picture?
Dj professor Ben is right…"a DJ’s time, like any other capital in a capitalist market, is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it, and not a penny more"
On Tiesto's behalf he did bring 6,000 to 10,000 customers weekly paying 60 euros… do the math:)
Hi. This topic is very important and does shed light on the many different aspects of DJing as a profession and regardless of how or even IF you are a pro, you need to know how to do business.
DO NOT EVER COMPROMISE YOUR AUTHENTICITY OR MUSICAL TALENT by accepting a shitty 50$ gig that you will have to be playing requests.
Tell them to hook up the ipod, which probably has every 14 year old girl's top 10 list consisting of a new musical trend called "I can't believe it's music!" It's much easier to resort to selling crack, or weed, or prostitute yourself.
See, I see this whole economy thing like this: it's going to filter out a lot of DJs and party promoters, clubs etc. GREAT! You mention there are too many crappy ones right now anyway. There are. And a lot of crappy clubs and owners too who couldn't give a shit about the sound because he knows he'll be able to go It happend to lawyers in the 80s, dotcom developers in the 90s and 00s and now maybe it's the DJs turn. So let them just drop off the face of the earth while you are working it out putting QUALITY music out there
and your audience will love you and appreciate your sound and you will get more and more lucrative bookings.
I am certainly noticing a slow-down in NYCs economy right now, with a lack of larger gigs being offered to me and my friends/colleges in the same situation I am in, some playing for cheap wherever they can, others going other routes all together.
Don't say you'll DJ for free EVER for a nightclub if they make money (TRUST ME they make A LOT of cash off liquor!) then you deserve to be compensated. I have seen the DJ go home with less than the bartnenders at the end of the night. The owner of said club told how he does business: Find people who are motivated or passionate about what they are doing – let them do a little but of that and then pay them NOTHING!
Do you want to be a professional DJ or an intern? Just like internships hardly ever lead to actual full-time paying jobs in most "cool" industries such as music, you are simply being used for your knowledge and also for ythe face you are a total pushover if you give in tho this. Do not even think of getting only $50 for an entire night's music.
One thing I did not see you mention was that WE DJS NEED TO BUY MUSIC which costs a lot of $$$$$$ so you better not expect me to have to spend more money than I would made? sorry but I did quit that gig
the moment the words "temporary budget" came out.
I'm glad I did because I have had 3 great bookings this month alone each one at a different venue with owners, clubbers all types of people who wanted to hear A DJ play those funky fucked up beats you aint hearing at a A&F shop! TRUST THE DJ! & PAY THE DJ!
That is really shady but guess what that's reality especially NYC.
I started a residency this fall early on at a great venue in NYC that is a huge name club, with an underground vibe. Started in late june for a one off. We negotiated a reasonable fee, all good yada yada so we started in august every weekend, no negative feedback that
Then we're good togo set right?
NOPE. He now asks me to set up Courtney's equipment while he goes to ireland with my cousins. He had no idea, I'm assuming heavy because she is traveling… It's fine i dont waste time outside in the cold anyway 🙂
He had decided he didn't want to advertise AT ALL except from facebook/myspace which is beyond manyly
on my phone got shut off, I couldn
t cal ll aout and th en make them try
I'm in ATLANTA and its getting pretty hard out here…not to mention the fact that when ur in a major city there is a lot more competition. I am currently dj'in for a restaurant owner who has over 10 locations BUT I and a couple DJ friends hold down 3 different venues every weekend for $150-$200/night for 4 hours, Dinner, Drinks and we do not have to bring sound at all…it's quick easy money and we get larger gigs such as weddings from being out in the city exposed with our skills…i'd rather have a constant paycheck as a DJ… plus when you are the house DJ people get to know you and regulars invite more people, which in0turn brings the bar more money…so everyone is happy
[quote comment=""]
Last month we walked out with 500 quid. for a couple of flyers i did on my laptop and thats it get a grip folk diversify and work with the venue owners!![/quote]
Brilliant!!! This is exactly what I am talking about. We are not promoting underselling yourself or playing for free. Now that clubs are not such an option you have to get creative and present different options to smaller bars that are not really sure they need your services. Technically, Aid "played for free" but it got him in the door and %5 of the bar which made them way more than they could ahve ever asked for up-front.
Thats the entire point, don't expect to get a grip of money upfront. Your going to need to prove yourself first and then make the cash.
Back to the BYO type underground parties/Raves/Doofs if you were going to go this way and don't think that your "friends" will pay your fee of $600 its only $10 each with 60 people and $10 for 6 hours is pretty cheep for live entertainment 😉
I think we all have to admit that we are all suffering at this point in time and sallow some of our pride, I've been playing in small bars for years now and you get some great gigs in these places and recently we have seen a huge influx of people coming back to the bar because they dont want to pay the huge cover charges of the clubs. so me and a couple of buddies came up with a solution we were getting paid 80 pound to dj for 4 hours on a sat night in a local bar, standard sat night routine but with the greater numbers coming in the door we spoke to the owner and said right once a month on a sat we will put on "A NIGHT" 2 or 3 dj's of differing style i.e me and my mates and i knocked up a couple of flyers that we stick up in the bar the weeks before the gig and the guy offered to put a promo on some drinks and instead of a basic wage the owner said ok no basic pay but 5% of the total bar takings. (if its empty we lose out and if if full we do good and no risk for the bar owner) Last month we walked out with 500 quid. for a couple of flyers i did on my laptop and thats it
get a grip folk diversify and work with the venue owners!!
I have to agree with Bouj. I've been dj'ing for 19 years now. Have and still currently hold my SF residency since I moved out here from Chicago in 99'. For the new dj's starting to break into the scene, the proper way to show respect to the industry and to the dj that has already paved the way towards a particular venue, you begin with the current resident dj and offer to play the opening set and earn your stripes from there. If you come in as a new dj trying to get your foot in the door by undercutting the next dj's services, long term you do nothing good for the industry or for yourself.
The only ones who gain are the cheap bar owners who get comfortable paying the cheaper deejays and shop on price. Then as your skills progress and it comes time to try and ask for more money, good luck. They'll just look for the next guy that undercuts you!
As with any sales item or service, if you only sell on price versus value, you always leave the door open for that client or bar owner to "shop around". You run any business or professional practice on price, you'll make money in the short run, but in the end, those are the clients that will give you the most headaches, you do absolutely nothing for the industry long-term, and eventually you'll run your business into the ground.
I've been on both sides of the fence so I can understand how things can get. Fortunately I now work with a bar owner and clients who understand the value of having an experienced dj and will pay a premium for my services. It hasn't been easy educating them, and yes I may have lost a few gigs here and there but in the end, you stick to your guns (but still allow yourself to learn & grow), you'll have more satisfaction becoming a fairly paid professional.
Great website. Great discussion. Hope I can be a resource. Good luck!
-ed-
SF weekly resident DJ
Macy's SF Special Events DJ
Corporate Event & Wedding / Private Events Mobile DJ
Financial Advisor by day
Real job?? Boring?? Forced??!?
It also used to be that a DJ could live off of a weekly or a twice a week gig. But once again, with the diluting…well….I wrote it once already^^
[quote comment="14297"]Well my first post was as a DJ and second will be as a Music Director. When I do my bookings I try and only work with artists that I know can perform and have something to add. I am fortunate to have complete control of the music direction at my venue and I'm honored to say that we have non-pop music 5 out of 7 nights a week. I do not undercut DJ's nor will I work with DJ's who offer to play for free. I do understand that I am in a unique place but I feel that if more owners/operators were willing to sacrifice some sales to stay away from top 40 we would have a better scene. On our weekends I have had to tell me DJ's to NOT play top 40 as much as possible even when the crowd is beggin for it. I have actually read that many clubs in England will not offer top 40 / hip-hop due to the crowd you get. I say lets adopt this!!! Thus being said I do enjoy playing Hip-Hop myself sometimes but do not like those you would normally associate.[/quote]
[quote comment=""][…] How to get gigs in Hard times at djtechtools.com.
Tags: News […][/quote]
If only it was that simple, I used to Dj in leicester square London now in that location there must be 15-20 bars that hold at least 750-1200 I have watched the credit crunch eat these places up mid week, and all that has happened is the bars that can stick rock bottom prices on there drinks, so when the local competition are doing £1 to £1.50 drinks and your bar for that same drink like a double vodka red bull is £8.10p it does not matter how good you are, but as always they point the finger at the DJ for being crap, and axe you its not just the credit crunch that is making it a hard time for DJs the guys with there I pods charging drinks for the gig and are the look at me I am a dj type person, bars dont wanna spend the cash on good quality djs anymore the average gig in the uk gets £150 I know for a fact that the gig I had in Leicester square on a saturday would only pay £200 when the bar was taking £25-30k on that night a gig that take that much should be paying £300-£350
completely agree with all these points. especially the ones where you invite djs. gigs between djs are passed all the time.
Well my first post was as a DJ and second will be as a Music Director. When I do my bookings I try and only work with artists that I know can perform and have something to add. I am fortunate to have complete control of the music direction at my venue and I'm honored to say that we have non-pop music 5 out of 7 nights a week. I do not undercut DJ's nor will I work with DJ's who offer to play for free. I do understand that I am in a unique place but I feel that if more owners/operators were willing to sacrifice some sales to stay away from top 40 we would have a better scene. On our weekends I have had to tell me DJ's to NOT play top 40 as much as possible even when the crowd is beggin for it. I have actually read that many clubs in England will not offer top 40 / hip-hop due to the crowd you get. I say lets adopt this!!! Thus being said I do enjoy playing Hip-Hop myself sometimes but do not like those you would normally associate.
[quote comment=""][…] it really strikes a chord with me when someone is advised to provide a highly skilled service for a fraction of what he’s worth, and on top of that , those who have spent the time to hone their craft into a unique experience for their listeners, is forced to compete with guys who don’t understand the real effort involved[…][/quote]
I think the problem is that "what he's worth" is relative, and to a lot of people in the bar/club industry, the "value" of a DJ is based purely on how many people belly up to bar for another drink during his or her set. And many club owners will simply take the cheapest DJ they can find as long as they rock the house enough to keep the customers in the bar. There's a place I used to have a residency for a couple years, but I pretty much stopped playing there because of the owner's attitude in this regard — he won't even spend $200 to update the wiring on the sound system (I kid you not – he's got 150 feet of 12 foot RCA cords daisy chained to one another going from the mixer to the amp), much less pay a DJ more than $80 a night. (On top of that, DJs have to bring their own turntables and mixer and set everything up). But it's a decent crowd and a prime location — there's always going to be a DJ willing to play there for that price or cheaper. And for a DJ just starting to play out, getting paid at all is a luxury. I've donated my time to dozens of gigs, and for most people it's unrealistic to expect otherwise. Make no mistake – a DJ's time, like any other capital in a capitalist market, is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it, and not a penny more. It would be great if club owners universally recognized the skills DJs spend years perfecting as valuable and rewarded them appropriately, but that just isn't the case in many venues. If you're fortunate enough to play a venue where it's all about the music and people pay for your creativity, that's a wonderful thing to be grateful for. If not, you ultimately have to make decisions about what is worth your time. But there's no sense complaining that what isn't worth your time is worth it to someone else.
And it won't become any easier…The supply has become so overcrowded and diluted that Club owners are overwhelmed with soooo many garbage DJs that are offering their services for 50$, and you know the majority of club owners as well as I do, most of them are greasy, and try to pinch pennies in every way possible. I guess once they realise that the under-cutter DJ does not have the ability to maintain a weekly residency, they will return to hiring people who have put in the man-hours behind the decks, and not the kid that just bought Serato and downloaded limewire.
[quote comment="14290"][quote comment=""]
Well this is my point, you don't DJ for quarters, and nor should you, hence, as a collective, we should not accept when people undercut the profession and play gigs for the same rate a Jukebox makes.
[/quote]
I am sure everyone completely agrees with your point Bouj. There has always been a problem with devaluation of djs based on those that are willing to take less. We are not encouraging that but instead pointing out 2 obvious facts in that environment:
1) if your devalued, you need to find other ways to create value
2) sometimes to get a gig you have to take less now, get in the door and then get paid more later.[/quote]
Absolutely agree with your first point here Ean, and more power to you if your tryin to help cats make things work for them, its a very honorable. I've gone through your site, and there are many informative posts here, and i am beginning to subscribe, but it really strikes a chord with me when someone is advised to provide a highly skilled service for a fraction of what he's worth, and on top of that , those who have spent the time to hone their craft into a unique experience for their listeners, is forced to compete with guys who don't understand the real effort involved in readingcontrolling a crowd, flipping a dance floor, or don't have any regard for those who have come before them. I guess my frustration may be misplaced, it is not the advice which I am flustered about, but rather the reason why this thread "How to get a gig in hard times", even exists.
"2) sometimes to get a gig you have to take less now, get in the door and then get paid more later."
yep… as I'm barely starting…. I'm cutting a little low… on cash… but it's getting my name out… Its going good right now.. as I'm getting gigs every week.. at a very good.. price.. where the customer is satisfied and me as well.. from there on.. I'll take it up slowly.. as I get more gigs..
It all falls on references… if your good and they liked how u played .. you'll get called for more and more parties… always have a business card and mixed cd ready.. with all your info though.. it helps a lot… as I don't have one ready.. lol… but will by the end of the week … haha..
P.S if you wanna get gigs this days you have to play all that pop music and hip hop that's playing right now.. even it's not your style it helps that you know what's hiting right now… and show u play every type of music.. not just trance, techno, house, drum & bass etc.. mix it up.. you'll get more gigs like that..
[quote comment=""]
Well this is my point, you don't DJ for quarters, and nor should you, hence, as a collective, we should not accept when people undercut the profession and play gigs for the same rate a Jukebox makes.
[/quote]
I am sure everyone completely agrees with your point Bouj. There has always been a problem with devaluation of djs based on those that are willing to take less. We are not encouraging that but instead pointing out 2 obvious facts in that environment:
1) if your devalued, you need to find other ways to create value
2) sometimes to get a gig you have to take less now, get in the door and then get paid more later.
[quote comment="14287"][quote comment=""][…] You gotta be kidding me, I’ve been in this game also for a few years myself, and to undercutlowball this profession to the point where your asking for drinks and quarters!?!?!?!? I cannot believe what I’m reading. We, as DJs cannot be undercutting each other for gigs eg.dropping prices, it makes life much more difficult for your working DJ.
And offering other services? Promotions? This is a full time job my friend, not something that should be taken lightly as a bonus to your services. […][/quote]
To Mr "Anonymous" (thats been in the scene a few years)
I've been in the game since '92 and I dont play for quarters. It doesn't hurt to send out msg/bulletin on myspace/facebook saying where ur playing or make a flyer for a private party or putting together a mixed dvd with videos. You have to keep in mind that alot of dj's on this site are not super star dj's and are not trying to be. It would be safe to say that 90% of the members on this website have day jobs or attend college.[/quote]
Well this is my point, you don't DJ for quarters, and nor should you, hence, as a collective, we should not accept when people undercut the profession and play gigs for the same rate a Jukebox makes.
The facebookmyspace event invite and such are definite no brainers when it comes to "promotion", but in all reality, my experiences have been somewhat weak when this is what I depend on. There is such an influx of spam into peoples email boxes, that Facebook invites are more often than not, filtered out and deleted without even being open. I have never been able to fill a 250 person capacity room with facebookmyspace.
I as well have am a day-jobber, Im posting this as we speak from my office, and I do not consider myself IN THE LEAST to be a superstar DJ. But when someone calls on me to play a 6 hour set, of music that I've spent thousands of dollars on, and hundreds of hours spent in front of the decks blending and sorting, and trying to build coherent sets from, and they ask me to spin for 40$-60$ or drinks, it feels like a slap in the face, and the only reason they have the cajones to ask me to perform for such an insulting rate, is because the next guy with a pair of iPods or a Library full of Limerwire tunes is willing to come in and do it for free. It hurts us all in the long run.
[…] How to get gigs in Hard times at djtechtools.com.
Tags: News […]
I do not agree with the assesment here:
“Start by trying your local bar or smaller venue that never charges a cover. If they don’t currently have a dj then your competing with the Juke box so pitch accordingly. Offer to do a few nights for free drinks and if patrons stick around more than usual because your willing to pander to their every musical desire then ask the owner to kick down some bread.
I cannot believe what I’m reading. We, as DJs cannot be undercutting each other for gigs eg.dropping prices, it makes life much more difficult for your working DJ.
We are not saying work for free and undercut your fellow djs, I am saying get yourself in the door at a venue that does not allready have a Dj expense. Then once you have proven you have value they will pay you for it.
Even if a venue does have a dj, saying to them “hey I will come in and play a demo set for free” does not undercut anyone, it just give you the chance to prove yourself without requiring risk on the part of the owner.
[…] You gotta be kidding me, I’ve been in this game also for a few years myself, and to undercutlowball this profession to the point where your asking for drinks and quarters!?!?!?!? I cannot believe what I’m reading. We, as DJs cannot be undercutting each other for gigs eg.dropping prices, it makes life much more difficult for your working DJ.
And offering other services? Promotions? This is a full time job my friend, not something that should be taken lightly as a bonus to your services. […]
To Mr “Anonymous” (thats been in the scene a few years)
I’ve been in the game since ‘92 and I dont play for quarters. It doesn’t hurt to send out msg/bulletin on myspace/facebook saying where ur playing or make a flyer for a private party or putting together a mixed dvd with videos. You have to keep in mind that alot of dj’s on this site are not super star dj’s and are not trying to be. It would be safe to say that 90% of the members on this website have day jobs or attend college.
@ Anon to some people this is just a status thing and will play at a local bar for free they could be the worst dj in the world but the owner will not care as he has a dj for free, this has boiled down to the im cheaper than you because the pro djs have no choice unless they are a big name, doing the little things like looking after the sound system and doing some leg work on facebook is pretty much the norm now.
The uk industry has been on its ass for the last 3 months fridays are crap everywhere.
[…] How to get gigs in Hard times at djtechtools.com.
Tags: News […]
So true Ean, I’ve seen alot of big name dj’s go down b/c the charge +500/hr. What I find funny is that I getting more gigs now that I have in the past, b/c I offer reasonable rates. But I put a lot of work in dj-ing, promoting, flyer design, sound system, lights, video mixing…pretty much the whole package. But when times are tough people still go out and drink but its mostly to dive bars and small clubs that charge no cover or offer a free b4 whatever time.
# 8
produce, practice, repeat…… even in hard times a good musician can lift spirits and open wallets, your hard work will be rewarded and the skills you develop will last you a lifetime. If you bring something to the table people will want to deal you in.
Well said Ean. I see alot of people continuing to drop off each week. If your fortunate enough to get keep getting more gigs right now your ahead of the curve. It crushes me but I know its true about the consumers not wanted to hear new music. Playing out 3-4 days a week I’m seeing the rapid decline in quality of crowds throughout SF. I’m curious to see what happens in Europe when they begin to have the housing market crash like us. I will do what I can to help you… Especially with non-pop gigs. I refuse to conform entirely and you should too!!
Love you man.. Keep it up!
-JaredF
Funny timing for this article, Brian from djtutor.com recently made a similar post. It’s geared mostly towards mobile djs, but he does have some worthwhile things to say for everyone. Two parts, first part is at
# 5
well done ean. i have to say that your article is relevant, even if the economy wasn’t headed on its way down because in some cities it’s so crowded with DJs that it’s hard to get good gigs period.
Well said Ean. I see alot of people continuing to drop off each week. If your fortunate enough to get keep getting more gigs right now your ahead of the curve. It crushes me but I know its true about the consumers not wanted to hear new music. Playing out 3-4 days a week I’m seeing the rapid decline in quality of crowds throughout SF. I’m curious to see what happens in Europe when they begin to have the housing market crash like us. I will do what I can to help you… Especially with non-pop gigs. I refuse to conform entirely and you should too!!
Love you man.. Keep it up!
-JaredF
That was a really good read, with the economy heading the way it is everyone is going to need every last bit of advice they can get if they wish to come out on the other side with their head still above water.
Best of luck to you all !
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