Hi All

[Geezzaa 0]

Hi all Dj Geezzaa here from Aldershot , I been spinning now for around 15 years and i have recently decided to make a carear out of it so i will be asking a few questions regarding finding jobs in the other Forums. I can spin all Genres of music and have a regular radioshow , You can listen here to last nights show.http://activepod2.bytecast.co.uk/past_shows/2014.01.18.00.060.Geezzaas%20Friday%20night%20show%252C.mp3

This was broadcast live on radioactivefm

 

[Geezzaa 0]

Does anybody Know about this place www.agencyofsound.co.uk ?? , im looking fo work and cant find any info

[McCardle 1]

Does anybody Know about this place www.agencyofsound.co.uk ??

 

£60 - £70 a night, seriously?. I'm all for freedom of Mobile Dj's charging what they think they are worth without criticisim or ridicule, provided they can realistically run a fair and legit business based on those earnings, but if 8000+ venues all over the UK think that £60 - £70 is all that the entertainment industry is worth then I weep for the future :sad: .

 

£60 a night sounds a lot, until you add all of the expenses of running a business into the equation. Once you have bought the equipment, bought a music collection with regular updates, purchased any license(s) required, paid for public liability insurance and the increased costs of motor insurance (DJ's typically pay around three times the cost for car / van insurance compared to other trades) plus the fuel to get there and back, then there isn't a lot left for 5 or 6 hours of your time and skill actually working, then of course, the Tax man will want 20% of whatever you earn after your expenses, not that there will be much.......

 

I don't know of the agency and I have never heard of them before so I can not pass comment on their integrity, but put it this way, there doesn't seem to be many views and replies to their offers of work does there? nor any feedback or discussion. Plus all of the offers of work listed all seem to be for exactly the same ballpark £60 - £70 figure for different venues all hundreds of miles apart, which is more than a little strange!!!.

Edited January 18, 2014 by McCardle

[Geezzaa 0]

 

£60 - £70 a night, seriously?. I'm all for freedom of Mobile Dj's charging what they think they are worth without criticisim or ridicule, provided they can realistically run a fair and legit business based on those earnings, but if 8000+ venues all over the UK think that £60 - £70 is all that the entertainment industry is worth then I weep for the future :sad: .

 

£60 a night sounds a lot, until you add all of the expenses of running a business into the equation. Once you have bought the equipment, bought a music collection with regular updates, purchased any license(s) required, paid for public liability insurance and the increased costs of motor insurance (DJ's typically pay around three times the cost for car / van insurance compared to other trades) plus the fuel to get there and back, then there isn't a lot left for 5 or 6 hours of your time and skill actually working, then of course, the Tax man will want 20% of whatever you earn after your expenses, not that there will be much.......

 

I don't know of the agency and I have never heard of them before so I can not pass comment on their integrity, but put it this way, there doesn't seem to be many views and replies to their offers of work does there? nor any feedback or discussion. Plus all of the offers of work listed all seem to be for exactly the same ballpark £60 - £70 figure for different venues all hundreds of miles apart, which is more than a little strange!!!.

Thanks for the reply :)

When you say £60 -70 what were you reffering to ?

Yes its expensive getting around , Rental of a van to move it all is over £40 and like you say with all the extras on top.

I joined up on the site , It was free so i thought i would give it a go.

Maybe im looking in the wrong direction and instead of looking at promoters should invest more in advertising in the local papers.

[McCardle 1]

When you say £60 -70 what were you reffering to ?

 

£60 - £70 is the average amount of money which is being publicly offered for the work advertised on the link that you gave. For example:-

 

 

http://agencyofsound.co.uk/showthread.php?113717-Uckfield

 

In fact there is a whole list of 'DJ's Wanted' opportunities, all roughly offering the same fees - 1340+ pages of them on this link, all at different venues up and down the country and, strangely, all offering exactly the same fee scale......

 

http://agencyofsound.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?4-Dj-Vacancies

 

As you have already said, its £40 for you just to hire the Van, you have to also put the fuel you use back into the tank, so thats a big chunk of the £60 - £70 gone before you have even loaded your gear, then what about your other expenses. Already from off the top of my head, using basic running costs, i've worked out that from a £70 fee you are probably working for about £3 an hour, which if you have a day job or other income, you'll probably also have to pay tax on.

 

I operate in the North West, in an area which relies on the Tourist Trade, something which has been decimated by recessions, cheap foreign holidays and bad weather and so locally, Hotels, Pubs and the businesses which serve them, are closing down at a frightening rate. So I certainly don't charge a fortune to provide entertainment to venues which are, themselves, struggling to stay open, but I do charge enough to stay in business and pay the bills, because i'm not running a charity.

 

As such, I already operate on a shoestring, 25 years worth of experience and all of the workload which I currently have comes from Venue loyalty and word of mouth reputation, but there is no way I would stay in business on £70 a night, it would barely cover the running expenses, so very good luck with that.

Edited January 18, 2014 by McCardle

[Geezzaa 0]

are you talking about this one http://agencyofsound.co.uk/showthread.php?108301-Aldershot . have applied for it but its dj only no equipment needed :)
Might save me lugging all my equipment around lol but i need to use my full equipment and get paid a good price.

Urrrghhh my head is spinning

[McCardle 1]

Virtually every single offer of work on that site is for £60 or £70!.

 

£60 for a residency with no equipment required is marginally better, but it is still a lot less than I would expect a city or town based venue to pay for experienced DJ's, especially if its an established club or venue with a large-ish capacity. Lets face it, the DJ and the music he / she is playing is the only attraction in a club and therefore should be considered an investment. £60 doesn't seem to be a good reward for the DJ and the experience which is effectively bringing people in from the street and keeping them there - spending £1000's over the bar.

 

Even at £60 DJ Only, you still have expenses to pay and music to buy so its not £60 profit, and even as a resident Dj with no equipment I personally still couldn't balance the books and make it work.

 

But if you can make it work, and you are doing it for experience and hobby then seriously I hope it turns out ok for you, but I have my doubts about the work on that site, in my personal opinion, of course.

 

However if somebody comes back to you, requesting any money or payment upfront to put you in touch with this advertised Job, then run for the horizon.

Edited January 18, 2014 by McCardle

[Geezzaa 0]

Thanks for your input :) I will let you know how i get on , It looks pretty legit but hey lets see, if they want any money they are bang out of luck. i aint got none lol

[Geezzaa 0]

Hi
As promised i said i would update you :)
Well what can i say , it wasnt a con. I have recieved 3 dj jobs from them and been paid :) It didnt cost me a penny in fees which has made me very happy.
Apparently the fees are collected from the client.
The only complaint i have is because http://agencyofsound.co.uk is automated you cant see who your competion is.
Its really worth a look if you need to find extra work