Dj-Five 0 Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 please someone give me info on how to become a dj and stay one Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisPointon 0 Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Dj-Five is currently doing a school project on D.J'ing. Please post any advice below http://www.chrispointon.f2s.com/Forum/html/emoticons/smile.gif - we all had to start somewhere!. In answer to some of your questions that you sent by email:- Hourly Rate:- Most D.J's tend to be Self Employed and working for themselves therefore they set their own fee for the entire function rather than pay themselves on an hourly basis. If you are not in the U.K, then the best way of finding out how much D.J's charge in your local area, is to phone a local D.J and ask how much it would cost you to book a disco in your local area, for a Wedding or 21st Birthday for between 7pm and 12 midnight on a Friday or Saturday Evening. You may think that D.J's get paid well http://www.chrispointon.f2s.com/Forum/html/emoticons/wink.gif but when you take into account that the £100 or $200 fee also has to pay for C.d's, Advertising, Vehicle Cost's and Fuel, and the purchasing and maintaining of their Sound and Lighting Equipment means that only a small percentage of the fee charged is actually profit for the D.J. Obviously if you can get booked 2 or 3 times a week, rather than once a month then you will make more money. If you choose to work for a D.J as an assistant or roadie, then you may find that the pay is very poor - sometimes you may have to offer to help out for nothing in order to gain experience, although you'll probably find that most D.J's will pay you a small amount to help out, even if it's only your expenses!. Remember, although the pay is poor, as a "Roadie" you will be gaining the valuable experience of how to run a Disco, which is something that can't be taught in any college http://www.chrispointon.f2s.com/Forum/html/emoticons/smile.gif From my own experience, I usually pay Trainee D.J's a small amount and also pay for their drinks etc. My Roadies (once they have at least 6 months experience) get around 20 - 25% of the booking fee depending on the length of the gig and the work involved. When I employ D.J's to work for my Roadshow (I only do this after they have worked with me and trained for at least 2 years). I supply the equipment. They are however expected to supply their own C.D's and transport. The booking fee is then split 50 / 50. Getting Popular:- The best method of advertising for any business is word of mouth. You will find that (if you do the Job right, and make a good impression etc) that people will recommend you to their friends. If you are good at D.J'ing ,it is amazing how fast the word spreads and how much work that you actually get from previous bookings http://www.chrispointon.f2s.com/Forum/html/emoticons/smile.gif . As a d.j - YOU are the best advert for your Roadshow, remember that it isn't flashing lights and loud music that makes a booking, but your personality, your selection of music and the work that you are doing!. You may have lots of expensive equipment - but that is useless if you can't create a good atmosphere and encourage the guests to enjoy themselves and this CAN be hard work!!. Of course, you need to get those first bookings at the start!. A good idea is to visit all of the local bars and hotels and leave a business card, or a simple A4 leaflet (Avoid a 20 page essay on your roadshow since this is likely to prove boring to the receipient and more likely to be binned!). You can also visit other function rooms and leave business cards or pin them on the notice boards of local church halls!. Local newspaper advertising is also a MUST. Find out all of the local papers in the area(s) you intend to cover and place a small classified Ad. You can usually discuss discounts with small local newspapers for run of adverts - for instance 1 advert per week for a month or two months. This is more effective than just placing one ad!. Again - keep the wording on the advert simple but punchy. It's not a good idea to publish your prices on the Ad (Since this informs the competition of your charges!) but when quoting you may have to keep your prices lower than an established D.J in order to win the booking. But DON'T under price yourself - if there is a big difference in price then your customer may become suspicious because you are too cheap. A website is also a good idea, especially if you intend to cover several area's, or you are willing to travel to attend bookings. As a rough guide, this represents how people hear about my business:- 80% - Word of Mouth recommendations or repeat business for same customer 20% - Website Bookings - enquiries by Email etc 5% - Telephone Directory - Yellow Pages etc 5% - Newspaper Ad (based on 4 ads per year in local paper) When I first started in 1988, the internet didn't exist so around 90% of my work was from Ads in local newspapers. As time passed more and more work came from customer recommendations. Once you get established you will find that you won't need to spend much on advertising. The Website now accounts for virtually all of our new business and is more effective than local paper ad's. Staying in Business:- Well this is down to the D.J!!. If you upset your customers and don't do the disco correctly then you are likely to go out of business very quickly, which is why it is so important to gain some experience with a D.J before setting up in business yourself. Starting any business requires a lot of time and effort from you and this includes D.J'ing. You need to spend a lot of time promoting your business - if nobody knows about you - then they can't book you!. I think that this has covered most of your questions, and I've also sent you an email with some more info. I am sure that more people will post their own advice here also http://www.chrispointon.f2s.com/Forum/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif . If there is anything else that you need to know please ask!. Good Luck with your project. Chris Link to post Share on other sites
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