Mar082009
Top Ten Tips for Your First DJ Booking
I was on Facebook the other day and got chatting to someone who wanted to ask my advice on a couple of pointers for their first ever live booking as a funky house DJ.
This got me thinking that there isn’t too much sensible advice out there that is readily available on the subject so I thought I would offer up my top tips list based on the conversation that I had. This person’s first gig was in a bar rather than a big club so my tips are based from that perspective.
Its OK To Be Nervous
This is quite important. It’s a big step moving from the relative safe realms of bedroom mixing to then be stepping out into the big world of live DJing. Nerves can strike at any time and they are especially worst during your first ever mix.
To be honest, there is not much you can do about this but just know that this has happened to every single DJ ever in the world and you are no different. If anything it shows you care about doing a good job.
Have a beer or something to relax you but don’t get drunk - you are at work after all!
Don’t Worry About Beat Perfect Mixing
In the world of DJing and DJs, you will often find yourself analysing other DJ mixes and spotting little tiny errors and miskates here and there.
All I can say is this does not matter when you are playing out on a system that is louder than your bedroom set-up. As long as your beats are near enough in, the crowd will usually not have enough ‘DJ knowledge’ to spot the tiny flaws you may find if you played the mix back to yourself.
If you get into trouble, just cut the track over quickly and move on to the next track. If you are doing your job correctly, the crowd will be enjoying the music selection too much to notice tiny imperfections in the mix.
Don’t Play A Pre-Arranged Set
This is one of my biggest hates. As a DJ it is your job to be flexible and adaptive with what you play. You should be able to read a crowd and play more pianos if that fills up the floor, or play more filth if the crowd are begging for it harder.
If you turn up with a pre planned set and you know what tune is going to go into what tune and when, then you are insulting the crowd by dictating to them what you want to hear and you are also lowering your own standards as a DJ.
Every time you play you should be finding that balance between your own style and keeping the crowd entertained. There is no way you can do this if you have your entire set planned out before you even cue up your first track.
Don’t Play Every Request
As a DJ you will get your fair share of muppets who will rock up to the DJ booth and ask you something stupid. They won’t quite get the idea of the night you are playing or even understand the concept of a DJ.
“Oh go on, play this track. Its awesome, It will get everyone dancing.”
“I’m leaving in 10 minutes, can you play this track before I go?”
“Please play it. Please. Pretty please. Pleaaasssseeee?”
It winds me up a treat. If you know a good song that everyone will dance to then YOU be a DJ. If you are leaving in 10 minutes, why wait? F**k off now! Please? Pretty please? No.
Whatever is a great track for one person might be the worst track in the world for someone else. If you get caught up trying to please everybody by playing everything they ask your set will not flow, it will be all over the place and you will find yourself spinning round in circles.
I find it frustrating as I feel it’s people trying to tell me how to do my job. Don’t misunderstand, there’s nothing wrong with playing a couple of sensible requests from people, but what do you do when they want a Drum and Bass track on a House night? Or you are playing some cutting edge deep House promo you’ve just been sent and someone asks for Katy f**ing Perry? You can’t tell them to piss off (as much as you would like to) as it’s your first gig and you can’t be rude to the punters.
If you need to ward off idiots, keep these in mind:
- “Sorry, it’s a funky house night tonight, the management won’t let me play any Drum and Bass.”
- “OK, cool, I’ll have a look for it. (have a rummage through your CDs) Sorry, I don’t have it with me tonight.”
- “Yeah, I think I’ve got that with me. (pretend to play a CD) Aw, no! The CD is scratched!”
You should always think “prick” but say “tut”.
A Dude’s Gotta get Paid
Charge for your time, don’t play a free set. If the venue is serious about you playing there, then make sure you get paid. Even if its only a few quid to cover your travel expenses or you should at least get free drinks for the night.
You want to DJ live and so you are happy to do a free set, I get that. I used to do it myself. But time and time again, promoters would continually take the piss out of me and I got fed up with it.
It’s weird but I actually found that by charging money (any amount will do), you will get a bit more respect from the promoter and charging a fee will actually increase your bookings. Don’t sell yourself short, you are good at what you do and that should be recognised.
If you must play a free set, then play your second booking for free, not your first. This way, the management gets you ‘half price’ for two nights and if you make a mess of the first booking, you have a chance to redeem yourself on the second night.
You Are Your Own One Man Publicity Machine
Get some business cards made up. They don’t need to be expensive. In fact there is a pretty good company that I use to get mine done. They are dirt cheap and high quality. Check out VistaPrint for more info.
You don’t need anything fancy, just something on good quality card with your DJ name and a contact phone number, plus email address and web site if you have one. Don’t print them yourself - you will look like a joke.
You never know who you might meet when playing out and it would be a shame if your favourite promoter walked in and you were totally unprepared. Unlikely, but you never know. Almost half of my bookings have come from someone I have met whilst at a previous gig.
Get A Contract
This is probably one of the most important things you should ever do. To find out why I think this, check out my previous post.
Take A Pen And Paper With You
I learnt this tip from a fellow mobile DJ friend of mine. You may not think it at first, but a pen and paper is an absolute godsend if someone is trying to communicate with you.
If the music is too loud, or the guest is too drunk or someone is trying to talk to you while you are in the mix (GAH!), then just shove a pen and paper in their hand. They can write down what they want while you carry on with more important things. Like mixing and stuff.
I’ve got one of these because its so simple any idiot can use it. Plus there’s a little mini-shelf to rest on too! Take about 50 cheap pens with you and keep them in your DJ bag as pens often get nicked when you need them most.
Ditch The Ego
You are not Mr Big. (Unless, that actually is your surname… in which case, I guess you are… well done) Don’t swagger around like you own the place and you are the best thing in the world. Be confident, but humble. Chances are your fist gig will be in a bit of a dive (mine was) and having a self-inflamed opinion of yourself will get you shown the door. And quickly.
Upsell
ALWAYS follow up at the end of the night. Go and have a word with the manager when it is convenient and tell him you really enjoyed the night (even if you didn’t) and you would like to come back regularly if he wants you to. Ask him if he enjoyed the night as well and when away from the manager ask the staff too. It’s always good to get the staff on your side because chances are they’re the first people the manager will ask for an opinion of the night after you have left.
Be polite, friendly and approachable. Just like with any employee, you have to have good people skills as well as being able to do your job properly.
Pay Attention to The bottom Line
The bottom line is always money. The manager does not care about how well you can mix. He cares about making money. He employs staff to serve the beer and you to serve the music
But you can make a good impression by filling up the venue on your opening night. As long as your mates are not a rowdy lot, get as many of them down to see you play as possible. A packed bar full of people loving the music, spending money at the bar and increasing takings will reflect well on you and will help you to get regular bookings.
Share the Love
If you know of any fellow DJs who would find these tips useful, then point them in the direction of this page. There are buttons below for sharing on Digg.com and Facebook too. Please leave a comment if you found these tips helpful.
Good luck with your first gig!
