If you have been on the DJ circuit for longer than a month then I am certain you will have come across these phrases from event managers and promoters before - all of which should set off those little alarm bells ringing inside your head.
Perhaps you have a keen eye for this kind of stuff and can spot them a mile away in emails you have received or maybe you are completely new to the whole DJing scene and you want to discover the phrases you will come across time and time again - and the ones to look out for!
Whatever your experience, I’m sure this article will ring true for DJs and shady promoters across the globe.
“If you can play the first event for free I’ll consider booking you regularly”
Normally this is backed up by “We don’t know if you are any good yet” or other such phrasing. I reckon most DJs will have heard something like this more often than not. They will try to coax you into playing a free set with the promise of more work in the future, perhaps even dangling a residency carrot in your face. Unfortunately most of the time this work is non-existent and you end up playing a one-off event for free.
You must be wary of this type of promoter because they are looking out for their own best interests and not yours.
What they’re really saying: I don’t have a lot of money and I don’t know anybody else, but I’m going to lie to your face as I want to get something for nothing. Any chance you’ll believe me?
“Sure I can pay you, but only if you sell X number of tickets”
Unfortunately in today’s industry this has to be the one that pisses me off the most.
I think it riles me up so much because I am asked to do something that is not in my job description - selling tickets. I am not a promoter, I am a DJ. I have little to no experience of promoting events and selling tickets. Why not? Because that’s not my job!
My job is to rock the dance floor and to give the crowd a good time. It just seems really weird that in order for me to be financially rewarded for doing my job behind the decks I have to do someone else’s job of selling tickets. Sorry, but no.
The worst ones are those that get you to buy a book of tickets upfront. You only get paid if you sell enough to turn a commission, but if you can’t sell enough tickets then you are out of pocket.
What they’re really saying:Look, we couldn’t give a shit how tight your beat matching is or how well you can structure a set, we don’t even give a f**k if the crowd has a good night or not, all that matters to us is the number of people through the door and how much money you can make us.
“Im running this event for charity so I was wondering if you cold come and DJ for free”
The good old classic charity event. Now I have nothing against charities on the whole. I feel a lot of them are standing for very humane and just causes. But as soon as you hear the word “charity” in relation to DJ work, you can bet your left testicle the next few words will include either “discount” or free”. And because of this you have to be very careful of those using the word “charity” just to try and get something for nothing.
Charities that do it properly will no doubt ask you for a discount or free set but they will do it through official channels, on headed paper and give you their registered charity number without you having to ask for it.
Be wary of those “charities” and check them out in full before accpeting any work from them. Don’t be afraind to say no to these people. Its possible for promoters to liberally use the word “charity” in the hope fo getting something for nothing. Although they might be a charity, you however are not.
What they’re really saying:Ive been asked to put on an event with a budget of zero. Im going to losely base the event around a charity in the hope of getting a load of DJs to play for free. Are you one of them?
“I’ll put your name on all the flyers and give you loads of exposure”
or “This is a great opportunity for you to play alongside some of the top names in the industry”
Now this is a good one. Here’s a situation where it appears the client now knows whats best for you in your flyer portfolio. They assume that the DJ set you will play for them will be so amazing that you’ll want to feature it in your DJ CV.
The big alarm bell here is that they are the kind of promoter who thinks that they know best. They are going to be expecting the best DJ set in the world from you but sadly they will seldom have the budget to pay for it.
What they’re really saying:Hey, Ive seen you’ve DJ’d at some great events, but I want you to come and put your name to ours where we will demand you play for twice as long for a fraction the money because we’ve blown all of our cash on the headline act. Its OK though because our event will look great on your DJ CV.
“I don’t have a large budget but I can help promote your site”
This is kind of two phrases combined into one when it comes to alarm bell phrases. Normally its said all at once just like the phrase above, but don’t get caught out if they’re said alone. Both “I don’t have a large budget” and “I can help promote your site” are individual phrases that should be avoided at all costs.
What they’re really saying:I want to put on my event for next to nothing and in order to get that done, I’ll tell you that I know famous people and/or can get you tons of exposure.
What do you reckon?
Are there any phrases missing from this list? What do you think they are? Let me know in the comments if you have come across any of the alarm bell phrases before or if you have got some yourself that perhaps aren’t listed here. There just has to be more…
On July 11th 2009 two drivers will depart on a 10,000 mile drive from London to Mongolia, crossing Europe, central Asia and culminating with a dash across the mighty Gobi Desert.
They are raising money for Save The Children, in association with the Mongolian Charity Rally. Their specially equipped off-road vehicle will be packed full of educational materials and clothing to donate to the Mongolian people. They will also be donating the vehicle on arrival.
What Is The Mongolian Mixtape Marathon?
They’re asking DJs from all over the world, be they big names or bedroom DJs, to upload mixes for them to listen to all the way to Mongolia. They estimate they have 800+ hours driving time and they’re intending to listen to dance music non-stop all the way there! Each DJ will be asked to submit a one hour mix of their favourite tunes and also make a small donation (of at least £1). They will then put all the mixes together and listen to them non-stop, all the way to Mongolia!
To say thank you for caring so well for local young people with terminal illness, breaks music producer Simon Tagg aka Kouncil House put the call out to his contacts book and created a block busting album of exclusive tracks from some of the world’s biggest acts.
Released digitally through leading download store trackitdown.net in June on his respected ADHD Digital label. All proceeds raised through paid for download will be donated to the worthy cause.
Testament to the old skool empathy of the underground dance community and the power of the new skool digital era, 45 amazing breaks, house, dubstep and drum and bass tracks came flying in from such heavyweights as; Justin Robertson, Brookes Brothers, Slipmatt, Meat Katie, Krafty Kuts, Leeroy Thornhill and Deekline & Wizard.
‘It’s a pleasure to be involved in such a great project in such good company’ says acid house legend Robertson, while Brookes Brothers agree ‘[that] there’s not enough projects like these for producers like us to get involved in.’
Simon Tagg was also motivated by the recent and sad loss of his mother who helped inspire this payback project and he dedicates all the effort and hard work to her memory.
Ellenor Lions Hospice is based in Greenhithe in Kent and will benefit from any proceeds raised by the digital sale of this amazing package of cutting edge tracks. For many years they have worked in the local community to help people with terminal illness act in comfort and dignity, and all involved agree that this is a worthy cause; ‘it’s for a great cause and everyone should want to get involved’ states drum and bass godfather Mickey Finn.
Trackitdown.net is the UK’s leading dance music download store with well over 200,000 DJ’s registered as customers giving this project a great platform upon which to launch. Founder Ed Real states; ‘we really hope that every one of our customers and the wider dance music community seriously consider downloading this album – even regardless of the good cause, this is one serious set of tracks for the biggest acts on the planet!’
Format; Full length tracks plus DJ Mix available in 320 kbps and Wav file downloads
Tracklist:
1. Perfection & Will Streetwise- Tough Old Colin
2. Flore featuring Mc Runigga - La Cour
3. Krafty Kutz & A Skillz -Charles Bronson
4. Hardy Hard & Lady Waks featuring Afrika Bambaataa - Downstroke
5. Micky Finn & Kouncilhouse - You got Me
6. Mark Choice Featuring Lady MC - Rockin N Rollin
7. Deekline & Wizard - Warehouse
8. Justin Robertson - Running In The Water
9. The Egg - Free
10. Longrange - Dispel the clouds_(lee Coombs Remix)
11. Dom Kane - Acid Groove
12. Meat katie - Just Dont Break
13. Backstage Sluts - Lucy In The Sky
14. Cut La Rock - Disco Feelin
15. 601 - Crush (2009 club mix)
16. Groove Diggerz - Rock Da Beat
17. Jagged Slap - Something you got
18. Funkasaurus - Bomb#19_(Broken Planet Mix)
19. Vlad Sokolov Vs Shomi Woodman Featuring Sinovatz - Mr Pitch (Vlad Sokolov V.I.P mix)
20. Leeroy Thornhill - Connect
21. Loop DeVille vs Boonos - Heated
22. RCaine - System At Risk
23. Rennie Pilgrem - Don’t Burn
24. Slipmatt - Something Like This
25. Afghan Headspin - Beefdisco
26. Rico Tubbs - Bad Stylist
27. The Wrongstars - Running People Over On Tuesday Afternoon
28. Plaza De Funk_ - Do It
29. Rektchordz - Dizzy lounge
30. Angel Farringdon - Speed Of Thought
31. Shane The Cutter - Blood Runs
32. Soul of Man - Foxy moron (Myagi 2009 Remix)
33. Aquasky & El Hornet - Girls & Boys (Aquasky VIP mix)
34. Kouncilhouse & Micky Finn - Yes Man
35. Smallfry - Inline
36. I.D - Hurka Bob
37. Stenchman - The Madness
38. Wolfman - Touching the void
39. TomCraft - Airwolf
40. Atomic Hooligan - What we say
41. Humanoid & Kouncilhouse - Stakker Humanoid_(2009 Dirty Remix)
42. D’Cruze - Menus Precious Filius
43. KG - Sleep
44. Cling - Slipping Away_(Erb N Dub Remix)
45. Brookes Brothers - The Light
Joining Chris and Fearne will be Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Alesha Dixon, Ben Shepherd, Ronan Keating, Denise Van Outen and Gary Barlow.
They’ll be walking for seven days to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise money for Comic Relief - and they want your help.
They need every Radio 1 listener to get behind Chris, Fearne and the other climbers. Click to find out how to donate.
The money raised from the Big Red Nose Climb will be spent 40% in the UK and 60% in Africa.
The money in Africa will focus on tackling the huge problem of malaria - a disease which kills a child every 30 seconds in Africa.
Malaria is the most widespread, potentially fatal disease present in the world today. In Tanzania, where Mount Kilimanjaro is situated, malaria is the leading killer of children.
In a population of 38 million, there are more than 16 million cases of malaria each year, causing up to 80,000 deaths of children under 5 years of age.
Insecticide treated bednets markedly reduce child illness and deaths from malaria in areas where malaria is common. Bednets can reduce episodes of malaria in children by half, and deaths from malaria in children by one-fifth.
Club Together is a special charity event raising money for Peace Home in Nepal. Money donated will offer shelter for orphans. Remix Bar in Woking is hosting this bank holiday event with help from some fine dj talent providing you with a mix of everything house, drum&bass, old skool classics, funk, chill out, 10 djs of different genres spinning on this special evening.
DJs to include:
Holly Bee
Dirty Retro
Michelle Ericsson
Anna Kiss
Ryan McGill
Paul Velocity
Matt Priest
Ash B
Jo Flannigan
Dan B
Tickets are a fiver and the night starts at 8pm. More info available at remixbar.com. If you plan on attending, add yourself to the Facebook event page.
Don’t Lose The Music highlights the risks to hearing from loud music in clubs, at gigs and from using personal audio equipment.
The campaign is aimed at 16-30 year olds and is paid for and run by RNID, the largest charity working to change the world for the UK’s 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people.
The campaign aims to stop young people from damaging their hearing through over exposure to loud music. We want to increase the number of people who are aware of the dangers and also increase the number of people taking action to prevent hearing damage.
Social noise levels in the UK have tripled since the early 1980s. This means we are exposed to more noise in our daily lives than generations before us.
Regular exposure to loud noise can lead to premature hearing loss. It can also cause ringing in the ears which can become permanent, a condition called tinnitus. Once hearing damage occurs there is no cure, yet noise induced hearing damage is preventable.
RNID research found that huge numbers of young people are experiencing warning signs of potential hearing damage (ringing and dull hearing) yet they don’t know what they should do to protect their hearing.
The Medical Research Council estimates four million UK adolescents are at risk of hearing damage from amplified music.
People, please please please look after your hearing. Seriously - can you imagine clubbing or DJing without your ears?
Oxjam is a music festival with a difference. Across the UK, from now until the end of October, people like you will be putting on Oxjam music events to raise money for Oxfam.
It’s not too late for you to organise something yourself. Whatever music you’re into - from folk to funk, rock to rave - get involved.
Fancy yourself as a bit of a player? Well, there is still time to organise your own Oxjam event - big or small. Visit the website for ideas on how to get started.
Or are you a bit more of a punter? You can show your support by going along to an Oxjam event in your area. People are organising all sorts of music events all over the country. Go along, listen to some great music, have fun and at the same time you will be helping to end poverty just by being there.
Make music, raise money and help end poverty with Oxjam.
We all enjoy our music each and every day of our lives. We are all guilty of taking it for granted that we have our ability to hear. I’d like you all to just take a moment to think about those that are not fortunate enough to have ever heard a single beat of music.
I really do not know what I would have done with myself if I was born deaf. I certainly would not hve the fantastic DJ lifestyle I currently live. Yet there are thousands of deaf people in the UK living a silent life.
As it happens, my own brother is profoundly deaf and has been since birth. He has accomplished so much in his life and I am extremely proud of him.
I would like to take the opportunity to point you in the direction of the NDCS. The NDCS is the only UK charity solely dedicated to the support of all deaf children and young deaf people, their families and professionals working with them.
The NDCS provide emotional and practical support through their freephone helpline, their network of trained support workers, their wide range of other support services and their publications and website.
The NDCS is there to help with welfare rights and benefit claims, making education choices, advising on health, audiology and technology, or simply provide someone to talk to.
I really like boobs. Don’t we all? This bank holiday Sunday, SoundCanvasMusic Promotions presents “We Love Boobs” — a fundraising charity event where all proceeds will be donated to Breakthrough Cancer Research.
This night takes place on 27th August from 7pm - 12pm at the Pizza Express in Crawley. DJ’s on rotation: Alex Rose, Mac, Simmo and Mike Hennessy. Minimum £5 donation OTD.
Below are details of a very special one off charity event to be held by Ministry of Sound for their donate to dance appeal for Nordoff-Robbins. The event will be held in the Baby Box @ Ministry. Donate To Dance: Saturday 2nd April. DJs: Jonty Skrufff, Mikey Gallagher, O.Bee, UDM DJs, Umberto Giannini.
Mixes and audio available from this site are intended for home review only. If you like the music, please support the artists and purchase the music legally from the links provided.
If you have been on the DJ circuit for longer than a month then I am certain you will have come across these phrases from event managers and promoters before - all of which should set off those little alarm bells ringing inside your head.
They are raising money for Save The Children, in association with the Mongolian Charity Rally. Their specially equipped off-road vehicle will be packed full of educational materials and clothing to donate to the Mongolian people. They will also be donating the vehicle on arrival.
Joining Chris and Fearne will be Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Alesha Dixon, Ben Shepherd, Ronan Keating, Denise Van Outen and Gary Barlow. 