Feb222011
I’m A DJ, Not A Promoter
Its been a while since I’ve had a good old rant but something has got to me lately that has really pissed me off. In fact it was over a year ago I decided to write 5 Alarm Bell Phrases Every DJ Should Avoid and it’s one of the points I wrote about back then that I want to expand on today. I’m not going to name names here, those responsible will know who they are, also there is more than just one type of person involved in this.
The thing that has really got me annoyed is the constant requests from promoters for me to come and DJ for them in exchange for selling tickets to their event. If you are a DJ that has been playing for at least a few years then I’m sure you will have been approached at some point in your career by a promoter of a big name club who wants to offer you a dream spot at their club. It all sounds great at first until it comes to the business of getting paid.
You get told that you will earn your money from DJing by making around £2 on each ticket that you sell and often promoters will require a minimum number of tickets to be sold. Now I don’t know about you, but when I price up a DJ gig I am representing my ability to perform and perform well. Undercutting the competition or offering to play cheaply just is not for me. If you quote a cheap price to play then you are compromising your integrity as a DJ and telling the promoter that you are not very good at what you do. Chances are you are actually a very capable DJ and you are much better than a lot of bedroom jocks out there - so your performance should be priced accordingly to reflect your talents.
I makes me so angry that clubs and promoters will pitch to vulnerable, inexperienced DJs that they can come and DJ at these big brand events as long as they sell X number of tickets for them. I’m sorry but surely that’s the job of the promoter?!?! The clue is in the name. If a promoter is struggling so much with an event that they have to rely on the DJ’s mates to come along then in my eyes it is an event to be avoided.
Not only is this kind of attitude towards DJs completely wrong, but it is saying to the DJ ‘Look, we don’t care what you play or how you play it, we don’t care how well you structure your set or seamlessly blend your tunes, we don’t even care if you or the crowd enjoy the night or not, we just want numbers through the door’. This kind of attitude is wrong as it shows that the promoter is lazy and incredibly stupid. They only care about the money in their back pocket and they really don’t give a shit about you, or your reputation but worst of all they don’t give a shit about the crowd and if they are having a good time or not.
By recruiting DJs in this way it is severely damaging club culture as we know it and turning it from an industry of fun and enjoyment where DJing used to be and should be a pleasure, into a cold corporate world of preying on desperate DJs to rape them of their talent and line the promoters pockets with gold. If you are a DJ then you should just be a DJ. You shouldn’t have to spend any time on promotion - that is what the promoters should do. If the night is not a success then it should be the lazy, clueless promoter that financially loses out and not you.
If this kind of thing continues to spread it will not always be the hard working talented DJs that get all the breaks and opportunities, instead it will be the arrogant unprofessional bedroom jocks that happen to have the most friends that get the chances in this industry. The DJing world already has it’s fair share of self-important arrogant pricks and I really don’t think it should be fuelled this way with any more.
I was approached to DJ for a big brand last week - one which also approached me a couple of years ago in fact - and the first question I asked before anything else was “Do you want me to sell tickets”? They said no, but the deal was that I would be given a concessions guest list and for every person that came through the door on my discounted list I would be paid a couple of quid. There was a bonus payment if I hit a certain number of punters through the door. I don’t know about you but that sounds suspiciously like selling tickets to me. The promoter was stupid for thinking they could fool me and they were lazy for trying to get me to do their work for them.
Hey, by all means if you are just starting out and this really is your only way to get into what is, let’s face it, a very tough industry then by all means dive in and bring all your mates down, just make sure you do it with your eyes wide open and make sure you use their name and their brand to the same extent as they use you.
Have you ever been approached by a big name brand in this way before? How did you react? Maybe you are still trying to decide about a recent offer. Are you one of these shady “promoters”? Would you like to try and defend yourself? Please add your thoughts in the comments below.
Rant over.
