Jun202011
Lately I’ve seen more and more events and promoters running online DJ mix competitions. It seems like I come across new competition being launched each week so I thought it might be useful to throw together a few tips I have learned on putting forward a DJ mix submission.
Read The Rules
Study the rules carefully. Rules vary from competition to competition and its important that you meet all of the criteria asked for otherwise your mix might not qualify and all your hard work will be for nothing. Even if there are pages and pages of small print its worth spending a bit of time reading these too just to make sure you aren’t agreeing to anything you won’t want to do further down the line. Also find out what’s included in the prize - for example if the prize is a gig does it include transport to and from the venue, does it include accommodation and meals, are you sure you are available on that date, if the gig is abroad then do you have a passport etc.? Be aware of what it is you are entering in to and make sure all your bases are covered.
Do Your Research To Stand Out
Look into the promoters who are running the competition and see if you can tailor your set towards the kind of music you think they are looking for. If the competition is being run by a record label you might want to make your set comprise of just music from that label to help make you stand out. If the promoter is a festival event, perhaps your set could involve a few artists from the line-up. Try to make your set appeal to the judges and try to put yourself in their shoes - if you were a judge for this competition, what would you like to see/hear?
Don’t Compromise Your Style - Be Yourself
When I say you should tailor your set as mentioned above, I mean be flexible within your genre. Don’t start playing Trance if you are a House DJ, or play Garage if it’s not your thing. Lean towards a style that appeals but don’t break your integrity and start playing tunes you wouldn’t usually play. As an example, if I was entering a Hed Kandi competition I would play more upbeat slightly more commercial tunes. If it was a Defected competition I would probably root around in my DJ bag for some deeper-than-usual house. Structure your set exactly as you would if you were playing out live.
Listen Back To Your Mix In Full
Once the mix is finished then listen back to it in full - don’t just skip to the parts where you are mixing or applying effects, listen to the whole mix from start to finish to make sure the set flows properly and you aren’t radically changing BPM, levels or style. I personally feel that its perfectly OK to have one or two very minor flaws in the mix too as it shows you are human and that the mix is real. It all depends on personal taste but for me a mix that sounds too clinically perfect can do just as much harm than good.
Make Something Happen In The First 10 Seconds
If you are entering a popular DJ competition you have to understand that you are being judged by real human beings. It is very rare that judges will be intensively listening to every beat and every second of every mix that gets submitted as often they will have a lot to get through. So make sure something happens within the first 10 seconds of your mix to grab their attention from the start. For example don’t begin your mix with a track that has too much beat-only intro and instead begin with a track that has a more melodic opening. If you simply have to start with a specific track that has a lot of beat intro, consider starting your set from that track 30 seconds or so in so that there is some interest early on in the mix.
Title The Mix Well
There are any number of ways in which you can submit your mix online these days. Perhaps you have to email it, perhaps you have up upload it to Soundcloud, Mixcloud or otherwise. Either way, no matter how you submit your mix make sure you give it an appropriate title. Usually this will be the name of the competition and your name. For example “RANDOM EVENT FESTIVAL COMPETITION - DJ PAUL VELOCITY MIX”. Have a read of the competition rules to make sure the judges aren’t asking you to give your submission a specific name as I have seen this kind of thing requested in the past.
Add An Appropriate Image
When you upload a mix to Podomatic, Mixcloud, or Soundcloud you are given an option of uploading a picture to accompany your mix. Don’t upload a random image of a keyboard-playing cat. If possible, use the logo of the competition promoter - they will like that as it shows you are paying attention and publicising their brand too. If you have an amazing photo of you playing live then using that is a good alternative but make sure it still looks good when reduced to a thumbnail size.
Provide A Full Track Listing - Title, Artist, Mix and Label
You need to show that you know your shit when it comes to putting together a mix entry. You can help show this by putting a track listing together in the comments when you upload your mix, or write it in the email of your submission if you are sending it that way. Make sure you have the correct spelling of the title, the artist and mix of the track you are playing and number each track in order as well. If possible add the record label that the track is on too. This will help the judges see at a glance the kind of style of mix you have put together. Not putting together a track listing makes you appear lazy.
Keep It Unique
Chances are you already have a load of demo mixes stored on your computer somewhere. Resist the urge to pull out just any old mix and submit it. You should usually create a fresh mix for each competition you enter so that you can tailor each element of the mix such as the style, length or specific requirements as dictated by the rules. When adding a mix to Soundcloud the mix gets timestamped and shows how long ago it was uploaded. If the competition entry date was 3 days ago and your mix was uploaded 6 months ago it just shows that you are lazy and don’t care. Winners don’t use short-cuts.
Find Out Why You Won/Didn’t Win
If you have followed all these tips and you reach the unlikely conclusion that you did not win the competition, it’s always worth firing off a quick email to find out why. You’ve gone through all the effort and trouble of putting a mix together, you might as well get some feedback on it. Perhaps you weren’t quite the style they were looking for, perhaps they have some tips and pointers for you where you can improve. you never know, maybe the winning DJ is unavailable and you now find yourself in the right place at the right time. Its always worth an email. Just as important is to find out why you did win. Knowing exactly what you did to impress the judges will help to build a stronger relationship with the promoting brand and could lead to further work.
I hope this tips can help you out when you are considering putting together your next competition mix. Some of the tips might seem obvious but it’s definitely worthwhile checking all the angles before you submit your mix because just like a CV for an interview you only get one shot to make a good first impression. Good luck!!
Jul152009
I thought I would share a few tricks of the trade and let you all know what goes through my head when deciding on the soundtrack to someones best night out.
Know Your Music
This is kind of a given for all DJs. You should know each end every track in your box before you play it out. I’m not saying you should mentally absorb every 16 bars like some kind of Rain Man, but you should know which tracks have long intros, which ones are slow/fast and the general vibe of the track.
Your set should flow smoothly and you should instinctively have about four or five tracks in your head that will mix beautifully out of the track currently playing. If you start clashing styles and wildly variant BPMs, the crowd won’t know where they are and neither will you.
If you find yourself with some brand new promos that you haven’t heard yet, listen to them in the car on the way to the venue to familiarise yourself with them.
Who Is DJing Before And After Your Set?
It may be the case that you are DJing a mixed genre night, or the DJ that is on after you might be playing different class of music at a different BPM. You should always pay attention to the last couple of tracks that the DJ before you has played and start your set off with something that is similar but still keeping with your own style.
For example, if I am Djing after a Garage DJ, I might kick off my set with something by Martin Solveig which is quite breaky, or I might play a funky house remix of a well known Garage tune. This helps to keep the crowd on your side when you step up and also makes the transition between DJs a smooth one.
Take The Crowd On A Journey
Without getting too philosophical, this is quite an integral part of your DJ set. As well as tunes being played that mix nicely into each other by having a similar vibe, you always have to be thinking about the long run, the kind of tracks that you played at the start of your set and the kind of stuff you think the crowd would enjoy at the end of your set.
Its no good playing some piano led Jamie Wamie track before mixing it straight into a bit of Prodigy. It just does not work.
I always like to start my sets off at a slower BPM and a more chilled vibe before gradually working up the tempo throughout the night. By the end of my set I think I’m always playing something quite nasty and electro-y.
But be sure to pace yourself with your track selection otherwise you will just end up DJing yourself into a corner. What I mean by this is don’t play those killer tracks you have too soon. I know you are eager to hear them on a loud sound sytem but if you peak to early then you’ll run out of steam and won’t have any tracks left in your bag that have the same impact and your set will taper off.
You’ve started out chilled, worked up into the peak of your set, only to leave yourself with nowhere to go and only 30 minutes in. Keep an eye on the time and how long you have left in your set and play your records accordingly.
Don’t Plan Your Set
Yes, this is a list of how to plan your set, but one thing that you must avoid at all costs is writing down a religious track-by-track listing that you stick to for the whole night. As a DJ you must be flexible to what you are playing and always go with the crowd depending on their reactions.
Make sure you have enough music on hand to go off on slight tangents and take your sound a little more vocal, a little more deeper or a little more banging depending on the mood of the night.
Label Your Tunes
Something that I have started to do lately is to label my tracks when I go out. I normally sort my music by the month that I purchased them and have them in a double-height CD wallet.
The top row holds the printed track listing (or back of the CD artwork), and the bottom row holds the CD. I found a load of coloured stickered circles in my flat a while ago and so I thought I should put them to good use. Next to each track on the listing, I put a coloured sticker beside it depending on the music style.
So if its a laid back down tempo track, it gets a green sticker. If its a track that fits into my set pretty much anywhere, it gets a yellow sticker. Floor fillers and guaranteed anthems get a blue sticker while dirty nasty electro filth gets a red sticker.
So now when I am playing a track and I decide I want to step it up a notch, or if I am hitting the peak time of my set, I can speedily fly through my CDs looking at colours rather than track names and it helps me to find a suitable tune to play a hell of a lot quicker.
Know Your Toilet Track
When I say a “Toilet Track” I don’t mean a crap record. I’m on about a tune or two that you have in your collection that is quite a lengthy tune in case you get caught short. This is a great tip for when you find yourself playing longer DJ sets and you need to relieve yourself halfway through.
My Favourite is the 8 minute Monster Mix of Faithless Insomnia. Stick that on and you have a good few minutes to locate the restroom and take care of business before you need to get back and cue up the next record. Or you could always have 2 tracks pre-mixed on CD that you could play but the crowd might boo you when you get back!
Your First Track Is The Most Important
Your first track of your DJ set is the most important track you will play. It sets the mood and the tempo for the whole night. It sounds obvious, but before you play your track make sure it is cued up exactly where you want it and double check that pitch adjust. If the previous DJ has left it on +8 you will have a tough time bringing the tempo back down to a sensible level without looking like a nob.
Also, do not choose a record that has a stupidly long intro. Crowds are fickle people and they will not hang around to listen to 2 minutes of beats before something “happens”. Choose a track with a short intro, or (and this is what I often do) find a record that sounds amazing but has a very DJ-unfriendly intro. By that I mean it will start without beats and launch straight into a melody or a vocal solo. DJ-unfriendly tracks are a bitch to mix midway through your set so if you can play it as your first tune then no mixing is required.
Two CDs Are Better Than One
Now you have built the crowd up into a frenzy. They are going nuts, there’s crowd surfing going on and they are all chanting your name. And you know exactly the track that you want to play next to blow the roof off!
Trouble is, its on the CD that is currently playing. Oh dear. Some pieces of DJ kit will allow you to play a track from a CD that is already playing, but if you do not have that luxury, then all you need to do is make 2 copies of each CD that you take out to the venue. Not only does this allow you maximum flexibility during your set, but you also have a backup in case you find that one of the CDs is scratched and won’t load.
Stick To The Music Policy
If you are booked to play Funky House, don’t go sticking in Trance into your set no matter which drunken oik finds their way to the DJ booth and keeps demanding it. You have been booked to play a specific style of music and you should keep to it. Make sure the agreed music policy is defined in your contract. Perhaps you could crossover a little into other genres, for example I have no problem dropping Scram towards the end of a night but I would not launch into a full-on breakbeat set.
Perhaps you are booked to play in a bar where you are expected to play all kinds of genres of commercial music. In which case, keep it commercial and don’t stray too far into the underground sound. Remember, you are there to play for the person who booked you and not for yourself.
Keep Back Your Secret Weapons Until You Need Them
Right now you have in your collection a handful of tracks that you know will be the highlight of the night and make you a DJ legend when you play them. Make sure you keep hold of these gems until deep into your set and that you do not play them out too soon. If you use up all of your killer tracks at the start of your set, you find you have nothing left during your peak time moment.
Most of all, have fun! I find that DJing is such a good laugh and I always have such a great time doing it. If you would like to hear what I sound like, come and listen to my Funky House Radio Show at Platform Six and if you want to book me for your next event, please get in touch.
Apr202009
DJing abroad is one of the coolest things you will ever do. I love it and am happy to cancel most plans to go and play in another country. I think I like travelling a lot too and also the change of scenery. If you have ever DJ’d in a country different to where you live you will know where I am coming from. If you have never done it before there are a few things that you need to have a think about.
A little while ago, I received an email from a DJ colleague of mine. She was excited about gearing up to go and play abroad and she came to me for a bit of advice. I thought it would be helpful to share this advice with you and offer up the same information that I gave to her.
Information given is based on a UK DJ playing in a foreign country and is from my own experiences so it may not be to the exact letter of the law.
Do I need a work permit to DJ abroad?
No. As long as you are going to a country within the EU, you will be fine - no work permit needed. Check your passport is up to date and it is not expiring any time soon. If you travel to the US, they like you to have at least three months left on your current passport.
Is it wrong to charge a higher rate for DJing abroad?
Yes it is cheeky to bump up the price. When I take international bookings, I tell them upfront they need to pay my travel, my hotel and transfers, then I add my regular UK fee on top. I don’t take advantage of others simply from a moral point of view. I beleive that if I start taking advantage in this way, karma will bit me on the ass and someone along the way will take advantage of me.
How much should I charge?
Depends how many people the management think your name on the flyer can bring in. Whenever I price a night, I always ask for the venue capacity as well. Your price should reflect your ability to entertain, but also be in proportion to the number of people coming through the door. Whatever works for you I guess. By charging a sensbile amount you will only get booked by sensible promoters. Those booking you on a budget probably haven’t got much experience or reputation.
If my flights and accommodation are being paid for, can I ask for a +1?
I beleive it is wrong to ask to add a travelling buddy to go with you. They are booking you as a DJ to come and play a set, not for you to bring your entourage as well. I would never ask the management for a +1 on the flights and hotel. I might ask for a +1 for entry to venue and buy an extra flight ticket myself plus upgrade the hotel room myself out of my own pocket, but I wouldn’t expect the venue to pay for it.
I’m a single girl travelling to a foreign land by myself, will I be ok?
Probably. Hell, I don’t know. Depends which shady part of town you are travelling to. Take a friend with you if you need to and make sure you have ample travel insurance in case you get mugged. Sorry, but it does happen.
What else do I need to know?
Get the promoter to book your flights for you. DON’T pay for these yourself and add it to the invoice. If everything falls through at the last minute or there is a problem with payment, or the venue is unreachable by phone anymore, at least you havent shelled out for flights from your own pocket too.
Always collect your money on the night in cash, or have it paid to you in advance by cheque or Paypal. Always take an invoice with you as well as places like to have a receipt for the money they have paid.
Also make sure you get yourself a dj contract.
Mar082009
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!
