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Best way to get gigs?

Hey guys. I'm a moderately experienced bedroom DJ that's looking to get some gigs in NYC or any local clubs or bars.

I specialize in progressive trance and house but I can also do top 40 as well...but I still need to work on chop mixing where you mash multiple songs together or you play a song for no longer than 2-4 minutes before transitioning.

Still...that said I'm aiming more to be a progressive trance and house DJ like armin, tiesto etc...obviously I won't make it that big but who knows.

As for experience, I started this back in high school and had 5 raves or club nights in one of our all purpose rooms which is now a standing legacy of mine (friend who's several years younger and still attends continues these raves). I also received a senior award for it after graduating. I've learned how to read the crowd and Dj a solid mixture/balance of what the crowd wants to hear and what i want to play.

So where's the best place to start and how do I start?

Also, if you guys can check out my mixes, I come out with a monthly mix featuring the latest and greatest in prog trance and house.
http://trancisions.blogspot.com/

Thanks guys!

Go out every night you can. Its work and you will loose lots of sleep. I never bothered with demos...it's much more important to spend time meeting people in the industry (promoters, DJ's, ect.)
Meet as many people you can and keep in touch with them all the time.

talk to the venue owner/managers. work a tuesday night. get you and a buddy to promote the shit out of what ever show you do so you get good rep with the venue.

start small. that's what im doing.

Know the right people.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery Know the right people.

such good advice.

you're a ****.

Bring something different to the table.

quote:

Originally posted by BTG such good advice. you're a ****.

It's not that ridiculous actually. There are things you can do to make yourself know the right people - as previously mentioned, going to nights and meeting people.


Firstly, I'd say identify parties you want to play at. Be realistic - Sensation White isn't going to be on the list just yet. But think about the clubs in the local area where you think your music would fit in - bearing in mind that your first set there would almost certainly be very early in the night. Start with parties you go to, then use local event listings + a bit of research online to find others you might not know about and go and check them out as well.

Look at the level of the DJs low down on the bill at those events and try to find out more about them. If they're already touring all over the world and have got tracks being released left right and centre, then the chances are the promoter will be looking for others with the same backing and following, so it could be a no-no. Remember that it's usually easier to get gigs in the back room of a club (2nd, 3rd or 4th room) than the main room, so have a look at them as well.

So now you've got a list of a few parties where you know where you could reasonably fit into the lineup - a match in both musical style and 'status'. Find out who runs these parties - the promotion company. Is it the venue itself who organises it? Or is it an outside promotion? Who at the organisation is responsible for bookings? Can you at least find a general enquiries email address or phone number?

The best way to do that is normally by Googling the name of the club, name of the party etc. With any luck they might have a website, or at least a MySpace page. Do some research to find out as much as you can. If you've got some way of contacting one of the DJs who plays at the party (again, try searching for them - MySpace pages, websites, SoundCloud accounts, etc), you could try asking them who runs it. They might even give you a direct contact name and number / email address.

Now you're armed with a contact - drop them a friendly email or phone them up. You've got a few options here: you can cut straight to the chase and ask if you can send them a demo, or you can say you'd like to meet them for a drink at the next event to discuss possibilities of future bookings etc. How you take it from here really depends on how you're comfortable and how you think they'll react best. It varies.

If you do send a demo out, try and make it at least look tailored to their night - label it "C-Squared's Demo for " or something. Actually recording a demo specifically for them isn't a bad idea either, aligning it to the sort of thing you've heard at the party to an extent, but of course still within the bounds of your 'sound'. Then you can really make sure the promoter will think you'll fit in.

Then you can take it from there.... Quite a lot of promoters will ask new DJs to sell a number of tickets for them (or bring a certain number of mates along) 'in exchange' for a booking, so be ready for that. And remember that times have changed since the late 90s - don't expect to be paid!

Hope this helps.

quote:

Originally posted by Stu Cox It's not that ridiculous actually. There are things you can do to make yourself know the right people - as previously mentioned, going to nights and meeting people. Firstly, I'd say identify parties you want to play at. Be realistic - Sensation White isn't going to be on the list just yet. But think about the clubs in the local area where you think your music would fit in - bearing in mind that your first set there would almost certainly be very early in the night. Start with parties you go to, then use local event listings + a bit of research online to find others you might not know about and go and check them out as well. Look at the level of the DJs low down on the bill at those events and try to find out more about them. If they're already touring all over the world and have got tracks being released left right and centre, then the chances are the promoter will be looking for others with the same backing and following, so it could be a no-no. Remember that it's usually easier to get gigs in the back room of a club (2nd, 3rd or 4th room) than the main room, so have a look at them as well. So now you've got a list of a few parties where you know where you could reasonably fit into the lineup - a match in both musical style and 'status'. Find out who runs these parties - the promotion company. Is it the venue itself who organises it? Or is it an outside promotion? Who at the organisation is responsible for bookings? Can you at least find a general enquiries email address or phone number? The best way to do that is normally by Googling the name of the club, name of the party etc. With any luck they might have a website, or at least a MySpace page. Do some research to find out as much as you can. If you've got some way of contacting one of the DJs who plays at the party (again, try searching for them - MySpace pages, websites, SoundCloud accounts, etc), you could try asking them who runs it. They might even give you a direct contact name and number / email address. Now you're armed with a contact - drop them a friendly email or phone them up. You've got a few options here: you can cut straight to the chase and ask if you can send them a demo, or you can say you'd like to meet them for a drink at the next event to discuss possibilities of future bookings etc. How you take it from here really depends on how you're comfortable and how you think they'll react best. It varies. If you do send a demo out, try and make it at least look tailored to their night - label it "C-Squared's Demo for " or something. Actually recording a demo specifically for them isn't a bad idea either, aligning it to the sort of thing you've heard at the party to an extent, but of course still within the bounds of your 'sound'. Then you can really make sure the promoter will think you'll fit in. Then you can take it from there.... Quite a lot of promoters will ask new DJs to sell a number of tickets for them (or bring a certain number of mates along) 'in exchange' for a booking, so be ready for that. And remember that times have changed since the late 90s - don't expect to be paid! Hope this helps.

Good advice indeed.

You could bring out an action figure of yourself. That seems to work to,

quote:

Originally posted by A.B Good advice indeed. You could bring out an action figure of yourself. That seems to work to,

quote:

Originally posted by BTG such good advice. you're a ****.

Mate keep the agro talk in the bag.

Don't be over sensitive to Mystery's comments. While they're often off the cuff and sometimes have little reference to the original post his comment here was actually spot on.

I've only recently landed myself a residency on a Friday night in Dublin and while it's still small and growing the reason I got the job was because i knew the right people. A bunch of a different promoters who decided to collaborate their efforts and start something new from scratch.

The only reason you get gigs when you start off is from someone knowing you (probably as a mate or a friend of a friend) or you knowing the promoter/crew. Fact.

There are 100 dj's lined up behind you who could probably do a better job than you're going to do but in this industry sadly it's rarely about how talented you are but all about 'knowing the right people'..

quote:

Originally posted by n3lly There are 100 dj's lined up behind you who could probably do a better job than you're going to do but in this industry sadly it's rarely about how talented you are but all about 'knowing the right people'..

Or more to the point, there are 100 DJs lined up in front of you who are going to do a worse job... but they're going to get the gigs because they know the right people and kiss the right arses.

quote:

Originally posted by BTG such good advice. you're a ****.

And you're an idiot - stay in the COR.

quote:

Originally posted by Stu Cox Or more to the point, there are 100 DJs lined up in front of you who are going to do a worse job... but they're going to get the gigs because they know the right people and kiss the right arses.

Spot on.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery And you're an idiot - stay in the COR.

Both of you ruin our buzz in the booth.

Just don't react to each other and do us all a favour.

I'm just going to delete any unhelpful posts otherwise. Something i've held back from doing and to be honest don't want to start.

Share advice like the others or give constructive criticism otherwise don't bother.

you need to be out and make yourself a fixture, support the nights, be out and meeting people, both clubbers and djs/promoters

if you're going to give your cd out, give it to the clubbers

you want everyone to know your name

it always helps if you can drag a crew out with you as well, you showing up with a group instead of by yourself speaks volumes to promoters, shows you can pull a crowd

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Morello it always helps if you can drag a crew out with you as well, you showing up with a group instead of by yourself speaks volumes to promoters, shows you can pull a crowd

This, absolutely. ^

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it but to get gigs you really need to focus on your promotions rather than your music. You need to sound amazing yes - but that only counts once you're behind the decks. In order to get the gig you need to show the promoter you can bring people, it's just that simple. It's certainly a balance of course, but I'd say promoters look 75% at how many people you can bring and 25% at how good you sound behind the decks. Case in point - we all know terrible DJs that get booked again and again simply because they get the word out and can fill the room. We're all in this for the music of course, but promoters are putting a lot of their money on the line and all things being equal, they will always go with the DJ who works harder to make sure they don't lose their shirt.

The problem is that this is the worst chicken and egg problem you can imagine since you need gigs to build that crowd My advice is to work harder than anyone else at expanding your network of people. Don't be one of these DJs who only shows up up to play - make a big effort to get the word out and give a detailed proposal (either spoken or written) to the promoter of exactly how you intend to do that. Once you start looking for gigs, you're in the music business so your best bet is to treat it as so. List out how many people you can reach and in what ways (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Email, Podcast, Skywriting etc..) and even more importantly - try to build a strong selling point behind your name of why people will come out specifically for you. I guarantee if you can walk up to a promoter and point by point show them how you will bring 30 people to their club at 9pm - they will give you a shot. Of course it's up to you to follow through

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