club gear takes a beating and a half, don't risk your own gear, sounds like his setup will do just fine, i've gone through an ENTIRE setup, TTs, CDJs and mixer, that's a lot of cash to just dispose of, the gear is beyond repair... they sit there in boxes sticky with drinks and beaten into submission from being constantly moved and setup

as mentioned, 150 a night for a dj who is just starting out will do just fine, i'd work on getting a bar tab as part of the deal myself on top of pay or work out a little larger number without bar tab, 200 for example

you also don't want to charge too much off the bat because if another dj comes in, undercutting you won't be too much of a problem, build a crowd and the owner will have a harder time giving the job to someone else

take it, promote the shit out of it, build a crowd and you should be good to go... and when i talk about promoting the shit out of it, i mean PROMOTE THE SHIT OUT OF IT

when you get a crowd built, taking the door while the bar takes drink sales will get you some good cash

don't be discouraged either, it takes a while to build a following, keep at it and keep promoting it

___________________
Tony Morello Dot Com
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter
The Drunken Monkey Podcast
The Mixdown Podcast presented by Tony Morello

Last edited by Tony Morello on Aug-08-2007 at 06:24

Hiring that setup for a night in the UK would be likely to cost £150-200, so about $100 maybe? (bearing in mind that

As already said, $150 for your first bar gig is pretty damn good as it is, so I don't know if you can reasonably charge more than about $250-300 - that said, you'd have to make it clear that half of that is for the gear, at which point he'd be likely to turn around and say to use the kit he's already got if he doesn't want to spend extra money (which is likely to be the case).

I strongly recommend avoiding taking your own kit if you possibly can! Unless he's willing to pay you a fair amount for the hassle, bear in mind that if it's not insured and a pint goes over your mixer or whatever you're royally screwed no matter how much he's paying you (cos I'm sure it's not gonna be enough to afford a new one!) - and if it is insured then you've got to factor that into your price.

The other option (and probably a better option) is asking him to make you an offer - have an amount in your head that you'd like to get (keep it reasonable), then if he offers you less than that then you can negotiate, if he offers more then you are the winner

___________________
Stu Cox |

promote it yourself and take cover

i've made 550 at a similar gig this way twice

3.5 hours, bar/lounge, brought my own equipment, promoted the hell out of it.

Lots of very good points in this thread. In my opinion, you have to think of ow much your time is REALLY worth. Lets say you spin a 4 hour set. you will have at least an hour of setup and breakdown time, if you are bringing ALL of the equip. So for 5 hours of work, $150 is $30/hr. For me I think I would be happy doing it around $60/hour, but thats just me.

Be a business man and negotiate with him. Find a number that you will be happy with and aim for that number. Start high, haggle, and settle on a deal. Maybe offer to take a percentage of the door instead of a flat fee, that way the more people you get in the door the more you make.

Just my 2 cents. Congrats on your gig and good luck with it!!!

I'm just realizing what an idiot I am risking my CDJ-1000mk3's and Pioneer 800 when the guy has CDJ 800's laying there ready to get abused.... definitely not worth taking my stuff for even $400 a night, really appreciate the ideas you guys.

He's also got a pioneer 3000 mixer, but i'm thinking i may just use mine...then again, still a bad move

quote:

Originally posted by Sound O fTrance I'm just realizing what an idiot I am risking my CDJ-1000mk3's and Pioneer 800 when the guy has CDJ 800's laying there ready to get abused.... definitely not worth taking my stuff for even $400 a night, really appreciate the ideas you guys. He's also got a pioneer 3000 mixer, but i'm thinking i may just use mine...then again, still a bad move

The DJM3000's a solid mixer - I'd suggest trying doing an event using just his kit and if you struggle for whatever reason then think about taking your own if you have to, but unless the DJM3000's totally battered I doubt it'll come to that... would it really be worth risking your $2000 DJM800 simply to have a few more buttons to play with?

___________________
Stu Cox |

a 3000 with 2 800s is a better setup than some clubs have here

the few extra features aren't worth the risk unless the 3000 is too shoddy to play on

___________________
Tony Morello Dot Com
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter
The Drunken Monkey Podcast
The Mixdown Podcast presented by Tony Morello

Definitely use their equipment. $150 is pretty good for a night if you don't have to take your equipment. If you can get some drinks on top of that I say thats good money. Now if you start pulling a huge crowd you can always renegotiate.

___________________
I've never been able to eat a whole baby.
Kill the women. Eat the children.
It's just one of those days where you want to bend over everyone you know and kiss their ass goodbye with a big sideways boot.

Latest Mix

yeah, i would definitely use the club's gear instead of yours.

I just started working for a promo company and they give me 50 an hour....and bringing my equipment is optional. I think that is a fair price to pay for a starting dj who uses in house equipment. Also, its rare that bars and lounges pay over 200. By the way, I suggest that you use the in house set-up, its good practice.

quote:

Originally posted by Sound O fTrance I'm just realizing what an idiot I am risking my CDJ-1000mk3's and Pioneer 800 when the guy has CDJ 800's laying there ready to get abused.... definitely not worth taking my stuff for even $400 a night, really appreciate the ideas you guys. He's also got a pioneer 3000 mixer, but i'm thinking i may just use mine...then again, still a bad move

I use CDJ800's and a DJM3000 every Saturday. I don't mind it at all. It's actually a nice set up.

:-P