Booking a DJ through their agent.

[MrMaiTai]

Good evening all. My first time on the forum and i've got to say theres some interesting reading!

I'm currently at a stage with a night I run to push it to the next level and bring in a decent reputable DJ. I'm purely in it for the enjoyment and not for making money. Hiring someone in is something I have never done before, although i've been involved with an event that has.

I'm wanting to know if anyone can share their experiences if they have promoted and done similar things?

Here's my understanding of the process, please correct me if I'm talking rubbish or just totally wrong.

- Decide on who you want in and enquire about their availability (How would an agent respond to a newbie promoter and how to sell your event/venue to them?)

- If availability is ok, negotiate a price (is travel and expenses all combined in this or is that separate ? I'm told that most agents ask you to name the price and haggle from there. In which case how cheeky can you be until they tell you where to go?)

- Get contract through ? (is there anything to look out for that may catch you out?

- Pay some or all fee up front ?

- Day of event (DJ arrives via pre arranged method, accommodation etc. Get's looked after, plays & final payment if required. Get them back to wherever next.

I've have no doubt that so much has been missed, but any help or suggestions would be great.

Cheers

Jonathan

[Aleksandre Banera]

Hey!
Actually what I can say from my experiences is that there is no pattern about booking a DJ.
Mostly it is about negotiation and it really depends on the agent. Some of them are friendly and some of them are not friendly at all.
What usually happen is that they redirect you to fill a form with questions like which DJs you booked before, the name of the venue, how many people it can takes the venue, door price, other DJs you will book for this night and more to get an idea about the event.
Which I think is the most important thing is how relevant/serious you are as a promoter and if the party is going to be successful at all.
Mostly they ask you for the price you are offering, but at the end they already have in their mind the minimum price they want to charge you.
But however, everything depends on how big DJ is you are planning to book and their interest to have their artist at your party. If it is the first time for a DJ to play in your country...even better for you!

Good evening all. My first time on the forum and i've got to say theres some interesting reading!

I'm currently at a stage with a night I run to push it to the next level and bring in a decent reputable DJ. I'm purely in it for the enjoyment and not for making money. Hiring someone in is something I have never done before, although i've been involved with an event that has.

I'm wanting to know if anyone can share their experiences if they have promoted and done similar things?

Here's my understanding of the process, please correct me if I'm talking rubbish or just totally wrong.

- Decide on who you want in and enquire about their availability (How would an agent respond to a newbie promoter and how to sell your event/venue to them?)

- If availability is ok, negotiate a price (is travel and expenses all combined in this or is that separate ? I'm told that most agents ask you to name the price and haggle from there. In which case how cheeky can you be until they tell you where to go?)

- Get contract through ? (is there anything to look out for that may catch you out?

- Pay some or all fee up front ?

- Day of event (DJ arrives via pre arranged method, accommodation etc. Get's looked after, plays & final payment if required. Get them back to wherever next.

I've have no doubt that so much has been missed, but any help or suggestions would be great.

Cheers

Jonathan