What do you do once you realize you're actually good at DJing?

[tads]

Last night I played out to a crowd over 200, of which I knew like 4 of the party planners. I only played for an hour, but that hour was rocking, and despite the fact that it was a stuffy charity function, I actually had a couple of people dancing. This is my 4th time playing out, I think it's official, I'm a DJ!

I want to play more gigs, but I feel like the aggresive marketing required to get more doesn't really match my personality, so I'm not sure what my next step is, but at least the first step(s) are taken. I still need to keep getting better, but there are a lot of things I can try to get into next (producing, get gigs, podcast/radio show). I'm wondering what you did once you realized you were good at DJing?

[haze324]

made a demo. started handing it out.

[oliosky]

get a gimmick. all super awesome djs have a gimmick, be it a vermin based oversized head, some sort of a mask, whatever. Just make sure you are really really full on and obnoxious with said gimmick and any marketing campaign you embark upon.

DJs shouldn't be judged on their sound, or their reputation, or their time being involved in a certain scene. They should be judged on how good they are at spamming social networks.

I realised this the other day when my inbox was full of requests and event flyers from DJs i would never see, and events I would never go to. And when you can do this yourself, THEN you are a good DJ.

[Rexx]

I remember this feeling....

Remeber what you did, any try to do it better. Study everything about music and get into recognizing rhythms and their names. Learn how to key a song (no computer program first). Listen to all kinds of music and break them down in your head. Get used to picking out different instruments in the music, not just the beats. It will help you in constructing and planning your sets. And most of all, never stop going back to the basics like beatmatching.

Get some business cards to hand out, and the gigs will come.

You'll end paying your dues, like we all do. There are alot of ups and downs in this business, but never give up.

[Liambo]

I tried to improve and improve.

[wrong chris]

get a gimmick. all super awesome djs have a gimmick, be it a vermin based oversized head, some sort of a mask, whatever. Just make sure you are really really full on and obnoxious with said gimmick and any marketing campaign you embark upon.

DJs shouldn't be judged on their sound, or their reputation, or their time being involved in a certain scene. They should be judged on how good they are at spamming social networks.

I realised this the other day when my inbox was full of requests and event flyers from DJs i would never see, and events I would never go to. And when you can do this yourself, THEN you are a good DJ.

hahaha... my man right here.

[DigitalDevil]

what you did once you realized you were good at DJing?

I stopped gigging.

[MrPopinjay]

I misread this as "What do you do once you realise you're not good at DJing"

[scamo]

I wish the question was, "How do you realize you are really good at DJing?"

scamo

[EssBee]

Record some mixes, make CDs, and promote your mixes online to people you think will actually enjoy it. Start to get a little fan base going of people who look forward to hearing your mixes. Business cards are also a good idea. I got a bunch made about 4 months ago, and almost every time I play out I'll have 5 or 6 people ask for my info. Boom, give them my card, and more gigs are coming my way.