payment as a unsigned dj?
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  1. #1
    Über Tech Guru Ed Paris's Avatar
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    Default payment as a unsigned dj?

    so this is my question:
    i´m going to spin at a party a friday and i asked the promoter what he is wiling to pay me for that evening. he said 100€ which is about 150$. now i´m thinking to myself 100€ is not that much since i have to spin from 10pm till 6-7am. i know a lot of dj´s that are member of a booking agency that get paid 250 up to 500€ a night. okay. so i´m not doing it to get rich or anything like that since it is so much fun for me to dj, but what du u think? would it be okay if i would ask the promoter if he is willing to pay me 150€? what are ur expierences? i mean i would never ask for more than 200€ a night since i´m not signed and i don´t have to pay for a bookingagency. but i´m concerned about the fact getting into a situation like: " i know u got 100€ for the last gig so i won´t give u more than this." i don´t want to be a cheap guy that is giving the crowd a nice time and making party promoters rich...last time i spun at a big party the promoter paid me like 100€ for spinning 2 hours but i think i´m in a situation to ask for since i have to be at the club from 9:30pm to 7am what is a long time and hard work.

    maybe u can help me out.

    thanks
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  2. #2
    Tech Mentor
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    ask for more, to spin all night you should at least get $300
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  3. #3
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    I agree that $150 is pretty low for a 8-9 hour gig.

    However, from an overall promoter perspective (I have lots of friends who are promoters), you have to remember that the amount of money that a DJ gets paid is relative to the size of the crowd (the draw) that the DJ will bring. The reason why big time DJ's get paid more is because the promoter can guarantee a bigger crowd. More people = more money = more payment to the DJ. My advice to you is try to get more money for this gig, but don't get hung up on it for this gig too much. Assuming you are just starting out and don't have an established fan fase, get as many of your friends to come support you. The more people you get to show up, the bigger leverage for payment you will have the next time around.

  4. #4
    Tech Wizard
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    Well, you might want to consider a few things to adjust your fee :

    - Capacity
    - Price of the ticket
    - if the event is sponsored or not



    Get the most information possible and then think about what you think you deserve

    Good luck

  5. #5
    Retired DJTT Moderator DvlsAdvct's Avatar
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    Talk to the promoter and explain your situation. If he's only interested in screwing you over then you'll know real quick.

    But yeah, $150 is not a lot of money for 8 hours. Explain that it's a lot of work to spin that long. The size of the crowd does matter, and you need to be aware of that. Maybe try and talk your way into a cut of the door or something?
    It's the FAQ. Read it.

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  6. #6

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    If you do decide to go through with it I suggest you show up and but real mellow, minimal mixes on for the first 2 hours. That way you are not tire ass hell when 3am comes around. Plus no one usually shows up that early. I did this last time I played a 6 hour gig. BTW I only $200. lol
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  7. #7
    DJTT Moderator Dude Jester's Avatar
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    If we rock out with the whole crew, sound tech and all we expect $100 pp plus open bar. Pretty standard really.
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  8. #8
    Tech Mentor Midi Kids's Avatar
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    god i know what you mean.... i did a 3 hour gig and got $100 lol i was soooo tired hahaha was intense from the get go right to the very end.... oh and make sure you get a table thats high enough that you dont have to bend... god i had such a sore back hahaha
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  9. #9
    Tech Guru belchman's Avatar
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    if it's one of your starter gigs (which is what it sounds like) then you can't blame the promoter for under-paying you. It seems a difficult situation - but its like any of the creative industries; you're expected to built a tight reputation, and thus as it grows, so does your wage. In the fashion industry (at least in the UK) to have any sort of chance of hitting the big one, you have to be prepared to spend at least a year on an unpaid internship, followed by about 5 years (depending on how good you are) with barely expenses being paid. Until you're practically a household name - you have to grit your teeth and take the badly paid gigs unfortunately... besides, if you play your long set as well as you can, then not only will 80% of the crowd go around telling their mates about you afterwards, but the promoter'll know that you're up to it, and next time - he'll be content that his good money wont be wasted!

    having said that, 100 euros isnt much - lets hope you get some tidy clunge from it

  10. #10
    DJTT Moderator Dude Jester's Avatar
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    The money's not really important to us, but its a lot more than 4-6 hours work for gigs eh. our "manager" does a lot of unpaid groundwork such as clandestine flyer drops etc, and us djs gotta brainstorm on what we r gonna come up with for the night, as we all do different styles etc.
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