What would anyone say is a suitable length for a DJ biography?.. In words or paragraphs. Mine’s about 8 paragraphs or so. Takes up an entire A4 sheet in I think size 12 font (not by my computer right now). Too long?
A pal of mine who is a resident DJ in the same club (and probably has done more then me) sent me his over & his is about the same length, except his starts with the cliche “it all began in his bedroom, dreaming about being able to play along side his favorite DJ’s… blah blah”.
Mine begins at what I believe to be a relevant point in my DJ history… where I was given the last 10 mins of a night and received a standing ovation from the entire crowd and offered a residency on my first public performance. Would you say that is a good place to start? I know it was my first performance but it was a pretty big deal for me & I then go on to talk about things more current.
Any feedback would be great. Also if anyone has any links to their biogs they don’t mind sharing that would be awesome.
Let us consult the bible. In chapter 10 verse 11:29 it says
[quote]BIO DO’S
Stick to the facts
Describe your sound
Career highlights
Artists you have performed with
Residencies
Releases/Download stats BIO DONT’S
Don’t start at childhood
Don’t talk about your rise to fame
Don’t pad it with hype[/quote]
Your friend has strayed down the path of darkness. Read on more to find the true answer.
Yeah I’ve read that but it doesn’t answer my questions. What is a suitable length, and where is a suitable place to start career wise? It tells you were not to start.. at childhood beginnings (oh, and my pal doesn’t visit this site to have read that article and I’m not gonna turn round and tell him how he should write his biography).
one or two,maybe three paragraphs at the most. keep it simple, unless you’re quite successful nobody really cares about anything besides the most basic information.
also hire a writer to write it. just as you’d hire a designer to create your promo art and web design, you should hire a writer to create your bio. i’ve seen countless obviously home-made bios and they always feature the same mistakes - awful grammar, excessive use of superlatives to puff up the ego, unnecessary information etc. etc.
Damn you beat me to it! Cant you go grab a cuppa next time so I can post it next time?
Well IMO I think 3 paragraphs/1 page is to long. When someone reads your bio you want it short enough so they dont get bored out by the length of it, but interesting enough to keep them reading. Pack your bio with everything thats important, dont put everything in there so that takes them 10 mins to read. I think the rule of KISS is very important.
Short and sweet as they say, lol.. My bio I made is actually only 1 long paragraph, but its packed with everything that someone reading your bio would be interested in.
^for length, it really depends on the dj and how much experience and promotional bits they’re trying to include into the bio - 3 paragraphs may be too long for some or just right for others. but yeah you nailed it on the head, couldn’t agree more with the K.I.S.S. principle.
a good 3 paragraph format would go something like this:
paragraph one - brief history (birthplace,location,age, influences, relevant early dj/music experiences, first major gigs etc.)
paragraph two - current ( gigs,achievements,discography that you’re currently recognized for)
paragraph two - future (shameless promo of current and upcoming projects/achievements)
this guideline could just as well be compressed into fewer paragraphs, but this is generally an appealing and K.I.S.S. approach to the promotional dj bio.
my names calvin brooks and i haven’t even recorded a full mix with traktor that i’ve had for a year now.i got a load of music.my favourite food is chinese.would like to meet a club owner/promoter to let me play music and feed me alchohol.gsoh,bubbly(not fat honest)about 5’ 10’’ also likes romantic walks in the park.
