Hey everybody, a little bit about me first. I’m a DJ in southern california who got started about 1.5 years ago entirely due to this site (thanks!). I spin with a modded VCI-100 + midifighter + keyboard all into Traktor.
I played my first club gig about 8 months ago for free (just drink tickets). Did that for a couple months and then started getting paid for just my set time ($100 flat rate for a set that usually lasts about 1 hour to 1.5 hours). Now I’ve got a Weds night residency that I DJ and promote, and that pays me 10% of total bar sales. I just started a Friday night residency that I do with a promoter, and we’re going to negotiate how to split it up soon.
I want to come prepared for the negotiation and not undersell myself, but I realized I don’t know how much a DJ usually makes. I would ask the other DJ’s, but it’s an uncomfortable topic to talk about with other local DJs, since we are friends but also competitive, and nobody wants to be underbid.
So I’m asking you, internet friends to whom I pose no threat, how much do you make as a DJ?
Haha, I only meant that people “think” I pose a threat to them. I promise you, I ain’t no weasel, just trying to get a gauge on what the market prices are.
$200 for 3 hrs + drinks if its a bar. private parties you can charge a bit more.
if youre promoting, do the math. if 10% of the $ your drunk friends spend (if you know alot of people will be there and drinking) at the bar would be worth more than the $200 (regardless of who shows) for 3 hrs of your time (which is sick in of itself because if youre like me you love the music) doing what you would be doing at home anyways…
whichever you feel more comfortable with… the occasional big show and big pay. or a consistant check week in week out?
if your organising and promoting events, you should be getting some of the door takings…
if they dont have any then yeah a percentage of the bartake… but around 100-150/h seems about right, plus say $1-2 a head from the cover charge depending on the size of the venue and what they charge at the door… drink tickets are implied, but if youre getting doortake you shouldnt be getting bartake.
Personally i allways try and get a cut of door take, because no one gets through the door without paying, wheras the bar… yeah some people spend heaps in clubs, but a lot of people either get pissed before hand and just top off once in a while, or are taking drugs and not spending anything at the bar, so the bartake kinda suffers a bit… whereas if your going off doortake, your getting a cut of 100% of the people that walk through the door… And if your promoting the events yourself, it makes sense to get a cut off everyone that walks in, since they are your customers…
What percentage you take is up to you to negotiate… and it all kind of depends on how much of an asset you are to the club… Was the club doing well before you started there? or are your events the main attraction? If your events are the main reason people are going to the club, that justifies a larger percentage cut for you.
say on average you have 500 people there, if you get 2 bucks a head from the doortake, thats a grand in your pocket…Now if your splitting it up between you and a promoter, obviously he should be getting some of that doortake aswel so its up to you to decide how to split it, but i wouldnt walk away with any less than 60% of what you earnt on the door, since youre the main attraction, and hes just promoting you…
i think 60/40 in your favour is a fair split for your cut of the doortake, and its usually what i worked out for residencies when dealing with promoters…
haha thx still havent got my laptop fixed though, but ive installed reason on this desktop computer and its only just working barely, so im still able to work on a few tracks until i can get my lappy fixed… if the computer doesnt melt down before the track is done, lol
$100/hr is a great number to keep in mind when deciding whether or not you will negotiate a percentage of the door and bar.
personally, ive always preferred a flat rate. I started with $150 for a 9-11 warmup slot in a fairly small college town, with promoting being handled by the venue and resident DJ. Started an EDM night with a friend where we worked 10-2 for $500 total and shared promoting duties with the venue. I recently turned down a thursday night in which I was offered 10% of door for playing 9-2. I honestly didnt believe the place would ever be busy enough with a five dollar cover for that to be worth my time. Some factors to keep in mind:
If you’re promoting, that is time you are spending “at work”.
You should be very familiar with a venue before you accept a deal involving either bartake or a percentage of the cover.
but ive installed reason on this desktop computer and its only just working barely, so im still able to work on a few tracks until i can get my lappy fixed… if the computer doesnt melt down before the track is done, lol