To The DJs playing large events with multiple DJs: We all feel like we try not to be prima donnas about bookings, but sometimes you agree to do an event, and the give you a really shitty slot, either earlier in the night than you want, or on a side stage and it’s hard to not get cranky about it. It gets insuling when DJs more accomplished than you have been given better slots. Nobody wants to open for someone less accomplished than they are.
Anyone ever just want to say “fuck you” to everyone involved? Yeah every gig helps get your name out there blah blah, but sometimes you just know you’re not going to have fun…
Its important to stay humble and what not, but if a promoter or manager is blatantly using you, its not a bad idea to stick up for yourself. remember to stay respectful/understanding though and don’t burn any bridges unnecessarily.
a sort of similar situation i had was about a year ago when a club hired me to promote and open for hedspin. hes a really talented dude but literally no one in our city knew who this guy was (theres not much of a djing scene here. for reference, cosmic gate drew out 40 people when they came). Along with this, the event was on a day that the bar is normally closed, so none of their normal clientele was coming. essentially the entire draw was people i was bringing out. hours before starting, the manager texts me, telling me that i’m playing from 9 to 10, and that his resident will take over until the headliner comes on. it may sound bad, but i was definitely insulted that i had done basically all of the promo work for this event and was getting pushed down to that slot. a bit of understanding and assertiveness goes a long way though, i was able to argue my way to a proper slot and maintain a working relationship with the club
Id you are given a shitty slot, promote the fuck out of yourself playing at that time. get q shot load of people to pack that room while you’re playing. after a few times either the promoted, the crowd, or both will demand to see you playing better times and stages.
It’s interesting that this thread comes up now. I played a show this past Tuesday and agreed to warm up the night for the (local) headliners. I also provided my QSC K-12’s as monitors because the venue didn’t have any.
I have a tendency to do early slots, partly because I’ve gotten used to it from throwing my own shows, and partly because I feel like almost nobody around here does it “right” (as stuck-up as that sounds… I don’t mean for it to).
After the night was over, the promoter who usually throws the shows there (but not this particular one) came up to me and said, “Look, I like (the promoter) a lot, I think he’s great. But the next time he asks you to open, tell him ‘no’. You’re not a f_cking opener anymore, and you need to realize that.”
Whether he’s right or not, it’s probably one of the best (unintentional) compliments I’ve received in recent history.
It’s hard to keep doing warmup slot after warmup slot, and determine when it’s fair to say that you’ve “put in your time”. I imagine a lot of people struggle with this issue.
shitty slot. i say no.
i was asked a few times from the same promoter to play at his party but he´d only be able to give me the 4-5am slot. i told him that i´d only come if it would be at least 2 or 3 hours playtime. we couldn´t find a middle ground so turned down his offer.
