Making Demo Mixtapes
So I’ve been practicing my mixing for a couple months and I’m ready to go out and get some gigs. It seems to me that for this I’ve got to make a demo mix. I’ve searched the forums and I haven’t found any information on what exactly a demo mix should be like. I am wondering about things like length, style, etc.
Any help is appreciated
30 - 60 mins
play whatever, you’re the dj aren’t you? 
whatever you do take the time to make sure there’s no fuck ups in it, especially if it’s your first demo. One mistake can overshadow the entire mix when you don’t have a forgiving audience/fanbase established yet.
I’d say that it should be whatever style you normally do. Actually now that I think about it, what do you mean by style? If you mean like genre of music, it should be whatever you usually mix. And in terms of length, probably you should try to make it full length (just under 80 minutes). But I don’t think there’s really any specific rules.
Other than that I would just saying that obviously it should be as flawless as humanly possible.
To tell the truth I don’t really have a specific style. I spin anything and dig anything. From Boleros to Bmore Club. The demo is more for a restaurant/lounge type gig so I figured it would be not as dance-oriented.
I was under the impression that demos should be short-ish because you’re not here to make the club promoter dance, you’re here to show off your skills. Do they really have the time to listen 80min worth of mix? Wouldn’t a 20-ish minute mix be better (spending max 2 to 3min on each track)?
Length: about an hour, not much more, not much less
Style: what are you playing? demo what you want to be playing at a gig.
with demos, you have to make sure that it is an accurate representation of your skills. do not practice it over and over and make it perfect. you do not want to get to a gig only to have they guy booking you realize that you are no where as good live because you spent 3 weeks perfecting your demo.
make sure it is an accurate representation of your prefered style and such. make sure you understand what the purpose of the demo is. you arent going to be headlining, so you want to show that you can build energy levels and not just start out with a bunch of floorfiller energy bangers. make sure you have a good range of music, im kinda bummed my last one has a fair amount of vandalism… anyway. you need to show that you have depth to your record collection as well. dates, styles, artists. be creative with your mixing, but not too much. remember, you arnt headlining.
feel free to email or message me if you have any more questions.
If it’s for a lounge then definitely keep it whatever they usually play there (which you should do with any venue). But I’m guessing with a lounge it would be more slow, down-tempo stuff. You would know better than I would…
That’s true, but why not make it full length? If they only want to listen to the first 20 minutes, then they only listen to 20 minutes. Just my opinion, but why not try to show that you can maintain a longer mix?
i know loads of promoters. 60 min is standard. more or less is not advisable.
if i got a 30 min demo, i would throw it away. promoters dont employ people for 30 min. they employ for an hour minimum. you need to show that you can control energy levels and music over longer periods.
An hour is pretty standard. But its NOT about showing off your technical skills. Its about your music selection. If you are demo’ing to a promoter, demo stuff thats in his niche, and preferably yours too. If its going straight to a club/venue then find out what the style is there. You are unlikely to get work at a venue, if your style doesn’t match theirs, unless you’ve established yourself elsewhere and can pull in a crowd.
If you don’t want to compromise your sound, then start a night yourself, find somewhere that you think could work as a venue, and badger the owner/manager.
i’ve been to many events where djs play slots less than 60 mins, you should get your facts straight. Although it occurs more commonly at music festivals and raves versus clubs, it still happens.
and depending on the promoter, many would be thankful that you could convey your skill levels to them clearly by only taking 30 minutes of their time versus a whole hour. The reality is even if a promoter recieved your 60 minute set theyll probly only listen to the first half hour before skipping thru to hear what the rest sounds like.
One should be mindful that the mixtape is a small portion of what it takes to land gigs. What’s more important is just networking with the people who dj and organize events in your community or respective scene. I’ve landed gigs with 30 minute demos, and i’ve landed gigs with NO demos if that puts things in perspective.
that is interesting. ive never played less then an hour. even at music festivals.
probably because your an edm dj (i guess?) and this occurs more commonly with hiphop/turntablism type artists and events.
the best length is the shortest amount of time that you can neatly pack the best parts of your mixing abilities into. it IS a fact that some people you hand your demo to will listen to the first 30min and then be done with it. it is ALSO a fact that some people will want to hear as much as possible from you.
my suggestion: make a 20-30 min. mix AND an hour-long/full-length mix. ask them what they would prefer to listen to, or just give them both. that way if they dig the shorter mix, you’re cool. if they want more, they have it.