So I just had a call from a venue i played 2 or 3 weeks ago asking if i could come along and DJ tonight. I asked if it would be the same fee as last time (only £75 for 4 hours which i thought was very reasonable), they said no it wont be paid! It was a fun gig last time and although i played mainly top 40 stuff i had the freedom to throw in whatever i wanted. So i felt kinda silly turning them down, I have nothing better to do and will either be in mixing or out drinking tonight instead when id much rather play a gig.
I politely declined, made some excuses. But I kinda feel I should have questioned it, made a bit of a fuss and asked how they thought they could get away with not paying their DJ’s one week and paying them the next!
yep you can play at home for free and not have to pack/carry/set up. if you accept for free they will probably call you up next week offering to let you pay them for a chance to play there.
The sad thing is that a lot of them basically are. Minimum wage for bartenders and servers in the US is like $2.15/hr. They make money entirely based on tips. But, as far as the venue is concerned…bartenders and servers are basically working for free.
Bouncers typically get paid. But they’re also required by law a lot of places and by insurance policies everywhere.
So…as much as you’re right, that argument might not fly at all.
There are musicians performers unions around…that was just the first one that came up. Even if you’re not a member, it’s probably worth having a clue about it so you can claim something resembling fair wages. A few years ago, one of the other unions set minimum wages as $75/hr for each performer. Minimum. There are also unions for roadies and sound techs…and if you’re bringing your gear and running your sound, that’s another several jobs you’re doing.
Realistically…if you’re going to be performing somewhere…either you’re going to get something out of it (notoriety, your first chance to play, free entry for friends and a free bar tab, something…) or you’re going to get paid. Acting otherwise makes the world a worse place for musicians.
I would turn down the gig and advise them the real reason. You dont dj for free, its like them asking the bouncer, door guy, bartender, bar back, or promoter to come and work for 4 -5 hours for free.
Well i agree with that, work = getting paid when it’s done.
I’ve been in a situation like that. I played for free at a festival, and then got a call from a guy i barely remembered from high shcool and he told me he liked the show and wanted me to play at a gig he organises.
(i’ve never been paid for djing for the moment, i’m new to the scene)
I asked about money, and he wanted to know how much do i charge. I asked for 60€ ($80) for 1h/1h30. He didn’t complain about the price but the thing is that :
They are in deficit for the moment (the gig is in november) and he said he will pay me if they get profit from the gig.
That was a dilema for me, because i love to play music, i love to party, but in a way i have to earn money from “working”.
So i decided to play at that gig, and enjoy it. I’ll see how things will go, and even if i’m not getting paid, still i won my promotion for all the people that will be at the gig, and the local clubs around might hear of that gig, so they might hear of me.
But in your case, you are not dealing with students, but with club owners, so i guess i would have declined the offer aswell.
yeah, you cant let people jerk your chain around like that and pay one time, then try and get you to play for free
thats what they tried to do to me at work (where i sometimes spin the middleschool dances there) gave all but 2 of them to this other lady and her husband and turn around and tell me they need me to play music for a fundraiser for free…
i smiled and told them that djing is my part time job and i cant be doing it for free (unlike how they make me do my bosses job without the compensation)… they were not happy
