Some sage advice about those times when you do decide to work for free…
[quote]If you’re even considering working for free, you’re probably in a creative profession — writing, filmmaking, fashion, live performance. It’s rare that anyone asks a dental hygienist or a bartender to work for free.
Let’s get more specific. I believe in contracts. I believe in quantifying everything. I believe that if someone wants you to work for free, you can take charge of the situation and turn it into cash (or something else of value). [/quote]
It’s hard to get paid in an industry where the business model has completely flipped upside down…
The Dj industry right now is really messed up.
Here’s what happened, the managing of the industry has been left to young, inexperienced and greedy individuals. Shifting the power away from the performer and into the hands of the promoter. Which could very well be some 19 year old kid. The internet has done the deed on two accounts.
1.Illegal downloading of music is rampant, totally draining the pockets of record companies and producers alike.
2.All promotion happens on a digital level, making it very easy for a promoters to make every dj or producer sound like “the next big name”.
The next big problem…DRUGS. Now I know drugs have always been a factor in night clubs, but now more than ever. After a while EVERYTHING starts to sound good when you’re high. Club-goes have a less discerning ear. Opening the door for sub-par producers and djs to spread their mediocre music. Sub-par djs will always play for free because they are amazed that they can get a gig. And promoters will book them because THEY are amazed that they can pack a house with a free dj!! IT’S A VICIOUS CYCLE.
Also most promoters are drug dealers…but we will leave that for another discussion.
Like I said, the business is wack. Quality underground djs are at the bottom.
I went from playing every single weekend in state and out of state, to slowly tapering off to 2 gigs a month. I will really only play out of state now if I can get a Fri/Sat lined up back to back, otherwise it’s just not worth it.
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money
trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and
pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.
There’s also a negative side.”
Haha well all these things are true… I couldn’t agree more with last two posts… There was a time where subpar was not acceptable but those days are gone when tools make it easier to be good at mixing there is no weeding out of subpar… Easy mixing means anyone no matter how musically inept they are at picking tracks doesn’t matter… This more so when you can goto beatport find the top 10 then find various pirating sites and download and wow they made djmag top 10… Same the days of making every set a unique journey are no more but it’ll come again always does just have older people shaking their heads going What The Fuck
and that is the gospel #thedjgospel lol… haha so true. I have met owners of clubs who gave me tickets to the wrong show and said, bring us customers and we might let you play for free lol. i never called them agian…
I actually had a long convo with the owner of a venue (one of the good ones), we were talking shows with each other. he was talking about how one of the other owners was asked to perform for free at a festival. lol she was bitching at the fact that they already used her for the commercial.
this is why i love playing my underground shows. everyone pays, the money is split, everyone has fun its great … only problem is its not really a sustainable form of income, but meh lol
If you’d ask me it’s all a matter of supply and demand. There are way more dj’s than gig spots, so the pay goes down. Now there are so many dj’s the pay has gone to zero.
for rave/free/private party when entry is free i play for free,in club or when peoples pay it’s another thing
(it like that i ve playing in a rave party in london .. i ve playing for free and i ve paying anything comming to fr lol ^^)
The way I see it, this business has become like the pyramid scheme - it’s not about the music, it’s about how much followers you can contribute. Yuck.
I can’t even find a mix competition that doesn’t look for a social following, even on a big label. Hate it. The only good thing is the rate at which (bad) noob DJ’s drop out of this, even faster then getting in.
I don’t see playing music as work, it’s something I like to do and don’t expect anything in return. Just like I don’t expect to get payed for other activities I enjoy such as partying or laying on the beach, face it there’s more dj’s (yes even good ones) than there are party people these days. Good productions are being made by amateurs all over the place so if every record corp would go bankrubt from pirating tomorrow that’d be a blessing!
now all get of your ass, work your daytime job and enjoy making music instead of money!
Anyone who says stuff was better in the old days either hasn’t been looking around for underground activity lately or has their wallet talking too much.
Idd like to add my 2 cents to this discussion and think Im in a good enough position to add to it. Im doing my first gig as many of you know for free. The reason I offered to do it for free was because I didn’t have any actual experience dj’ing and thought it would give me exposure to a crowd probably the worst critics you can ask for teens. As a professional Computer specialist I occasionally offer my services to relatives that ask for it only because they are relatives.
If a stranger came off the street and asked me for computer services for free I’d laugh in their face. If a charitable organization asked me for free work I’d ask what the scope of the project was and if there were and special requirements. This is how I quantify any offers of my dj’ing or computer skills for free.
I think price is relative be it a free dinner or $1,000.000.000 or even barter which I’ve done for trade of my computer skills.
You decide who you play for for… I can see that you don’t want to play for free for a big moneymaker but then again I don’t useually visit commercial parties either.
… only problem is its not really a sustainable form of income, but meh lol
