There are two sides to the debate so I’ll try to play Devil’s advocate and list off why each have their pro’s and con’s (even though, personally, I hate when they do this).

Different Terminology – Still Kinda Sucks

Hrm, these are all kind of the same ...

Generally, DJ’s get a ton of flak for playing pre-recorded mixes because the whole idea of seeing a DJ perform live is so they can adapt to the crowd and energy of the audience.

Playing a pre-recorded mix destroys the ability to accurately match how the listeners are feeling so as the mix goes “hype” – people may just be having a smoke and guzzling down booze – there’s a conflict here.

The same can be said during the breakdowns and chill out parts of the mix – what happens if the crowd is super amped and the pre-recorded set just drops into some Brian Eno stuff?

Following too closely behind is the planned DJ set which can be forgiven (sometimes) but really misses the point of playing music to different crowds.

Many DJ’s that go on tour will often have a general, planned mix because they often use the excuse that they don’t have enough time (in some situations, it is) but it still doesn’t detract from the fact that if you hear some mixes once, you’ve heard them all.

Producers that happen to DJ will often fall under this type of play because they make music, first and foremost, and may not really be all too well experienced in DJing. However, DJ’s that you know could work in new and old tracks yet play the same, basic set everywhere they go gets boring really fast.

Finally, you’ve got structured mixes which are more or less a general “idea” of where the music will go; there may be a few tracks pre-chosen for the set while there is still enough leg room to add in things on the fly.

Structured sets are quite good when the DJ has some kind of theme going on if they bounce between genre’s or there is a different type of club/festival environment but too much structure can really take away from the whole live experience.

Sure, DJ’s are still just playing tracks but too much structure in the set may tempt DJ’s to mix too much (or too little) of a track just because it needs to fit the mold vs. experimenting and trying things as they progress through their mixing.

Shame, Shame

ARGGGGG!

Fortunately, we don’t really run into these situations all too often because there is just so much music, equipment, and gadgets available that DJ’s naturally tend to experiment with their craft.

However, there are some situations which are a bit obvious when these happen:

• Steve Angello got a lot of flak for playing a pre-recorded set at Dance Valley
• Daft Punk/Skrillex/Deadmau5 play a lot of the same tunes at different festivals
• Tiesto often play very structured sets by mixing in key (nearly all the time)

To clarify, the bottom two are by no means some attack or disappointment with the music. In fact, groups like Daft Punk, even though playing some similar sets, are still mixing a ton of the music live through their controllers and software. For Tiesto, having his mixes structured by keeping things in key makes things extremely harmonic and great on the ears.

The one situation that is a huge black eye for DJ’s is the top example (Steve Angello). When the main point of DJing is to mix music, you have no excuse for putting on a mix CD and pretending.

Not only does a pre-recorded set immediately make you lose all respect from your fans but it’s a quick way to be forever labeled a disappointment. Imagine the feelings of all those fans that suddenly realized that the music was just another rehash of a previous mix.

Of course, the argument would be that if people are having fun listening to the music than the job is done but it’s troublesome to think this especially if DJ’s that use this style of “play” wins awards and outshines talented DJ’s that deserves the spotlight.

Avoid the Temptation

May seem cool but could be fatal ...

The core fundamentals of DJing is basically being able to mix, finding great music to play, reading and adapting to the crowd, and a bit of promotion.

When you throw away three of the four items, can you really call yourself a DJ?

There are exceptions in the case of planned and structured sets – especially if you’re playing to completely new crowds, you’re absolutely strapped for time, or if you’re mixing your own songs but pre-recorded DJ sets are an absolute no-no.

My suggestion would be this: be a DJ’s DJ.

You know what I’m talking about. The type of DJ that wow’s other DJ’s with their ability to find tracks, mix, and put on an amazing show. You may not necessarily have the biggest appeal in popularity but you’ll be putting on something unique – every time.

Remember why you’re getting (or got) into DJing: to play music, party, and have fun.

When you take away a large chunk of what you do – the soul dies out.

She’ll be giving us the low-down on what she’s about, where she’s playing, and some valuable tips & tricks for getting started in the world of DJing to boot! Okay, show time …

Q1: Hi Miss Diamond, could you introduce yourself and how you got started DJing?

Say hello to Miss Diamond DJ

Sure, I`m Miss Diamond Djane, brazilian based in Switzerland, professional DJ since 5 years and of course, a music lover! :-)

I started DJing as a hobby, when I was still living in Brazil, playing around in friend`s parties and so on….then later, I started wondering if this could become a cool job and I decided to invest professionally on the carreer.

I came to Europe in 2009, went to the DJ Academy in Ministry of Sound London, and there, after the pick me up for a performance in the club, other invitations started coming from around the world…..since then I`m on the route, playing and doing what I really love to do.

Q2: What does an avg. day look for you?

Usually during the week (when I`m not traveling) I wake up early, then check mails, work on the burocratic things what are involved with my carreer, then go for Logic to produce something, basically I work on computer the all morning….at afternoon is time to give classes (I teach Djing for groups and also particular classes).

After 6pm is time to care about myself with fitness, yoga, jogging…..and at evening just relax for the next day.

In the weekends everything is different, sometimes I fly 1 or 2 days before the proper performance, so each time is a surprise and that doesn`t let me have a routine. I don`t have days of rest in a week, I just have evenings of rest, in the end :-)

Q3: What have been the greatest influential items (or people) in your DJing?

I think my brazilian way to live and party is the biggest thing people recognize on my performances, since the look till the music style, that makes part of me and I guess it`s what makes things work, I always present my true and people see that.

Q4: What kind of equipment do you have behind the DJ booth?

Usually I play with Traktor Scratch Pro (with vinyl as timecode, so Technics turntables are always welcome), X1 Controller for Traktor and the most part of times I have a Pioneer mixer also, 800 or higher.

Q5: What does the future look like for you, in DJing?

I think more about present, right now I do what I love and I hope that goes longer….but in pratical terms, I have a new remix coming out called “Je T`aime” in partnership with very talented artists from the group Flip da Scrip what will be released on the next month.

That will be for sure my biggest shot for this summer and I hope everybody like it. Out of that, I`m traveling much more this year, and I would like to visit other countries where I`ve have not been yet, such Morocco, India, Thailand and so on…..

Q6: What message would you like to share with DJ’s just starting out?

I would say invest in knowledge first, be professional, know your own value and make yourself different, that`s all.

Q7: Is there anything else you’d like to add before you go?

I would like just to invite all of you for my fan page, where you can have more info about me, listen and download my sets, watch pictures and so on, the link is http://www.facebook.com/DJ.Miss.Diamond , thanks for the interview, kisses from Miss Diamond :-***

I want to send a very special thanks to Miss Diamond DJ for giving up a bit of her time to answer these questions. I hope you got a good glimpse of the DJ world and would like to extend any other interviews for DJ’s out there that want to give the inside scoop about the EDM world – get in touch with me. As for everything else, go over and take a look at the FB page and check out the bumpin’ tunes from Miss Diamond DJ. Over and out.

Have you ever noticed how much going to shows has drained your wallet? $15, $25, and more expensive events can really start hurting if you like to go to parties every week.

You’re already so involved in the scene that you’ve amassed hundreds of friends on Facebook just because you recognized them from that one night, or you are one of those who wrote on the event page: “Add me if you saw me! I was the one wearing the tutu/giving epic light shows/wearing a horse mask/spinning crazy poi!!!”

Almost everyone you have on there is a DJ, promoter, or someone in the scene. Well, here’s how you can take advantage of that.

Any event in the electronic music scene is put together with the help of DJ’s, attendees, and promoters.

Basically, there are the people that put on the party, the people that help fill up the party, the people that attend the party, and the people that provide the music, visuals, and sound for the party. Trying to not go too deep into what comprises these shows, a large amount of work is done by the promoters.Not only is this group in control of the bookings, venue choice, and even the entirety of the party given your position, but they are in charge of bringing it all together.

Some of the Benefits of Promoting?

Promoting has great benefits when it comes to going out. You can save money going out by getting on the guest list and having free entry, you can get paid to promote, and you can make friends in the scene as well as knowing the details of parties all the time.

My Story

I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. It wasn’t until I was about 16 that I heard about the electronic music scene. I was in high school when I heard some of my friends discussing going to Ultra Music Festival. I had gone and looked it up when I got home, and saw that The Prodigy was going to be playing. I definitely had to go.

Fast forward to the next year. I go to Ultra again, but in between I don’t really get that taste of electronic music that I really wanted. I searched around for some local, smaller events and could only really find 18+ club events.

I found websites like 8up.com, which did show some of the parties that I eventually went to.

I was too scared/young/socially awkward to go alone at first, so it wasn’t until I met someone else in the scene, oddly enough through OKCupid, that I got to go to my first local party.

He taught me who to add on Facebook, what pages to like, and what event pages to join to find out about my local scene.

All I really had to do was add the main promoters and people putting on the event to get the information on more parties than I could ever imagine.

A year later, and I’m in Tampa at University of South Florida for college, finally old enough to get to the 18+ scene. I had connected with a few people in the Tampa scene, and found a group to join to promote for Electric Daisy Carnival in Orlando. It was my first promoting experience, and being naive I ended up not getting anything in the end, since there ended up being no agreement on compensation.

Through other mutual friends, I saw an opportunity to get a job with a legitimate promotions company in Tampa. I explained to them my previous promoting experience, and was chosen to flyer for them. I had the choice of flyering on Wednesday or Thursday, but at University of Tampa, which is about a half an hour drive from USF. I quickly learned that not knowing the area around you and not having a large area to flyer added to the fear of being kicked out for trespassing wasn’t the ideal way to flyer. With that, here are some tips for flyering: whether at a familiar or unfamiliar place, with their permission or not.

The Low-Down on Club & Party Promoting

Sarah has put together an extensive guide on the process behind modern club & party promoting; here’s what she had to say:

Tip #1: Get to know the area.

The first way you can really figure out how to flyer is getting to know the area. Take a walk around. Look at Google maps. Read around to see what parking spots are you may want to flyer. See where your target audience would congregate, and some secluded areas such as benches or chairs they may run off to escape the crowd. Find out whether it is a large area you need to cover or a relatively small area.

Tip #2: Know your target

Knowing who you want your flyer to reach can really help you figure out the best places to flyer. For example, when I had to flyer for EDC Orlando, Ybor was one of the places that I chose to flyer. Ybor city has a lot of clubs, but it’s also one of those “bad” neighborhoods as you’d call it. Aside from the electronic music clubs, not many people in Ybor were very interested in what I had to show.

Having a target specified to you is helpful, but by the area you are assigned it can be pretty much inferred. With my job, I was assigned to flyer University of Tampa. Obviously, one would imagine that the target audience is students. So I found areas that they gathered around, such as residence halls and the school buildings, as well as the student parking lot.

Tip #3: Know how to ninja it

If you’re like me and dislike confrontation with security officers in an area that is private property, including areas in the city that prohibit solicitation, this tip is for you. Knowing the fact that University of Tampa is a private college, I was unsure if I really was allowed there since I’m not a student. It helped to have a friend going there to help me out my first day, who warned me about flyering cars and maybe getting kicked out for flyering. With that, I devised a way to stealthily flyer, and not really get much attention.

One of my ways I like to do it is by bringing around a backpack and looking like a student, while carrying around my iPad in its case and leaving the flyers in there. Whenever I get to a spot I want to put a flyer, I just grab one and put it down, snag a picture while I can, and walk away. The alternative is sitting down at a bench, putting a flyer down, and sitting for a few seconds/minutes, browse the internet on my phone or send a text or two, and open up the camera to get the photo as I stand up and walk away.

Tip #4: Tables, benches, ashtrays = friends

Anywhere visible is a great place to flyer. My target tends to commute around campus, and sit around on the benches. A lot of clubgoers tend to be smokers as well, so ashtrays are a good place to get them to notice flyers. They also like to sit down and smoke, so tables are a good choice as well.

Tip #5: Where to flyer cars

Cars are one of the ways to make sure someone notices your flyer. However, it may be illegal or unfavorable conditions to flyer cars in certain areas. I find that parking garages without security are usually your best bet, in downtown areas or clubbing areas. Flyering cars in the streets isn’t the greatest idea since weather can wear down the flyer and create problems for the owner of the vehicle—I once had a flyer put on my car and left on there for days, it was rained on and dried and left me a nice big white patch of residue glued to my car.

Tip #6: How much to flyer

How much you are going to flyer really depends on the size of the area that you are flyering. USF, for example, has such a wide area to flyer that the ratio of flyers to building will be a lot smaller than how many you would be putting in a smaller area. Obviously, you don’t want to bomb somewhere with flyers and not have enough left for other areas.

Tip #7: Push on Facebook!

The easiest place to promote an event is on Facebook. By copying and pasting the event onto your wall, other people’s walls, and group pages, as well as inviting your friends to go to the event. A fair warning- your friends may not like this and delete you, or block invites from you. But you take this risk as a promoter!

These are just some tips to take into consideration when putting out flyers. If you put your best effort into it to get people to show up, and they do, the rewards go out to you and the entire scene.

Since its launch last year the Pioneer DDJ-Ergo v DJ Controller has had all DJ’s talking about it.

This could be said with almost any product from one of the DJ world’s most renowned brands, Pioneer, typically it has an intuitive interface but with a stylish new look. And all of this for a very affordable price, especially by Pioneer’s standards, the Ergo could certainly be the ideal controller for beginner DJ’s and is ready to tackle more professional situations when you are.

Looks

The first thing you notice when you look at the Pioneer DDj-Ergo V is that it is a visually stunning controller and its clear Pioneer had the design high up on their priorities list.

Its curved white shell and contrasting black panel would look perfectly at home in a DJ booth or in you’re living room, a stylish modern living room at least.

The actual panel are designed around the typical two-platter design with the main controls in the centre of the unit. We also notice that convenience was high up on Pioneer’s priorities list as all the controls: the filters, cues, FX etc are all within easy reach and conveniently placed.

To ensure full versatility Pioneer have also included an audio interface with audio circuitry taken from Pioneer’s legendary mixers.

Pulse Control LEDs

As you’ve probably noticed the unique pulse control LED lights, although look really cool.

They’re primarily designed as a visual representation of exactly which functions are currently being used, the tracks that are being loaded, and how accurately the beats match.

So what else could you buy?

The Ergo’s main competitor is probably the Traktor Kontrol S2 which is roughly the same price and comes included with Traktor 2. Also the Novation Twitch which is cheep, lightweight, small and has got loads of cool features, its not as professional as the Ergo but it will save you a bit of money.

I think it really depend on what you’re looking for or even what type of music you’re going to play. If its looks you want then its got to be the Ergo but you probably will get more stability with the Traktor Kontrol.

As a digital controller the Pioneer DDJ-Ergo V comes with Virtual DJ limited edition, but because it is a MIDI based DJ Controller it can be simply configured to most DJ software including Traktor, and it even comes with instructions on how to do this in the box.

Have a watch and see what you think:

Here’s a recap of some of the main features of the Pioneer DDJ-Ergo:

• Ultra-stylish LED design
• Convenient functionality and ergonomic design
• Compatible with most DJ Software
• Built in audio interface
• Mac and PC compatible, designed to dock laptop underneath to minimise space required yet keeping the screen in full view.
• Professional audio circuitry
• Very affordable Price

Overall

The reality is that this is Pioneer’s first crack at a cheap, beginner DJ module and it just feels strange.

Like a cheap Ferrari, they just don’t exist and it just seems that they have made some sacrifices to build quality and stability, and is by no means vintage Pioneer. And it doesn’t live up to the high standards we come to expect. But don’t get me wrong, for beginners this would be ideal, as its really stylish and straightforward. But when you’re ready to step up to a higher level you may need to upgrade you’re setup.

PsyBeat is just getting started with developing their Psytrance community which is hard work but they’ve got everything in place for what could be a great resource for everyone interested in the genre.

I wanted to give some promotion to the website because I know what it’s like for new sites to pop up and get mulled over even though they have a lot of great info; let’s take a look and see if maybe I can convince you to join up and add to the growing online psy community.

What PsyBeat does Right

There are plenty of Psytrance websites out there, such as Psynews, but if there’s anything I’ve picked up on over my many years of being online is that larger communities doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have a better experience.

I remember a few years ago when I was helping a friend start up his own forum; we would start up threads, hold really interesting discussions, had people drop in and leave their own, promote it and so on but the major problem is that few people want to join new forums and websites because they feel there isn’t much to “dig through” at the time.

The problem with immediately dismissing new communities is that you really miss out on the chance to be a part of a tight nit group from the very beginning.

Joining larger forums means you’re going to have a lot of threads to dig through but now you’re basically trying to make connections with thousands of people rather than being able to start with a few and feel like you’re actually building something rather than just contributing.

PsyBeat is just getting started but they have a lot of features that will pull you in because they’re extremely helpful. Mainly, the events page on PsyBeat is very extensive; I didn’t even realize half these parties were going on because it’s sometimes really hard to find out about them unless you’re around the party destinations.

Secondly, there’s a lot of user focused elements like the gallery, chat room and forums that let you get in touch with real psytrancers; it’s still young enough that you don’t have people just randomly spamming threads and starting flame wars.

Some parts of the website are only accessible if you’re a registered member but I can’t really think of many forums that have an open member policy to begin with so that’s not anything to scoff over.

Give Psy a Chance

I really like seeing new electronic music communities come online because the more the better especially if it’s around the music I personally love; in this case, Psytrance.

I talked to Boaz, the owner behind PsyBeat, and he has a lot of passion for this project. I want to see this site grow because there’s a lot of potential here to make some really cool friends, find some excellent events and kick up some thought provoking discussions about the psychedelic community.

Goa head, check it out. Sign up if you like or just spread the word to whomever you think could be down for a site like this; let’s get the ball rolling and see what it can become.

The web, as you could expect, gives us a buttload of great resources when we want to learn how to product electronic music.

You don’t need to drop a handful of cash in order to get started because there are more than enough tutorials and resources to fill your schedule for the next few years.

dat monstaaaaaa

I went ahead and started putting together a monster list of free electronic music production tutorials that I’ve found across the web.

I’m also listing out a dozen or so great reads that I think you should dig into and finally – there will be a few premium resources worth checking out if you do want to drop a few bucks for professional help.

Okay, let’s get this started – it certainly won’t be complete but I can try to give you the best …

Index of Beatport Tutorials

Francis Preve was the tech editor over at Beatport from 2007 to 2009. On his website, he’s put together a rather large list of tutorials that were featured in Beatport from ‘introduction to Synthesizer Programming’ all the way up to a full ‘Master Class’ that takes you through a full production process. You can find these on your own if you do enough searches and digging around but Francis already did the work for you so they’re definitely worth checking out.

100+ Video Electronic Music Production Tutorials

Dave from BoyInABand.com has been working hard over these last few years creating some really top-notch tutorials. My favorite thing that he shows is the ‘7 day song’ tutorials that go through the major elements of electronic music production day-by-day. There are a lot of resources to dig through on this page and even more on his actual Youtube account – if anything, start here.

350+ Music Production Tutorials on AudioTuts

They may not all be electronic music production tutorials but they all have something in common and that’s teaching you how to use programs and understanding the essentials of music production as a whole. Even if you don’t use every tutorial on the blog – you can still learn a lot from digging around because it may give you a bit of inspiration. The blog is always updating so keep it bookmarked.

Sonic Transfer’s Uber List of Production Tutorials

Sonic Transfer has been going at it for quite some time now. The site focuses heavily on Ableton so it won’t be for everyone if case you’re using Cubase or another DAW but for starters – this is definitely top notch. The tutorials aren’t hugely in depth most of the time but they’re quick and easy so you can retain the information rather than getting too bogged down at one time.

Reddit’s EDM Music Production

Reddit, if you didn’t know, is a pretty awesome community site which is divided into ‘sub-reddits’; they have one specifically on EDM production too! There aren’t a whole lot of individual tutorials on here but the discussions are well worth taking a look. If you sign up, you can join in with asking questions which will be extremely helpful if you can’t find support from the other resources on this list. Additionally, people on the sub-reddit often share sample packs which are worth their weight in gold.

LoopTV Music Production Tutorials & Guides

LoopTV has about 100 or so music production tutorials on their website and that’s just the tip of the iceburg considering that there are tons and tons of producer interviews which are worth checking out in terms of learning production methods. LoopTV has podcasts which will always keep you up to date. The site focuses a lot on Ableton, Cubase, Reason, Native Instruments, and all the other major brands that dominate the EDM production library.

Trance Production’s Guide to … Trance Production

This seemingly simple website is packed with great information if you’re getting into trance production. The website is a bit wordy and could use more pictures but all of the information is there for the picking; it’s divided into the main elements of trance along with some excellent resources that go beyond what the website has to offer.

How to Make Electronic Music Guides

HTMEM (eh? Yup!) has a ton of quick and simple tutorials for learning how to use FL Studio as your main production software. Although the site is mostly around FL – it’s still a big one for people using this software because it offers up free VST’s, samples and presets that help you get out of the boxed samples and deeper into music production with the program.

WarBeats (Big on FL Studio)

WarBeats probably takes the cake in terms of the amount of tutorials for music production using FL Studio. Again, FL Studio is a bit “lower end” compared to programs like Cubase but it’s still a perfect starting point for many and is only really limited by your creativity – WarBeats aims to help you understand the program with their offerings which they do so spot on. Definitely worth a look.

Funk Naughty Guides

Fun Naughty is a site that’s been going since around 2010 and has already racked up a ton of tutorials related to music production and DJing. There’s a lot of emphasis to the big named programs but what makes the site really cool are the exclusive interviews that have with big name DJ’s like Carl Cox and others (although, that’s part of the premium part – worth it? Maybe).

Computer Music Books (aka. Books!)

Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty into music productions by picking up one of those things old people use … ya know … a book?! Books are excellent because they’ll help you focus vs. bouncing between websites, videos and all the other distractions of the web. I’d recommend the following: The Dance Music Manual, The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music, Music Theory for Computer Musicians, The Beginner’s Guide to Computer-Based Music Production. Some of you will probably learn better from having a book in your face than a million tabs opened – just saying.

Conclusion (and so on)

I’d like to add to this list over the course of the blog history so be sure to check in from time to time for new electronic music production tutorials and resources. In the meantime, pick a few that read out how you best learn and dig right in – you learn the most from trying than just absorbing information.

It’s harder than ever to get yourself found but the good news is that you don’t truly need a massive audience these days in order to be successful.

The beginning of DJ music marketing really breaks down into three main areas:

A. Awareness

Awareness is your first real interaction with your fans; it’s the moment that people take notice in what you’re doing and what tells them whether they should be listening to you or not. The awareness element of DJ music marketing is the most difficult because you’re all on your own at this point in time. However, the more you stick with building your awareness – the more you’ll build which will lead you into the next important element of marketing your DJ skills.

Here are some of the ways you can begin building awareness to your DJing:

• Uploading DJ mixes to websites like Mixcloud
• Sending out promo CD’s to local event organizers
• Participating in open deck nights at local clubs
• Joining up or hanging out with a local DJ group
• Playing multiple live events in your area
• Handing out business cards for your DJ services
• Putting up flyers around popular hang outs
• Create a Youtube channel to show off your mixing
• Doing live DJing on websites like Ustream

This is really just a general look at building awareness and truthfully, it all depends on what and where you want to go with your DJing. Obviously all of these won’t apply for every situation that you’re in but they are effective at getting the ball rolling.

B. Building Connections

Don’t be fooled, DJing has a heavy influence from business and marketing. Although you’re playing music for others, you’re still in a constant struggle of promoting yourself and building connections which will lead to better exposure which, in turn, will bring in new gigs and potential sales for your services.

The good news is that creating connections are easier than ever because of the web. Here are some of the ways I recommend building connections:

• Create a Facebook Fan Page for your followers
• Start a Twitter account and share gigs, music and discussions
• Send out emails to local promoters and business owners for services
• Advertise your business in the local papers
• Post up flyers so people can get in touch with you
• Hand out business cards with all of your content details
• Create a phone number specific for your DJ business or services
• Get active in a local organization of DJs
• Participate on forums and get people to follow you online
• Setup your own DJ website to share your mixes and information

Most of this about creating connections, you already know. Think about how you interact with people outside of DJing and build your connections that way. Get social with people and don’t be afraid to mention that you DJ because they could be looking for someone to fill in a gig or hire. Create some kind of rolodex or spreadsheet of your contacts so you can keep up with them.

C. Creating Sales

Finally, what you’re really doing as a whole is creating sales. Now, sales doesn’t necessarily mean selling your services – think of it as selling yourself – to land the gig. You’re really promoting yourself and the attitude/skills you bring rather than just filling in. Your sales is where you get people that are following or have come in contact to say “yeah, I want them on the decks at my party”.

• Use clear contact details on your website or social networks
• Have a section specifically for your services
• Create an invoice system to process the work
• Get active on Craigslist and share your work to pull in clients
• Offer up something free for a local charity and mingle – could lead to a paid gig
• Be a regular and make the move to ask a club owner or promoter if they’d hire you
• Put out a mix CD and get you followers to buy it by tapping into your web presence

You don’t need to be sleazy when it comes to selling. I know you might feel awkward when trying to get people to pay you for what you do but remember that you do need to earn an income if you want to take this full time. No doubt, you need to treat aspects of your DJing as a business else you’re just throwing parties for free and need to hold down a regular job. Go for it all by building awareness, promoting yourself and then getting people to pay for your DJing – that’s how to take it full time!

This post is going to dig through some of those DJ books that explores the world of DJing and may offer you a tip or two about the industry as a whole.

If you’ve got a bit of extra money on hand and want to sit down and read a good book than you might like one of these:

On the Record: The Scratch DJ Academy Guide

Description: With On the Record, Scratch DJ Academy, the premiere institution for DJ education, brings together years of training and expertise to create an authoritative guide to the dynamic art of DJing.  More than just a “how-to,” this is a sonic adventure, guiding you through forty years of music, creativity, and culture.  From beat matching to body tricks, Grandmaster Flash to Fatboy Slim, the Bronx to Ibiza, On the Record is an all-in-one guide.

Find it in Paperback or Kindle Edition

The Mobile DJ Handbook: How to Start & Run a Profitable Mobile Disc Jockey Service

Description: The Mobile DJ Handbook, Second Edition continues to be an excellent guide for novice and experienced DJs looking to build a successful career as the owner-operator of a mobile disc jockey service. Complete with practical tips, expert advice, and creative strategies, this book serves as the perfect guide on how to market and sell your services as well as develop and expand your business.

Find it in Paperback or Kindle Edition

The Laptop DJ Handbook: Setups and Techniques of the Modern Performer

Description: THE LAPTOP DJ HANDBOOK presents the ever-evolving DJ world with a fresh approach to redefining what it means to be a DJ in the digital world. You’ll learn to harness all the hardware, software, and musical options available through helpful explanations, tutorials, and examples.

Find it in Paperback or Kindle Edition

DJ Skills: The essential guide to Mixing and Scratching

Description: From scratching and mixing skills to the latest trends in DVD and video mixing this book gives you access to all the tools, tips and techniques you need. Topics like hand position are taught in a completely new way, and close-up photos of famous DJ’s hands are featured. As well as the step-by-step photos the book includes an audio CD to demonstrate techniques.

Find it in Paperback or Kindle Edition

How to DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records

Description: How to DJ is the perfect guide — from the most basic keys to establishing a music collection and a distinctive sound, to elementary record-spinning, to the complex skills of scratching, hot-mixing, and beat-juggling, as well as the inimitable art of creating an evening of sound that is perfectly timed, balanced, and unforgettable.

Find it in Paperback or Kindle Edition

So, why go with a DJ book when you could just be practicing? Well, like anything – it comes down to education. If you can gain an edge over others through how the big boys got there than I think that’s a good thing especially when you’re competing with others on landing the gig. You may not want to dig through all of these books but it may be worth the investment on your bookshelf.

Sure enough, you probably already have some friends that are constantly sending you party invitations – well, this is essentially what we’re going to be talking about but on the other end where you will be setting up the promotions for your gigs, mixes and so you can build a fan base. Sound good? Let’s get going …

Get a Facebook Fan Page

There is a 5,000 friend limit on normal Facebook pages which is no good in terms of building a fan base because, in time, you will hit that limit and then no more people can follow you. Facebook saw this and so they put together Fan Pages which are nothing more than a normal profile but with the ability to add in a few extra features for building a fan base.

Although this video is a bit cheesy, it’ll take you through the process of setting up your Facebook Fan Page. There is a bit of hype and gimmicks to the video but it still shows the process which is what you’d need to work through in order to get something setup.

Link to video: http://youtu.be/bsobq2Jk6YI

I know you’re tech-savvy, you are DJing after all, so something like setting up a simple Fan Page shouldn’t be any problem but if you do get caught up, refer back to the video or check out David Sabat’s Guide to Facebook for DJ’s – he takes you through a lot of the pro’s and con’s of the different Facebook features and gives a few tips on promoting your Facebook page.

Get a Sexy Flyer

People’s attention spans are incredibly short; I’ve probably already lost half of you in this post – just as an example – so one of those all important elements of promoting DJ gigs on Facebook is to create a gig flyer that’s going to catch someone’s eyes really, really quick.

If you’re the DIY type, I suggest you check out an earlier post about which has 10 Photoshop Tutorials for Creating DJ Flyers. Of course, you don’t actually need Photoshop, you can use a free program like Gimp or use an online photo editor which can handle just about anything you throw at it.

If you aren’t DIY, than I suggest you hunt down a few local designers or ask fellow DJ’s where they are getting their flyers from. Chances are, a friend of a friend probably knows someone that understands design and is itching to work on DJ flyers – I’ve had my hand at it, it’s fun, there’s others out there that are the same.

The flyer is what’s going to get people to take notice immediately. You have the title and link and everything but nothing stands out more than a picture on Facebook – remember, short attention span, etc etc. Grab them quick with something that looks hot and you’ll get them over to your event or fan page.

Share Great DJ Mixes

Perhaps the best way to promote yourself as a DJ, on Facebook, is to share your DJ mixes (or others you’ve found to be really great). People are following you because they want the music; they don’t necessarily want to hear what you had for breakfast or some broken relationship status poem – give em what they want, give em music.

Use websites like Soundcloud and Mixcloud to upload your mixes so you can easily share them on your Facebook pages. In fact, you can even embed some of these onto your Fan Page using some of the widgets; you could create a page solely dedicated to something like “mix of the month” or something like that.

Upload a Video to Facebook

I’ve talked before about using Youtube to promote DJs but, as you know, Facebook also has video sharing which is perfect for sharing some of your mixes, party videos and more.

A local crew where I’m at is always uploading the latest videos from the parties they throw. What it does, from people’s reactions, is get them talking about the music, the parties and the fact that they can’t wait til the next one.

If you’re doing gigs, setup a video camera and record it. If anything, you could rip the audio and upload the live mix but you can also take advantage of the video so people can be a part of the experience if they didn’t get to go.

To go even more hardcore, you could upload videos as the nights go on within your Fan Page so that if someone is 50/50 on going to the party and see the video, they’d be all over it. You could also do this with streaming video from UStream and let people watch the party unfold live!

Take some Event Pictures

Pictures get people talking, plain and simple. Facebook is great at facial recognition so it’s a great way promote your gigs by uploading event pictures and then tagging people that showed up. The people getting tagged will come over and talk about the event and their friends will see the good time they had and may join in next time.

Hire a photographer to take great pictures of the gigs or just ask people to upload their shots after the party is over. You’ll find that people are easily on board with sharing their experiences and this is a great way to get some excellent feedback on the gig and get people talking about the next.

Final Thoughts

We live in the information age; you no longer need to send out thousands of mixtapes and demos to get people interested in your music or parties. With a simple upload, you could create an event page for the next gig in a few minutes and have people ready to go months in advanced. Facebook is pretty awesome for promotion; you already know it so use it to get your name out there!

In-Ear Headphones: The Important Factors

In-Ear headphones fall under a lot of names: in-ear monitors, IEM’s, ear buds; whatever you call them, you’re probably reading this because you don’t want the bulkiness of over-the-ear models because you need them to be portable.

Another crowd of you may also already know about the sound fidelity of IEM’s because of how close you’re placing the audio to your ears – they are, after all, inside your ears.

Here are a few things to consider when buying in-ear headphones:

Comfort – Some IEM’s use plastic for their form which can be very uncomfortable over long periods of time. I recommend that you find a pair that is either rubberized, foam or some kind of flexible synthetic material so you don’t get that dreaded itchiness from having them in your ears for hours on end.

Seal – To get the most amount of bass, you need to make sure that the in-ear headphones have a tight seal when they sit inside your ear canal; this reduces air escaping and puts that bass right to your ear drum – you can certainly tell the difference when you find a great pair that perfectly fits your ear.

Price – Price is always a factor and the reason for this post. The most common earbuds are the ones you’d find with Apple products (iPods, etc) but these are rather low end but hey, they’re free. On the steep side, you could pay hundreds of dollars for IEM’s if you’re an audiophile. I say, for the average person, a good mid-range model is more than enough and won’t break your budget.

Sound Quality – Like any music gear, always look at what the earbuds bring to the table. Check the dynamic range, frequencies and stats so you know you’re getting great sound and it’s not intentionally clipping your music or cutting out the low end.

Overall, the design, comfort ability, price and sound quality of in-ear headphones have been on the rise over the last few years because of portable MP3 players like the iPod – this is a good thing for all of us. Even though you may not use them on the go, in-ear headphones are an excellent selection if you do not want something heavy sitting on your head like over-the-ear headphones.

Now let’s look at some of the in-ear headphones I would recommend under $150 …

The Best In-Ear Headphones

Sennheiser CX 500-B

Price: $24 – $33

See the Sennheiser CX 500-B Reviews

Bose IE2

Price: $58 – $100

See the Bose IE2 Reviews

Klipsch IMAGE S4-WH

Price: $61 – $80

See the Klipsch IMAGE S4-WH Reviews

Sennheiser CX 880

Price: $77 – $110

See the Sennheiser CX 880 Reviews

Monster Turbine

Price: $60 – $95

See the Monster Turbine Reviews

Sennheiser IE6

Price: $110 – $250

See the Sennheiser IE6 Reviews

Shure SE215-K

Price: $100 – $200

See the Shure SE215-K Reviews

Bose TriPort

Price: $57 – $60

See the Bose TriPort Reviews

Sony MDREX310LP

Price: $50 – $80

See the Sony MDREX310LP Reviews

Logitech Ultimate Ears 600

Price: $74 – $80

See the Logitech Ultimate Ears 600 Reviews

Beats by Dr. Dre (IEMs)

Price: $49 – $150

See the Beats by Dr. Dre Reviews

Optional Headphone Accessories

Before you go, I wanted to also make a suggestion of getting a headphone amp. Headphone amps are just like you expect, they amplify the sound much like you’d do through studio and PA speakers. These are great additions to get even more value out of your headphones because it truly picks up on your ability to get involved with the music – I have an amp and I’m able to hear a whole different level of small details in the music that I didn’t know was there.

Headphone amps are generally inexpensive and require you to take up a bit of extra space; you probably won’t be carrying these around but they are great for those that are really into their music.

Here are some of my suggestions for headphone amps:

• Behringer HA400 :: Price: $40
• FiiO E5 :: Price: $18
• Pyle-Pro PHA40 :: Price: $20

These are great little starters but don’t forget that they do go higher end if you’re looking for even more sound quality – you could end up spending $200 on a headphone amp at some point which may be totally worth it – give em a shot.

Final Thoughts

I think in-ear headphones can be a great addition to your music listening equipment. The cheap earbuds you find at most big box stores are fairly basic, you’re missing out on a lot of your music and you’re sacrificing a lot of comfortability.

If you have trouble, take a look at this guide to choosing headphones which should dig a bit deeper into some of the things worth considering when picking up a pair.

Other than that, I hope you enjoyed the post and hope you find what you’re looking for!