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!

Hell, I remember running out of food within the first day of a festival and left to trade beers for supplies by the second. In all, you have a kick ass time but every time you come back, you always want to make sure the next time is a little easier for ya.

This is my collection of the twenty helpful tips to survive a music festival.

Tip 1: Start Small

Above all else, be smart about what you’re doing before, during and after the music festival. Obviously, there are situations that are going to be illegal so be smart about that, be aware that there are undercover people at the larger events, be aware that sometimes they put up roadblocks and even that there are shady people that come to the events. All-in-all, use your noggin’.

Tip 2: Bring Extra, Extra Clothing

Look at how much clothes you are bringing and then add about twice as much. Festivals are dirty and you’ll find that you run out of clothing pretty quick when you start to get really sweaty or the random rip occurs on your shirt. You can keep going but it’s always nice to have an actual change of clothes especially when you’re partying on farm land where you’re going to be stepping in shit.

Tip 3: Get Plenty of Money

Festivals are expensive. Yes, hippies show up and get by no problem but they’re hippies – you’re more likely going to need extra money for the little things that you’ve forgot, food when you run out or to buy the essentials once you’re there. It’s always good to have a bit of money in the event you need it.

Enjoy it best, with friends

Try to go with your friends. Not only will you have a good time being around the people you like but it will create a good community to be around especially when things get a little out of control. I’ve been to a festival by myself and it can be troubling when things are sketchy; it’s always good to have a friend or two there to ground ya.

Tip 5: Expect the Unexpected

Take all the thoughts you have about a particular festival and throw them out the door. If you haven’t been to a festival than you really can’t understand the amount of things going on once you’re there. The best piece of advice I can give you is to just be ready to have everything you know blown out the door. You’re going to see weird and cool people, watch mind blowing acts and be temporarily out of any type of civilized society for a little while so just throw out the expectations and roll with it.

Tip 6: Stay Cool at All Times

Don’t become an ass at the festival just because you don’t know people. Don’t push people around and freak out when something is uncomfortable; take everything with a grain of salt and keep things cool. People are there to have fun – don’t be the dick that ruins it for everyone.

Tip 7: Don’t Go Overboard

Don’t take it too far. You’re going to have the opportunity to do a lot of things at the festival – some legal, some illegal – but always keep your head straight if you partake. There’s nothing worse than someone losing their cool and freaking out – keep things within your control if you can; if things start to slip, seek out your friends.

Tip 8: Bring More than One Cooler

One cooler isn’t enough to last you through the festival especially when you get into a giving mood and hand out all your beer to the cool people around you. Bring an extra cooler with supplies so you can barter with people and be generous; you’ll be happy you have extra when you run out of the supplies.

Try to find your tent now

Don’t skimp out on your tent, please. I’ve been to festivals with cheap, $30 tents and believe me, they suck. Pony up the money and buy something worthwhile, something that can survive some extreme conditions because the weather changes all the time and nothings worse than being soaking wet, freezing cold and dirty as hell in a cheap ass tent.

Tip 10: Be Careful

Be safe about what you’re doing. I don’t need to remind you about this but use your common sense. Don’t be climbing up trees when you’re drunk or starting fights. Don’t walk away from the festival with injuries; not only are you going to ruin it for your friends but it’s going to kill your good time.

Tip 11: Don’t be Stupid

Also, don’t be stupid. Don’t pick fights with people because they did something silly. Don’t steal from people. Don’t crash their buzz or call out people. In short, don’t be an asshole. Everyone is there to have a good time but there are always a few people that try to ruin it. There’s nothing worse than feeling on top of the world than someone to come up and rip into you for no apparent reason. Accept everyone and don’t be some jackass.

Tip 12: Bring the Little Things

Don’t forget to bring the little things like batteries for flash lights or extra tampons for the ladies. You’ll find some basics at a festival and you may be able to run to a store but some festivals lock you in once you make your way inside. You could always barter if you need something so bring those little things that most people will forget.

Tip 13: Don’t Do Everything

Don’t try to do everything if the festival is massive. Pick an artist you really enjoy and make the sacrifice to see them even though there may be another favorite artist playing in a different area. You won’t be able to see everything and do everything at a festival so it’s best to just maximize what you are doing and enjoy it – rather than bouncing all over the place and never really getting into the moment.

Special, special peoples

Break out of your little social barrier and start interacting with people. Walk up, kick up conversations, sit down at a tent, give people a cig, share a beer with someone – do social things! The people you meet at festivals aren’t your normal run-of-the-mill bunch, you probably won’t see them again but you’ll have some amazing conversations when you can.

Tip 15: Be One with Nature

Embrace the dirtiness that is nature. Don’t be afraid to get messy and dirty as hell. People aren’t at a festival to look good – they’re there to have a good time and sometimes that means not exactly taking care of everyday habits like showering and using the bathroom in proper places. Respect nature, don’t litter but blend in – don’t fight what you can’t control.

Tip 16: Bring Backup Tickets

If possible, get a couple copies of your tickets or confirmation for when you’re going. Nothing’s worse than buying a ticket at the last minute and the organizers scramble to find your name (it’s happened before after driving to a festival nearly 8 hours away). Print out the tickets or the receipt of the festival if you buy the tickets online – don’t expect to get tickets at the gate if it’s a big one.

Tip 17: Don’t “Just Deal With It”

If something bad happens such as an overdose or a major injury, don’t just “deal with it” and keep going because you have to realize that people are in real danger – it could be your friend or it could be a complete stranger. People are going to be so out of their minds that people skip over the basic care for themselves and others; don’t risk serious injury and trauma just to “stick it out” – be smart.

Tip 18: Set a Meeting Point

Try to always let your group know where a general “meeting point” may be in the event that you get lost because you’re too far out of your mind. Sure, the tent is a good place to meet up but sometimes that can be extremely difficult when there are thousands of similar looking tents around you. Set something like “the main stage on the left by the giant squid statue” or something like that – this way you know where to go if you need help or if you want to meet back up.

Tip 19: Stay Hydrated

You’re going to have a lot to drink during the festival and not much of that is going to be water. You can’t survive on beer at the rate you’re going at festivals if you’re constantly dancing and running around because you’ll dehydrate. Every once-in-a-while, drink a bit of water just to balance out everything else you’ve put into your body.

Tip 20: Don’t Plan

Ha! The last one on the list basically negates a good majority of this post. Festivals are completely unique each year so there’s no real reason to do some extensive planning for them like you would a family vacation. Use your common sense when you’re going, bring essentials and just go – nothing is going to work out the way you plan it so don’t worry about it!

Final Thoughts

I’ve gone to my share of music festival and can honestly say that they are some of the most enjoyable moments of my life. There are times when things were amazing and others where I felt doomed; in all, they all had their own unique feel and were totally worth it in the end.

I know, from going, that I try to be prepared but it rarely happens. There’s not much you can do once you’re in the gate so try to be smart about what you bring in and how you’re going to survive for the duration of the festival. If things go up or down, take em in stride and enjoy the ride.

If interested, you could always read this cool book on Music Festivals; gives a nice look at the music culture we all love.

What we’ll be using is Photoshop but you can certainly use a program such as GIMP or an editor website like Pixlr.com to get the job done.

I’m not gonna say that this is going to be the prettiest logo design but I hope that it gets your mind going into what you’d like if you get one professionally done for your DJ business cards, flyers or whatever else you may be putting your name on.

Let’s make this simple, with lots of pictures, easy text and to the point:

Step 1: Open Photoshop and create a 600px by 300px work area.

Step 2: Snag a good font and type in your DJ name.

If you need some free fonts, visit DaFont.com and install them to your ‘font’ directory on your computer.

Step 3: Right Click and select the Blending Options.

The blending options will let you play around with the design of the object (your text/name) so you can change the color, outline and everything. Play with the features in this area until you find something that fits your own style.

Step 4: Add some stylization to your DJ name

For the design I was doing for ‘DJ Muxx’, I did:

• Inner Shadow > Distance: 1 > Size: 1 > Color: Black
• Inner Glow > Color: Gray
• Gradient Overlay > Dark Gray to Mid Gray
• Stroke > Color: Black > Size: 10px

These are all really simple DIY elements that I picked up from doing web design but overall, it came out halfway decent even if it’s a placeholder for now. I suggest that you play around with it or hand it off to a designer friend to have them critique the look – they could maybe touch it up for you.

Step 5: Export it

Here’s the result when I saved the file. I also recommend that you save the PSD so you can easily make edits to it down the line without having to work with a JPEG or PNG image – makes it easier.

Conclusion

Welp, this wasn’t the most robust guide but it’s straight and to the point. If you don’t have the money to hire a designer do to the DJ logo for your business and name than you could always do it yourself using some of these tips otherwise, pony up a bit of money and have it professionally done. Hope this helps!

Is becoming a DJ about your age or can you become a successful DJ when you’re already over 30 or over 40 years of age?

When are you too old to think about becoming a DJ? What are the best tips and what steps do you need to take to get there?

These are the questions that I get regularly. Often, these questions come from guys and sometimes girls who dream of DJing and of making people feel good, but are concerned that their age will mean they won’t be accepted.

There is always the worry that when you’re DJing, your crowd will be full of 18-20 year olds who will judge you on your age, your looks and the tunes you play.

This can happen. In fact, anything in the world can happen. Anywhere. At any time.

DJing Is All About The Music

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it as many times as you like. DJing is all about the music you play.

Digital DJs voice similar concern about becoming a DJ. They sometimes think (less and less now) that DJing using MP3s and a laptop with a controller will mean that people will judge them. After all, there are a number of reasons why various people dislike digital DJing.

Some forms of DJing do look cooler than others, that is the opinion of many people. But time and time again, if you cook up a great set, make people feel blissfully happy and know just how to read a dance floor then you’ll get respect from each and every party animal, clubber or bar drinker in the house.

If you’ve ever been clubbing and had a great time, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Dancing to DJ music that just hits the spot and makes you feel incredibly good is a fantastic natural high.

If you can get people high on the music, then no one cares about your age.

Want some proof?

I know of a couple of successful DJs in Paris. One of these guys is definitely over 50 and the other is over 40. Only one of these guys had any DJing experience at all, ever before starting to DJ out just a few years ago.

Now, you may think their music is crap or you may love it. But regardless of that, these guys play in loads of great clubs in Paris, the most visited capital city in the world.

They have a following and people who turn up for their gigs adore them. Check out more of their youtube vids and try to catch a glimpse of them. They don’t look like male models and they aren’t spring chickens either.

Don’t tell me you wouldn’t love to play at the best clubs in Paris like them! Their age hasn’t stopped them from doing well at DJing and there’s no reason that it should stop you either.

Now ask yourself: if they are old and can do it, can you do it? YES! Of course you can.

Advice for older DJs

You know that some DJs (like Amercian DJ Paulie) get a strong and loyal following because they also look great. Their audience is mainly made of young, impressionable teenage girls.

Some hot girl DJs play on their great looks and they are right to do so, because they are gorgeous and make men drool. Girl DJs are sexy.

But we can’t all suddenly become sexy and get people following us around.

Most DJs need to work on other aspects of their unique sound and image to get some kind of following and some well paid, higher profile club gigs.

Create your DJ image

If you’re a bit older than the average DJ, then you’ll need to work on some way to stand out. A style that fits with the music you play will relate to the people you play to.

Often, older DJs are respected because they have a great back catalogue of tunes. They have arms that reach so deeply into their record box that no young DJ can possibly know what’s going on. This is a massive advantage when it comes to becoming a DJ and getting cool gigs.

Older guys may know their 60s and 70s tunage like the back of their hand for example. They may be an 80s music fanatic or a jazz and blues freak.

Young people love older music as loads of tunes produced nowadays are shouts to music from the past. Music trends come back every twenty years or so, just like fashion does.

So if you can dress like the style of music you play, people will love you more for it, no matter how old you are. Playing rock and indie? Dress like a rock dude. You are one after all.

Playing acid house from 1988-1989? Look the part and find your acid clothes from 1990s raves in the UK.

The beat goes on…

Create a Unique DJ Sound

In case you hadn’t guessed, the guys in the above video have a very unique DJ sound. No one copies their sound because they simply don’t know enough about it.

But these guys got successful in becoming a DJ fast because they stood out from a crowd of guys trying to play trendy tunes that trendy people liked. Becoming a DJ successfully is about far more than playing the latest cool tunes.

There are far too many guys jumping on the latest bandwagon of trendy music that is the latest fad. When people in clubs suddenly decide that they don’t like this style anymore, these guys fade into the dust again.

By creating a unique DJ sound, you’ll associate your crowd with you and improve your following.

How do you do it? You concentrate on what you know and push that sound out. You’ll have very little competition as most DJs are too busy copying each other and fighting to get the same gigs.

Don’t become a DJ who follows others. Your superior knowledge on your music niche is a massive bonus. Use it to your advantage and reach out with what you know and the music that surrounds it.

Take people on a musical adventure and they won’t care a bit about how old you are. Becoming a DJ will be a breeze and far easier than you thought at first.

Becoming a DJ and rocking the house is about far more than just your age.

Matt Challands is a British DJ living in Paris, France. He’s one half of electro duo Sao Paulo Punks or running his DJ blog

DJ games are hit and miss but there are some out there, on the web and offline, which are worth checking out if you have the time.

Turntable.fm

Turntable.fm isn’t exactly a DJ game as it’s more of a website where you can take turns playing songs for people in the crowd. The site is setup so you can make an account, build a fan base and play music to people in your own hubs. You can even join up with other people in larger hubs that have a ton of people; hell, some of the DJ’s on the site has begun to make a name for themselves – even big named DJ’s have checked out the website and played a few tracks of their own.

Check it out: Turntable.fm.

I tried out Turntable.fm and it’s pretty enjoyable. You take turns playing songs and people can rate the track; if it’s no good than it automatically jumps to the next person. Overall, it feels like a game and doesn’t do much in terms of learning to DJ but it’s still fun to hang around, chat with people and listen to tunes – it can help you find new tracks while you’re at it!

DJ Hero 2

DJ Hero came out and was hit and miss with most people because it didn’t quite give you the feel of actual DJing and video game players didn’t care for the style compared to the massive Guitar Hero franchise that was rolling at the same time. However, DJ Hero 2 came along and did upgrades that give you better flexibility on your mixing, greater selection of tracks and multiplayer mode.

Check it out: DJ Hero 2 on Amazon.

I haven’t had the chance to play the DJ Hero games but they look worth the shot if you have some money to spare. Just like the Guitar Hero games, you’re not going to get the full DJ experience but you’re going to get a video game – leisurely play, ya know? You can’t really expect to learn how to DJ with this DJ game but that’s beside the point; you’re just having fun with it.

Beatmania

If you can find it, Beatmania is a really interesting game that pulls together button mashing and DJ mixing for the PS2. The game revolves around you playing music like you would with Guitar Hero; you press buttons when you need which will create the sound but there are also moments where you need to do the scratching for other parts.

Check it out: Beatmania on Amazon.

I had this game when it first got release and I can say that it was pretty enjoyable. Friends and I would go back and forth trying our best at some of the songs; it’s very different from actual DJing since it’s just a game but you did get into it after a while. The Beatmania Bundle is a little expensive but it’s still a fun DJ game if you have some cash and time away from the real thing.

DJ Games – Worth It?

Welllll, if you asked me, DJ games are hit and miss and they don’t really add to your skill. However, since they’re video games they can be fun and great to let loose when you don’t really feel like mixing your own tracks or if you’d like to play to real people in your off-time such as with Turntable.fm.

I’d say check out DJ games if you have a bit of money to spare and you’ve got a lot of free time on your hands otherwise just practice the real thing since that’s what truly matters.

Live video is the perfect way to get people into your music and show off yourself; you can get your name and music out there. Best part? You can do it for free with the live streaming video site: UStream.

Step 1a: Get a UStream Account

Visit UStream and click on the ‘Go Live!’ button on the top right (rather than login, at this time, so you can read some good info on setting up). Once you have the overview of UStream, click on the ‘Sign Up’ link at the top right. Signing up gives you the general options you find on most websites: name, password, email, captcha code and more, blah blah blah. Finish setting up your basic information (finding friends, etc) and then move on to …

Step 1b: Setup your Account

Once you’re in, and before you start, click on the ‘Account Settings’ so you can upload an avatar and biography to your account. This is a good time to get this out of the way so people can learn more about you. You can also take this time to link your Facebook or Twitter accounts in the ‘Account Settings’.

Step 2: Setup your UStream Channel

Next, click on the yellow ‘Create Channel’ button under your user name. Fill in the name of your channel, name it something interesting so people remember it. Next, fill in the category (probably Music – Electronic), tags for your channel (electronic music, DJ, [DJ Name], etc), upload a picture and then also the ‘about’ section so people can know more about your channel.

Remember: Try to brand everything you do; be congruent with your images and wording because you don’t want to send mixed messages – keep everything the same between your website, stream, social media profiles and more because you want people to easily find and identify you.

Step 3: Start your Broadcast

Now that you’ve got your profile and channel setup, it’s time to get broadcasting!

UStream will automatically detect a web cam connected to your computer after you’ve accepted the terms; you should see yourself show up almost immediately on the screen. You’ll see a lot of options you can fiddle with such as the video and audio source (you will most likely change this for your mixer input), viewer options, chat boxes and other features that help brand and let people interact with your channel – all of these are great for getting people engaged and talking about your DJing.

The most important item to do is hooking up your mixer to your computer. To do so, you’d run the sound out of the mixer to a sound card on your PC. Afterward, you’d select the option in the ‘Audio Device’ to pull from your mixer.

After you’re all setup; it’s only a matter of selecting ‘Start Broadcast’ and you’re good to go!

Bonus: Record Videos

UStream also gives you the option to record your broadcast which can be very helpful if you’d like to save your performance to upload on your website or to even reshare it on Youtube. Once you have video, you have a lot of control – you could even rip the audio and then upload that to one of the music sharing websites for even more exposure.

Not Sure about Video?

I’m pretty comfortable with video because I learned video production in high school but I know a lot of you are probably don’t have a ton of experience when it comes to video editing and production. Likewise, once you have video you can begin promoting yourself if you know how to use it right.

There are a lot of great Video Production Tutorials (link) that can take you through the process of it all; it’s about $100 bucks but it’s a pretty good investment considering you can promote yourself, as a DJ, and you could even use the knowledge down the line when it comes to recording the parties you’re throwing or attending. It’s your choice, thought it would be helpful.

Final Thoughts

In all, live streaming video gives you a lot of control over promoting yourself online AND it can be really fun since you’re showing off your DJ skills and interacting with your fans – it’s much more involved than just uploading a video to Youtube and then responding to comments, ya know?

It’ll take a little bit to get setup but once you’re up and running, there’s not much else to it other than getting on camera and rockin’ the decks. Good luck!

Here’s something you don’t hear a lot of people asking but is certainly on their mind: how can I get motivated to start DJing and stay inspired until I’m successful?

Getting Motivated to Learn to DJ

The ‘secret’ to motivation really isn’t a secret, at all. The main point I’d like to convey is that it’s really all about getting into the right mindset so you can focus on the essentials that will push you further than what a lot of people fail at.

Here are a few ways to get motivated to learn to DJ:

Set a Goal – Get definitive with your goal of learning to DJ; tell yourself exactly how many weeks or months you’re going to push yourself for learning mixing and getting a promo mix out there. Set something like 6 months (something reasonable) and then mark down how much you’ll be working toward learning to DJ within that time frame. Having a definitive goal will push you hard toward completing what you want instead of lazily working toward something that could stretch years.

Get Hyped – Get hyped about starting DJing; look at a couple of videos of your favorite DJ’s playing a crowd our head off to a club or music festival so you can not only get in a good time but see how fun DJing can be – all of this can help get you hyped up and charged to start DJing.

Do Something, Everyday – Don’t take days off when it comes to practicing your DJing. Do something every day that will get you closer to understanding what it takes to be a DJ or put in some time to practice your mixing or putting together mixes. Motivation is a lot about momentum; the more you can put toward doing something the better you’re off at keeping up with it.

Get pumped about DJing, ya know? Take a look at how fun DJing can be and where it will take you if you become successful; imagine traveling the world, playing music and going to clubs as your job. Keep thinking this all the time so you’re always in the good mindset of getting it done.

Get Inspired to Learn to DJ

Being motivated works well for keeping up with DJing and getting beyond the basics but those just starting out may find it slightly difficult to feel inspired because, after all, DJing takes a lot of work and time. So, I’d like to share a few things that will get you inspired to DJ …

Watch DJ Videos – Take a look through Youtube and find videos of DJ footage; these videos can do wonders when you’re feeling a little stressed about DJing because you’ll not only get the music you love but see the kind of lifestyle you could have.

Read DJ Stuff – Browse around blogs, like this one, or pick up a book about the DJ life. Sure, you’re reading a book and not really DJing but it can bring on great inspiration when you read about the wild times a DJ had while partying and traveling around.

Have a Talk – Talk with DJ’s around your area on Facebook or Twitter. Ask them questions about DJing and the lifestyle they live; their words can spring up a lot of inspiration for you to get started as well. Keep up to date with what’s going on in the DJ world by asking those that are also interested; do it every day and you can pick up a lot of inspiration from the people around you.

Inspiration really comes from getting off your ass and telling yourself that you’re going to get started. I can’t say for sure that you’re going to ever get around to DJing but there are a lot of ways that can lead you to doing so. The real point I’m trying to make, with this post, is to simply get started above anything else – pick up gear – get the basics down – rule the dance floor.