Five Tips for Landing High-Paying DJ Gigs

DJing in your bedroom doesn’t mean that you’re going to land that all important first gig let alone ones that are going to pay enough so you can leave your day job.

There’s a lot more to DJing, as a profession, that you need to learn in order to leave your job and take DJing full-time.

Tip 1: DJing is your Business

If you’re trying to make DJing into something that supports you than you have to look at it from a business perspective. A DJ that doesn’t take care of their finances and just “wings it” may get by but it’s going to be extremely difficult especially when things start to pick up.

Treat your DJing as your business right from the get-go. Still have fun but remember that you’re trying to create a profession that’s going to be replacing your day job. You aren’t going to take it far enough to do it full-time if you’re not making enough money because you can’t handle the business end of your new profession.

Tip 2: Promotion is Essential

In order to get those high-paying DJ gigs you’ll need to promote yourself so you can get your name out to those that are willing to pay. There are countless, great artists that never go beyond the local circuit because they don’t do enough promotion to allow them any further.

Get your name out there in any way that you can. Get on the web and create a DJ website. Put your flyer up around the local club scene. Hand out business cards to businesses related to your industry. Keep asking for referrals and remember that every time you talk to people it will give you an opportunity to promote your business.

Tip 3: Build your Fan Base

DJing is a solo business (usually); this means that everything is up to you. You’re going to the person behind the decks. The one promoting your business. The one setting up the equipment and much more. This means that when you’re busy, sleeping or away from the “business” end of your profession there isn’t much that you can do about landing those high-paying gigs …

Except … your fan base can do it for you. Creating a fan base means that you have people that are going to talk about you, promote you and attend your gigs. Once you have a solid fan base you will be able to land those higher paying gigs simply because your name is spreading like wild-fire. Play well enough; put on a great show and your biggest fans will hype you whenever they have the chance.

Tip 4: Don’t sell yourself Short

The worst decision you can do, as a business owner, is sell yourself short. If someone is readily paying $1000 for wedding DJ gigs than there’s no reasons to undercut everyone down to $500.

Sure, you need to be competitive with your rates but if you cut your prices too low you won’t make enough money to sustain. Avoid cutting yourself short and use your fan base, talent and past experiences to ensure that people are willing to pay for you based on what you have to offer.

Tip 5: Learn to say No

Learning to say no is one of the most important parts of owning your own business. Sure, you could take a gig for half the price but then if that person comes back to you in the future they will always expect your rates to be rock bottom.

You could bring something more to the table and educate your clients about why it’s better to hire you at a premium price rather than playing a pricing war with other DJ’s. Don’t sell yourself short. If you go too low in prices, all the time, than you’re not going to make enough money to sustain yourself and you’ll never be able to leave your day job.

DJing is certainly a business once you leave your bedroom and take it full-time. If you treat your DJing like a hobby than you’re going to be paid accordingly; if it’s a business than you can take it much higher which directly results in better pay. It’s up to you; you can still have fun, play the music you love and get the gigs you want but you can take the one extra step to do it for enough that it’ll give you full freedom.