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Topic: Bedroom DJs....... GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRR........

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At my residency (7 years) the club owner brought in "bedroom DJs" some months ago to try and boost numbers. After a couple of weeks working alongside me he gave some of them a Saturday night where I would not be required. He took 3 nights per month off me which meant I had to go and find Saturday work elsewhere, still work there Fridays. This is my only income.

None of these so called "DJs" have a microphone or even headphones as they are using a pirate version of VDJ and outputting via the headphone socket direct into the club mixer. They are mixing by using loops, the sync button and the laptop finger pad!!! Could the developers please create a remote control that can disable the SYNC button??? That could be fun lol……….

The 3 nights are;
1. NRG, hardstyle/gabber
2. Evolve, big room House
3. Circ Loco, fire breathers, stilt walkers, 4 DJs (mainly Skrillex type dub step)

3. was dropped 2 months ago as it was so rubbish, nobody liked it and the numbers got worse.
1. initially brought lots in but successive months saw the numbers drop back to their initial level. After a couple of months break it's back next month.

Then we come to 2 which was on last night. I did a wedding gig nearby and decided to call in on my way home to see what these guys were doing. To my surprise they were playing the same tunes as I do on a Friday night!!! Eh??? Didn't hear any "Big Room House" at all, it was Commercial Chart & Rave. I was fuming as they have taken work away from me by "conning" the owner who doesn't understand the different styles of music. They also fill in the other Saturday nights between "Event" nights. I can't get my Saturdays back now because of them, which is very frustrating. At a guess they are probably working for less money than me. I suspect that the owner is keeping me on to use me for Bank Holidays and other special nights like Christmas & New Year as I am Professional and can use the microphone properly.

After my experience at the wedding gig last night I am now seriously looking at going mobile on Saturdays. I made such an impression the venue staff were asking me if I can do their Staff Christmas Party!!! The wedding party were giving me lots of cheers and whistles at the end of the night as they'd had such a great night, I was amazed at the reaction. They were shouting "DJ Les, DJ Les, DJ Les", ha ha ha, I felt like a superstar DJ. The guy I worked for had a pair of speakers, powered mixer and only 5 digital lights. When I told him I had my own mixer he put an amplifier in and bypassed the powered mixer. I used the XLR outputs off my Denon MC6000 direct into the amplifier and it sounded amazing. I have a pair of Mackie SRM450s and stands all I need is a few lights. I would eventually get Screens organised as I like doing video. Biggest problem is transport, I only have a 2 seater BMW Z3 sportscar which has been up for sale for 6 weeks. Once I get more suitable transport I shall be looking for mobile gigs, if I get enough I may even leave the club scene after 36 years as a club DJ.

http://www.djles.co.uk
 
Posted Sun 22 Sep 13 @ 4:15 am
The town centre scene is a shadow of it's former self, any numpty with a laptop can potentially steal a decent gig these days. Compared to the "good old days", very little investment of time or money is needed to get set up, which inevitably brings a lot of chancers into the scene. Mobile/corporate gigs are where the safe money is now - you can't illegally download a PA and lighting rig! ;)
 
I could take of that for you, and it will only cost two round trip tickets, overnight stay at a nice hotel, and a lapdance. You just need an alibi.
 
I feel you on this topic we have someone around my area Northern Indiana and he got ahold of someone hardup for money that got rid of there Harddrive for some cash and then that dumba@# sold copies of it for some major cash and mainly bar owners so then the bar owner says that he has all his own equipment all you have to do is showup and play what people want to hear no controller or anything just a laptop and a mixer and pirated version of VDJ and so you have limited selection here and I told one bar owner that called me and I said I am not a bedroom DJ thanks thou he crapped when I told him how much u charge he says that is rediculous (he wanted to pay 50.00 for 9:00 to 1:30) all you do is play music and I explaine know I beatmatch the music together so there is never no deadair bhe crin and he just thinks it is foolish people don't care they just wna hear the song to dance all you have to do is use the automix on the sidebar of VDJ and I just said well you pay for what you get you want a Chevette that is what you get when you could afford a Corvette give me a call if you change your mine I wish I could get the Moran in trouble about him just duplicating hardrives of music that cost me lots of time and money
 
NEVER snitch!!!....ffs.....Just make ur product BETTER. Then they CANNOT IGNORE U
 
Snitch is a term I attribute to low life criminals, that think there is honor among thieves. If I catch someone coming out of my neighbors house, I will dial 911, apprehend them, and show up in court to confront them. I do agree with improving your game.
 
jusblaze246 wrote :
NEVER snitch!!!....ffs.....Just make ur product BETTER. Then they CANNOT IGNORE U


I am a Professional full Video DJ with over 6,700 videos. I have had a subscription with Promo Only for nearly 6 years with over 100 new legit videos every month. My product is WAY BETTER than these "bedroom DJs".

The owner doesn't care, he even said to me that he didn't care if these kids were sh*t he just wanted bodies through the door. The idea was for them to bring their friends & family to support them to bring new trade and possibly gain new regular customers. Initially they had a small effect, however, after a few weeks the numbers dropped back to the same or less than before. In the long term it didn't have the desired effect, in fact, some of the Saturdays are worse than before, but, these kids have their foot in the door and I can't get my Saturdays back. The annoying thing is they are not doing what they promised music wise. After conning their way in they are now playing the same music as I am (pirated off the internet with pirated software) but without the Video....... and no doubt they are working for a lot less money than I am. It's a hobby for them, it's my livelihood, my only income.

Checkout my website below;

http://www.djles.co.uk
 
Les,

As you say it's a hobby. At some point they will get bored. Realise that they can no longer go out with friends on a Saturday night, go to a party, get sh@t faced, etc. They will soon realise they have "responsibilities", then they will run a mile!!

Happened to me at my spot on the Pier (you've been there). I was replaced by two "kids" who got paid half of what I got paid between them. They were house DJ's and the manager who had just taken over had plans to turn it in to a house club (where it started and had already failed).

To give these guys their dues. They played off of CD and had beatport subscriptions. But after just a few weeks, one or the other would show up, one night neither showed up and I got the call. I wasn't up to anything but made it sound like I was busy. He doubled my fee for that night, so I went it.

Soon after it happened again, this time I was working elsewhere so had to decline. I got a earful of abuse, but it wasn't my problem - he had let me go.

Anyway, that week I got a call to go in and see him. He obviously wanted to ask me back, I managed to secure a 50% rise, was able to honour my private/mobile bookings and arrange who covered for me, not him.

I may have struck lucky, not sure I'd get away with that today though.

I'm hoping they let this owner down soon and in a big way. Only then will he realise (well hopefully). Although it may take him a few of these DJ's to let him down before he realises...

I'm happy to be out the club scene now. In my local area, every bar/club is competing for the same crowd playing the same stuff. There is no variety and only a select few of the DJ's really have a clue. I get stopped in the street and told how bad the DJ's are, but people still go to these places - cos there aren't any alternatives. So the owners/managers have no reason to change or do anything different - why should they?

Les, mobile is harder work, but much more rewarding. You will still have good/bad nights, and in most cases you won't be home any earlier than you would from a club night ;-)

With your skills and expertise, I would focus on the higher paying corporate nights - one where you can use all your skills.

Cheers,

Roy
 
As an ex pro i think the problem is with people relying on DJing as a main source of income, in a perfect world but unfortunately there will always be chavs wanting to work for free. Times have changed, fee DJ software, free downloads, budget laptops/used laptops lol, ebay etc. The business model doesn't work anymore!

My father and I had a conversation about this the other day, he said when he was young he had a stall on a market that used to cost £2.50 a day and he used to take £200 a day in sales. Now that same stall is £45 a day and you'd be lucky to do £200 a day, things change.

I've been selling off gear for the last 3 years, sold 60k's worth, got rid of vehicles etc. To be honest I'm happier now, not nice working for nothing.
 
jusblaze246 wrote :
NEVER snitch!!!....ffs.....Just make ur product BETTER. Then they CANNOT IGNORE U



People keep saying that. Clubs in the big city do not care about a better product. Everyone plays the same music in the club scene. Promoters and owners are not concerned about product. If they were, their first question would not be "how many people can you bring?" In the early and mid 90's. Owners and promoters actually went out and check out DJs and listen to their mixes. Now they just wanna see how many facebook friends you got. Any college kid with money for a cheap controller can sync their way into a club nowadays. It doesn't matter if they only last a few weeks, cause there are 100+ wanna be laptop sync jockeys behind him with 1000 FB friends he can market to waiting to take his or her place. They will book 4-6 DJs in a 4-5hr time the club is open. Require them to bring people in. The club owner/promoter reaps the benefits by constantly rotating crowds and cheap, most of the time, free(bar tab) DJ. They make their money in a yr or two, close down and open again down the street.

That my friend is the reality of the clubs scene these days.
 
I'm surprised the Manager did this to you after 7 years. I guess he must have given you a reason though ......

Thing is that depending on DJ money in the UK is a dangerous thing to do. Venues open and close regularly, owners change, managers change and as you say anyone can DJ with a £50 laptop these days.

I know it's easy to say and I'm not in your situation, but a lot of us have clearly invested money in our collections, not to mention expensive laptops and controllers. I have been in a situation where another DJ was brought in to do a night because he was a friend of one of the directors. We knew he would kill it but he promised his followers would come in droves. It was a car crash and after he got binned the regular DJs were expected to pick up the pieces. I told them to poke it but as this is your only income it's not that easy.

Keith
 
kradcliffe wrote :
I told them to poke it


I love the British language, to the point but not nearly as vulgar as us Yanks in the States. So charming.
 
I've been self employed professional at this DJing malarky for 11 years and made a good living from it in the past, although, I've DJed for 36 years.

Until last Christmas I was doing 3 nights per week at my residency. For the first time in 7 years the owner closed Sunday nights after Christmas, they never were fantastic and regularly got 35-70 people in. There was a promise that they would be back for the summer, but, that never materialised. That was almost a third of my income gone.

Since last autumn our numbers had been dropping like everywhere else. The owner thought it was something internal, either me, the bar staff, the manager, etc. He is very headstrong and nobody could tell him that it was the same everywhere. In March this year he decided to go down this path of "bedroom DJs". A nightclub in my hometown 5 miles away from my residency are having a £1 Party on Friday nights. It's £1 entry fee and £1 for most of the drinks!!! Now that is desperation to try and get customers in, he must be running at a loss.

We have had a retro 70s & 80s disco with another DJ upstairs throughout all of this. He used to regularly get only a dozen or so people in. Since March upstairs has never been so busy, now regularly getting 50-80 people in.

I'm still continuing with Friday nights for now, I have been surviving on 4 hours on a Friday night for the last month, gotta say it's been pretty tough. Luckily I still get decent money for it. After my excellent wedding experience last Saturday I am looking to go in that direction. Someone mentioned that they only do weddings and corporate do's as no-one can pirate equipment in the same way as software. I think that is a good valid point. The nightclub scene has had its best days for me. The guy I worked for on Saturdays wedding rang me on Sunday, he had another on Sunday night and he has weddings next Thurs/Fri/Sat & Sunday!!! I thought wow, I really must have made an impression. :-)

To go mobile I already have a pair of Mackie SRM450s & stands. I just need a few lights for now and eventually video screens. My main stumbling block is transport as I only have a sportscar (up for sale lol).

I have also had an interview for some part-time work today for a brand new huge Tescos Supermarket being built in my hometown due to open in 5 weeks. If I get the job I'll be working nightshift Mon/Tues/Wed so doesn't affect weekend DJing.
Cheers

http://www.djles.co.uk
 
I feel your pain. I don't know what the scene is in UK for Mobile DJing but I have found it is the way to go.

Bars are stingy with their money more and more these days.

Anyway. Primo is the best ever So glad for them!

But really club owners bar owners are stingy as all can get out. Being a mobile DJ these bars even wanted me to supply all the audio and lighting. but pay me peanuts. It finally got to the point where they were like bring your shit, we will pay you 100 a night.. Yeah i am sorry, I have better things to do with my time. I have too much money wrapped up in all the equipment, music, lighting to be paid a mere 100. bucks a night (4hrs) seriously? 25 dollars an hour for 4 hours.

More and more bars and wanna be clubs are welcoming people with nothing invested in their gear, software music etc... who will gladly do the event for chicken droppings. Or for their beer tab, what not.

I guess you could use virtual DJ with out some sort of interface, and still put on a decent show. But why would you want to, a controller makes things so much easier. I guess I see your qualms with the Pirate version of Virtual DJ, Yes it sucks for those who have paid for it. But Serato Itch and Serato DJ intro are free depending on which controller someone purchases....
Which is almost a small grip but I will keep that one to myself.

I do like the sync button it helps me out just a tad if I am in a rush but its not bullet proof by any means... You still need to know your music. You still need to know how to beat match. you still need so much. Also, some of these laptops have amazing! sound cards these days. (my laptop is not one of them)

So sure, as long as you have people willing to work for free, or 25 dollars a hour, or owners who just don't care. Then the problem will not go away.

Also, I have been contacted by many of bars who found me by social media wanting me to bring a full rig lights and what have you and crap themselves when I give them a price. They are like well the last guy did all that for 75 dollars. I smile they can't see it though. And respond, I am sorry but the 2500 gmc truck does not run on water.

If you can go mobile. Purchase all your own gear, lighting etc. And focus on corp, parties and weddings. That seems to be the only place the money is worth while anymore.

The good days are gone. And yes any w***er can purchase a set of powered speakers these days for about 1400.00 and use itunes and do weddings. I have actually seen alot of that. I won't drop any particular companies names. but some of these bar cheapo dj's have figured that out too. So even mobile is starting to decline a little. But I don't see that lasting long.

I am personally glad to be out of the club/bar scene. I spent a solid 9 years in it. It is nice to have a social life again. But I do still get the Itch no pun intended to occasionally want to be back in that scene. I had way too much fun doing it.

[Moderated: Please do not use bad language in your forum posts - Please read the forum rules]
 
same old topic... adapt, evolve or die... welcome to 2013 soon to be 14...
 
Over by me in NYC, Promoters select who they want to dj. Promoters are Not dumb. They know when a dj is good and they have a lot of djs on Rotation. a lot of clubs have free admission all night and some have free admission untill 12am. The promoter takes 10% of what the bar makes and a percentage of bottle sales. Most are picky with dress code while some are not. Being a resident dj is good but You have to try to change your music sets. People start to remember what songs the dj keeps playing again and again each week.
 
In the area where I live in the Midwest there isn't much of a demand for house DJ's and in the small town I live in the bar scene is a joke anymore and most of the mobile DJ's around are what I like to call "Human Jukeboxes" where they just sit behind there set up and play music no mic work no interaction with the crowd or set up a playlist and walk around drinking all night

I've always been a mobile DJ so I've always had that to fall back on when the bar jobs I was DJing were over or they wanted to try someone different

When the last bar I was working at pretty steady every weekend when I wasn't out on the road closed down and in the past year I have upgraded my sound system and just recently started going more digital i.e. using VDJ and a controller my business has doubled to the point I have turned down jobs because I'm already booked

What I've done to set myself apart is to actually put on a show and the only time I will use a set playlist where I can walk away is when I need a bathroom break or get out on the dance floor with the crowd and keep the party going

It's funny to watch people's reaction to me when I'm at a wedding, company party or even a bar and I start playing remixes and adding sound effects or start doing mic work and dancing thier reaction tells me they clearly used to a DJ just sitting there and pressing play and thats it.

Anyways that's my ramble for the day
 


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