"The rise of the £50 DJ and those who undercut"

[Steve]

 

 

Technology has no doubt made our working lives a lot easier. We no longer have to haul crates of records to a gig anymore, and we can carry tens of thousands of songs with us on a laptop. In some ways it's a blessing...But I'll be real honest with you. The DJ game is pretty fucked up right now.

As all this technology and music is widely available, it means that any Tom Dick and Harry can become a fucking DJ. Once they've gone out and purchased a Serato/Traktor box and a laptop, and downloaded the Top 100 songs on Beatport or iTunes, they then automatically assume that they are ready to play out. As a result, standards are slipping. Before, we used to practise our mixing skills in order to make sure we were competent enough to perform in public. Nowadays, kids don't want to put the effort in. They don't want to practise. They don't want to learn how to put a coherent set together. They want to be able to start playing at clubs within a week of buying their first set up.

The number of DJs today are increasing at an alarming rate, and because they're all fighting for a spot to play out, and to prove their [lack of] skill, they are all willing to play for a cheap as possible, or even worse, undercut other DJs to get that gig.

Now, undercutting isn't new. It's existed for years, and is present in all other professions. But it really is at an all time high right now within the nightclub industry.

Not only do I find it morally wrong to use snake-like tactics to grab someone else's spot, I must ask you this. Do you not realise that by undercutting everyone and being happy to play for peanuts, you are in fact helping to drive prices down worldwide?

As I mentioned in my last post, you're only playing yourself if you are willing to DJ for £50; even if you are doing more than one night a week.

 

Full article, HERE.

 

As much as I like using some of the features of my Z2, I would rather go back to everyone having to use either vinyl or CD decks.

 

[scottie(the)goonie]

I bet 50 pounds is worth more than the $50 some DJs get over here.

[Guest loop skywalker]

After making no money from djing what so ever i think what is actually wrong with making 50 pounds?

Its a hard world out there and if you are lucky enough to be getting paid to DJ full time then good for you,but i say dont knock people who are trying to start out and play for next to nothing and try to build a rep.

If you are worth tons of money then cool,you shouldnt be worried about these 50 pound djs.

[mattnice]

Dj prices have dropped so much over the years.

Used to be able to easily get £100-150 for a nights djing, now £50 seems a good price.

[Jacken]

there are a lot of dj's in my country who will happily play for free

[assemblyworker]

Standard old man 'kidz these dayz' moan.

 

 

First DJ gig I ever had, I had records with me that I was going to see if the local DJ at the time would play as I'd started collecting. He didn't show, after some encouragement from friends I got up and put them on. People went wooooo and I had a great time. I had no skills but people danced. Then I got serious and everything became rather boring.

 

 

Do the punters care? Not especially.

 

 

If I were that person I would be more inclined to ask 'Why am I no longer relevant?' Why is some kid with energy and enthusiasm getting booked instead of me, I'm a serious DJ.

 

 

Yeah what young uns really want to see when they go out to party is a serious looking old man.

[assemblyworker]

And on the question of money.....

 

Pretty much everyone I know is doing more work for less money, regardless of the industry they're in.

[Steve]

Dj prices have dropped so much over the years.

Used to be able to easily get £100-150 for a nights djing, now £50 seems a good price.

 

Exactly. It's all these cocks with laptops who will DJ for £20 or a few free drinks that's the reason for that.

[Jimmy]

i enjoy mixing, and i enjoy doing it on 2 cd decks (maybe a turntable once in a while too), so i do that at my leisure at home. I understand their are laptop djs now and they'll play for nothing and do what they can for exposure, good for them, times have changed.

im not fussed about the money, i'd play for £50 if they had 2 working modern cdjs i could use/trust. but i understand its easier to get a laptop/controller dj in.

the point for me is i dont want to compete as i want to keep my skill level at a certain point, ie playing without a dvs system. so i do it at home and let the world keep turning.

 

also, and maybe this is a different point, but im really not arsed about being tagged or seen as a DJ. everyone is a dj these days, as its more accessible/easier etc etc. its diluting the gene pool too much.

[Steve]

It ain't "good for them" though. It's like if I came to your workplace and said "I'll do Jimmy's job for half his wages" and the boss booted you out and hired me instead. Then if loads of people started doing that in your industry, the average salary for your position would go way down and who is that good for again? Not anyone doing the actual job.

[Jimmy]

well yeh obviously, but like its been mentioned thats not good for any industry. I guess the difference with djing or similar is that its considered cool or glamorous to outsiders so there's more people wanting to be seen doing it.

 

from a personal perspective i'd be more pissed off at the lack of skill being accepted more depressing. Again, that works for any industry.

[Guest Symatic]

clubs don't wanna pay people any money either, naturally.

i'm amazed how shit most clubs sound - theyre music venues but i can list about 5 countrywide that don't sound shite

 

again it can be argued that people offering cheaper services are still getting the desired result (people coming and spending money at the bar)

[mattnice]

i've had to teach the dj's playing after me a few times now, how to use a mixer and a cdj.

 

The only people who care about a 'real dj' are the heads, people who understand djing good music etc get it,

Ya average punter just wants to hear what they know.

I do about 4 paid gigs a month now.These are nights i put on myself, i will sometimes play at the local hip spot for a couple of alcohol free beers,its normally only a 2 hour set at the max.

[Cable]

It ain't "good for them" though. It's like if I came to your workplace and said "I'll do Jimmy's job for half his wages" and the boss booted you out and hired me instead. Then if loads of people started doing that in your industry, the average salary for your position would go way down and who is that good for again? Not anyone doing the actual job.

 

Good argument.

 

My two cents:

 

If I have nothing on at the weekend, and someone I know offers me a local gig at a slightly reduced rate then I'd take it, based on the fact that it's extra income. I wouldn't make a habit of doing it though... local scenes are small however, so if one club/promoter does it, then everyone else will inevitably try it on

 

but if you're going out of town and travelling to a gig where you're gonna get paid fuck all...it's just not economical

 

I think the best ways for someone to get on these days is to either:

 

a) put a night on themselves and build a rep

b) find a dj "mentor" and learn the ropes. If you're respectful and don't snake the dj, you will eventually thrown a few gigs that he/she can't do.

c) build a rep with mixtapes/podcasts/working with brands

d) produce music

e) work with an artist as their tour dj

 

the lack of quality control from nightclubs and promoters these days though is somewhat frightening.

[Guest loop skywalker]

I cant say nationwide but on a saturday night in Nottingham these days is dead compared to say the 90's and 00's.

People arent spending money as they used to,going out is considered a treat every now and then.

Its all about the dollar,if people aint spending on the entertainment industry then its going to whittle down.

A quality DJ (like Cable) deserves and can command good fees and if a promoter was to put a 50 pound dj in his place then i think the night would suffer.

That said ,if a 50 pound dj was to work alongside djs for free to learn the trade properly (i learnt tons from Cable) and then take that djs job is that cool too?

The whole music industry seems to be in a mess at the moment.

[goldielocksnthethreebrares]

I feel it depends on what they play with. A vinyl purist should get more than matey with just MP3s, and so on. Vinyl costs more after all....

[Chris]

£50's a good rate for two hours' work, especially one where you can have a drink and your only responsibility is a pretty simple craft.

 

I think the general problem is that DJing is no longer a specialised trade. In days gone by a DJ needed to have records, cartridges, and other equipment that cost money. A venue needed someone who had those things, and so they had to pay the going rate. Now that the cost of entry has dropped considerably, there's a lot more competition in the market, and so the value of a DJ has dropped. Luddites smashed up stuff that put them out of a job, and DJs moan about not getting the rates they used to be able to command. The fact is the market's changed and it's just something that has to be accepted.

 

I know DJs that have played extensively for free to ensure they get gigs, because any exposure is better than none and they felt that their USP was their reputation. It's selfish (and if you do subscribe to the idea that we're all in this together, cannibalistic), but capitalism is selfish. Similarly the club and bar 'scene' has realised that providing an inferior product hasn't affected their bottom line, so they're not bothered.

 

I'm yet to really see any evidence of an enlightened subculture that socialistically volunteers money so that they can band together and reward venues with good sound systems, good DJs, good atmosphere, and good drinks - except perhaps hard house and happy hardcore audiences that seem to really stick together and organise great events (for people that like that sort of thing). There are places here and there that put good nights on in good venues, but they obviously exhaust all the market potential available to them with the monthly or quarterly event they do or there'd be more. This comes back to demand, and you have to look at what people are prepared to pay to see what you're worth, not what you think you deserve...

[assemblyworker]

To flip things a bit....

 

There was a time in the mid 90s where DJs were getting paid ridiculous amounts, in the tens of thousands, for what? Beat matching some records for a couple of hours.

 

Was that rate of pay reasonable?

 

I'm partly making an argument for the sake of it but the wider point is the overall economic situation also dictates peoples' pay. More so than some kiddy with his Autodiskjockey machine, which is where the blame in the article was firmly put.

 

Ultimately the guy just sounded butthurt and that he should just get the money on the strength. The entertainment business is about bums on seats (or hands in the air, if you like). If a club can pay less and have the same amount of people through the door it's obvious what's going to happen.

 

If the world was just, D-Styles would be the world's most affluent DJ in my opinion. However, the world is full of massive cunts.

[Guest Symatic]

I'm yet to really see any evidence of an enlightened subculture that socialistically volunteers money so that they can band together and reward venues with good sound systems, good DJs, good atmosphere, and good drinks - except perhaps hard house and happy hardcore audiences that seem to really stick together and organise great events (for people that like that sort of thing). There are places here and there that put good nights on in good venues, but they obviously exhaust all the market potential available to them with the monthly or quarterly event they do or there'd be more. This comes back to demand, and you have to look at what people are prepared to pay to see what you're worth, not what you think you deserve...

 

in bristol theres quite a strong scene of home made quality soundsystems like kibir la amlak. then theres people like kahn and pinch who champion the vinyl side of things. kahn does a night that's only dubplates and you have to know where to look for info about it.

it all fits in to a scene of hand made products and is really cool, but as you say its a niche market. its about quality not quantity though. theyre not looking to become the next big brand like gate crasher or something...

 

I think building something from the ground up is the way to go. to the point where you run nights you want to run in your own venue (eventually). the current club owners, dj's and promoters are devaluing their own trade. after all, who wants to pay extra for drinks while listening to too-loud mp3's off a semi automated dj, when you could do that anywhere?

[Cable]

Cheers Loopsta!

 

I think having a mentor would in theory give them an understanding of self value tbh.... well, hopefully anyway!

 

 

To flip things a bit....

 

There was a time in the mid 90s where DJs were getting paid ridiculous amounts, in the tens of thousands, for what? Beat matching some records for a couple of hours.

 

Was that rate of pay reasonable?

 

 

 

Fair point, although from memory a lot of those cats were producers who had a catalogue of tunes & remixes (whether they were good or bad is open to debate) and/or a radio show on a large station... not just your average 'DJ Dave with a bag of tunes from Juno'.

 

I think if you're doing this full time, then you can see the frustration (excuse the pun) of the author. If you're merely a hobbyist or someone doing this for fun, then you probably won't.

 

DJ-ing isn't the only area affected though. I'm pretty sure photographers get it just as bad.

[waxdestroyer]

in all fairness its all about the music and chicks for 95% of teenages and 20-something guys going clubbing...who cares about the DJ..playing a prerecorded automix will do the job..a DJ doesnt need much skill to play a bunch of top 40 songs..its a simple craft that doesnt require much talent.

 

i paid my dues in the 90s gping from club to club..showcasing everything i had to offer on vinyl..these days are gone..the laptop is basically all thats needed to do a gig.

 

here my 2 cents:

 

CDJs are for fags

Controllers are for hipsters and kids

Tunrtables are for the few dope DJs left who still play music with soul

[Steve]

Don't use the word "fags" on here in that context man.

[Guest loop skywalker]

i smoked a fag

[assemblyworker]

In 5 years time 20 B&H fags will cost you £50 so you'll definitely need more than a couple of DJ gigs a week.

[Wax On]