What does it take to get big? Skill? Taste? Networking? Time and sweat?

[benjamin_l]

Hey,

I'm asking this because one of the reasons my DJing never took off (the other being: I sold my equipment) was that, well, my playlist got old. I used to download in a quite disproportionate and illegal manner and would then spend hours looking for precious needles in these haystacks. But I started having less and less time to work on this, plus I became more reasonable with my downloads.

Now it's mostly down to: I don't find the time to browse the internet and find new tunes. I remember talking to a club owner who said actual mixing skills are not important because they can be learned (and considered how so many DJs fuck up their transitions on stage I'd tend to agree) or computer-assisted, what mattered was their playlist. In that respect I really understand the value of a DJ's playlist, but I'm wondering: does it really have to be so time-consuming to discover new tracks? Is this a hurdle that no one has ever wanted to fix because it's one of the reasons it's difficult to "become a DJ", like a barrier to entry?

In another thread I read that being good wasn't enough to make it through, you had to know people. Eventually I'd agree to that because there's tons of very good DJs out there but they don't take off.

Another possibility: given that money runs the world, and that club owners will most likely book DJs that will bring big crowds that'll pay for a ticket, a coat and three vodka-red bull, is it about knowing how to make the crowd happy? or being good at getting facebook fans?

Many options, the answer if there's one, is probably colored like a rainbow (neither black nor white). What do you guys think?

Cheers,
Ben

[Divercity]

IMO it takes mixing skills, Building great playlists, Knowing the right people, Reading the crowd and also taking care of your fan base.



That is a concoction of success

[benjamin_l]

Haha, great summary.

[Buszaj]

What that club owner said is true. You need know what will work, what the people want. Your taste will greatly influence that. Whenever I go music hunting now, I almost always think to myself: will this work at my venue? Would people lose their shit if I dropped this?

That being said, everything you mentioned in the title is a huge part of "getting big" too.

[ilya]

In that respect I really understand the value of a DJ's playlist, but I'm wondering: does it really have to be so time-consuming to discover new tracks? Is this a hurdle that no one has ever wanted to fix because it's one of the reasons it's difficult to "become a DJ", like a barrier to entry?

finding tracks and enjoying that process should be a prerequisite towards djing, period. if you can't be arsed to dig for a unique, personal playlist and use it to differentiate yourself from others, then there's a 99.99999% chance that any minor success you achieve will be very very temporary.

discovering new tracks is easier now than ever: discogs, youtube, soundcloud, and countless other platforms give you access to massive amounts of music... i really don't see how you can say there's any barrier here. however, narrowing down what you like and knowing where to look for new sounds is something you should develop in a personal way. the alternative is browsing through beatport/juno/etc. charts and sounding just like everyone else. you might get a few gigs here and there but as you're sucked into the flavor-of-the-month trap, this will do nothing for your longevity.

In another thread I read that being good wasn't enough to make it through, you had to know people. Eventually I'd agree to that because there's tons of very good DJs out there but they don't take off.

it's not really a matter of 'knowing people'. if you take the time to be involved in your local scene and build genuine relationships (as opposed to ones with the aim of exploiting the friendship for gigs), there's a much better chance that you'll get booked. that's not to say you'll 'make it big' but just like in virtually any other endeavor you take up your friends are much more likely to help you than strangers.

i am not suggesting you go out and start introducing yourself to random promoters as a local DJ. i am suggesting you go to parties, meet and socialize with the other dancers, club-goers, djs, promoters, bartenders, sound guys, security and whoever else. if you click, hang out outside of the nightlife environment too. the worst that could happen is making new connections with cool people who share similar interests. if there's a desire to work in a more professional way down the road, that's cool too.

best piece of advice i can give though is to start your own night. invite people you respect or admire to play and have your friends come out and support you. there's a decent chance you'll lose money in this venture but that really shouldn't matter. if your heart is in the right place, i guarantee that the people who matter will respect you back.

all of this will take time, and again, none of this advice will probably cause you to 'get big'. honestly, i'd get rid of that attitude if you plan on finding any attainable success in DJing. i know it might come off as sappy but do it because you actually enjoy it and want to see your music/dance community grow. people will see through the self-serving shit right away, especially people like promoters who work with DJs on a daily basis.

being good at getting facebook fans?

no. make real friends who care about what you're doing and want to see you succeed, not facebook 'fans'.

[ilya]

the time-proven alternative to the above is to sleep with as many promoters and booking agents as possible, secretly record sextapes, and blackmail as needed

also, if you do plan on making it big as a dance dj without any success in music production, then you better as hell be either tastemaker or an older black male from detroit or chicago. this 100% goes back to my point about not following charts/trends and being personal in your music selection.

[KLH]

ANY vocation requires impressing the right people who can help you gain insight into the next step, make it happen, and help you understand the path to success. You cannot succeed without the active involvement of these people.

Success is never achieved by happy accident.

-KLH

[BuddyUK]

If the DJmag top 100 is anything to go by, with a couple of notable exceptions, PR, pandering to the lowest common denominator, the vagaries of fashion and nowadays being an 'act' and a brand rather than a DJ per se.

[Sigma]

Become a B/C grade celebrity, then announce that you're now a DJ and go on tour - instant massive crowds and pay cheques!

But seriously, I don't see the point of this poll. All of those things are important.

[rain91]

it has to be PR and advertising, look at Dj Baby Chino !