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Thread: How do mediocre DJ's get gigs?

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    Member djeternal's Avatar
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    How do mediocre DJ's get gigs?

    I went to a holiday party at a large convention center this weekend. There were 350 to 400 guests. I don't like to criticize other DJs because it's hard work but this DJ was pretty mediocre. He said that he has been DJing since 1989. Also he was using a Pioneer DDJ-SX controller. What surprised me was that most of his transitions were pretty bad and his song selection was not that good. He let some songs play all the way to the end even when people were not dancing. People only seemed to dance when he played popular line dance songs. The venue provided speakers so he did not have to bring his own speakers. It all made me wonder - how do mediocre DJ's like that get big gigs?
    Last edited by djeternal; 03-01-2016 at 08:15 AM.

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    booking gigs is about networking.
    nobody but a few DJ's cares about beatmatching outside of large dance clubs. the people dont care.
    I find it sad that many DJ's cant read the crowd.
    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Troy View Post
    If I was only willing to listen to music *I* like, then I wouldn't be a mobile DJ, I'd just get a Pandora subscription.

  3. #3
    Don't judge others man

    it's not a 'one size fits all ' type of game
    There are many aspects to djing , many different ways in which a dj can be 'good' or 'bad' , professional or unprofessional

    Jealousy is unprofessional


    Support your fellow DJ

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    Member djeternal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Matt View Post
    Don't judge others man

    it's not a 'one size fits all ' type of game
    There are many aspects to djing , many different ways in which a dj can be 'good' or 'bad' , professional or unprofessional

    Jealousy is unprofessional

    Support your fellow DJ
    Not jealous at all. I have enough to keep me busy. I'm just thinking that DJ's can learn from some of the points made. For example you can be mediocre but if you network well you'll get gigs. Or maybe if you have nice website and market well you'll get gigs. I did not ask the DJ how he got the gig but I probably should have.

    Also the reason I mentioned his bad transitions was to point out that he could not keep people dancing for more than one song. Well done transitions keep people on the floor.

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    Quote Originally Posted by djeternal View Post
    Also the reason I mentioned his bad transitions was to point out that he could not keep people dancing for more than one song. Well done transitions keep people on the floor.
    NOPE! Good song choice keeps people on the floor. Not once in my career did someone come up to me and say, "dude I loved your beatmatching right there!"

  6. #6
    Bad DJ's get good gigs but charging less. Most gigs I lose is because another DJ is charging a ham sandwich.

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    Member djeternal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ATrain View Post
    NOPE! Good song choice keeps people on the floor. Not once in my career did someone come up to me and say, "dude I loved your beatmatching right there!"
    Good song choice is very important. I mention the transition because a smooth transition sometimes keeps people dancing because they don't know that the song changed. I've done many gigs with smooth transitions between similar songs and it keeps people dancing. If you play house, techno or faster BPM songs this will make more sense. Anyway I would rephrase my previous statement and say good song choice and good transitions are the best way to keep people dancing.
    Last edited by djeternal; 12-22-2014 at 02:54 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ATrain View Post
    NOPE! Good song choice keeps people on the floor. Not once in my career did someone come up to me and say, "dude I loved your beatmatching right there!"
    Just because people don't know how to recognize it, doesn't mean it doesn't add important production value. Most people don't watch the news and go "wow that lighting is balanced so well, I can't even tell it's a chromakey" -- but they sure would take note if it was done poorly. Song selection is extremely important yes, but I do beatmatch at weddings, fire light cues in time with elements of the music, loop a beat in the background during talkovers, etc. I believe people do have a better show when you do these things, even if they don't know why.

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    I used to have tailor made sets for each gig I did until I realized that within 15 minutes of the dance floor opening up, I would get bombarded with requests. Some times it is just hopeless trying to beatmatch or "mix properly" when you are just playing requests from all genres and all bpms. At times like these I always think in the back of my mind, "man, if there are any DJs in the crowd, they must think I suck."

    I still have my playlists that I resort to once the requests die out and I will return to "mixing" but ya, what the others say, it's not always easy being a technically sound dj when doing mobile work.

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    Quote Originally Posted by djeternal View Post

    Also the reason I mentioned his bad transitions was to point out that he could not keep people dancing for more than one song. Well done transitions keep people on the floor.
    There are people that argue that the non stop club style transitions prevent people from dancing. there are a handful of people out there that want to dance to one song. they want to approach someone to ask them, they go up for one complete song, and then leave the floor.

    I am not saying I agree with the guy that does not transition, I am suggesting it is his style.
    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Troy View Post
    If I was only willing to listen to music *I* like, then I wouldn't be a mobile DJ, I'd just get a Pandora subscription.

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