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Thread: stick to one name or use an alias when playing other genres?

  1. #1

    stick to one name or use an alias when playing other genres?

    if you were promoting yourself doing events in completely different genres.

    like, i do latin gigs and drum & bass gigs... virtually no crossover in terms of the public that would attend.
    but im sure there are other examples.
    like, you could be an electronic DJ, but occasionally do weddings.

    would you use an alias so as to promote these separately on different pages? much the way producers often use an alias when they branch out to a different sound
    or would you lump it all in together?

    my concern is that festivals, for example might see it as less professional if they see a sort of jack of all trades vibe on your social media. they might want to book someone that they see as a specialist in a particular area.

  2. #2
    New Member DJSpaceP's Avatar
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    Great topic.

    I got into DJing because I was producing electronic dance tracks for and with other artists and got dragged along to be the electronic music guy / DJ for a video shoot here and a live performance there. I was given my stage name at one of these video shoots and it kind of stuck. Then I started curating dance music seriously and doing more and more live performances, especially after networking more and more with the burner crowd and local DJs and promoters who were doing a lot of house music and related electronic music events.

    In parallel, I started getting some gigs that weren't necessarily about the electronica genres but still had great vibes and gave me opportunities to do on-the-fly remixes of soul, disco and other classics that pleased more general audiences, but I felt like the music was still on-brand.

    Even the private events I do, I'm not playing typical wedding/corporate fare. I seem to get booked for the music choices and vibe that I bring, so an alternate name really hasn't been an issue.

    That said, if for whatever reason I end up getting booked for something seriously off-brand, I would probably just use my real given name instead of coming up with a separate DJ name. That would keep things clear in terms of what people should expect under my DJ name.

  3. #3
    New Member ēNITIAL's Avatar
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    I think that comes down to what you prefer.

    It's become the normal thing to have numerous alias' for different genres, especially if you're producing music. Personally, as a club performer i prefer to showcase myself as an artist who can play many genres. Depending on where i am playing it's implied the style of music i would be expected to play.
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  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by DJSpaceP View Post
    Great topic.

    Even the private events I do, I'm not playing typical wedding/corporate fare. I seem to get booked for the music choices and vibe that I bring, so an alternate name really hasn't been an issue.

    That said, if for whatever reason I end up getting booked for something seriously off-brand, I would probably just use my real given name instead of coming up with a separate DJ name. That would keep things clear in terms of what people should expect under my DJ name.
    This is a timely conversation because I need to keep getting an income from wedding gigs and I have been simply advertising and listing as a wedding DJ on Directories and local group pages but my dream is of course to elevate to larger clubs and resorts so have been pondering what attention grabbing name would be more suited when applying for those type of jobs?
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  5. #5
    New Member DJSpaceP's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by louderandlouder View Post
    This is a timely conversation because I need to keep getting an income from wedding gigs and I have been simply advertising and listing as a wedding DJ on Directories and local group pages but my dream is of course to elevate to larger clubs and resorts so have been pondering what attention grabbing name would be more suited when applying for those type of jobs?
    It's cool to have an attention-grabbing moniker, especially early on. My DJ name is unusual enough that I often get people coming out just because they heard about it or saw that name on a bill and HAD to see and hear what that was all about. Also, I've heard multiple stories from friends, family and people at shows telling me about someone they know saying, "Wait, you know DJ Space P?!! I want to go to a show!"

    Realistically, as much as I'd like to believe it, there's no way I can imagine that these strangers have actually heard of me. But the name seems to have an inherent "something" about it where people feel like they SHOULD have heard of me and so tend to act like they have, if that makes sense.

    When I was first bequeathed that name at a video shoot, I was originally saying, "Nah, I can't call myself that!", which seemed to have the opposite effect on friends and even family, with an ongoing insistent campaign of them all basically saying, "No, you HAVE to call yourself that! That's your DJ name, period!"

    I eventually went with it, and given so many of the fun outcomes, I can't really regret it.

  6. #6
    It really depends on the culture around what you play. If there's a strong culture around the style you play, and a schedule of events dedicated to that culture.. like.. if you play for example underground techno.. then you'll want a dj name just for that.

    But if you play more of a mixed bag and play to mixed crowds, then I think you'd be better off using the same name no matter what you're playing else you'll never build a name.

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