dj seany69
Hi everyone, I'm at that stage of my life where i realy need to decide on what i am going to do once i leave school. im currently just finishing yr 10, and i thought i wanted to do psychology, but i am unsure as to wether that would get boring after a while.
To the point: I realy love djing, and would love to be able to do it proffesionaly, and make a living from it, so just a few questions, is it worth it? Or is it too difficult to get into the buisness? Can i make a living from it? Because I know some (through a friend) international level hardcore and hardstyle djs, and theyre making a killing from it. (inner city apartments, very nice car/s :-) )
Just a litle help or guidance would be much appreiciated, Thank-you.
Sean
To the point: I realy love djing, and would love to be able to do it proffesionaly, and make a living from it, so just a few questions, is it worth it? Or is it too difficult to get into the buisness? Can i make a living from it? Because I know some (through a friend) international level hardcore and hardstyle djs, and theyre making a killing from it. (inner city apartments, very nice car/s :-) )
Just a litle help or guidance would be much appreiciated, Thank-you.
Sean
发表时间 Tue 14 Nov 06 @ 10:08 am
sbangs
heya im 17 my self , and im aslo starting to look around for dj work however the rules in the uk are tighter you have to be 18 to work in a club
im in 18 in march so i have started contacting local clubs , who say they will listen to a demo i send them and then if they like it they will let me start when im 18
its differerent for mobile discos , you just have to register as self employed and get insurance + a music licence then you can charge people for private parties ,and stuf like school discos
so maybe it would be a good idea to start making some demos and researching what is available in your area or what gear and legal protection you need to get
im in 18 in march so i have started contacting local clubs , who say they will listen to a demo i send them and then if they like it they will let me start when im 18
its differerent for mobile discos , you just have to register as self employed and get insurance + a music licence then you can charge people for private parties ,and stuf like school discos
so maybe it would be a good idea to start making some demos and researching what is available in your area or what gear and legal protection you need to get
发表时间 Tue 14 Nov 06 @ 10:22 am
Mantahoe
I'd say, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Do the dj thing as hard as you can. Cause for you to be on top of the game, you have to work hard. Keep going to school so you can have something to fall back on. You sound young, you don't have to take four classes a semester cause i don't think you'll have time for djing. Don't compare yourself to others(inner city apartments, nice car guys< you don't know what hand life dealt them, they might have known someone who knew someone, making it easy for them. You on the other hand might have to start from scratch). In short, just try & balance them out. It's not wise to throw something out of the window(school) in hopes to find a better option(djing). Gluck.
发表时间 Tue 14 Nov 06 @ 10:23 am
andytaylor125
Hi,
Definately good advice to keep your options open! I'm just finishing a Degree at the moment, so that if I get fed up with DJing (surely not!) or can't get the work, then I'll have something to fall back on.
DJing works very well as a part time job, working one or two nights a week means you can get lots of experience and still not have to commit yourself to it.
I think another point is exactly what kind of DJ you want to be. If you want to just play a certain type of music (eg. house or hiphop,etc) it can be tougher to earn a living from it (unless your fatboy slim!)
From what I've noticed on the forums, most people who work full time seem to be commercial DJs who play Weddings,etc. as well as nightclubs and bars. You could argue that if you can be an expert in one particular area, then you are more likely to have sucess. But for me, I find it really useful to have the flexability to play at a wide range of events.
Hope that helps you a little bit :)
Oh, also, I think it's generally accepted that there's a bit more money to be had with private partys (weddings, corporate work, proms, etc) than in bars and clubs, but maybe some people would disagree with that.
Definately good advice to keep your options open! I'm just finishing a Degree at the moment, so that if I get fed up with DJing (surely not!) or can't get the work, then I'll have something to fall back on.
DJing works very well as a part time job, working one or two nights a week means you can get lots of experience and still not have to commit yourself to it.
I think another point is exactly what kind of DJ you want to be. If you want to just play a certain type of music (eg. house or hiphop,etc) it can be tougher to earn a living from it (unless your fatboy slim!)
From what I've noticed on the forums, most people who work full time seem to be commercial DJs who play Weddings,etc. as well as nightclubs and bars. You could argue that if you can be an expert in one particular area, then you are more likely to have sucess. But for me, I find it really useful to have the flexability to play at a wide range of events.
Hope that helps you a little bit :)
Oh, also, I think it's generally accepted that there's a bit more money to be had with private partys (weddings, corporate work, proms, etc) than in bars and clubs, but maybe some people would disagree with that.
发表时间 Tue 14 Nov 06 @ 1:53 pm
djsherz
Agreed... If you want to work in the clubs, fair enough, but don't write off the mobile route either. It's good money, but more importantly, it's great experience. Consider the average wedding reception - a 100 or so people, ages ranging from 4 - 90. Of these, probably around 75% of them really don't want to be there, and are only there out of obligation to the bride and groom. If you can learn to keep a crowd like this happy, you can handle anything!
Being a club jock has occasional moments of glamour and kudos, but it's often long hours and stress. You need a thick skin for those inevitable nights when it's not going your way, as a bad night can be very soul destroying!
Certainly, have a backup plan. I can't see myself still working clubs in my 40s, it tends to be more of a young man's game. (no offence to any of our more mature jocks on here, just an observation!) I DJ full time at the mo, but I can forsee a time when I just gig part time around a more normal job...
Being a club jock has occasional moments of glamour and kudos, but it's often long hours and stress. You need a thick skin for those inevitable nights when it's not going your way, as a bad night can be very soul destroying!
Certainly, have a backup plan. I can't see myself still working clubs in my 40s, it tends to be more of a young man's game. (no offence to any of our more mature jocks on here, just an observation!) I DJ full time at the mo, but I can forsee a time when I just gig part time around a more normal job...
发表时间 Tue 14 Nov 06 @ 3:05 pm
djkizzle
hello all, I am a full time dj, and student. I dj 6-7 nights per week, and am in college 4 days per week. during the week I work the various clubs and lounges, and on the weekends I make the real money doing weddings, sweet 16s, mitsvahs, etc. I do support myself (im 21) have a car, and live in a nice apartment in Manhattan. life dealt me a nice card, but its very hard work. school suffers because of my dedication to music. as a full time dj, you are always hustling around to get booked on gigs. its not like a 9-5 where you walk into the office everyday, do your work, and collect your salary every two weeks. then again, we are djs because we don't want to sit in an office all day. keep in mind, as a full time dj, you will need to provide your own health insurance and retirement plan. full time is not for everyone, but its definitley a fun life. just make sure you have something to fall back on when you are 35 or 40 years old and your ears are shot.
发表时间 Tue 14 Nov 06 @ 4:17 pm
Poloralphloren
Like others said above, don't give up on education! You learn interesting stuff that way, like how to spell "professional" correctly, for example... Plus, education allows you to get "real jobs" that give you money, that you can then use to buy all the expensive equipment you need to DJ professionally. Do you already have all the equipment you think you'll need to get good? I doubt it, at your age... Do you have rich parents that will buy all this stuff for you? If so, great! Maybe you can just DJ for a living... But if you're like most of us, you'll have to work hard at some job you don't enjoy as much just to raise the money to even BEGIN DJ'ing at a professional level. Then you need years and years of hard work, collecting music and refining your skill. During that time, you will still not be making any money. Eventually, after all that hard work, you might be able to actually make some money doing it. Or maybe you won't. It's good to have a backup plan. Sorry if this is discouraging :) But only count on DJ'ing as a hobby -- maybe you'll get lucky and make a living out of it, but most likely you won't, so yes, keep your options open. Good luck!
发表时间 Tue 14 Nov 06 @ 4:26 pm
dj seany69
:-) Alrite thanks everyone, i'm most likely going to go through to university with psycology anyway, and as most of you mentioned, ill have it to fall back on if djing doesnt work out for me!
Thanks for your advice, and sorry for any typos, im usualy quite tired by the time i get to come onto these forums (School, assignments, work etc)
P.S: i had my last two exams today :) a B in Social science, and an A in science.
Sean
Thanks for your advice, and sorry for any typos, im usualy quite tired by the time i get to come onto these forums (School, assignments, work etc)
P.S: i had my last two exams today :) a B in Social science, and an A in science.
Sean
发表时间 Wed 15 Nov 06 @ 11:29 am
Poloralphloren
There ya go, glad to see you're gonna stick with the university ;) Keep up the DJ'ing too though! I work full-time, go to graduate school part-time, and I still find time to collect music and/or practice DJ'ing almost daily... You learn little tricks -- for example, whenever I get new music I put it on my MP3 player and listen to it while I'm at work... That way, when it comes to trying out mixing my new tunes, I already know them fairly well... Good luck!
发表时间 Wed 15 Nov 06 @ 4:54 pm
sbangs
yeh im a network admin and technican and ethical hacker in training and doing alot of courses in these feilds so that way im covered aslo
发表时间 Wed 15 Nov 06 @ 4:57 pm
asymptote
What I'd really like to add to this discussion is this. Enjoy yourself!! Your audience will get a far better buzz from you being turned on by what you are doing than by anything else.
Also, the guys here are absolutely right about DJing. It's possible to have a good long term career and make a good living even without reaching the dizzy heights of Tiesto et al.
Mobile DJing is great (and I've done a lot of it for years and years) because it's well paid, you usually get home reasonably early (or go out to a club after a gig like I used to do).
The other great thing about DJing is that it can be a useful extra income at times when you need. When I was going through University as a mature student it put our bread on the table. I used to do a Friday night gig and buy our food for the week with it on Saturday. When my Son was born and my wife couldn't work I djed 5 nights a week on top of my day job and kept things going.
On top all this, though is the sheer thrill of creating a great night for everyone.
Also, the guys here are absolutely right about DJing. It's possible to have a good long term career and make a good living even without reaching the dizzy heights of Tiesto et al.
Mobile DJing is great (and I've done a lot of it for years and years) because it's well paid, you usually get home reasonably early (or go out to a club after a gig like I used to do).
The other great thing about DJing is that it can be a useful extra income at times when you need. When I was going through University as a mature student it put our bread on the table. I used to do a Friday night gig and buy our food for the week with it on Saturday. When my Son was born and my wife couldn't work I djed 5 nights a week on top of my day job and kept things going.
On top all this, though is the sheer thrill of creating a great night for everyone.
发表时间 Thu 16 Nov 06 @ 10:51 am