Residency

[chelsea485]

I'm trying to find myself a residency for a general constant flow of work ? whats is the best way of going about getting this ? And all you people that have this, how did u get it ?
I would appreciate the advice from you more experienced business men ?

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[electricnite]

after christmas post letters off to all hotels in the area cos maybe one of there disco's may have slipped up at christmas so its an ideal opportunity to get the work

[Silver]

Get some flyers or A5 size leaflets printed, some photos in an album of your gigs showing full dance floors and people having fun would also be good. Then go round to venues where you want to play, pubs, clubs, golf clubs basically anywhere and everywhere where they have entertainment and sell YOURSELF!

I've said it before a business needs to be proactive not reactive.

Hope that helps you. http://planetsmilies.net/xmas-smiley-7755.gif

[mldiscos]

the best thing to do mate is if you do some small gigs you are bound to get some good repsones and people always go "have you got a business card" always give them more and then they pass it onto friends/relatives/colleagues/companys etc, the best way to do things.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Offer something DIFFERENT music wise. Check out what all of the other venues in your area are doing and see what ones are the busiest. If they are all doing general Chart and Dance nights with RnB etc then try a Retro night or an Indie Night. A lot of venues cater for the masses but out of say 5 venues doing the same thing, one or two of them may not be as popular and may actually be looking for something new?
The problem is, venue owners in general don't like taking risks and if they get by with a half full / empty venue of punters and cater for the masses like all of the other venues, then it's hard to convince them.

I have 5 residencies spread over town which are all on fridays and that does me for the month leaving saturdays for private functions...it's exactly what I wanted but I had a few knock backs at first because of what i said above, owners / managers etc don't like taking risks and more often than not they are puppets being told what to do by their area managers and above. I was lucky in the fact that I have always been known as doing stuff differently and it wasn't long before 1 residency was followed by another and so on. There will always be punters out there who WANT something DIFFERENT yet because the venues THINK that what they are doing (catering for the masses) is the right thing, the people that want diversity have to 'make do'.

I cater for Indie/Alternative and Retro at my residencies as well as my Request Fest nights. In my opinion you can't go wrong with Retro nights as everyone likes the old stuff / classics / one hit wonders etc etc...If there is already a Retro night in your area then try something else. I get so many House/Garage/DnB etc DJ's come up to me asking for advice and tell them the same thing....everybody's doing it and if a venue already has someone that pulls in the punters, they won't change it.

Sad, but true!

[chelsea485]

yeah i know, thank you very much. I can see it being a hard one to crack, i think that is going to be my goal this year !! To get a few residency's under the belt. Could take the year, so gonna have to be patient i think.

[JAMdisco]

I got lucky really as I got my residency standing in for a DJ who was on holiday. Basically I got passed a message on asking if I could cover, as I was free that night I said yes. Turned up with all my new gear (DJ stand, full light rig and bass bin etc...) and at the end of the night ha said he's never seen so many people dancing or being so busy for so long (it's kind of a "lets 'av a quick one in 'ere" pub).

I think I got the residency because of my professional aproach - I did go in cheap to "get the gig" but am slowly upping my prices and he can't argue really considering a lot more money spent over the bar.

It's just nice that I'll always have at least 4-5 gigs per month, and he's thinking of doing 2 nights a week soon - that'll be nice too, double the money guaranteed every month.

Keep at it, and do sell yourself - try going in cheap at first but explain why your doing it - remember they are taking a bit of a risk with a new DJ and I doubt they will have time to come and see you play (although offer it anyway)

Good luck...

[soundstage]

Buy yourself a nice shirt and trousers, have the shirt embroided with your company name OR have a tie embroided. Next prepare a portfolio about your business and include photographs of your setup before the event and during the event, try to include some crowd shots too, include where possible a copy of you liability insurance, most up market venues may enquire about this, also have a professionally printed business card which includes a mobile AND landline number. Next is to visit the venues armed with your smart outfit and portfolio and sell your service face to face, letters do not work, venues receive hundreds of letters every month with regards to entertainment, offer your first service for half price, it may not sound good but if they take up your offer you basically get your foot in the door and are over half way there. I tried all these methods back in 1989 and have made me very sucessful. If you need to spread your name around then why not try charity work and fundraisers for various organisations, not everyones cup of tea but usually TV, Radio and Press turn up at these events and gives you the opportunity for free advertising :D :D, you have got to be smart in this business.....

[Shaun]

Buy yourself a nice shirt and trousers, have the shirt embroided with your company name OR have a tie embroided. Next prepare a portfolio about your business and include photographs of your setup before the event and during the event, try to include some crowd shots too, include where possible a copy of you liability insurance, most up market venues may enquire about this, also have a professionally printed business card which includes a mobile AND landline number. Next is to visit the venues armed with your smart outfit and portfolio and sell your service face to face, letters do not work, venues receive hundreds of letters every month with regards to entertainment, offer your first service for half price, it may not sound good but if they take up your offer you basically get your foot in the door and are over half way there. I tried all these methods back in 1989 and have made me very sucessful. If you need to spread your name around then why not try charity work and fundraisers for various organisations, not everyones cup of tea but usually TV, Radio and Press turn up at these events and gives you the opportunity for free advertising :D :D, you have got to be smart in this business.....

Welcome to the forum. Please take a moment to introduce yourself in the 'Newbies' Forum Section. Thanks. :approve:

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Sorry but there are ways of coming across professional without the need for embroidered clothing in my opinion.
Most venues will act on word of mouth and a business card always helps. The portfolio idea is a good one yes but I don't think that there is any need for ties and t-shirts etc...I agree it helps but I don't think it's essential to go along like that. As long as you are smart and have the necessary bits and bobs then everything should be cool.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Sorry but there are ways of coming across professional without the need for embroidered clothing in my opinion.


I disagree. All of my guys have embroidered polos and fleeces to set up in and everyone then knows who they are when they arrive. It looks smart, professional and corporate IMO.

It makes sense for me as a multi-op. When was the last time you saw someone working for British Gas for example not wearing a uniform of some kind.

[summer sounds]

I am in a difficlt situation as the owner of a large local venue has contacted me to ask if I am interested in becoming their resident DJ/Compere but I know the current DJ really well and he thinks he is there for life...do I risk our friendship or just turn it down?....I might just write to Dear Marge!

[rob1963]

I am in a difficlt situation as the owner of a large local venue has contacted me to ask if I am interested in becoming their resident DJ/Compere but I know the current DJ really well and he thinks he is there for life...do I risk our friendship or just turn it down?....I might just write to Dear Marge!

If I was in your situation and I knew the current DJ really well, I would turn down the job.

How would you feel if someone you knew really well did that to you?

To me, a good friendship is worth more than a DJ residency any day!

[summer sounds]

After serious thought...just phoned the venue and turned down their offer...if I regret it tough xxxx !:(

[Dragonfly]

If I was in your situation and I knew the current DJ really well, I would turn down the job.

How would you feel if someone you knew really well did that to you?

To me, a good friendship is worth more than a DJ residency any day!

Indeed Rob I would think the same sadly this sort of moralality and consideration for fellow man is in massivly short supply in this day and age of me myself and I , for many business is business and if it wasnt you taking over it would be someone else and your friend would still lose his job....

[djsteve10]

My advice would be to turn the offer down, you don't want him to think that you have booted him out so to speak. All of us dj's look after each other in this industry. The thing is you could fall out with him over it and then you might need him at some stage and then you a buggered.

As for the idea of a residency great, if you want to get in with the hotels then you want to go around the hotels introduce yourself, what you do and offer to do a big function there for free if they pay expenses. I did it with a local hotel about 7 months ago and now i hold the contract for the hotel.

Also with pubs and clubs take your business cards around drop them off and also hand in some flyers. People will throw flyers away but if you give people a business card they will always have it hanging around their bag or wallet.

Another way you could do it is cold calling and phone up some pubs, clubs or hotels and sell yourself over the phone and if they are interested then arrange a meeting.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I would've turned it down too if a friend was already doing it. Sadly though, some people don't think the same and I have had one occasion in the past where a 'friend' of mine has gone in to one of my residencies to try and muscle their way in. The manager said that he had tried to undercut me pricewise etc. They weren't bothered about that and saw straight through him. He also didn't have any experience anywhere in the town either and was trying his luck. We fell out over that and luckily the manager is a good guy who could see what he was trying to do. I would never do anything like that but that's just me, not everyone is the same.

There will be other chances mate and think about it, why did they call you in the first place? It's worth thinking about...if they did it then others may well do the same.

Solitaire - The embroidered clothing etc....Yes, cool if you have lots of people working for you going into venues that may normally deal with yourself so they'll be instantly recognisable as 'The Disco' but at the moment, for me it's a case of knowing everyone at the venues I do and if I am at any venues that I haven't been before, well...the advertising on the van helps and the access and set up times have been arranged beforehand so they know I am the DJ....if that makes sense.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

If I was in your situation and I knew the current DJ really well, I would turn down the job.

How would you feel if someone you knew really well did that to you?



Agreed.



Solitaire - The embroidered clothing etc....Yes, cool if you have lots of people working for you going into venues that may normally deal with yourself so they'll be instantly recognisable as 'The Disco' but at the moment, for me it's a case of knowing everyone at the venues I do and if I am at any venues that I haven't been before, well...the advertising on the van helps and the access and set up times have been arranged beforehand so they know I am the DJ....if that makes sense.

Yep, I understand, but I think every little helps when it comes to being professional and looking the part, even if there's only one of you.