So What Do I Need?

[Eski75]

Newbie here, see newbie forum for intro. Humblest apologies if this is a really dumb question to ask, but feeling a little bewildered!!

I have had an interest in DJ'ing for sometime now but never did anything about it (I'm the irritating bloke at parties who kind of takes over the music without ever really being asked to do so!!?) prefering instead to keep drumming in various bands. The drumming has now stopped and whilst I don't miss the band stuff....I need something else.

I have bought a Cortex DMIX300 just to have a play with really. I have no intention of setting up a buisness or anything like that, and am equally aware that, in the talent stakes I am some way off being competent enough to ask people for money.

My dream gig would be as a resident at a local pub or club where I would love to set up an indie rock night (Smiths, Cure, Happy Mondays, Kasabian...you get the picture) only because it's the kind of night out me and my mates would have loved if only a venue had wanted to deviate from the norm a bit. I'm not really interested in being a wedding DJ or similar, unless the happy couple love their vintage indie tunes!

My question is very broad.............I've worked out for myself that I need some tunes but what would you advise I need kit wise and legality wise?

Sorry if this is too long or in the wrong catagory mods!:confused:

[Excalibur]

Moved here by me, if anyone thinks it's better elsewhere, so be it.

Pete, you may not like some of the answers, for they usually involve expense, and hard work. If they don't, they're usually illegal, and we don't advocate illegal here. ;)

Car boot sales, second hand shops, charity shops and that sort of thing will often provide you with CD's at low prices. Bad news is, you then have to rip them. Pain in the bottom. :( There was a lad on here selling some DJ CD's legitimately for a mate, that might be worth a try. I'll give him a nudge.

Kit wise, go for sound first. Given your location, regular readers know full well the advice I would normally give, but that may not be your best bet at the moment.

I'm sure others will be along with advice, so sit back,and see what comes up. Good luck.

[Charlie Brown]

Are you sure you don't want to make a 'mini' business out of it?

Surely it would be a bonus if you earned some extra cash, doing something you love and enjoy as a sideline?

How much are you willing to spend?

[Jason]

If you won't be charging, you'll be running at a loss.
There are costs from running a Disco - gear, music and travelling.

If you're happy to make a loss on each gig (ie no charge) then I don't think there is any need to get registered as a business (sole trader) (but call the HMRC to clarify - don't rely on forum advice).
You do have 3 months to register as a business, so any kit you buy can be claimed against your profits.

Kit wise, I'd suggest a couple of active speakers, 2 good (but budget) lights and a nice black cloth to throw over the pub table (get one from the local market). You'll also need a mic and some cables... oh, and 2 speaker stands...

So, not too much kit to buy, the specifics will depend on the size of pub and the amount of cash you have.
How the night goes is really up to you and the punters. Not much point having ££££ gear for pub gigs.

I would suggest charging. The rate is up to you, but be aware of your costs (music/gear/travel), and allow 25% for Tax.
So;
profit = income - expenses
cash for beer = profit - tax

The pricing for pub gigs varies so much, so I can't say what you should charge. It should be more than your hourly rate at the day job (I assume you have one), as there would be the overhead of running a business, and also the responsibility from providing a service.

You should also ensure your car/van is insured for your new occupation as a DJ.
"business cover" as for your Day Job is not enough, and you need to tell your insurer what you are doing (otherwise, you could be uninsured when you get pulled over leaving a pub with a car full of kit!)

I've got quite a few wedding bookings where they want indie/rock for at least some of the night, so creating a niche could mean you get bookings from those who appreciate this type of music.


You'll find that if you don't charge, you won't be appreciated, and it will be harder to say to the pub "I need to charge £££ from now on".
If you're confident there is a local market for this, then do a few parties for friends and then decide if you'd like to get into pub work.

You WILL get people asking for non Indie music, and not being able to play the latest #1 will cause you grief from punters - so another reason for charging!

Jason

[Excalibur]

Good advice there from Jason.Keep it coming folks.

[Eski75]

Wow! Thanks guys, only 2nd day on the boards and already loads of stuff to consider which is exactly what I wanted! I take the points about charging, similar principal to when I was in bands I guess, too high and you don't get gigs, too low and people assume your rubbish!! Don't get me wrong, a few quid wouldn't hurt, was just trying to be realistic I guess.
The stuff about kit is really interesting, having been a musician I am very realistic about cost and also that cheap isn't always best. I was more concerned about buying stuff I perhaps didn't need.
The hardest thing for me to get my head round might be the concept of despite hopefully being a "genre" DJ (I'm sure you guys know a better phrase!!) punters will expect a bit of Kylie or N-Dubz wedged in between their Joy Division and Jesus & Mary Chain!
Once again......all very helpful, much obliged folks.

[Excalibur]

Pete, you appear to be grasping some of the important points, so well done there. As regards kit, prices, quality and value, well usually somebody on here has knowledge of just about everything on the market. There is a company near you who sell PA gear which many of us love. ;) ;)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

First things first - A few questions for you....
Have you had the chance to DJ before?
Are there any clubs/pubs or bars near to you that have an 'alternative' clientel?

The reason I ask is because I do exactly what you want to do (that sounds really big headed, sorry..it's not meant to!) and the whole reason I got into the whole DJ thing in the first place (in at the deep end) was to play the music that no'one else in my area was playing, either because they were too scared to or not given the opportunity.

I started off in a club and then went on to DJ in lots of different Alternative clubs in the South and London. That would be my first bit of advice - Go and see if any of the local clubs are interested in doing what you intend to do. Don't just do on your doorstep...I travelled 60 miles to Bournemouth every thursday night for 2 years when I DJ'd at a great club down there.

Also, maybe have a word with your local bars or pubs and see what their thoughts are. You could hire in the kit first of all and see how it goes. If you have a favourite local, see what the punters are putting on the jukebox. You really need to sell yourself to get someone to give you the chance and you may need to offer a freebie first of all to see how the night goes. With the likes of Myspace and Facebook, you can tell everyone about your night within seconds.

You could also look at hiring a bar and charging people to get in (depends on the deal you get)...You could sell yourself to the venue and tell them that you'd charge (example) £2.00 to get in and they would get all of the bar takings. These things don't work overnight and take a bit of work. If you get a bar that has it's own equipment, get used to using it before you go out and buy stuff.

Fair play to you....go for it and let us know how you get on.

For the record....as I said, I got into DJing because I wanted to do something different. The majority of my work now is Weddings but I do get a lot of them that want something different and it's surprising just how many people out there want the music that I, You and others are prepared to play.

[Eski75]

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement, very much appreciated.

Answer to the first question is no I haven't had the opportunity to do any DJ'ing yet. My plan was to get confident with my kit I have so far, then perhaps chance my arm.

Secondly, I live in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire which is your typical small industrial town, fairly one dimensional as far as a night out goes although it does have a healthy live music scene. I genuinely think that there is a crowd for what I want to do and I have a venue in mind which is town centre and attracts the twenty and thirtysomething crowd at a weekend. It has nothing on, on a Thursday night which is where I had it in mind to pitch it to the management. Bank Holidays are also a big deal here, being a factory town so thought about trying to jack something up for one of them.

Your absolutely right, all I want to do is offer something that nobody else is doing right now where I live. If it falls flat then so be it, I'll put my hands up and say I was wrong.

I've got stacks of material in my area of interest but nothing "charty" which is what I meant when I said what I said about weddings and stuff. That said, I take Jason's point about no matter how you promote a genre night, someone will get the hump when they ask for something leftfield (as Boyzone would be at the kind of night I was hoping to set up for example) and you haven't got it.

That said, I must point out that this isn't musical snobbery pouring out here, I'd just got a really specific idea in my head about what I wanted to do, maybe too specific!?

Everyones words have been really, really helpful, I've been quite blown away to be honest. Thanks again. :)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Another good reason for you to charge for your services which hasn't been mentioned yet: let's say you get your perfect night and it's a great success and takes off in a big way. I'm sure there will be occasions when you want or need a night off (holiday, illness, etc). If you are doing it for free, you are going to find it difficult to get someone to cover for you.

Networking with other local DJs can't be recommended highly enough. Apart from long-term / getting cover, you may want to go out with a local DJ initially as a 'trainee'. Offer to roadie for them for free in return for learning a few of the basics. It may not be in your preferred niche, but it should give you a feel for DJing so that you can dip your toe in the water to see if you will enjoy it before splashing out a lot of money on kit and music.

If you do build local connections, and long term decide that you do want to expand / take it further and do private functions, maybe those DJs will pass you leads for jobs that they can't do - maybe for private functions that require you specialised area of expertise!

Maybe offer a freebie to get you started, but on the strict understanding that after x amount of time, it will cost £y.

Oh, and just to cover the legalities / best practice bits: It's very easy to get caught up in buying the new toys and the excitement of a new venture, but you should also research the boring bits too - eg: if you are using a digital play-out system, you will need to read up about a ProDub Licence; also PLI (Public Liability Insurance), PAT (Portable Appliance Testing), contracts and invoicing.

There is loads of information on the forum, but if you can't find what you're looking for via the search facility, please feel free to ask.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Eski - Ok, thanks for the information.
Angela (above) has given you some great advice there but don't let it scare you or put you off because it sounds daunting (Pro Dub, PLI etc) and it really isn't. If you want to get into the whole DJing thing and earn money from it (which you should do - Your idea is a winner if there is nothing like it in your area), then you will need to look into those things and it's really easy to sort out and not expensive at all.

Charge something so you can cover your outlay on those things including the equipment you eventually get. You sound like you know what you are doing / want to do and most importantly, you come across as someone that actually LISTENS (unlike a few others that turn up on the forum from time to time).

What I would do (if I were in your position), is firstly pick a number of venues (you mention that you have one in mind)....I would contact them first and the best way to do it is to arrange a proper meeting with them. Don't call them or email them...go and see them and ask if it would be ok to arrange a time to meet so that you can go over your ideas. What you could then do in preparation for your meeting is make up a poster for it to give them an idea of what you want to do. It will show that you aren't just another guy with an idea who wants to make a bit of money out of them. They probably get lots of people approaching them about nights so it will show your serious. Write down some bullet points etc etc so that you know what you are going to say and sell yourself....You'll be surprised how much it will help and how much better it will make you look to the venue.

Something like - (Think of a name of your night - Here's an example)

'SUCKERPUNCH'
INDIE / ROCK & ALTERNATIVE NIGHT
EVERY THURSDAY
9PM - 2AM
DJ ESKI
SMITHS BAR
£2.00 BEFORE 10.30PM / £3.00 AFTER

With reference to 'other music' being played....well, if the night is advertised well and properly, you shouldn't get people asking for chart stuff etc...Ideally you'd get people into the genres you are advertising.
Are there any colleges or universities nearby? Go and see them with flyers etc once you get your date.

Doing something like this needs lots of prep. When you go and see the venue, if they are up for it and want to give it a go, look at a date that will give you enough time to get sorted etc...It's not worth saying that you'll start the following week if you're not ready properly. It could be a wash out and the problem with venues is that they don't give you enough time to get things to work. A poor starter and they will start to think "Ok, we'll give it a couple more weeks" and if it doesn't improve, they'll look at something else and you're back to square one. Make sure that when you get your date, as many people as possible get to hear / know about it. Facebook will be your biggest friend (even though I hate it, it's great for letting people know what you're doing). Posters, flyers and facebook should get people interested, especially if there is nothing like it around at the moment.

Apologies for the long post, I have lots of advice to give you but that'll do for now.

Oh, lastly....a way to keep up with the current stuff is to pick a day each week and make it a 'catch up day' with your music. Look at the Top 40 and make sure that you have what is in it. Look at the top downloads and also what is on the current playlists of the likes of Radio 1 (aarggghh!) etc... I use Amazon MP3 because it's cheap and easy to use.

[Eski75]

Thanks Gary, Angela, Jason.........cracking advice, really grateful. Good tips on the pitch Gary, I'm no buisnessman so that will come in vary handy, bit like going for a job interview again lol (which I guess in a strange way you are......except it's worse as they haven't asked you to mither them with your crackpot ideas about what the town needs on a Thursday night!!!)

Good shout on the multiple venues, I actually re-read the venue I had in minds website and interestingly it's available to hire on a Thursday which gave me a bit of food for thought however it states quite clearly "we have the best local DJ's available to play ANY kind of music you want........." so I fancy I might get a tablet there.........but you don't ask you don't get etc etc. Either way it gives me a good excuse to have a wander round town of an evening with a couple of mates doing "research". ha ha

Looking to get a bit of practice in and do a bit of homework on what songs go down well and what doesn't warming up for a band I used to play in. They still play locally and do indie/alternative covers so figured it might not be a bad thing to do an hour before they play and maybe half hour inbetween thier sets. Get me used DJ'ing in front of punters and a little mic work introducing them etc, because although I'm generally a confident person, I think talking over a mic as I have seen many a DJ do at weddings and party's etc might be an area I'd be really weak on. What do you think?

[Corabar Steve]

Looking to get a bit of practice in and do a bit of homework on what songs go down well and what doesn't warming up for a band I used to play in. They still play locally and do indie/alternative covers so figured it might not be a bad thing to do an hour before they play and maybe half hour inbetween thier sets. Get me used DJ'ing in front of punters and a little mic work introducing them etc, because although I'm generally a confident person, I think talking over a mic as I have seen many a DJ do at weddings and party's etc might be an area I'd be really weak on. What do you think?
Good idea.

[Larry B Entertainment]

Looking to get a bit of practice in and do a bit of homework on what songs go down well and what doesn't warming up for a band I used to play in. They still play locally and do indie/alternative covers so figured it might not be a bad thing to do an hour before they play and maybe half hour inbetween thier sets. Get me used DJ'ing in front of punters and a little mic work introducing them etc, because although I'm generally a confident person, I think talking over a mic as I have seen many a DJ do at weddings and party's etc might be an area I'd be really weak on. What do you think?

Thats exactly how I started. I DJayed between band sets I used to play with.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I actually did the same thing. I was in a band and decided to leave as it was getting too much what with the travelling etc... I started off DJing at gigs with them before, inbetween and after and then moved on to the clubs.

[Eski75]

Nice one fellas, confidence well up now! I'll let you know how it goes...........and which tunes go down well...........just in case any of you feel like diversifying! Ha Ha

[Booche]

Hi Eski (Pete)

Just caught up with this thread and saw you was looking for music/discs etc

A friend of mine is selling his collection of Dj only etc discs they are in excellent condition and can be found in the For Sale section Click Me (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32770)

[Excalibur]

Hi Eski (Pete)

Just caught up with this thread and saw you was looking for music/discs etc


Indeed. Only six days after somebody PM'ed you a heads up about it. :whistle: :p :D :D :D :D :D

[Booche]

Indeed. Only six days after somebody PM'ed you a heads up about it. :whistle: :p :D :D :D :D :D

Ok Ok :p

[yourdj]

I have no intention of setting up a buisness or anything like that. My dream gig would be as a resident at a local pub or club

I would personally find a venues with sound already installed and put the money you would have spent on speakers and promote a very good indie night. Posters, flyers, online marketing etc. Promotion is all about the hype and as long as you deliver people will come (although can be very temperamental and risky).

On the back of that advertise yourself as an alternative DJ (like shakermaker). You will be amazed how many brides and grooms want to hear oasis and reef all night. even better hook up with a band and provide and all round service for weddings. All you need is a good website.

As for not making money - if you come up with an idea then your entitled to make as much as you feel is appropriate:

ie: nighclub with 200 people at £2 = £400
wedding for five hours (just Djing) = £400.

The dj kit you have is perfect as you can hook into CD'j as well if the venue has them. Mixing is not the forte of indie more about the track requests and selection IMO so you do not have to be a superstar DJ. :)

Look for cheap deals on "90's britpop" online deals and the likes. you will get allot of music that way for less money. Get internet and download on site for requests.

[Eski75]

Nice one, thanks for the advice.........I think your right about getting in with a venue that already has PA installed so I can turn up with my minimal kit and give it a whirl.

I take everybody's point about the buisness side of things, I guess I was just trying to be realistic about being a novice with big ideas going into the shark invested waters of club owners/managers.