D-List dj's.....WE ALL WE GOT!!!!!

I'm number 10!

It's very funny but not totally accurate...

The main problem is comparing wedding DJs and people who DJ in a bar to David Guetta and Calvin Harris. they have almost nothing in common and honestly, it's more insulting to Guetta and Harris than anyone else.

Second problem is the quoted pay for weddings seems low. The guy who wrote the article is from Canada, and I'm not sure about prices everywhere but I've never heard of anyone doing a wedding fr $500...

The store pay seems high. Most stores in NYC pay pretty low unless it's a one-off event.

They say "Resident DJs" get $150 to $300. In NYC id say its $300-$400 for a nice bar. Clubs are more. If you have 4 gigs a week paying $300, that's over $60,000 per year. You're not getting rich, but I wouldn't call that low paid either - especially not for someone who is just playing music in a bar.

Numbers 1 through 7 are basically just resident DJs in one form or another. No one would call themselves an "out of city" DJ or a "one-off" DJ. There are club DJs and wedding DJs.

But number 2? LOL! I guess he got ME there!!

There are plenty of guys around my way who will gladly do a wedding for $500 or less and $150 to $300 for a club night is accurate (you really cant use NYC prices as a typical #)

I agree the retail dj # sounds awefully high though

Yeah I've seen plenty of guys doing weddings that cheap. Just poke around craigslist and I see it. As for the retail, that is high for the average I'd say. I'm sure there are tons more that do it for store credit or something.

I'd say retail was about right. When I did retail stores I was getting $350 for 4 hours of spinning.

I guess it depends if you are approaching the store yourself or going through an agency. Agencies get you more money for in stores.

It's definitely possible, I just don't know if it's the norm kind of thing. For one off events or special store sales for sure, you'll get anywhere between 250-500 for 2-4 hour in store gigs.

LOL I think the only one that was wrong was the wedding one, no this is article isn't supposed to be serious, it more exaggerates the ridiculousness of some dudes on the "DJ scene"

I don't do many weddings but I make 3 times that amount when doing them, and I'm not nearly one of the big dogs in that arena.

My fav is #3



HAHA I've said the same thing for years any time I see someone mention these "competitions"

Damn ok!!

#6 all day....

Yea...this article is pretty silly.

A lot of DJ's do way more than just one isolated type. Hell, I was in a contest, the McDonald's one, and won a legit $10,000 (PLUS hella burgers)...and I've DJ'd at a few stores...and in six different cities + Africa, getting paid, and did a Greek party that paid better than all clubs do, and Weddings that paid more than $750, and been a resident, and done one offs...hell, I might as well change my name to DJ R. Turner or something so I can get all ten of those "lowest paid" gigs covered!

Weddings... eh, $600 - $800 seems right for me in my area. I get a lot of calls for $100 weddings, but I don't budge (and I'm booked solid this year). I'm at the local average for weddings and school events.
Did a few department stores, but not for anywhere near $250! Yikes - I got duped.

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DJ sets out here (Dubai) tend to be pretty fair, around the $400-500 per set (2-3hrs) for a club/bar.

Corporate gigs (product launches etc) are about double that, and weddings etc are considered the worst, but the guys that play them can almost charge what they want - $800 - $1200.

All you wedding DJs out there should up sticks and move out here ha ha... they are the best paying gigs and none of us want to play them!

K

I thought about it and yeah, maybe it's because L.A. has a much higher pay scale for Weddings...so DJ's may not want to do them just because they're Weddings, until they realize how much you can get. I know folks who consistently charge $2K-$3K for them, especially those with the celebrity type clientele.

Clientele is everything. I do a bridal expo every year at NIU (Dekalb). A higher priced wedding buddy of mine won't touch it. He knows that the brides are mostly poor college chicks who are in debt up to their ears already and can't afford a DJ over $500-600. I don't mind those types of gigs... they come with nicer, more civilized brides! High price usually equals high maintenance bridezillas!