between $300-500 for a first time gig four hour set for me

for three night's work...


.... current rates will run em a cool $ 160,000.00

easy

www.scratchlive.net

nah bro.. bringing your whole set up is work,don't have that attitude of "I'd do it for free"..Now if they had all the equipment there I could understand a free bee,but like you said you definetly want some compensation for the wear and tear on you equipment.



Are they charging at the door? If so how much?


What night of the week is it?

how many hours will you be playing?

Sometimes, promoters assume you're not any good if you charge too little. I know that may seem illogical.

^^ that being said, i'd hit with a cool $ 160,000.01 price tag (for three nights work)

if you gotta bring your own stuff, you should ask for at least $350 (if this is your first gig ever). if you have experience behind you, you should get $500 or better.

i personally like to discount a bit on the first gig, so i'd give em a break and do it for $150,000 :)

Yeah I would not ever bring my gear out for less than $300.

I would never bring my gear out for less than $500.

What can you make?

Here's a tip from someone that used to manage a bar:
The entertainment should not be more than about 20% of your pour costs. That means that if they're pouring $1000 a night in booze they shouldn't pay more than $200 in entertainment. This is assuming NO cover charge.


As a DJ:
Charge as much as you can get away with and then just a little more. Find out what the average club jock is paid in your area and then add anywhere from $50-100 (or more) for your equipment.


But some things you need to take into account:
1. How large is the venue?
2. How much liqour do they move?
3. Is the place packed or empty?
4. Are you going to be the draw? or the entertainment?
- This last question is likely what makes the biggest difference in what you can charge - think about it. Are you what brings them in the door (the draw) or what keeps them in the venue? (the entertainment).

5. What's it come down to hourly? Think about this. 1 hour setup, 1 hour tear down, 5 hours of playing = 7 hours. If you're making $150 a night, that's like getting paid about $15 an hour(after taxes). Sure I like DJ'ing but I want to get paid better than that for hauling the gear and setting up/tearing down every night. That's why I do weddings, corporate events, and other 'larger' events - I can easily make over $400 for 6 hours work or about $55/hour. Even if I have to drive I'm still making $40-50/hour after taxes.

6. If you leave the equipment you can charge less because you don't have as much set up and tear down time.

7. If they provide equipment you can charge less. You're now not having to worry about equipment replacement and damage.

8. If it's a sure thing for more than a week or two you can charge less. If they sign a contract or other agreement with you for a month or longer you can charge less because you'll be guaranteed more money in the long run. I charge a lot more for a contract IT job than I do for being a permanent employee.

I can tell you that smaller 'neighborhood' bars in my town (population about 450,000 in the metro area) tend to pay about $150 a night for a DJ. That's with a contract signed monthly and the DJ's equipment installed in the venue or on their equipment. The price is so low because they can always find someone that will play for that price. FYI - At those venues the DJ isn't the draw, the DJ is the entertainment. And it's why I don't do much bar work - the price is too low, the crowd is too drunk, and as much as I like it I can spend the time and effort elsewhere and a make a hell of a lot more money.

MM: thank you for that well thought-out presentation. You provided several strong points.

Thanks for bringing all this knowledge! This definetly helps me plan. So, I'll get my $160,000 now and I'll pay one of you guys $500 to do the gig for me. Can you get out to Eastern PA? Allright, I'll guess I'll pay airfare, but hotel is on you!

Just kidding...thanks for the insight all of you!

If you just have to "plug in" I would say $175.00 minimum. if you gotta bring P.A. $275.00 minimum. lights and everything else...$450.00 bare minimum. As far as the "I'd do it for free" goes....once you keep lugging your equipment back and forth that would def. change! People always wonder why I charge what I charge and I give them examples. Like, I did a Christmas party a few months back, I knew the people real well and cut them a deal, however, I managed to blow one of my subs at the event. I only charged them $250.00 but it cost me $300.00 to replace the sub...do the math. I was not pissed or anything because I have done this long enough to know that shit happens. I always emphisize to my clients before hand how much "money" I am lugging to their event and all that actually goes into a gig. Although I know that is not what they want to hear it gives them
a better outlook on what a Dj does and has to do besides "just play some music" It sometimes makes the pain of handing over that money everytime we spin a little less painful. How long have you been spinning? Have you done alot of gigs? Are you a mobile? The reason I ask is because you seem pretty eager to spin even if it is for a slim paycheck. Don't get me wrong< i know when I first started out I would damn near spin for free due to the feeling you get by just making people dance and listening to my craft. After being in the mobile game for about the last ten years or so however has changed my outlook as far as "doing it for free" goes. I think alot of mobiles would agree, but I still get that good feeling when I rock a party and rock it right!....later

I just recently started Djing friday nights at a local bar/small club.My friend promotes the place and asked me to DJ.Im getting between $150 and $200 every friday depending one the crowd but never less than $150.Weve had some bands to pay off but soon there will be no more bands playing and just the DJ (me) which means I will be getting paid more.I know this aint much but I guess I look at it this way but only for this situation with my friend:I love DJing period and use to do it for free when I was younger so getting any $$ is cool with me.I havent always had to use my equipment and my boy still got me paid.Plus he has a lot of connections and has hooked me up with little things to show appreciation.Got me some Things at Foot Locker,PS 3 games etc.Ill be DJing for him at the coming up DUB Car Show here in L.A. for his booth which means Ill be there for free(concert,cars and girl,girs, girls).He has hooked me up with a Wedding coordanator to DJ at weddings getting me the big$$$.Although he has ask for a small fee for basically being the middle man and taking out all the "Hustle" out of my job,that is fine with me.So I guess you got to figure out whats best for you and your situation.

RekTek is right 100%!!!

When you're starting out you need to take less money because you're an 'unknown'. They don't know if you'll pack the house or clear it.

And I can tell you that mobile DJ'ing is both the greatest and worst job in the world depending on the gig and the crowd.

Spoken like a true mobile...lol

I have a great deal of respect for you mobile kats. I'm not built for it, but I've still done it plenty of enough times to appreciate the patience real mobile DJ's must have.

For the club thing, it's a true balancing act, sometimes especially for a club newbie:

--If you ask for too little, they assume you're wack and desperate...

If they think you're wack and desperate, they'll either not hire you, or try to gas your head up with the magical 'e' word--EXPOSURE--and lie to you about everything imaginable


--If you ask for too much, they won't hire you, and find somebody who will do it for next to free, even if they lose the crowd.

With club owners/promoters, I often reference the parable of "The Toad and the Scorpion," or whatever set of animals you're used to. In other words, despite good sense, many owners/promoters will be cheap to a DJ, even if it causes them to lose their business, despite logic.

So, I hope I didn't scare you.

The above scenarios do not always apply, but often do.

Yes... I'm a mobile but I've done some club work....

And I should have clarified.

For MOBILE gigs you 'might' have to take less money to get the gigs and build a reputation. And I don't mean a lot less, just enough to get a few gigs and then bring your rates up to what's common for your area as you become less of an 'unknown' factor. If your game is better than everyone else you can quickly surpass the 'going rate' and charge more.

For BAR gigs get as much as you can right up front. The bar will almost NEVER increase your pay. Get it all up front or write the contract for reduced pay for a single night (not free) and then it goes to the 'standard rate'.

And never DJ a whole night or set for free at a bar. I've put some 'dj's' on the decks for up to half an hour to see how they handle themselves and the crowd. But I've never put someone on the decks for the whole night without pay. I'm a professional, they're a professional, and they should be getting paid for doing a job.

FYI - I've seen some people that had the mechanics of DJing down cold but after 30 minutes they come out of the booth saying 'I don't know what to play next'. I've seen some break down after 5 minutes. And some were 'ok' with the mechanics but could read the crowd like nobody's business.

A 30 minutes 'trial' made or broke a lot of the people that wanted to DJ at the bar I was managing.



On a side note, if you can find a copy of it, pick up and read '$1,000,000 consulting'. IIRC that's the name of it.

It discusses the types of clients out there for consultants (and some can be applied to the DJ business):

If you're charging $1000/hour:

Some won't hire you because you're too expensive. They just can't afford those prices.

Some will hire you because you're priced just right.

Some won't hire you because you're priced too low. They assume that because you're priced this low you must not be any good. Rather than think they might be getting a deal they only consider people who charge significantly more - even if they're not half as good.

Same things applies to DJ'ing in a lot of cases....

All that aside.... If you REALLY want a DJ career you need to understand BOTH the business of DJ'ing and the act of DJ'ing. I've seen some really good DJ's that suck at business and some really bad DJ's that are pretty good at business.

Charge for your sounds and lighting 400-500

Then charge for you DJing services depending on your experience and how good you are $75-150/hr. But keep in mind what they bring in the door cuz they wont give you all of there money!

This might even make them invest in sounds and lighting so you won't break your back!

to have me DJ i look at a few things before i quote any price. how much work will it be, and for how long.

i use my equpt so often that i give massive discounts if i dont have to bring anything. i'd say bring my equpt doubles the price (at least)

if i bring my whole set up i wont consider it for less than 450 unless its for someone i know. typically i start for 750.

but if i know it will be awesome i'll discount and consider it entertainment for myself too.

oh, and bringing my own equpt i require the gig to be at least 3 hrs so i can hold on to that minimum amt i want to make. the 750 is for 5 hrs

Niiice... One thing...when I said I'd do it for free I wasn't serious! For a CLOSE friends party or something hell yeah but not for a business. I already know what a DJ can do for drink sales etc. I ain't gonna see any of that and even if there was some type of deal with door or drink sales how would I know if my cut is correct?
I'm getting up but I still gotta keep my equipment up and my signals clean.
Once again, thanks for the insight from all of you!