I would love to give up the day job - and sometimes (when the bookings are heavy), I actually feel like I could... but then something always happens! A club closes or changes format, nights rotate, whatever. The uncertainty of the industry in general along with the lack of health insurance, 401k, etc will probably keep me doing the 9-5 thing for at least the foreseeable future.

I used to DJ full time... before I had kids! Responsibility can be a mofo.

I do the double life, in my area DJing full time really isnt realistic, there arent alot of clubs, there isnt alot of rotation in em, and average pay for EVERYTHING here is really low so mobile gigs wont cover what i make in my 9 to 5. Even if i could i would never want to bea 100% DJ because i know how i am with money and i would never have the focus to put money away for later in life like my 401 k does at my 9-5

I quit my job once to DJ full time and it worked out well for a while but I eventually had to go back when the club got sold. Fortunately my old job was still waiting for me. I don't think I could DJ full time unless I was doing Tours.

Cool article

Unless you're one of the big shots like Craze or Atrak its unrealistic to be a local full time DJ. One month you got 4 residencies a week and you feel like you've made it. Next month a club loses their liquor license, another shuts down, you're undercut by a newbie and now you're down to 1 gig a week struggling to pay bills.

I think trying to be a fulltime DJ by getting 4-5 local club gigs a week is like fools gold. Having "weekly" residencies gives you a false sense of security because there are so many factors that can cause you to lose those gigs. Plus in mainstream clubs you're playing the same top 40 stuff every other DJ is being forced to play. You're getting paid but you're not really building a career out of DJing by landing multiple club gigs.

This local DJ company around my way gives full benefits to their DJ's but they're more mobile cheesy bowtie wearing DJ's

True that!! It was kinda a reality check last weekend, i was on burbon chattin it up with some promoters and found out that a local "big name dj" (wont name him now but ill say hes a top level EDM dj with an album in national stores) got fired from his long time residency. Not only that but from the ways he acted hes not aloud to step foot in most of the clubs in NOLA. Apparenly his old residency will let him still throw partys there....IF HE PAYS EM.

Just kinda goes to show you how quick a 180 can happen from bein the man on the decks to bein stuck on the other side of that wall

I believe if you want to make a career out of DJing create a following instead of strictly going after club gigs.

I could not agree more. I was doing the top 40 thing, and i was totally burnt out. Everybody was shady, DJs came a dome a dozen, and the music is basically terrible. You get so sick of it all. I almost walked away from DJing completely after a bad/big mainstream gig. I came back with the attitude of "f*ck it, imma do what I want". Its slow going, but when i put on events, people come out and know they are going to get a good show. And not the same old b-s.

But, thats not paying the bills, so for now, this mild mannered DJ puts on his corporate hat by day.

i do this

Im in the army so in between training and deployments. I try to be some big shot DJ and spin it up and rock the party but lately I have been struggling to barely get a gig. I was doing great for a while then I got replaced after a training event and I wasnt gonna bitch at the owner for getting another guy.

I do mobiles when they come around...I do clubs whenever some rents out the club for a party and they hire me cause they know Im the only guy in town with his own gear.

I wish I could tour with the big name guys. I would settle for opening up for any big name guy.

I know one thing I practice like Im gonna getting paid for it.

I sometimes actually wish i could lead the double life. Truth is I get tired of not being able to do normal things on weekends, socialize with regular people (instead of other douchebag club lifers).

Lately I'm also tired of feeling like a vampire, I get to bed around 10am-12pm usually, I just woke up an hour ago and wiping the sleep snot out of my eye while all my neighbors are coming home from work getting ready to relax over dinner. 3-4am is my normal dinner time

On the flipside I tried the 9-5 years ago and it was so mind numblingly redundant i went near insane.

So in the end it could be much worse, but it doesn't mean I don't wonder what "the other side" is like.

did for about 10 years till i started djing full time last year...

I think the thing I would like most is being able to be more choosey about gigs, I mean I turn down shit all the time but only because I've got something better line up. Sometimes I have to take gigs that are not my cup of beer and that's where the double life fantasy comes in, but again like I said I guess it could be worse.

once of the big catches is to have other "industry" jobs that allow you to dj at will.

very few will ever "only CLUB dj" (mobile, mobile + some club...thats different)

they are remixing, producing, promoting, marketing,social media-whoring,smoozing, designing flyers, videos ect ect... even if ur just making grade b mashups in fruity loops you are giving yourself some sort of dynamic. and not "only dj'ing"

to think that someone could get up and ONLY spin music..I mean its a nice dream.
but I think in this day and age it might remain that (at least for a short amount of time..cant do it forever...unless you are going to be single for life)

I tried the "only DJ" thing..workde out for a good 3 years or so in my young 20s
when my rent was 300 a month in a bachelor pad, and I lived off fast food and
ramen noodles.... but it certain had its "uh oh" periods... one week Id clear 2300 take home..and the next Id pull 250...

Its fun, if your young...and can hack it I recomend trying it for a while.
its a lovely ride.

///
Ive also been in the Army, 14 years now.
Im also The Senior Orthopaedic Specialist at a major level 1 trauma center.
pop out some kids, get married... no matter how good you spin...
cobra health insurances RAPE YOU...
"YOU NEED TO GET YOUR ASS SOME COVERAGE" - Chris Rock
so you need that 35hr a week to get your family covered.

well i am an engineer by day and an event planner and dj by night.

Interesting blog and thread here. But anyway, i've always dreamed about solely DJing as my job. I've always thought if I ever get fired or laid off from my 10 to 7, I can get unemployment for awhile and then take a crack at this DJing thing fulltime. I figured if I could lock down 3 or 4 decent paying spots a week I would make better money than I did at my job. But i've never thought that deep into it. You forget about the random drama mentioned above. Club closes down, change music format, undercutters or whatever. The DJ market is just as unstable as the job market nowadays. Unless you have some sort of contract you could be assed out.

I would totally try my luck if I didn't have my family and responsibility though!

If you get paid right its not a problem. I know guys here who are full time DJs and spend all day remixing videos, finding new music, etc... But you gotta get paid right, the worst thing you can say as a DJ is "I'd DJ full time but I don't make enough money to quit my day job".

Because the realistic truth is you are only as good as you think you are, and you limit yourself. If the gigs are low paying in your area, travel. But you gotta make connections in other cities to make that transition.

I asked my friend, a DJ for 15+ years why he's never pursued out of town gigs and stuff.. He said "Well I've pretty much decided at 38 years old that being a local DJ is all I'll ever be.". I've only been a DJ for maybe 3 years total (I'm 31) and I said "But you're so good at it, you're way better than the rest of the DJs out there..."

He's been here 15 years, and over the recent years all the places started paying the same low rates, and no wonder if you let yourself get beat up like that for so long, you start to believe you're not as good as you really are.

Well, after that talk, fast forward a year and he's completely out of that "local" mindset, only willing to book good paying gigs willing to pay the full price (and hotel if it's out of town).

That said, my day job is my own business writing computer software and doing repairs. :)

math teacher dj here

Once I get a day job I'll quit one of my weekday gigs and leave the weekends as extra money.

Having a day job makes me more of a professional when I deal with club owners, clients and sometimes parents. I get more done because time is so precious to me. Right now I'm getting about 5 1/2 hours of sleep a day because I'm always hustling and trying to get as much done as possible. When I was strictly a full time DJ I was pretty unorganized and didn't fully understand the importance of time management. I feel pretty lucky now because I really like my day job almost as much as I like my night job.

I run a record label and do production in my day job- you would think that this meshes perfectly with the DJ career, but the truth is it is still a 9-5 (and much more) and often when DJ times comes I'm tired...

I work full time, I don't think I could switch over to DJ full time. I don't get as many gigs as I want, but on the flipside, I only play what I want. If I were to rely on it, I don't think I would enjoy it as much.

Also, It's not really practical to DJ any other night but Friday or Saturday, I can't go working till the early hours of the morning when I got a meeting first thing. Occasionally maybe, but on a regular basis, no. It's a shame, I think I could get away with a much more during the week, and bars/clubs are more willing to let you have a go with something new and see if you can bring something in.

I DJ'd full time (5 nights/week) for several years. Now I only spin 1 night every two weeks. Actually Full Time DJ was my first job, lucky me :-)
Getting older you realize you can't keep up that 'tll your retirement. Settling down with th girlfriend and stuff ...

My first combo DJ/day job was cutting back to only play weekends and working the day @ a record store, vinyl only. Did that for a year and then went 'corporate' 6,5 years ago. At my second corporate job now doing marketing for several sites at a big Belgian internet service provider. Fun job, still love to DJ every other week to take the pressure of ... But what is being said in this thread a lot is true ... Make enough money: no problem but make sure you're covered.

In Belgium it's not quite clear as to how a DJ should manage his finances and taxes toward the state. Some regions allow you to be self-emplyed and have a VAT-number, other regions don't ... very confusing. So a day job with social security and health plan is key to be safe enough for when you (purposely or not) start to spin less than what you need to make a full time living ...

I don't regret making the choice of 'slowing down' on the DJ front. I've had a good life so far ... had a lot of fun doing what I love to do and now my weekend night every other week is something to look forward too. I realized I had to cut down on the number of gigs I did when I was asking myself one night 'Did I allready play this tune tonight, or was it last night?' :-)

So for the Full Time DJ: been there, done that ... But unless you're one of the big stars in DJ'ing not something you can keep up your whole life ...

Even if you're a Tour DJ for a major artist its hard to stay a fulltime DJ.

This guy in my area DJed for N.E.R.D. on tour way back in 2003. He got a steady stream of gigs years afterwards for being knows as the Neptunes DJ. He never went on tour again with NERD and I dont even know if he spins gigs anymore. I think he could've made it big because he was making mashups and remixes before the term "mashup" was even coined. He was making them before Serato and used CD decks so he could play his mashups.

Chris Browns tour DJ lives in my area. He hasn't toured with Chris Brown since the whole Rihanna incident. But I guess he does OK because he's on the radio here and does alot of local gigs.

The Clipse tour DJ also from my area used to be on the radio(his job was taken from the guy mentioned above). He went on tour with the Clipse and is now back in VA tweeting trying to land local gigs.

I admire Atrak because he took himself beyond just being known as Kanye's DJ which ALOT of people would be complacent with. Now he's too busy himself to tour with kanye and is highly respected as an artist in his own right.

I see you are from VA Beach, Im originally from Richmond.

Anyhow, Atrack might recently be known as Kanye's DJ, but he has been famous for a very long time. He was the youngest person to ever win the DMC World Championship and since then he's been making scratch records/albums and touring since then. He gets good money whenever he gets booked.


Logisticalstyles, I feel the same way. When I was younger, I too was too unorganized and did not really know how to talk to the booking managers/club owners. Having client interaction and dealing with frustrating clients at work has made my negotiations with the club people much easier. Also, it has made it a lot easier to spot a dishonest club owner. I never deal with those people any longer.

Yea but alot of good DJ's from the late 90's battle era have fallen off the face of the earth.

That's dope you're from Richmond, I went to VCU. Do you know of Krames?

That dude used to DJ alot of the same VCU parties as I did and now he's doing world tours and has a pretty big internet following.

+1 plus now alot of average\top 40 people know him as kaynes DJ who had no clue what the DMC is

What's funny is that I didn't even KNOW A-Trak was Kanye's DJ until y'all mentioned it here.

me neither I knew him as that kid that had the crazy battle routines

which makes sense when you think about it because of what you guys are into, someone who knows him as Kaynes tour DJ would say the same thing about him being a DMC champ

I quit my day job as a land surveyor about 4 years ago, and could not be happier!
I was busting my ass for 8 years, working 12 hr days in the woods & on construction sites, and DJing was only a hobby.
I've been DJing (and doing other music related work) ever since (some club/some mobile) and making way more than I ever did at my 9-5. The best part is getting to spend time at home during the week with my wife and daughter :)
(I also have a recording studio, produce beats, play drums in a band, run lights and sound and promote local concerts, etc.)

Ha, so I guess that's A-Trak's 9 to 5.

<<<-- Corporate Senior LAN Technician by day....

There WAS a time that my DJ'ing did generate more money for me than my regular
9 to 5, and my dad HATED it.

He had this thing of a "Man" always getting up and going to work Monday - Friday, 9 to 5, and here I was making my own hours, getting paid CASH, paying all my bills, and even the RENT he was charging me.

I always kept a job, but at the time, it was mostly to start having "Benefits" and whatnot.

Ah, the good ol' days of no responsibility except one's self.

In today's world you better be more than just a DJ.. My 9 to 5 is a very well paying job that allows me to DJ as much as I want while at the same time making a really good retirement nest egg hours 7:00 -3:30. Being from the Dallas\Fort Worth area the Radio DJ's past and present get the big paper (Radio DJ will get on the average 1 to 2 grand ) even if your good, your name/skills doesn't command a damn thing if not a Radio DJ. It would be years before you break through and start really getting paid.

Being that I do have a well paying job I am a little bit more arrogant with my pricing compared to the local market. On the average the local market is $200 to do a party in the Dallas area and many go below that.. why too many dj's undercutting which decreases the value of the DJ's ...WOW 200!!!!!!! I bet you think I am joking but I am not. If on the east cost it would be 400 remember the cost of living is different in Texas so different that people leave the east and west coast and sell their homes get a mil and buy the same house for less than 150 grand her in TEXAS.

People are hurting they are hurting so bad they just set up ipods and say bump the dj. I had five calls last week asking my pricing which by the way is 350 for 4hours audio and 500 for 4 hours video each additional hour $75 so I am fair on pricing for our market not low not high. All five that called back and said that found a dj to do the gig cheaper with 150 being the cheapest and one of the guys who wanted video said a guy would do it for 200... Now really WTF... so my point is if your a DJ you might want to do lots of others stuff related to music to keep you financially stable and always into something.. Cause its only going to get worst. I do webpages, repair computers, run networks, set CCTV systems, I do many things yet what I do most is DJ... Love it but as a realist its hard just to be a DJ only.... If not a radio DJ I think a corporate dj would be the only other way to do it... Not saying it cant be done 1 out of 8000 dj's would be able to dj only... Im just saying everybody aint that one.

Finally, someone on the flip side of things. Most DJs here so far, myself included, are keeping their day job for various reasons. I do see you do more than just DJing, but its all music related and makes your DJing better. Kudos

I don't know why people keep saying things like "unless you're a big name Dj" etc. That's nonsense. I'm not a big name Dj and I do fine. I know plenty of local Dj's who own houses (I should be there next year), raise families etc and some of the guys that I know who have their shit together the most are the ones doing way less flashy gigs than some of the ones who are struggling. You gotta have balls to do this thing and make it work.

I think what most people are saying (at least what i am) about big name djs is that in a normal 9-5 you have some security, you have a 401K, insurance, profit sharing, something to put on a resume. You stack alot to invest in your future. If you a big name makin 10 grand a show and a high demand across the country your set, if the gigs dry up you hop a plane and go where you havent exausted your resources and you have a respectable looking bank account because your making more than enough for now AND extra for later, you can also use your name to take other avenues if necessary. If your not a "big name" you never know when the gigs dry up when times get hard, you get undercut, clubs close, younger cats are on you, you have to manage your money alot better because not only do you have your present bills but you have to wisley invest so your not DJ Grandad djin at 75 years old trying to afford food.

Maybe it's a small town thing, I dunno. You don't have to be a big name Dj. You can talk about insurance etc but these Dj's I'm talking all have retirement funds, benefits the whole 9. You just gotta know what you're doing. And gigs were real dry here for a while and still haven't recovered fully. Like I said, it takes balls. You have to be a go getter and not be a fraid of half the stuff you're talking about. I think some of you don't realize that you can have all these things by investing in them yourselves (hell it took me a long time to realize it and I've been a fulltime Dj since I was 16)

Oddly enough as much as I hate mobile gigs (no Alabama) I started to see that light by hanging out with guys who do mobile. They have their shit together a lot of these guys, wheras a lot of us don't because we're always focused on "the big name Dj's" like unless we're playing with those guys we're not successfull. Mobile dudes are more realistic and treat it like a business not like a road to stardom.

Say a blue collar guy is pulling in $400 a week after taxes after busting his ass at the warehouse for 40 hours, and I pulled in $600 playing dive bars for the week at $200 for 12 hours work. At the end of the week I have $200 more and way more time on my hands to maybe try a side thing to earn some extra dough. But most of us see that $600 and buy drinks and fancy gear and play the role of the superstar Dj since image is so important. But if you don't drink at work (yes call it work and treat it like that) and don't piss all your money away on special edition colored vinyl and skull candy headphones and all the latest accessories in order to look the part so one day you can be the big man, and instead treat it like hard earned money you can turn it into something much more.

Like i said, I'm only recently seeingg the light, I actually on a regular week make less than I did when I was younger when I was doing the fancy tour gigs and TV spots, yet for some reason now I have more money to play with than I did then.

me too.......ALABAMA!!!

Back in 2006 I quit my job and I made a living DJing and Producing for almost 4 years. It was a great time in my life. Lots of highs, a few lows, and a huge learning experience overall. I'm back to working a corporate gig fulltime now and while I miss certain aspects of DJing/Producing all the time...I don't miss the uncertainty of the lifestyle.

Yes thats true but then look at it like this, most people in corp america get raises every year. So after a year or so your not moving boxes for $400....your sittin gon your ass and gatting about $800 a week doing nothing PLUS contributing to a 401K PLUS health dental bennefits, while your playing those dive bars....but lets say next week some undercutter hits you out of 2 of those dive bars and you dont have any mobiles set up.....mr white colloe STILL makes $800 and all the extras while you only made $200...now lets say you get a great mobile gig and make $1000 the next week...you made more than him but overall his is just rollin in while your hustling your ass off. Fast forward a year and say you want to take the fam on vacation....that week your on vacation your not getting paid while Mr white collar is Getting paid leave to sit on a beach. Then while on vacation you both break your leg...while white collor is getting PAID not to work your losing money left and right and depleting your savings.

Fast forward 10 years and lets say the DJ games changed and its FLOODED with young jacks doin nickel shows cutting into your gigs. Now your 40 trying to find work where Mr white collor has an experience filled resume that he can shop around at his leisure.

im not saying you CANT make a living off just DJing, im just saying it takes a real special kinda person to pull it off and statistically speaking it wont be everyone.

Me personally even if my club gigs were frequent enough to support me and build my future id STILL have a day job. I just dont believe in having hours in the day your not gettin paid for. Im paid for about 15 hours of my day doing different ish

Now, I don't think I will be doing any mobile gigs in the near future, but you are absolutely right. I worked for a guy in vegas for a while. He was the exact same age as me, we were 26 at the time, and he was stupid rich. He was supporting a family with 2 kids and had five houses. He has a wedding/mobile dj company and he had his shit together for real! He also played some of the popular clubs at night. Call it selling out, but that is one good way to make it as a DJ without ever becoming a "big name".

Im waitin for my wife to hopefully get her bachlors degree in nursing in a couple of years. Then after she get a job making good money I might take a crack at it. As of right now im the bread winner. Shit im 30 now, I might be to old and tired of DJing by the time im 33.

this sounds like me...except I dont do construction

but i do spend time in the woods....gooooo army

]

see but even in tha example your dealing with vegas, theres money to be made in vegas if you have your shit together. I would say in the majority of places money isnt going to be as free flowing.

Yeah, its a lucrative area for the wedding business for sure. But the case still stands. Back to Dj Shamann's original point, if you have our shit together, you can do it without being having the big name...
But that is not the path most of us want I think. Weddings/mobile are good money, but the club is actually creative and fun.

Mobile Gigs are were the money is at for the non big name DJs. While most of my mobiles are not as fun as doing a big club for 600 poeple. It pays better and the referrals are nice. Mobiles have landed me a few club gigs just because some club owner was one of the mobiles I was doing and he had a blast and wanted me to play his spot.

Mobiles are slow in my area right now and so are the club gigs. Its so damn slow for me I havent used serato in about a month. I spend most of my DJing time marking old vinyl and doing juggles at home just to say I can do it with real vinyl (I hate you guys for that too making me feel like shit cause I couldnt spin real vinyl like I spin serato on rel mode) Anyways Im off topic now so yea

Mobile gigs can and eventually WILL make you want to bash your head against the wall.

That said, it's good bread.

There's nothing wrong with doing the weddings, proms, corporate events, etc while doing clubs. Yeah, you're going to be asked to play the worst of the worst, but if you can rock those kind of crowds will still maintaining the ability to work a club crowd, you become better overall AND you get that steady mobile money.

Why fast forward? It's happening now.





Mobile guys have shit set up from a year in advance. My buddy just asked me to do 3 next summer, back in the day I would've laughed and said talk to me next year but i'm realizing there's something to this set up because there's no worrying what I'm going to do next June. You set up enpough gigs for a while and it's perpetual motion. And don't act like working in a warehouse/corporate etc. is stabel, downsizing, lay offs, etc happen all the time, and you don't have a year in advance to know it's going to get slow.

I think Color TV gets what I'm saying and as he said it has nothing to do with Vegas. The same guy who has me booked for next year is a long time friend and he started the business because back in the day I used to say, by the time I'm 35, I want to have my own Dj service, sending dudes out to the bars, mobiles etc. And he thought it was good idea and move on it 35's a few more years away but why wait? A couple of weeks ago we got a call on a Monday night to do a party the next afternoon in a backyard for $2600, we did such a good job (apparently some of the people knew who I was from clubbing) and we got called a few days later for another one. We split the whole thing but I made $2600 in one week and that's not including my other gigs. I couldn't have done that kind of short notice with a 9-5. I could've also pissed that money away because I made it so fast but I put it to use. If you get in the habit of this you can make your money work for you and you don't need some company's generic benefit plan to do it for you.

And you don't necessarily need mobile to do this if you're smart with your money. This is something I've been working on for a while and still have a ways to go but I'm seeing the difference already.

Right now there's some mobile guy reading this thread and laughing at all of us thinking to himself "fuck, I won't even unload the truck for what most of yyou guys make in a week)

Superstar dj is not the only way to carve out your place in life.

And I'm not knocking you 9-5ers either, it takes a different kind of balls to do that. *cue misquote*

As I said earlier, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to do what you guys do... someone mentioned earlier about looking forward to gigs more. that's cool. i still get that feeling wwith certain gigs but not as often as someone like that would.

Ya im not saying its not possible and im not knockin it, like i said i just dont think everyone has the huslte to make it happen like that and your location has alot to do with that too. Around my way the top djs are gettin $200 a night, clubs are only open 3 nights a week (typically 2) and mobiles make JACK, im talkin theres cats around here BRAGGIN that they got $500 for a wedding, craigslist in my area is full of people beggin to do a $200 job and my areas full of clients. I got called to do a Prom for a highschool that i have connects at to find out they wanted sound and lighting and had a $400 budget..which was more than they had last year.....that means some poos sap did a 4+ hour gig with sound and lighting for liek $100 an hour. I know a few mobiles who do alright but they put in sick work like their covering a 4 state area drivin around for peanuts.

The only DJs in my area really DOIN IT like it should be dont are the club jocks who are rentin out venues and being the promoters of their own partys. The dude who does mobiles 1st friday is making BAAAAANNNNKKKK, im talkin $20 at the door, packed house each hit (that shits unheard of in mobile). Im dyin to know how they pull in these crowds.

I've been making a living dividing my time between mobile gigs, club gigs, restaurant/lounge gigs, and throwing the occasional party when i feel up to it. I also try to tour 2-3 times a year even if it's just in my home-province.

Mobiles by far net me the most money but at the same time, it's some of the least fun I have DJing on average (there's always a once-in-a-blue-moon amazing mobile crowd i get to dj for but those are few and far between).

It took me about 6 months of hustling to just start breaking even and a little bit longer to actually start making money but it's possible without being a superstar...

I was thinking you could probably make a living as a full time DJ/promoter if you throw your own events and build a following like Diplo and The Rub guys did. Or if you own a club. But clubs are shaky business. Around my way its rare for clubs to stay open longer than 2 years.

In reality, being a promoter (rent the club / keep the door) is good business but its so easy to lose your following. One promoter here was the guy who threw all the big parties for 5+ years, his events were guaranteed packed. Now a new promoter came along and 3 months later his events are packed and the other promoter's night was so dead they closed early (his security staff and DJ was at our club at 1:30)...

But in reality to be a full time club promoter you really need to either be rich or be a drug dealer other wise you probably don't have near enough cash to compete with the other guys.

LOLthat was our angel that got me and my boys foot in the door in our city (about 5 years ago), we couldnt get residencies so we worked out a deal with a bar to do our own shows there, we got 100% of the door. The bar was a dive so security was slim to none so we hired our own "security" then "somehow" some of our citys best ...cough..cough.."busniessmen" ...cough..cough from the club scene were tipped off that they could come to our partys and have a field day....needless to say you invite 4 of these guys and EVERYONE else follows. Shit worked like a charm for about 5 months until 2 things happened...the city put a few of these "busniessmen" out of busniess and the bars we were working for got sick of never making a profit....because apparently bars make money off alcohol not water and OJ lol. The following we built kinda got tired of the partys we were throwin but it really didnt matter though cause by then our name had enough buzz to get our feet in legit doors.

Djn full time is not a smart route to take sometimes. No gig last forever. Its a hard reality check. You get sick, your done, crazy bills, lost gigs. If they pay you in checks, your assed out with IRS come tax time. You wanna buy a house or car, forget about it. You dont have proof of steady income for the credit apps. When you get older you'll have nothing to show for it, but cool pics of you Djn lol. Ive had the opportunity many times when I was younger to go full time, but I couldnt do it. I could still do it, but I also would have to suck it up and do alot of gigs I dont like. They money would be equally as good if not better, but my weekends/life would be shot. I also would have no dental or health insurance which I didnt appreciate until I seen the $20,000 bill for a surgery I had. My co pay was like 30 bucks, ha!

The only way I would enjoy djn full time is if I had alot of money to begin with and didnt have to worry about bills. I would start producing tracks and promote myself hard. Id start my own label. Fuck it go all out. When you do something you love, time means nothing. I wouldnt even sleep.

DNA by day

DJ by night.

Although I have been slowly cutting back on the DJ gigs in Boston. Im getting to the point I would rather just stick to production and not have to stay up until 2 AM. Im getting old. lol

I thought you were just complaining about how bad your resident DJ position was at that bar? LOL.

huh? Are you saying in comparison to those days? Those shows were a HELL of alot more fun than my current gig cause i was playin all Fl breaks and electro which is what i love, on the otherhand i was spining with 3 other DJs so there were personality clashes which i dont have to deal with now (except the owners rules) and its nice to know i have a solid spot at a club VS trying to organise it with the bar every week. The big thing was the following we built kinda dissapated because we kept doing the partys, plus alot of em just stopped goin out all together so i have a new crowd now thats NOT my people lol

So why don't you do the same thing with hip hop? Rent the club, keep the door, most hood nights you can get $10 at the door to start and put it up to $20 by 1-1:30...

Most breaks/rave parties people complain and expect to get in free these days even to see once popular DJs.. One guy I know does those parties and often times spends more money than he makes.. Or he shorts the Dj, etc..

Its something im looking into, theres a promoter who does a 1st fri party at the club im attached to and i know that ddue banks, 10 at the door, $20 once its past capacity and its packed head to toe EVERY single time. Dudes a smart guy because he knows our club is attached and has no cover so once he hits that clubs "capacity" he starts usherin cats from there into OUR club to make room. I know how much he breaks off to rent the place and i see how many heads are in there so i KNOW he BANKS, dude prob makes more a night than i do a year DJing. That said when me and my boys were throwin those partys our city had an in click that i was in so it was easy to manipulate them into the partys, the problem with now is most of the ones I knew have either grown up, got caught up , or work IN the nightlife industry now, so i dont have that huge click of people I know to easily motivate. The whole think at that time revolved around D-Boys and all that fell to pieces and hasnt been replaced. So instead of talkin the 4 top guys into comming to a party and having a huge group that follows what he brings in his pocket (no homo) i have to figure out a way to get a group that large of individuals.

Besides that mobiles a hard place to figure out, some other DJ friends of mine tried to do what we did and it was a SELLOUT the 1st time, SELLOUT the next, so for the 3rd they brought in a big name.....5 peopel showed up.....noone the next time. You ask people why they didnt show up and its oh ill come next time or i wanted to go to club ____ that ive been going to for 10 years....Its just so random here and i havent quite figured out what drives te people yet

That was the thing i hated most, EVERYONE who came was a friend of mine so id get 500 calls and texts a night like "why i gotta pay to get inhook me up" and "come to the door and let them know i know you" while i was doin my set lol

Also, if it's your party, your door, your friends should be willing to support you not expect to get in free. The only person you should let in free is the guy who handed out a couple hundred flyers for you.

im a dj and also a nightclub and events photographer