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Most Ridiculous Club Owner...... Thread
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Most Ridiculous Club Owner...... Thread

Mighty Dragon Sounds 9:49 AM - 7 November, 2010
So I don't consider myself the BEST DJ..... but I am highly requested and recommended for packing clubs and bringing a following. Never had I had trouble packing a dance floor even if only 10 people where in the club, by middle of the night, those 10 people would be on the dance floor..... So I was recommended to play on a Saturday Night at a local Bar/Club. The Owner tells me, not soo much hip hop, mostly R&B and Old School until the crowd picks up. Then given them a little hip hop, and line dances.

Easy right? No.... this bitch can't tell the difference between Hip Hop, and R&B..... And Hip Hop and Hard Rap. Korean Lady and the customers are predominately black. My usual crowd.

I'm turning people away that are requesting hard hitting hip hop songs and the owner comes up to me and tells me.

Owner: The lady wants to hear Rick Ross
Me: I know, I told her you didn't want that kind of music
Owner: A little bit is fine.....
Me: Its kind of early for that.... (9:45 PM)
Owner: Just play it!

So I play it and my list of songs go as following....
1) Rick Ross - Blowing Money Fast
2) DJ Kaled - All I do is win
*Moving out of the Hard Hip Hop
3) Party Boyz - Flex
4) Ester Dean - Drop
5) Trey Songz - Say Ahhh
6) Usher - Invented Sex

Owner: YOU ARE PLAYING TOO MUCH HIP HOP!!!!!!!!!
Me: This is R&B....
Owner: Play some line dances!!!!!!!!!
Me: Ok....

1) Vic - Dallas Wobble
2) Khia - Wang Wit It
3) Mr Cha Cha - Cha Cha Slide
4) Cupid - Love Slide

Did a few more and then transitioned into some Old School/90s R&B

1) Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing
2) Next - Too Close
3) Keith Sweat - Nobody

And I continue this and when I tell you.... the dance floor was full.... IT WAS FUCKING FULL!!!!!!!! People was loving it and it played for about 30 minutes worth of slow songs. I get on the mic.....

Me: You want more R&B or you want something else???
Crowd: MORE MORE R&B!!!!!!

So I give em about another 15 minutes worth before bringing in a few more line dances. The whole time people coming up to me and giving me props for the way I played and my song selection.

Owner comes up to me....

Owner: So people are complaining about not enough old school!
Me: Uhhh.... I just got done with almost an hour of it.
Owner: People are not dancing!

I look back out at the dance floor and see people dancing
Me: Ma'am please look behind you.
Owner: People at the bar are not dancing..... Play some line dances!
Me: I just got done with line dances.
Owner: Just play it so people can dance!

Another 10 minutes of line dance songs that cleared the dance floor........

Crowd: Play some Charlie Boy, Rick Ross, T-Pain, Soulja Boy!!!!
Me: Talk to the owner......

Owner walks up.....
Owner: They are requesting music..... They want to hear Soulja Boy....
Me: Soulja Boy is Hip Hop.....
Owner: Just play it!

Playlist as follows...
Soulja Boy - Pretty Boy Swag
Roscoe - All the way turnt up
Roscoe - No Hands

Mind you.... all the hip hop was mixed "club" style where I played and mixed through after the first verse so I could get through them faster.

R&B Session..... Again the Dance Floor was NEVER empty.

Moved on to some lady songs.
Beyonce - Get me bodied
Lil Kim and Crew - Ladies Night
Master P - Rock The Boat
Choppa - Choppa Style
Juvinile - Back that ass up.

Again Dance floor packed.... Everyone was drinking and having fun.

Ended the night off with some more Old School R&B as well as a few requests.

Owner Approaches me as I get ready to leave. She hands me the money and goes...

Owner: So next saturday you don't have to come back.
Me: Ok.
Owner: You played too much Hip Hop!
Me: I played Hip Hop when you told me to play hip hop
Owner: No I heard it.
Me: Are you sure you are familiar with the Term Hip Hop?
Owner: You know the kind of music that people fight to!
Me: There was no fights tonight.....
Owner: But it got kind of rowdy
Me: You mean people dancing?
Owner: People was complaining....
Me: About what?
Owner: They didn't hear their songs.
Me: You mean the Hip Hop Songs?
Owner: I don't know.....

I just wanted to throw the money she paid me in her face and leave.

*sigh* wat a night.... Oh well.... back to my other Saturday Night Spot..... Not like I losing out on anything.
slimmjimm 1:27 PM - 7 November, 2010
Jeez, that sounds a bit ridiculous, even taking into account the normal owner attitude towards hip hop.
Dj Bacik 3:18 PM - 7 November, 2010
What a bitch.
BERTO 3:27 PM - 7 November, 2010
just saying if they are bringing you in for your ability to make the club packed and fun then why tell you how to do your job.... people like her suck, i think when hiring a Dj its because of what they can do (pack the floor, make money at the bar,knowledge of how a night should go) seems like her best bet would be to hire a newer Dj just for her liking. I strongly believe and many will disagree with me that when you are brought in to play its because of YOUR style and song selection. I mean im not going to play a hip hop club/bar when i play EDM even though i could play hip hop its not my thing as a Dj.
DJ Jonasty 1:46 AM - 8 November, 2010
Sorry to hear that man. I hate to hear any DJ have to go thru that kind of night; it's not worth it. Next time pack up and bounce and let her finish the night. I probably would of left at the line dances request from the owner. Unless you are getting wedding money, there's no reason you should have to play that!
BERTO 1:48 AM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:
Sorry to hear that man. I hate to hear any DJ have to go thru that kind of night; it's not worth it. Next time pack up and bounce and let her finish the night. I probably would of left at the line dances request from the owner. Unless you are getting wedding money, there's no reason you should have to play that!


you cant just leave like that though, yea its shitty but you gotta finish any gig you have as a professional except if youre not getting payed
Sureshot (PA) 3:56 AM - 8 November, 2010
i would only play a place like that ONE time.
Banana_Peter 4:20 AM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:
Me: Soulja Boy is Hip Hop.....


I stopped reading after this
DJ Alkemy 4:20 AM - 8 November, 2010
Jesus, someone like that would seriously annoy me. Why dont they leave the music selection to people who have spent years doing it and f*** off in the club office. Hands on club owners are the worst kind. Think they know the ins and outs of a cats ass. Its almost as worse when they come up and start messing with your levels on the mixer. If it wasnt peaking before you got involved it damn sure will be as soon as you leave lol.
Banana_Peter 4:20 AM - 8 November, 2010
also, I'd never work for an Asian woman. They be crazy
Mighty Dragon Sounds 8:59 AM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:
Quote:


Me: Soulja Boy is Hip Hop.....


I stopped reading after this



I agree...... but if you ask most kids now a days..... they would categorize it as such.
DJAK_SA 2:08 PM - 8 November, 2010
I would've packed my equipment & left the building in the middle of a set. If she can tell you what to play she needs to be djing
Dj Bacik 2:36 PM - 8 November, 2010
I've done this. I was djing a teen night and the person throwing the event wanted a club dj. So I was called by my friend and asked to do it. So I get there and get setup. This place is a disaster. They were setting up area for a foam party.

I got yelled at the whole night to play club music. What kind of club music? Well, just club music. After an hour of this debauchery the owner and I got into it.

Owner: I wanted to you play club music. Why aren't you? Are you stupid?
Me: No sir. This is the music I play in actual nightclubs.
him: This isn't what I hear when I go to nightclubs.
Me: What do you hear?
Him: Uncle luke, 69 boyz, dj laz. You know.
Me: What year did you go to a club last?
Him: I want you to play the dirty versions. I want this like a club.
Me: Heres the problem. Everyone here is under the age of 18. So I can't play dirty versions without each parents consent.
Him: We are starting the wet tshirt contest in the foam party area. Get some booty music ready.
Me: I'm not entirely sure thats legal.
him: Fuck you! I don't fucking care what you think. Just play the fucking music! I pay you good money for this gig so what I say goes!

Now he hears the sounds of the music slowing as I powered off the turntables.

Him: What are you doing?
Me: Leaving
Him: Why
Me: Professional Courtesy. You seem to be lacking some.
Him: Are you fucking kidding me?
Me: No. I wouldn't talk to someone they way you did. Especially during a business exchange.
Him: What am I supposed to do for music?
Me: Hook you iphone up to your pa system and play whatever you have on there.

I was so pissed. That was the first gig I walked out on. I do not condone turning underage children into strippers and whores that early on. I mean c'mon. His games included find the cherry in the pie with your face and no hands. Only the guys could find the cherry. The plates were on girls laps. No one found a cherry.

If some douche treats me bad then I won't take it. Paid or not that guy learned the value of how to treat people. He teen nights stopped 2 weeks later after the parents found out what he was doing with their children.
DJ Pullout 2:40 PM - 8 November, 2010
WOW. That is prob the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. At least now you can look back on it now and laugh.
DJ Pullout 2:42 PM - 8 November, 2010
I was talking about the original story...... that underage shit is sickening.
DJ Alkemy 2:51 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:
Owner: I wanted to you play club music. Why aren't you? Are you stupid?


Thats the point where I would see how a Technics deck handles the impact when it hits a human head...you deserve praise for keeping your composure in that situation.
DJ Dac 5:39 PM - 8 November, 2010
my last residency the place was brand new, he owner was so cocky he didn't think that he needed to advertise, He dropped 250k on building the place and since it was "connected" to hes restaurant it was covered under the full liquor license... so the first night it opened, I went over with a couple of my friends to check it out since my buddy was one of the partners, the owner said he was thinking of getting a dj, so i told him i dj and will do it for $100 for the first few weeks then up to 75 per hour once things get moving... so a few weeks later i get some new speakers and i show up for the first gig, 5 people there... it was a trial run so i figured he didn't advertise at all, and since he had new bar tenders he was trying to break things in slowly... so the owner, who also happened to be asian, starts telling me to play some dance music to get the people STILL EATING DINNER to dance and to keep turning up the music. then the other partner fogged the place up so thick the people eating dinner left half way though there meal...

Next night, I brought 20 of my friends along for the "grand opening". Since they were the ONLY CUSTOMERS that night, everyone one was chilling out on the patio and i was playing some slower oldschool hip hop and a bit of sublime up in there. The owner comes over and starts nagging, play something that they can dance to, I want to see the girls dancing... after explaining that no one is drunk enough to dance yet i caved and put something faster on, so i put it on and everyone give me this look and i told them that the owner wants people to dance, since it was only 9pm no one was drunk enough to dance, so after some more dance music and me dragging a few girls on the floor this is what we got...i617.photobucket.com ... also, that night with my friends was there ONLY DAY they were ever completely in the black... Oh and I forgot, It was 10:45 and he told me to give last call... he shooed everyone one out at 11 because he was tired and wanted to go home!!!!!!!!!!!!! after another few weeks of less then 5 people showing up a night i stopped showing up friday nights, then the last night i was there i only set up for a hour then, tore down then left. following weekend i got a call from the owner and told me not to bother coming in, when asking why I was told that hes shutting the place down and he found out that his bartenders are super religious and refused to push drinks on to people... they felt that all they needed was two drinks per person....

Then, i come to find he wants to partner up with me and open up a under 21 club since his son is in high school and his friends have nothing else better to do... I told him that I will dj but I'm not investing any money into it since he has a FULL liquor license already and doesn't want to use it....no money to be made... AHHGGGGHHHHHHH

sorry for the long rant but i have some time to kill at work today...
Dj-M.Bezzle 6:00 PM - 8 November, 2010
damn that was an epic fail
DJ Dac 6:05 PM - 8 November, 2010
Doesn't get more epic then that, THEN last week the owner calls to see whats up and invites me to dinner... after asking why he told me that he sold the place and i need to shut down the FB page and twitter account, neither one i have used in months but every week there was one person who kept visiting the page... thank you tracking...
djchrischip 9:57 PM - 8 November, 2010
read my writer make ppl sign it

Artist Rider
Any changes to the below requirements will only be honored if accepted by ARTIST or MANAGEMENT, in advance, in writing


1. Purchaser must supply professional sound equipment, lighting, and performance requirements, which include:
a.) House System: House system should be capable of producing consistent clean sound throughout the venue with
sufficient sub bass.
b.) Monitors:
• 1 (One) 12” JBL EON Monitor, Hooked into the BOOTH output of Rane Mixer and EON speaker must be on tripod
on DJs Right side.
c.) Required Equipment **NO EXCEPTIONS TO BELOW TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS**
• 2 (Two) Technics SL-1210M5Gs Turntables (1200 Technics are acceptable)
• SERATO SCRATCH LIVE SET UP
• 1 (One) of the following approved MIXERS: Rane TTM-57, Rane TTM-56, Pioneer DJM-800 or Rane 2016 (both pieces)
**NO EXCEPTIONS**
• 1 (One) Pioneer CDJ 1000 MK2 CD turntable. (Placed on Left Side of Setup)
d.) Additional DJ Booth needs
• 1 (One) 6’ x 4’ Table at least 3.5 FEET HIGH for DJ Equipment to be situated on (COFFINs are NOT Acceptable)
• 1 (One) Laptop Stand That Gives Full View Of Artist's Library And Access To The Keyboard Comfortably During The Performance
• Sufficient lighting (brighter than candle lit) for both Base/Main Table & Additional Table Space
• Sufficient snakes, cables, and mic stands must be provided to patch the above equipment.
e.) Hospitality
• 6 (Six) Sealed Bottles of cold spring water
• 6 (Six) Cans of Red Bull
• 6 (Six) Cans of Sugar Free Red Bull
• 2 (Two) New, Unopened Hand Towels
• 3 (Three) New, Unopened Bottles of Liquor (no LESS than 1 Liter, And of ARTIST's Choice)

2. Purchaser agrees to the following safety conditions:
• Equipment (CDJ’s, Mixer, & Tables) must be situated away from any bar or beverage areas
• ARTIST area must not be accessible to the general public from the front, sides, and especially from behind
• During the entire span of the artist’s performance, there will be no persons inside the booth besides authorized
staff or artist’s representatives/friends
3. Purchaser agrees to the following travel accommodations when applicable*:
• 1 (one) Full Fare Economy Roundtrip Airline Ticket *Itinerary MUST be approved by Artist
• All Ground Transportation (via Town Car/Limo/or SUV) from time of arrival to departure.
• 1 (one) King Bedroom @ Artist Approved, Five Star Hotel.
• All Necessary work, travel, and entrance Visas and/or permits
4. Purchaser agrees to the following compensation & advertising/promotional terms:
• A NON-REFUNDABLE 50% deposit is required upon signing of agreement/contract
• The balance is due by the date of event, & in no less than 1 hour before artist performance.
• All payments must be made in CASH
• No advertising/promotion using DJ’s name, image, or likeness until deposit/contract is received
• Any advertising/promotion/marketing using DJ’s name, image, or likeness MUST be approved in advance by
MANAGEMENT
• Flyers & all advertising/marketing/promotion materials must be submitted for approval in no less than 3 weeks
prior to event.
5. Purchaser agrees to the following additional items:
• ARTIST reserves the right to play whatever music DJ wishes to play unless a specific music/song request is
provided and agreed to prior of signing of signing agreement
• ARTIST does not need to attend sound check & will arrive approximately 30 minutes prior to scheduled
performance time.
• ARTIST requires at least 10 guests, allowed to attend at anytime during the event.
• ARTIST requires at least 1 (One) VIP parking space. This Parking space may be used by ANYONE designated by
ARTIST.



(Signature of Purchaser)
djchrischip 9:58 PM - 8 November, 2010
it was borrowed from the skam artists
hope they wont be mad tht i made some changes lol
Logisticalstyles 10:13 PM - 8 November, 2010
Some of that seems absurd.

You're getting limo service while you are there, but you need a VIP parking space? You don't attend sound check and arrive 30 minutes prior to the performance? Economy roundtrip airfare but a Five star hotel?
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:16 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:

You don't attend sound check and arrive 30 minutes prior to the performance?


I dont see why these wouldnt be appropriate, hes an incomming dj not the house sound engineer. When he gets there it should be about time for him to go on, what would he need to be there any earlier for
DouggyFresh 10:18 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:

Him: Uncle luke, 69 boyz, dj laz. You know.


Umm. This is what they play at teen nights. Songs about dancing and all that... You forget without the influence of alcohol, things like these dumb contests & foam parties, etc are exactly what drives these teen nights. Given the fact that every teen has an IPod, if you're not doing things to keep the kids busy if you're just playing a bunch of music.. they get bored very easily. You gotta get them up and moving, dancing and singing... And there is no "it's early, they'll be drunk and dancing later on"...

Personally, if I never DJ another teen night or teen party ever again in my life, that'd be great.
djchrischip 10:19 PM - 8 November, 2010
all tht shit is done 4 me plug in needles, hedphones hd, lappy n go

n wen i worked in white plains recently they paid 4 my driver there n back n made sure i had a spot in the lunge parking garage behind the place
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:20 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:
Quote:


Him: Uncle luke, 69 boyz, dj laz. You know.


Umm. This is what they play at teen nights. Songs about dancing and all that... You forget without the influence of alcohol, things like these dumb contests & foam parties, etc are exactly what drives these teen nights. Given the fact that every teen has an IPod, if you're not doing things to keep the kids busy if you're just playing a bunch of music.. they get bored very easily. You gotta get them up and moving, dancing and singing... And there is no "it's early, they'll be drunk and dancing later on"...

Personally, if I never DJ another teen night or teen party ever again in my life, that'd be great.


+1, i can kinda see his point on not wanting to play the unedited versions though
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:21 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:

Him: Uncle luke, 69 boyz, dj laz. You know.
Me: What year did you go to a club last?


i still play these on a weekly basis, miami booty bass is a sure thing, its timeless
djchrischip 10:21 PM - 8 November, 2010
@ further more at m bezzle bc i do mobile as well as lounge club gigs i can do a party till 12, pack up and be at the club at 1:30 to work by 2- 4 beautiful
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:23 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:
@ further more at m bezzle bc i do mobile as well as lounge club gigs i can do a party till 12, pack up and be at the club at 1:30 to work by 2- 4 beautiful



i was agreeing with you
DouggyFresh 10:23 PM - 8 November, 2010
@ chrischip contract:

3 unopened bottles, 12 cans of Redbull...

At the average club, that's about $600 in bottles, and $48 in Red bull..

Most of the DJs on this forum don't even make $250 a night. The closest rider I've seen to this (equipment wise) were $1000+ a night DJs...
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:24 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:

Most of the DJs on this forum don't even make $250 a night. The closest rider I've seen to this (equipment wise) were $1000+ a night DJs...


hence why he posted this

Quote:

it was borrowed from the skam artists
hope they wont be mad tht i made some changes lol


skam artists are skam artists because they make $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
CMOS 10:43 PM - 8 November, 2010
He left out the caviar and 8balls.
DouggyFresh 10:46 PM - 8 November, 2010
Also don't forget that is a rider that is a "People who come to see the DJ perform" rider rather than "A club who's hiring a DJ to entertain whatever people and take requests for whomever comes the front door"... Serious, the second DJ type is the majority of what small bars & lounges are hiring, treating like garbage, and underpaying.

I really think these days, with all the competition, if you want to become that 1st DJ and not the second, you NEED a team backing you for promotions and marketing. Whether it's your friends promoting you, giving out CD demos, handing out flyers, etc...

Otherwise, you're just the same as every other DJ out there. There was a day that proving yourself by rocking clubs was all it took, those days are gone. You have to put yourself in the shoes of an artist in order to get paid like one and treated like one. Otherwise you're just the request player for a bunch of annoying people. I'm still working on becoming that artist DJ.
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:50 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:

you NEED a team backing you for promotions and marketing. Whether it's your friends promoting you, giving out CD demos, handing out flyers, etc...



i would kinda disagree, if you want to be that 1st type of DJ you need 5 things

1. PRODUCTION
2. PRODUCTION
3. PRODUCTION
4. PRODUCTION
5. PRODUCTION
DouggyFresh 11:17 PM - 8 November, 2010
Quote:

i would kinda disagree, if you want to be that 1st type of DJ you need 5 things

1. PRODUCTION
2. PRODUCTION
3. PRODUCTION
4. PRODUCTION
5. PRODUCTION


In your mind, in the mind of a DJ... in the mind of a average club patron, club owner or promoter, they want someone who will pack out their night, and you'll never get that name unless you're out there spoon feeding the world who YOU are... Inside and outside of the club, on flyers, on demo CDs, on T-shirts ,etc... You want to make yourself seen at other clubs, poppin champagne with the big entourage, getting shoutouts on the mic.. Network network network. You have to believe you're already a big time DJ or nobody will believe you.

It doesn't matter what you play, how you make it, how good you are... You may think by working at the club and people get to know you, hopefully the manager will give you a raise if you do good.. But the reality is, you're just the managements monkey to do whatever they want you to do.

If you're not marketing yourself well, and the next DJ comes in to take your spot for $25 less a night who will deal with a bunch of drunks making stupid requests you will be searching for a new gig with no following.

If you're marketed well, and entertained people well, people will come to your night because they believe that you will entertain them. It's a jedi mind trick - they bumped a demo CD in their car, seen your flyers, added you as a friend, then when they see you're performing live somewhere they will come check it out.

If you never make that push to become bigger than you are or bigger than you believe you can be, you will never be more than you already are. If you're happy with that, cool. If you're not, do something about it.
PopRoXxX 12:04 AM - 9 November, 2010
Go Douggy! Preach it brutha! Amen!
DouggyFresh 12:37 AM - 9 November, 2010
Quote:
Go Douggy! Preach it brutha! Amen!


I learned everything I know from you ;)
DJ Remy USA 12:40 AM - 9 November, 2010
My first time posting and Douggy Fresh has it right.
djbanno 1:03 AM - 9 November, 2010
Quote:
My first time posting and Douggy Fresh has it right.

Welcome!
jbnyc 2:30 AM - 9 November, 2010
for some reason when i was reading i was giving the lady a very strong asian accent lol


the manager @ my club had also a problem distinguishing hip hop, he told me the first night, dont play any hip hop,then requested me, juicy,yeah,teach me how to doggie and party up by dmx,i told him,thats hip hop,he said,hen i mean hip hop,im talking about gangsta music lol
Sureshot (PA) 3:07 AM - 9 November, 2010
Quote:
the manager @ my club had also a problem distinguishing hip hop, he told me the first night, dont play any hip hop,then requested me, juicy,yeah,teach me how to doggie and party up by dmx,i told him,thats hip hop,he said,hen i mean hip hop,im talking about gangsta music lol


i run into this all the time. i would love for the world to agree on one thing... what the hell does hip-hop mean to you!?!?
DJ Alkemy 3:20 AM - 9 November, 2010
Quote:
Quote:

the manager @ my club had also a problem distinguishing hip hop, he told me the first night, dont play any hip hop,then requested me, juicy,yeah,teach me how to doggie and party up by dmx,i told him,thats hip hop,he said,hen i mean hip hop,im talking about gangsta music lol


i run into this all the time. i would love for the world to agree on one thing... what the hell does hip-hop mean to you!?!?


Hip-Hop to me is when the music doesnt sell the culture down the river. Stuff like Lil Wayne etc etc etc is just rap/pop music to me....its soooo confusing to most people though lol
Dj Bacik 3:57 AM - 9 November, 2010
Quote:
Quote:



Him: Uncle luke, 69 boyz, dj laz. You know.


Umm. This is what they play at teen nights. Songs about dancing and all that... You forget without the influence of alcohol, things like these dumb contests & foam parties, etc are exactly what drives these teen nights. Given the fact that every teen has an IPod, if you're not doing things to keep the kids busy if you're just playing a bunch of music.. they get bored very easily. You gotta get them up and moving, dancing and singing... And there is no "it's early, they'll be drunk and dancing later on"...

Personally, if I never DJ another teen night or teen party ever again in my life, that'd be great.


Dude this whole thing was shady. As I was packing up my shit I saw a couple of the teenagers go to the back office. They were serving them wine and liquor in the back all night. Between the wet t-shirt contest, the booty shaking contest, and the lapdance contest I'm lucky to not be registered with the state just for witnessing that shit. They also provided an emcee. This guy was 23 and trying to get into djing. He was supposed to do the night but his virtual dj laptop broke. I got called an hour before the gig from a friend who owns the entertainment company that the prostitution ring originally hired. I don't do entertainment company work but my friend was in a bind. So I rush there and none of the equipment is setup. The emcee doesn't know how to hook it up. So I take my coffin into the dj booth and low and behold there is a folding table there that only comes up to knee high. So fuck, Now I'll have back problems as well. I setup my gear, then place the speakers and sound check it. Sounds shitty, but I don't care not my crappy behringer speakers.. All night long I had to turn down the emcee mic because he either left it on and you could hear him hitting on the non-legals, or he would talk while standing in front of a speaker.

After 2 weeks word got out about what was going on there they were shut down from doing teen nights. They still did business since it was one of those one stop fun zone things. You know, with arcade games, go karts, etc. The owners were shady though. The type of people who gave me the vide they would pick random chick to sell to the black market.
Sureshot (PA) 4:16 AM - 9 November, 2010
Quote:
Hip-Hop to me is when the music doesnt sell the culture down the river. Stuff like Lil Wayne etc etc etc is just rap/pop music to me....its soooo confusing to most people though lol


do you cry when you listen to Common's Resurrection?
DJ Alkemy 5:01 AM - 9 November, 2010
Quote:
Quote:

Hip-Hop to me is when the music doesnt sell the culture down the river. Stuff like Lil Wayne etc etc etc is just rap/pop music to me....its soooo confusing to most people though lol


do you cry when you listen to Common's Resurrection?


No, it makes me happy :-)
Dj-M.Bezzle 4:17 PM - 9 November, 2010
I think i can own this thread, most of mine are posted but heres a few i have to deal with

A) Take all customers requests and try to play their song within 3 songs of their requests. If they say their leaving rush their song to the front of the line. If this means playin 3 songs over and over all night then so be it

B) If the song requested if a bad song try to cover it up by getting on the mic and making jokes and hyping the song up

C) Try playing bad or corney music that way people walking by will pay attn and come in to see what the hells going on

D) Theres a speaker outside whos volume is about a quarter as loud as the volume inside. Im to yell on the mic and try to get people to come in, yell LOUD so people outside can hear regardless that your deafening the people inside.

E) Talk on the mic at least once every song, i explained to her that annoys people and they look at me crazy and she says she dosent care what they want she wants me on the mic cracking jokes and talking to the crowd and advertising the spot on EVERY song.

F) Last week she hands me a 5 page list of track requests for a party that next after noon of all slow emo rock shit (of which i had none) and wanted me to DL it all on limewire to play it

G) If a customer requests a track and i dont have it im to DL it on limewire or stream it through youtube.

H) Im to go onto the balcony of our spot every few songs and on the mic try to talk people into comming in.

I) If noones in the club get on the mic and talk to people who ARENT there and act like theres a huge party going on to get people to come in. If people come in and ask why im talking to myself tell them everyone went to the bathroom and theyll be back in a second.

J) Weve had 3 theme partys but bo radio adds, no fliers, no posters no indicators that we were having a theme party because she came up with the idea THAT day.

K) Our thurs were dead so she said i was to expensive to pay for on thursday so now we have a "dj review" where she invites DJs who have NEVER spun publicly before to come in and spin and if they have 40 people come in and the bar makes money they get a whopping $40 for their 8 hour shift.

L) No sign for our venue because the venue would have to pay a monthly fee to have a sign, PS our venue in on the 2nd floor above a classy restraunt right ourside of the busy night district (the area you only walk through when yuor walking back to your car after the nights over.)
slimmjimm 4:24 PM - 9 November, 2010
At least limewire is shut down. I know there is still youtube, but at least it's a start.


You should make up your own YT account and post fake videos with the songs that might get requested that you don't want, the post up a shitty song claiming DMCA, and play them then explain to her that why the crowd heard Canon in D.

Actually scratch all of of that, as stated, this bitch seems totally unreasonable.
DouggyFresh 4:29 PM - 9 November, 2010
Mbezzle, you must LOVE to be a DJ because no amount of money is worth putting up with that BS.

I don't know what you're getting paid.. and if it's anything less than $500 a night it's not worth it to put up with all that. I don't think I'd even take $500.
djchrischip 7:33 PM - 21 November, 2010
in the city they give out bottle comps lik nothing its a huge scam... bc they give u comped bottles 5 n 6 n then u pay the tip... i went 1 step further n said u pay the tip
ta2423 11:40 PM - 21 November, 2010
I understand requesting a song occasionally when drunk. I even tip the dj when I do.
I dont understand the schmuck that requests 10 songs through the night and doesnt tip. I have a premade request sheet made out and when they request Ishow them the sheet and say It will come up later.
jbnyc 2:47 AM - 22 November, 2010
Quote:
. I have a premade request sheet made out and when they request Ishow them the sheet and say It will come up later.


lol thats a good way to ditch them!
Audio1 8:25 PM - 22 November, 2010
Did I ever mention about the SF venue owner who walked up to me and said "It's getting really dark out there"? Needless to say, I was fired the next week for not agreeing with his logic.
Audio1 8:25 PM - 22 November, 2010
p.s. RACISM never works.
DouggyFresh 8:27 PM - 22 November, 2010
Did you see the Most Ridiculous DJ thread on the Club Owners forum?

haha j/k
jbnyc 9:03 PM - 22 November, 2010
Quote:
Did I ever mention about the SF venue owner who walked up to me and said "It's getting really dark out there"? Needless to say, I was fired the next week for not agreeing with his logic.



i was just put on "hold" cause they are gonna try bands for the winter!! i think it was because i played hip hop last saturday,the owners dont like hip hop AT ALL!! but i had everyone on the dancefloor, they have no idea what reading the crowd means!!
DJ Art Pumpin Payne 10:21 PM - 22 November, 2010
Quote:
@ chrischip contract:

3 unopened bottles, 12 cans of Redbull...

At the average club, that's about $600 in bottles, and $48 in Red bull..

Most of the DJs on this forum don't even make $250 a night. The closest rider I've seen to this (equipment wise) were $1000+ a night DJs...


Yeah, I was looking at that too. I've had to view a few riders of some of my buddies who spin in Europe and their riders are a trip sometimes. Back when we used to spin together way back in the day, you were happy with a cup of the 40 oz beer or Cognac that we stuck in the record bag that we sneaked into the college student union.
razcal_ger 3:51 PM - 29 November, 2010
Quote:
Did you see the Most Ridiculous DJ thread on the Club Owners forum?

haha j/k


lol

My "fav" club owner had a very simple policy for running a club:

1. Do not serve anything besides beer and three types of cheap liquor.
2. Do not advertise. At all. Ever.
3. Don't come up with specials or party concepts of any sort.
4. Tell the DJs to play hiphop only.

He bought an existing top40 mainstream club, tore out half of the inventory to make room for hundreds, and applied his policy as stated above. The guy never had more than 50 people in there. At one time in winter when I had a gig there, he told me while setting up that the heating was broken. No heat all night. In winter. The 10 confused guests he had there that Saturday sat there in their jackets. And I had frozen fingers.
SELECT 5:05 PM - 29 November, 2010
Quote:
Did I ever mention about the SF venue owner who walked up to me and said "It's getting really dark out there"? Needless to say, I was fired the next week for not agreeing with his logic.


Never fails in Boston-
news.bostonherald.com
MelonHead 9:33 AM - 2 December, 2010
this has been an issue to almost every dj thats been in the game for a while. u'll com across a few of 'em in your career. My humble advice to you is never forget to shake their hand and thank them for the chance they've given you. From the way you explained your story, you did your job and that is keep the party going til... let the owners see what happens the next few weeks without you.. trust me when I say, some of 'em may even be calling you back... peace!
Diskjockeyvictor 7:25 PM - 2 December, 2010
Today i found out that line dancing songs are played at clubs.
DouggyFresh 3:58 AM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
Today i found out that line dancing songs are played at clubs.


This is the problem I see with a lot of DJs. Too many get boxed into "what I should play that's safe" and not enough "how can I be different". Not saying that line dancing songs are the only thing, but I constantly go back over time to add songs that don't get played by other DJs around here. If you say "I can't believe he played XYZ at the club" (and it was successful with the crowd) then why shouldn't you have played that first?

So now instead of asking myself "Should I play random XYZ old song" I just do it if it makes sense at the moment. Be a leader not a follower. When you hear your random XYZ songs start getting played by other DJ's, smile.
ta2423 4:42 AM - 3 December, 2010
+1
Diskjockeyvictor 6:44 PM - 3 December, 2010
I dont
Quote:
Quote:

Today i found out that line dancing songs are played at clubs.


This is the problem I see with a lot of DJs. Too many get boxed into "what I should play that's safe" and not enough "how can I be different". Not saying that line dancing songs are the only thing, but I constantly go back over time to add songs that don't get played by other DJs around here. If you say "I can't believe he played XYZ at the club" (and it was successful with the crowd) then why shouldn't you have played that first?

So now instead of asking myself "Should I play random XYZ old song" I just do it if it makes sense at the moment. Be a leader not a follower. When you hear your random XYZ songs start getting played by other DJ's, smile.


I don't play common songs i always bring back the classics during my sets when no one would have expected it i spin minimal and tech house at partys and people go nuts because they have never heard of any of the songs i always like trying new things and throwing in some diffrent things during my sets even if its acid jazz or ambient mixed with some drum & bass. And %70 of my sets are mashups but im not gonna go as far as playing the cha cha slide at a club haha im sorry everyone would just look at the dj and be like wtf around here you line dancing songs wont cut it haha i never even knew people would play that at clubs i wouldnt even play that even if i was getting paid twice of what im getting paid right now.
SELECT 8:08 PM - 3 December, 2010
All I know in 2010 the cupid shuffle gets the beckys on the floor...
ta2423 8:15 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
All I know in 2010 the cupid shuffle gets the beckys on the floor...

+1
Dj-M.Bezzle 8:39 PM - 3 December, 2010
just an fyi, never post derogatory comments about the views or opinions of an owner or establishment that you currently work for or wish to work for again on a public message board especially if the establishment whose contact info can be found with a quick google search......... i give you an A for effort forums but it wasnt a help in any way
DJ Dac 8:42 PM - 3 December, 2010
you get busted?
Dj-M.Bezzle 8:43 PM - 3 December, 2010
yuppers
DJ Dac 8:43 PM - 3 December, 2010
ewwwwwwwww that sucks..... fired?
jwagner 8:45 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
Quote:


Today i found out that line dancing songs are played at clubs.


This is the problem I see with a lot of DJs. Too many get boxed into "what I should play that's safe" and not enough "how can I be different". Not saying that line dancing songs are the only thing, but I constantly go back over time to add songs that don't get played by other DJs around here. If you say "I can't believe he played XYZ at the club" (and it was successful with the crowd) then why shouldn't you have played that first?

So now instead of asking myself "Should I play random XYZ old song" I just do it if it makes sense at the moment. Be a leader not a follower. When you hear your random XYZ songs start getting played by other DJ's, smile.



I threw in spice girls tell me what you want the other night and people ate it up. Then was like ehhh what the hell through nsync in right after and people were loving it. Then went back to my normal stuff.

It's always good to change it up, especially with stuff that can make people smile and reminisce.
Dj-M.Bezzle 8:48 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
ewwwwwwwww that sucks..... fired?



not to my knowledge as of yet lol, she was pretty cool about it and very respectful of my right to free speech and right to have my opinion, which im sure in owner speak means im reviewing applications and listening to the stack of CDs that local upstarts have been handing her LOL. It was just a really embarrasing\awkward comversation
DJ Dac 8:50 PM - 3 December, 2010
i was lucky enough to learn this at a younger age, the boss called and he was being kind of a cock bag, so i told him to blow me... didnt go over well, he ended up getting fired for stealing a month later but it has taught me to keep my mouth shut about pissing on the hand that feeds you.... but maybe she might take the advice... never know... and more importantly did she tell you who called?
Dj-M.Bezzle 8:56 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
and more importantly did she tell you who called?



LOL YUP, it wasnt just one person it was several, only one name was mentioned bty name in particular though, that person stood up for my right to do my job by using a long series of explatives directed at her . Once again guys i appreciate the passion but it def didnt help my cause AT ALL lol
DJ Dac 9:05 PM - 3 December, 2010
haha, thats some shit right there, she was probably wondering, where the hell all this was coming from... haha, but you have pissed enough people off on here...
jwagner 9:08 PM - 3 December, 2010
when is vh1 going to do a serato forums reality show?????
Dj-M.Bezzle 9:10 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
haha, but you have pissed enough people off on here...

LOL true true
Dj-M.Bezzle 9:13 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
when is vh1 going to do a serato forums reality show?????



this has been discussed several times, ive acutually ran it by my contact at MTV (I seriosuly have one LOL i was in talks trying to get a friend of mine on my super sweet 16) but no word back
SELECT 9:13 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
Quote:


and more importantly did she tell you who called?



LOL YUP, it wasnt just one person it was several, only one name was mentioned bty name in particular though, that person stood up for my right to do my job by using a long series of explatives directed at her . Once again guys i appreciate the passion but it def didnt help my cause AT ALL lol


Holy shit dude, wow.. the internet sucks. Dont let it get you down, keep it movin always...
dj_soo 9:19 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
I think i can own this thread, most of mine are posted but heres a few i have to deal with

A) Take all customers requests and try to play their song within 3 songs of their requests. If they say their leaving rush their song to the front of the line. If this means playin 3 songs over and over all night then so be it

B) If the song requested if a bad song try to cover it up by getting on the mic and making jokes and hyping the song up

C) Try playing bad or corney music that way people walking by will pay attn and come in to see what the hells going on

D) Theres a speaker outside whos volume is about a quarter as loud as the volume inside. Im to yell on the mic and try to get people to come in, yell LOUD so people outside can hear regardless that your deafening the people inside.

E) Talk on the mic at least once every song, i explained to her that annoys people and they look at me crazy and she says she dosent care what they want she wants me on the mic cracking jokes and talking to the crowd and advertising the spot on EVERY song.

F) Last week she hands me a 5 page list of track requests for a party that next after noon of all slow emo rock shit (of which i had none) and wanted me to DL it all on limewire to play it

G) If a customer requests a track and i dont have it im to DL it on limewire or stream it through youtube.

H) Im to go onto the balcony of our spot every few songs and on the mic try to talk people into comming in.

I) If noones in the club get on the mic and talk to people who ARENT there and act like theres a huge party going on to get people to come in. If people come in and ask why im talking to myself tell them everyone went to the bathroom and theyll be back in a second.

J) Weve had 3 theme partys but bo radio adds, no fliers, no posters no indicators that we were having a theme party because she came up with the idea THAT day.

K) Our thurs were dead so she said i was to expensive to pay for on thursday so now we have a "dj review" where she invites DJs who have NEVER spun publicly before to come in and spin and if they have 40 people come in and the bar makes money they get a whopping $40 for their 8 hour shift.

L) No sign for our venue because the venue would have to pay a monthly fee to have a sign, PS our venue in on the 2nd floor above a classy restraunt right ourside of the busy night district (the area you only walk through when yuor walking back to your car after the nights over.)


dude seriously. I would quit. That's plain bullshit and no DJ should ever have to put up with shit like that.
Dj-M.Bezzle 9:22 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
Quote:


Quote:



and more importantly did she tell you who called?



LOL YUP, it wasnt just one person it was several, only one name was mentioned bty name in particular though, that person stood up for my right to do my job by using a long series of explatives directed at her . Once again guys i appreciate the passion but it def didnt help my cause AT ALL lol


Holy shit dude, wow.. the internet sucks. Dont let it get you down, keep it movin always...


lol ya it blows but its not something im sweatin, Ill know something for sure this weekend, nothings been said but theres been a few abnormalities that ive noticed that ive been keeping an eye on, but either way even if something did come of it i could still hold my head up high nowing the issue wasnt with skill. All that would mean would be more time to practice and more time to do some really fun gigs ive been passin on.
Dj-M.Bezzle 9:27 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:

dude seriously. I would quit. That's plain bullshit and no DJ should ever have to put up with shit like that.


To me its all just dues man...its the 2010 version of carrying record cases. Shit ill look back on while im sittin on the plane takin me from my vegas gig to my NY gig and say damn that was crazy lol

Its just crazy because im sure most of you can relate. Sometimes (like after the meeting i mentioned) Ill think you know what mabye a residency isnt for me its not always fun and the politics suck and theres sooo much nondj BS to put up with.....but then you get that gig where the crowds lovin it and your hittin on all cylinders and the people are dancing and cheering and chanting and their staying after the club to let you know how much fun they had and to get your card to play a party for em ect. Man it just makes all the BS worth it.
dj_soo 9:35 PM - 3 December, 2010
carrying record cases got you access to a mentor, gave you a chance to learn from the dj you were busting around for.

Doing stupid bullshit for an idiotic owner who seems intent on not only sabotaging her own club, but also your reputation as a dj is NOT "paying dues." Do you really want to be known as the guy who screams over every tracks and tries to be a standup comedian when he plays? Or the dude that has no flow cause he's constantly dropping random tunes with no rhyme or reason?

Don't get me wrong, there will always be stupid bullshit to put up with, but draw the line somewhere man - i understand you have a day job so it's not like you need this gig to eat. Start looking into other spots, make sure you have a way to communicate to the crowds that are into what you do that way they know when you move to another spot...
Dj-M.Bezzle 9:37 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:

Do you really want to be known as the guy who tries to be a standup comedian when he plays?



please tell me you at least giggled when you wrote that
DJ Dac 9:39 PM - 3 December, 2010
well at least your weekends will be free again, when the place i was spinning at closed it was like i had a life again...
Dj-M.Bezzle 9:42 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
carrying record cases got you access to a mentor, gave you a chance to learn from the dj you were busting around for.

Doing stupid bullshit for an idiotic owner who seems intent on not only sabotaging her own club, but also your reputation as a dj is NOT "paying dues." Do you really want to be known as the guy who screams over every tracks and tries to be a standup comedian when he plays? Or the dude that has no flow cause he's constantly dropping random tunes with no rhyme or reason?

Don't get me wrong, there will always be stupid bullshit to put up with, but draw the line somewhere man - i understand you have a day job so it's not like you need this gig to eat. Start looking into other spots, make sure you have a way to communicate to the crowds that are into what you do that way they know when you move to another spot...


honestly i see what your saying 100% but for me the bottom line is id rather be known as DJ who does all that dumb shit for a crowd than a bad ass DJ who plays in his bedroom. Theres just something so heartbreaking to be passionate about this craft then say "im a dj" to someone and get OH SO AM I, or OH awsome where do you play, and not have an answer. I may not be learning froma mentor but i learn alot every night i play there so i am gaining knowledge from the BS.
Logisticalstyles 9:50 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
nothings been said but theres been a few abnormalities that ive noticed that ive been keeping an eye on.



Like what? Don't you leave your equipment at the club? Protect your stuff. Damn that sucks.
dj_soo 9:52 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
honestly i see what your saying 100% but for me the bottom line is id rather be known as DJ who does all that dumb shit for a crowd than a bad ass DJ who plays in his bedroom


it's that same mentality that fuels the undercutters and the $50/night djs.

all i'm saying is that you should be a point where you should be at least looking for other spots and trying to bring your crowd with you when you do find it.
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:03 PM - 3 December, 2010
Quote:
Quote:

nothings been said but theres been a few abnormalities that ive noticed that ive been keeping an eye on.



Like what? Don't you leave your equipment at the club? Protect your stuff. Damn that sucks.



well like i said earlier about 3 weeks ago she started bringin in DJs on thurs, weve had a different one each thurs. She explained it to me that she cant afford to pay me for a thurs night because thurs are DEAD (which is a fact) so shes bringin some one nighters just to have DJs spinin for exposure. So that dosent put me at ease. So this week im on facebook and i notice some group from out of town advertising for a part there this sat night. Nothings been said to me about this so that makes me uneasy BUT things like that have happened before. She ALWAYS forgets to tell me about events going on there and sometimes well have DJs come to do a party thats done before i get there or special events on the 3rd floor ect ect. So its not uncommon for something like this to happen without my knowledge. Ill find out tonight for sure what the deal is. As far as equipment i leave alot of stuff up there but just to be on the safe side i took all my misalanious stuff home after that conversation, extra records that i was keeping there midi controllers ect ect. Ill see what the lay of the land is tonight and if its fishy i plan on taking home all my good stuff just to be safe until things cool.
Dj-M.Bezzle 10:04 PM - 3 December, 2010
im not to worried about the spot itself as shes pretty cool but i dont trust alot of unknown DJs vulturing around my stuff
Dj Bacik 10:42 PM - 3 December, 2010
Damn! Now I can't get a five finger discount on some Bezzle tables.
slimmjimm 5:33 AM - 4 December, 2010
Quote:
Quote:


honestly i see what your saying 100% but for me the bottom line is id rather be known as DJ who does all that dumb shit for a crowd than a bad ass DJ who plays in his bedroom



Agreed, it does suck to be a DJ, but not DJ anywhere.

And Bezzle, I simply must know every single detail about your conversation, down to the breath. Your residency thread was one of my favorite reads before it got locked.
You can PM me with it, send .wav recordings of phone conversations etc. (AL is a one party state, I just checked) hell you can make half of the shit up, but I NEED TO KNOW DETAILS!!!!!!!
slimmjimm 5:33 AM - 4 December, 2010
DAMN!!! Quote fail AGAIN!!!!!!!!
slimmjimm 5:35 AM - 4 December, 2010
UUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Bezzle, I simply must know every single detail about your conversation, down to the breath. Your residency thread was one of my favorite reads before it got locked.
You can PM me with it, send .wav recordings of phone conversations etc. (AL is a one party state, I just checked) hell you can make half of the shit up, but I NEED TO KNOW DETAILS!!!!!!!



You can tell how much needing to know is killing me, as simple internet tasks not related to searching for porn (female only nh, nm) seem to be difficult.
DjBoozie 3:03 PM - 20 December, 2010
Quote:
Owner: You know the kind of music that people fight to!
.

So the Owner wanted you to play something that would start a fight in the club...WTF is that..That itself would make me not want to come back to her place any more
Owner: So next saturday you don't have to come back.
quote] I would've told her.. Me: "You didnt have to tell me that..I wasnt coming back no way".
DeeJay*CASPER 7:36 PM - 20 December, 2010
daaam....i thought Third Edition in Georgetown DC was a rediculous place to dj at......ya'll cats going thru hell
DJ Remy USA 3:09 PM - 21 December, 2010
Quote:
daaam....i thought Third Edition in Georgetown DC was a rediculous place to dj at......ya'll cats going thru hell


Im from D.C Casper were you playing at. How does the night life in D.C treat you DJ wise?
daft_soul 1:13 AM - 27 December, 2010
Great thread. I love reading stuff like this.

Aight so currently I am a back up dj at a local club. Dj "A" plays fridays. Dj "B" plays saturdays. I was already really good friends with Dj A before we started playing at this club. I met Dj B by working at the club but I'm still somewhat cool with Dj B as well.

Anyway...the club owner has been using outside promoters lately who bring in their own dj for the night. I get tagged on facebook in a flyer for said promoters event and notice that its on a friday, Dj A's night. So I hit my boy up and this is news to him. Club owner gave no notice to him that the event was happening, no face to face conversation, no phone call, nothing. I come to find out this happened to dj B also in the past. Not only does the manager not give any heads up, but the outside dj (no beef, cool dude) plays the entire night. No deal where the residents open and then let the special guest dj get the peak of the night....the WHOLE night and the residents are kicked to the wayside. Dj A tells me he had a conversation with the manager by phone shortly after finding this out. He tells me the manager SERIOUSLY didn't understand that it was wrong to not communicate things like this ahead of time and in the proper way. So Dj A hung up on the manager and is now contemplating quitting.

Discuss.
DjBoozie 1:51 AM - 27 December, 2010
Quote:
So Dj A hung up on the manager and is now contemplating quitting.


And for good reason he should...The owner knows what he is doing...He's using his freinds and urs to get more people to come out even if though he knows u guys are going to be there those night....And U guy's are being being use to boost his nights up
DJ Remy USA 2:10 AM - 27 December, 2010
grimey ass DJ business
DjBoozie 3:18 AM - 27 December, 2010
Quote:
grimey ass DJ business

Yes it's becoming that slower but surely
DJ'Que 4:05 AM - 27 December, 2010
Quote:
it was borrowed from the skam artists
hope they wont be mad tht i made some changes lol

I see a lot of flaws in there like sound check. Every artist does one.
DJ Dub Cowboy 12:12 PM - 27 December, 2010
I told a club owner tonight that if wasn't prepared to pay a booked performer at least a $150 as soon they walked through the door that he should close his business.
DJ Remy USA 2:41 PM - 27 December, 2010
Quote:
I told a club owner tonight that if wasn't prepared to pay a booked performer at least a $150 as soon they walked through the door that he should close his business.


I like that line....how do we get it in there owners head that 50.00-100.00 DJ guy is not really DJ and its just a fad for him until the next cool thing comes along that everyone wants to be. I find it hard to explain to them
Dj-M.Bezzle 2:43 PM - 27 December, 2010
Quote:
Quote:

I told a club owner tonight that if wasn't prepared to pay a booked performer at least a $150 as soon they walked through the door that he should close his business.


I like that line....how do we get it in there owners head that 50.00-100.00 DJ guy is not really DJ and its just a fad for him until the next cool thing comes along that everyone wants to be. I find it hard to explain to them



so the difference between a real DJ and a fake DJ is $50......interesting
Dj.Mojo 2:53 PM - 27 December, 2010
Quote:
I told a club owner tonight that if wasn't prepared to pay a booked performer at least a $150 as soon they walked through the door that he should close his business.

In Germany you NEVER get the entire money before the gig. Only if you are a big name dj you get some money before hand.
DJ Dub Cowboy 6:33 PM - 27 December, 2010
I wasn't asking for the money ahead of time. I'm just saying that if you don't have enough to cover your costs (DJ, employees, liquor) on slower night then they have serious cash flow problems.
DJ Dub Cowboy 7:20 PM - 27 December, 2010
I should probably tell the whole story since it built up over a long time.

The venue has 2 steady DJ nights. Wednesday is Dancehall night, Sunday is Electronic.

The crews for each night work for the door which fluctuates but these are both long running nights so they do pretty well.

Last year the Sunday crew took the last 2 weeks of the year off and the venue called me to fill in with 7 days notice. The first sunday the door pulled over $400, the next Sunday was almost $200. Enough to keep me happy on some of the slowest weeks of the year and an off night.

So this year I'm sitting around the day after Christmas, and I get a call from the crew who does Sundays. They had someone lined up to play but they ended up not making it and I get called in with 3 hours notice. I hadn't worked there all year so I asked if the door was going to make at least $150 and the crew said yeah, so I did it. It's literally 2 blocks from where I am staying and I wanted to use my new headphones, so it wasn't hard to talk me into it.

So at the end of the night the owner brings me $65 and says, "sorry it was so slow."

Now granted I didn't have anything worked out ahead of time for a guarantee with the owner so I take responsibility for that but this guy needed to have some things said to him so I took it upon myself.

So I said, how are you going to call someone in with 3 hours notice to bring a full sound system and mix video for 3 hours and give them this much money? You don't buy half bottles of liquor do you? This needs to be taken care of right now.

His defense was that the crew that does the night gets the good nights and the bad nights. So I asked him if he would let the crew walk out with that little money? He said yeah and that is when I delivered my line above. I'm ashamed that the crew wouldn't have a minimum in place either and they will hear about it when they all get back in town. But I told the owner not to give me that bullshit about slow and busy nights. He does well on the busy nights too, it's his bar. He still has to pay his bills and buy liquor for the slow nights, and when no one will go into your establishment when there isn't anything going on, performers are one of those bills.

I made dishwasher money last night. No offense to dishwashers, but if I wanted to make that much I would wash dishes.

The real kicker is that I promote the fuck out of this place on my radio show because they bring good reggae acts through, however they won't even be getting a mention from me now.
Dj Bacik 7:34 PM - 27 December, 2010
Thats why I stay away from percent cuts. It's a straight fee to have me dj an event. If the event fails because of bad promotion it's not my fault, I showed up and did my job. Too many times I've had bars say that "Although the club was packed liquor sales were down."
DouggyFresh 9:31 PM - 27 December, 2010
There's really only 1 way to handle % of door. You do all the promotion, advertising, flyer spamming, facebook etc for a % of the door. Some places charge a rental fee for the whole door, some do 50/50 split. You have YOUR door guy collecting money and keeping people honest.

Any other way is just asking to get screwed. What club wouldn't want a DJ to come in on a slow night that isn't promoted well for free.

The good part is, on a good nights you make good money.. IDK its not for everybody.
ta2423 9:14 AM - 28 December, 2010
Yeah.. I think I would have had a few words to say with setting up full sound etc...
Definately a slap in the face to you. If I was the owner I would have at least handed you the 65 then matched it out of my own pocket. "which is still not adequate considering equiptment AND spinning vids"
Times like this is where with my luck I would blow a sub and end up losing money.
Keep it simple... Flat rate them. Trust no one...
DJ Remy USA 3:33 PM - 28 December, 2010
Flate rate is the best I have noticed. That percentage shit always gets fuzzy. If they dont wanna pay then you dont play simple as that. 100.00 per hour you may loose gigs but you keep your sanity in the end
DJ Dub Cowboy 6:21 PM - 28 December, 2010
Quote:
Yeah.. I think I would have had a few words to say with setting up full sound etc...
Definately a slap in the face to you. If I was the owner I would have at least handed you the 65 then matched it out of my own pocket. "which is still not adequate considering equiptment AND spinning vids"
Times like this is where with my luck I would blow a sub and end up losing money.
Keep it simple... Flat rate them. Trust no one...



power of facebook in full effect.

rant status at 4AM
phone call from (the other) owner at 11AM

offer to come back with a guarantee and promotion, apology, and redeeming my feelings by telling me he would be pissed in the same position. The crew I covered for is going to make up the difference for me in pay and when they all get back in town they want to meet with me to figure out a good deal so they no longer get screwed when the venue is slow.

Just in case you missed it, this article is a great incentive to grow a pair.

beezoblog.com
Logisticalstyles 7:05 PM - 28 December, 2010
That's what's up. I'm glad it turned out well for you.
DJ Dub Cowboy 7:23 PM - 28 December, 2010
thanks..

another good thing about the experience.

I play 3 nights/week at 2 spots. One spot Thurs and Sat and another on Friday so I am pretty locked into those venues on the busy nights. I get offers to play other places all the time and I miss a lot of shows because of those gigs but I stay loyal. So when I get a chance to dip out and play one of these places and this is what happens it reminds me why I work those same two places over and over again....no BS.

I can now go back and put another year of grinding into my regular gigs and know that I am not missing anything spectacular.

You know....now that I think of it. The two venues that take the best care of their DJs just happen to be 2 of the most profitable businesses in my area. Other venues get higher profile shows and maybe have flashier decor but they are struggling financially. Hmmmmm
djbigboy 9:33 PM - 28 December, 2010
I believe that how a club treats the dj also means that they will treat customers similarly. Some places seem doomed to be one of those places that is open for 18 months, first 6 months it builds, second 6 months it peaks, last 6 months acts desperate until they close. Some places just seemed more destined to be around for the long haul and it shows how they treat their customers and employees....
Dj-M.Bezzle 9:44 PM - 28 December, 2010
Quote:
I believe that how a club treats the dj



Couldnt be happier with mine at the moment, they just informed me that they are taking down the little stage barricade that am currently cramped into and building me an acutual booth...WITH LIGHTS!!! Their building it to custom standards of my personal coffin and now instead of only having a tiny corner i will have a both that covers about 70% of the stage!!!! #pamperedDJ lol
ta2423 9:50 PM - 28 December, 2010
Problem is... Most wont make a confrontation about it and just eat it. Props for making it an issue. Last halloween I did my last percentage pay. The deal was 150 or 10% of all sales whichever was greater. Needless to say the place was wall to wall packed 200+ with a 7 dollar cover. The owner came at me with 159 dollars. C'mon I wasnt born yesterday. Needless to say I dont gig where I cant trust the owner.
Thanks to them I only do a flat rate now. That should have been a 300 to 500 dollar night period.
DJ Dac 3:08 AM - 29 December, 2010
Quote:
Quote:


I believe that how a club treats the dj



Couldnt be happier with mine at the moment, they just informed me that they are taking down the little stage barricade that am currently cramped into and building me an acutual booth...WITH LIGHTS!!! Their building it to custom standards of my personal coffin and now instead of only having a tiny corner i will have a both that covers about 70% of the stage!!!! #pamperedDJ lol

looks like your rants on here paid off...
DjBoozie 3:11 AM - 29 December, 2010
i work on flat rates only..I have my own set up...Cdj 800's Rane Mixer, 2 Dual 15 Ev And two 18's Also EV And The rack complete with Crown amp, QSC Amp And So on...My Prices start off at 300 and goes up from there...No Questions..If u can't pay it then find someone who you can afford...that way i wont hear the door did do so good...Not my problem
DouggyFresh 4:23 AM - 29 December, 2010
I say if you work for a % of the door, you need to have your own person either doing armbands or collecting money. That way there's no excuse for being screwed.

If you're at a place doing 50/50 door split and you're not counting the money (people or armbands) coming in, as its coming in, you're gonna get screwed.

Good reason to have your own paid roadie, helps haul equipment, and watches your door. Or if you have your own opening DJ, same thing, you watch the door at opening, he watches the door later on.
bill-e 4:39 AM - 29 December, 2010
contracts?
DouggyFresh 5:03 AM - 29 December, 2010
I don't have one myself, but I've seen them, pretty straightforward, 1-2 page contract detailing (usually provided by the venue management):

Time & Date
Length of Event
Type of contract ( full venue rental, 25/75 split, 50/50 split, etc)
Total cost of Venue rental (not usually done on door splits, just on 100% door deals)
Deposits / Payments due at signing of contract
Remaining amount due by midnight (or the door is forfeited to the club, usually only in the case of a 100% door w/ venue rental fee), a no-fee door split wouldn't normally have this clause.
Security, barstaff, ID person, cashier provided by venue
All VIP & bar sales go to the venue
Equipment / speaker damage is the promoters responsbility
All advertising has to be pre-approved by the club
All booked acts / artists must have contracts on file with club management before advertising the event

Also, important is the door split, some contracts allow for the door split to occur AFTER event costs, this is a big deal in some cases where the door makes $4,000, and the promoter or club put up the $3,500 in djs / artists/ radio / tv advertising up front, the contract must take into account this factor. Or in the case where you book a big DJ, band or artist, you definitely need to be door split after costs.

Again, this is all detailed contractually... something like "Promoter agrees to pay $3,500 in advertising/promotion/artist costs for event, the door split occurs after costs are covered"

A lot of times the venue doing the split would provide their own contract, I rarely see a case where the promoter brings the contract. This is a venue-oriented contract, not really something promoter brings. But I suppose it could be the other way for a venue that doesn't normally do door splits or rentals.
reggae delgado 5:36 AM - 29 December, 2010
Quote:
Did I ever mention about the SF venue owner who walked up to me and said "It's getting really dark out there"? Needless to say, I was fired the next week for not agreeing with his logic.

I heard this one in OAKLAND!
No good response to that...
mikenyce 5:32 PM - 30 December, 2010
Quote:
Most of the DJs on this forum don't even make $250 a night. The closest rider I've seen to this (equipment wise) were $1000+ a night DJs...





@DouggyFresh...speak for yourself homie...I wont even get off my couch for under $500!! And ALL I'm bringing is my bag with my serato equipment...AND I work at LEAST 3 days a week!!!
Dj-M.Bezzle 5:37 PM - 30 December, 2010
hence the most he added as the first word to his post
jbnyc 6:18 PM - 30 December, 2010
^^^^ true! He wrote MOST not ALL!

question is.......HOW THE FUCK DOES DOUGGY KNOWS HOW MUCH MONEY EACH ONE OF US MAKE? lol
mikenyce 6:44 PM - 30 December, 2010
At a Club in St. Maarten...as me and my partner were SMASHING the party...the club owner comes over and says that he does not want ANY reggae played, he said that it attracts too many "locals". So we attempted to play damn near any other genre of music from old-school hip hop to D-N-B, but NOTHING banged the club out more than the reggae. Now, there were nothing but tourists in the club, buying bottles etc... and ALL they would request was reggae so that was the majority of the music we played that night. The club owner threw a temper tantrum so bad that his own security had to physically take him to his office to calm down. BTW the bar rang over $15,000 that night!!! We also got booked at his competitions club the next night...it was a reggar club!!! Someone give that man a valium!!!