DJ Club & Entertainment

In this article on how to become a DJ, we will be discussing some of the ways in which one can become a DJ. DJing is very much a fun job to be involved with. For one, the social life is pretty amazing! I know this because I DJ myself. I have been asked to play in different clubs and I’ve gotten to travel and experience many things because of DJing.

So as you can imagine, Djing is an attractive thing to get into. But a lot of people that start out Djing want to know of one popular question… and that question is this… How do I become a Dj? Below are your three tips on how to become a Dj.

1. Learn how to DJ… properly.

One of the most obvious fundamentals of becoming a DJ is of course… learning to program your music and entertain an audience. Its also important to learn and understand how to control DJ equipment. This could be learning how to use vinyl turntables, CD players or laptop software. These are the popular ways to perform your music. Pick one that you prefer to use and learn how to use it correctly.

2. Whats your music style?

Its important for you as a DJ to develop your own personal style of music. This way when people come to see your show they will have a good Idea about what sort of music you play! Your aim is to entertain a crowd with the right music. You want to appeal to a certain niche of music lovers. Once you master this you will be know as the DJ who plays, rock, soul, hip hop, house or whatever music you perform to a crowd.

3. Get yourself out there…

When you have covered the above tasks as a DJ, you then need to “Get yourself out there”. What I mean by this is that you need to record a DJ set and paste it onto a tape, CD or whatever platform you wish to use. The reason for this is that you now have a product in which you can promote to your crowd/audience or a radio DJ or a Club promoter. These are the contacts you need to aim for and hunt down so to speak.

For instance, If you play Hip-hop music, then you need to go to the hip-hop clubs around your area and “give away” free cd’s to the club promoters, the punters who are at the club etc…not everyone will listen to your mix, but if you are persistent, in which you need to be… your luck will come into play and you will at some point be given the chance to play to a crowd.

There you have it… these are basically the 3 things you need to develop yourself as a DJ. Continue to follow these steps and you will succeed. You just need to be persistent with it, that’s all. I wish you the best of luck with it!

After 13 years in the industry I’ve seen my share of good DJs and heard the horror stories. The question comes up: what separates a good wedding DJ from an average one and then the rest? Let’s begin by defining what a makes a wedding DJ different from let’s say, a club DJ.

Basically a club DJ will DJ a club (or a dance floor at a club) with a certain “vibe”. Which means that he/she will play a particular genre/style of music and for a particular night won’t play anything else. The crowd that visits that club will party to the music and if they don’t like the music, ditch the club (or floor) and go to another party.

A wedding is different. You have a crowd of 50 to 150 guests ranging in age from 5 – 85 with music taste that range from 50’s jazz to modern day fidget. Now the wedding DJ’s job is to entertain all of these people at the same time, and they can’t just up and leave (that’s usually considered rude. Now I use the word entertain, and not keep everyone on the dance floor for a reason.

Typically at a wedding you will have about 50% smokers (who will spend half the night outdoors smoking – due to our country’s strict smoking laws), some of these, along with another 15% of the crowd will hang out at the bar. This leaves about 35% of the crowd. Of these about 10% will just want to hang out (they’re either too old, or haven’t seen each other in ages and just want to chill). This leaves you with about 25% who will want to spend the whole night on the dancefloor. Of this 25%, 10% will dance to just about anything the DJ plays (which makes it easy, right?) WRONG!

The art lies in entertaining 100% of the crowd. The old folk, the young folk. The ones who enjoys the electro-pop and the metalheads. All of them in one night.

So the question you should ask your wedding DJ is not “what kind of music do you play?”. The question you should ask your DJ is “why are you a wedding DJ?”

Being a wedding DJ is an art, and you have to love it. It’s like cooking a souffle. Anyone can cook macaroni and cheese, but not everyone has mastered the art of baking a cheese souffle. It takes time, patience, and a love of the art.

So there you have it, in a nutshell.

Of course there are all the other questions to ask, like equipment, is the DJ registered with SAMRO and SADJA. But a DJ that takes his art seriously will use production-grade equipment, always have backup equipment available, be registered with SAMRO (to legally perform publicly), and be registered with SADJA because he is a professional and wants to be recognised as such.

Would you like to karaoke every night, or at least several times per week?

Do you enjoy being the one working the karaoke machine?

Has your entrepreneurial spirit led you to look for a fun business?

If you answered these questions with a resounding “YES!” then becoming a karaoke DJ may be just the thing you have been searching for! Getting started as a karaoke DJ may be easier than you think, too!

What exactly is involved in starting your own karaoke DJ business?

Most importantly, you need some good quality equipment: a professional level karaoke machine, microphones, speakers, a monitor for the lyrics, a large karaoke music library, speaker stands, and cords.

Some clubs have their own speaker system you can plug into. A lot of them now have large television screens, too, so if you have a karaoke machine which utilizes a television to display the lyrics, you don’t have to provide the monitor. So in some locations you can get away without bringing the speakers, speaker stands, or the monitor, but very few clubs provide their own karaoke machine or their own karaoke music.

If you would like to cut down on your expenses, and on the amount of equipment you need to haul in and set up at each gig, a great suggestion is to look into The SongStation Karaoke Machine.

What else do you need besides your karaoke machine to start your business?

A dynamic personality to cheer on the crowd and get them going is a big plus! Also, a good singing voice is an asset, because sometimes it’s YOU who sings the first karaoke song!

You also need business cards with your contact information to help market your business. To get the business started, you want to talk to every club owner you can reach. Places like bowling alleys are also starting to catch the Karaoke bug, and often enjoy setting up one night a week as Karaoke Night. New retail businesses may want to host a Karaoke Night to start bringing in their customers. Radio stations are candidates, since they host promotional events all the time.

Locate your local wedding planners, event planners, party planners. Leave your cards with caterers, florists, wedding photographers, videographers. Even your local churches and school districts may enjoy having a Karaoke Night fundraiser. Party supply houses might let you leave a stack of business cards at their registers. The supply of new leads for your Karaoke DJ business is endless. Everyone loves a good Karaoke Party!

And last, but not least, you can always run the ad: Have Karaoke Machine. Will Travel.

So with a little guts, a little gusto, and a karaoke machine, you can soon be on your way to Karaoke DJ happiness!

One of the most rewarding musical careers paths one can follow is as a disk jockey (DJ). In this article we simply ask if this job should be limited to young people only.

Personally I have been involved in playing music for over twenty years. During this time I have worked in night clubs, bars at big youth conferences in fact across a whole range of events. Now it is no secret that I am not getting any younger, in fact a couple of years ago I crossed the 40 milestone. So I guess my answer to the age of DJ’s will come from my own personal experience and perspective.

Now you may expect me to immediately say because of my own age that age does not matter in this job. But the fact is it can and does in certain circumstances for a couple of reasons.

1) Stamina – Unless you are exceptionally fit you will find it hard to maintain your energy levels as a career DJ working on the club scene as you get older. Most people do not appreciate the amount of hard work involved in the job. Just the hours themselves are physically punishing and as we get older it does therefore become harder.

2) Relevancy – Good DJ’s exude charisma and always connect with their audience. In fact this connection is an essential factor in a DJ’s success, they will understand exactly the world through the eyes of their audience in fact it is a generational matter. Therefore as a DJ gets older he will find it hard to make that connection with younger generations. The best he can do in these circumstances is to be gracious about it; there is nothing more tragic than someone trying to hold on to their youth.

Now does this mean that I think all middle aged jockeys should hang up their headphones and put away their vinyl selection? Of course not, but you do have to change and develop what you do.

For me now I take less late night bookings and specialise in audiences that are from my era and appreciate the genres I play. One thing about being slightly older is that you possess valuable experience which is definitely a big advantage. As a result my sets are polished and I have a huge collection of music to draw upon.

If you are thinking about starting a dj business then you will need to get the best possible advice and ideas to incorporate into your dj business plan which will then give you a sound footing from which to launch a successful venture. The good news is that difficult to launch a dj company but you will need to follow some good basic business principles and be able to devote your time and attention to making sure that you can beat your local competition and secure some initial contracts which will launch your dj business.

Like most businesses there are people who come up with good ideas and people who can actually put them into practice and this is often the case with people thinking about starting a mobile disco venture or just wanting to DJ in their local club and pub.

In this article we will explain the difference between the idea and the practical aspects which will lead you to success with your business. You can expect to make a serious amount of money from running a good DJ company either by going out yourself and operating a mobile disco or by running a music entertainment agency that specialises in securing music acts and DJ’s and sending them out to clients on a fee basis.

To start you will have to devote your own manpower to running the business and most of the time you will devote to cold calling prospective clients and venues to find out if they require acts for forthcoming events like weddings, birthdays, bank holidays, national holidays and New Year. Don’t be put off by calling or visiting 100 clients and only securing 1 or 2 contracts as an average percentage would be 2-3% success rate. In the short term if you can secure an initial contract with a venue, however small, it will start you off and give you the belief and confidence to both expand your client base and providing you offer a good service then word of mouth will bring you lots more business.

Some top tips for a successful DJ business include:

1) Sit down and plan your business approach and make sure you produce a solid DJ Business Plan

2) Market your DJ company with flyers and DJ business cards which you can get printed locally or from an online source. Flyers and business cards represent a cheap way of getting lots of exposure for your business and should not be overlooked at any cost.

3) Understand your local market – contact other local disco or entertainment agencies to see what they offer and how much they charge.

4) Try to secure a quick initial contract with a venue so you can satisfy yourself that you have now launched the DJ company.

5) Be professional, Courteous and make sure you turn up at booked events at the exact time.

6) Money is very important so try to get advanced deposit bookings and get the money upfront if at all possible.

7) Make sure that your equipment is in working order and you have any necessary electrical equipment test certificates as required.

Most business people will tell you that half of the success of their business is through initial hard work but the remaining 50% comes much easier as word of mouth spreads about your business spreads and you continue build upon a solid, reliable, trustworthy and enviable reputation. OK, so we know that running any business is not a breeze but having said that most people who start a DJ business or entertainment agency actually enjoy the process and with this comes big rewards.

As we all know that being a DJ at a club can really be a cool action to take. As a matter of fact, many individuals who love partying think that the DJ’s job is one of the better jobs on earth. In this profession, you will play with music, meet people, and party all the time. Nevertheless, you have to recollect that growing a DJ is not only about stepping in the booth and playing your favorite music. It takes most hard toil and dedication as a way for you to be really accomplished.

As a DJ, you need to know what the people want so your livelihood is very similar to an entertainer’s where you have to hold the people entertained. In any case, what type of a DJ would you be if you can’t get people to dance on the dance floor and have fun, right?

Whether you are a consistent DJ in a night club or hired for a wedding day, you have to know what type of music to play constantly. DJ’s don’t just play the music but they seem to feel it and bare their soul to it. So, just what is the secret to becoming a good DJ? Well, for starters, flattering a good DJ is not really a secret so he are some things that you are able to do in order to become really good at this style of job.

The initial thing that you need is to know someone within the industry. You ought to know a DJ in order for you to make them your mentor. You can ask them about anything you need to study and, the best thing about this is that you can be provided with their knowledge gratis.

Once you discovered how you can become a good DJ, the next step is to develop your personal style. You have to take in information about mixers, cartridges, needles, and all types of things that you must be familiar with to operate the DJ’s booth.

You should also collect a large number of different kinds of tunes, including love songs, rock, and even hip hop. Then, you need to stash them as MP3s on a DVD or CD. This way, you will be in a position to save them for demos for future use.

When you are setting up in your work as a DJ, you actually don’t need to have your own equipment. You can rent it from somebody that has it or if you are planning to are employed in a club, it will be provided for you. You can also advertise your skills and by turning into a good DJ at a confidential party, you will get loads of referrals and connections.

Again, practice makes perfect and globally of DJ’s, you have to be current with the most up-to-date and the hippest music. By going over, you will be in a position to world of warcraft the group with every mix or music you play and keep the party going for everybody.

Years ago, DJs would prepare and practice with their vinyl records and turntables the mixes they would play for the crowd. Back and forth with his hands on the vinyl he would create the sound known as the scratch. Making his mixing set sound different from the rest of the DJs scratching and beat mixing his records. What they call now a remix. Remixing a song to make it sound different and original at the same time. The crowd would go wild pumping their hands up synchronizing with the DJ’s mix. Rocking the house with his turntables and record vinyl. The Dj would have an arsenal of different genres of music. He had to keep up with radio airplay music and as well underground music favorites among the streets.

Favorite of the tools of the street DJs or even club DJs are Technics 1200 turntables. These are very professional turntables DJs preferred for mixing and scratching. These turntables are direct drive with pitch control on the side. What the pitch control does is adjust the speed of the vinyl record spinning on the turntable. Basically a DJ’s tool is 2 Turntables and a mixer to mix 2 records together. Creating both records mix and synchronize with each other. This is where the pitch control comes in. To synchronize both vinyl record together making a perfect mix. Some DJs use the Technics 1200 also because these are best for Dj scratching.

Nowadays Dj mixing has change from a couple years ago. Today a DJ doesn’t have to carry that much of heavy equipment. Before a DJ had to carry the slightly heavy Technics 1200 and a whole bunch of vinyl record crates. This has change in these couple of years with the technology rapid changing. The Technics turntables have change to CD Turntables which are less heavy and compact. The vinyl records also change to less compact Cds. Some DJs go as far as DJing any party or event with more advance technology such as a laptop and a DJ software.

As years go by and technology is always evolving the art of mixing for a Dj is rapidly changing. Nowadays DJs have to keep up with the times and trends. Who know in the years to come what Dj tools DJs are going to use to make the party people dance. We just have to wait and see.

Its important when you start out to learn the skills as a DJ that you get as much help as
possible! Finding as many tips, tricks & methods as possible will help educate yourself as a
DJ. In this article we will talk about some of the DJ tips on mixing you need to understand
as a beginner DJ and find out where you can learn to mix.

So lets jump straight in on this… Where can a beginner learn to mix? Well there are a
number of places a beginner DJ can learn to mix. If your old enough to hit the clubs, you can
watch the DJ from a distance. This is always a good starting point as you get to see a DJ
perform in real time in front of an audience. So hitting the clubs and observing the DJ in
action is advised!

If you want to take the observation more seriously, you can get a job as a light jock in a
nightclub. Now granted the pay is pretty low, however a light jock is in the best position to
watch a DJ’s success and failure at entertaining a dance floor. Getting a job as a light-jock
will also give you the opportunity to gain contacts with DJ’s that visit the club. You may
also have the opportunity to practice Djing on the clubs sound system when the club is closed
during the off hours in the day time. This proves to be invaluable experience for your
learning curve.

You can also think about getting a job as a mobile DJ. You can join an agency and get work
through them. These companies are often eager to hire and train new and up and coming DJs.
Using this channel can be a wise move and if you choose to do this you will want to make sure
that the agency will invest in you and teach you how to mix!

Finally, I think one of the best ways to learn if you are completely on your own is to watch
short video instructions of someone that knows exactly what they are doing. A DJ that has
been in the game for a long time and knows the in’s and out’ of Mixing. Trying to read from a
book is never really much use as you need a good imagination to follow the text instructions.
With video you can watch and learn exactly what is being taught and its much easier to
follow.

By becoming a nightclub promoter you get a chance to throw your own events. For this you need to be creative and need to develop your own party ideas or favourite themes for them.

There are many themes available for you. Angels and Demons themes allows you to play with a good and evil idea. In this theme, girls dress as innocent, sweet or naughty and guys also match them.

The themes of 80’s, 90’s and 70’s provide lot of fun and college crowds love the nights very much. You can also adopt day specific themes for the nightclub event. For example, you can set one weekly theme as ‘Mondays Suck’, Wednesday as ‘Hump Day’ and Thursday as ‘Early Weekend’ and so on. If you are organizing the nightclub event for summer or spring you can make every one enjoy fun and look fancy with white parties.

You can even make your DJ nightclub a great hit by collaborating with local DJs, hip hop artists and local modeling agencies. By generating enough publicity for the event, you can sell the tickets and even raise the prices and your revenue. In a nightclub you can meet all sorts of people and you can enjoy partying with them and also get paid for that.

Not everyone can perform the job of a DJ in a nightclub. To succeed as a DJ you need to stay out late on weekends and you should also remain as the center of attraction in a night club. As a DJ you get to move with your friends and can a make a nice living out of it.

Promoting a nightclub and setting up a DJ is not only a rewarding career but also allows for lots of fun. Though the profession is not widely known, with a creative side, love to party and a good business, you can make the night club promotion and setting up a DJ as your dream job.

While trying to concentrate on the theme nights, take care not to overdo them. In fact, people may even ignore the theme. The theme is just an idea to brand a particular night event. The theme should not be ridiculous and encourage people to make great efforts on their part to follow the theme.

Don’t put on DJ events at night clubs with too many themes. You can limit them and also avoid doing multiple nights in a week. Try to avoid slutty themes that might turn away the people you want to get in. Remember that some guys pay and come to night clubs just to meet girls and not merely to listen to DJ in the night club or sit and watch them dance all the night. As a nightclub promoter you should put good party ideas into practice to make the event a memorable one that everyone can enjoy.