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Hey :-)

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Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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  • January 3, 2014 at 9:43 pm #1023560
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    Hi,

     

    Welcome to the forums.

    I think you answered your own question already. The more niche you go, the harder it is to get REGULAR well paying gigs. Quite frankly, if the money is important, become a good wedding DJ is the best way to go. Or becoming Hardwell or Guetta (although I am afraid the market for Goth and Dark Electro is not big enough to bring forth someone of that magnitude :-)).

    When it comes to gear, don’t sweat it. You don’t need “The Best” gear to do well. Get what works for you and do your thing well and nobody cares if you are on a 600 or 1200 euro controller and if your laptop is a Macbook Pro or a 5 year old dual-core Acer.

    It’s a hobby, so be in it for the passion. The rest will follow.

    And event managers … I have always been true gto myself. And if the crowd was jumping, i would just point that out. It can backfire too and you might not get booked again. So, the question is really do you want to do your thing and accept that not every event manager will like you, or do you try to please the event manager a little bit and continue get booked by him. It’s your choice.

    Again welcome, enjoy the forums!

    January 4, 2014 at 2:56 am #1023597
    tom cryonicangel
    Participant

    Hey Vintage.. I try to spin some really heavy underground stuff like rhythmnnoise, power electronics and japanoise – extremly rare stuff, that pull about 5000 people on the biggest EU-wide event once per year. And this is the main event in the world for that music (Maschinenfest / Forms of Hands festivals, both are unknown but pull people from all over the world to germany every year).

    So how i can get a regular booking spinning this type of music (and ever beyond this, true experimental offbeat/breakcore stuff) without having a project/band behind my name?

    I dont want to get poplular like Deadmaus or Hardwell – its not my goal.. But how can i earn enough money with music that is extremly rare – like 5 or 10 “big” events per year in a country like germany, which is the best for underground music?

    I want to push my thing out, spin only what i want and still get some feedback on it and a nice small crowd.

    Weddings and corporative events are not my thing, the only way i really like what i am doing is to mix some crazy stuff together. I can work as a VJ too, i have the soft&hardware, but its hard to get a booking when your warm-up sound & look like this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwVZji7C-RQ

    So what can i do to play only crazy underground stuff and get paid like a usual club DJ?

    January 4, 2014 at 3:08 am #1023598
    tom cryonicangel
    Participant

    And this is only for warm up, the main style is close to this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOr9B1LryLk

    <span style=”line-height: 1.5em;”>Speedcore/Splittercore/Extratone, its even too hard and too fast for the most people who really like this stuff. </span>

    January 4, 2014 at 1:13 pm #1023648
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    Yep, that is way out there (way to far for an old geezer like me :-).

    And I have no clue what advice to give you. Other than be in it for the passion. And make whatever money you can. Try to live within your budget as far a gear and music is concerned. If you need more money than it raises, consider it the cost of a good hobby. (I used to scuba dive, never made a dime, cost my a small fortune in gear, lessons and diving trips :-)).

    Good luck m8 and greetinx.

    January 6, 2014 at 1:32 am #1023935
    Dave Paul
    Participant

    Yip, as Chuck said the choice here is essentially one between getting paid and playing the music you like.  Want more money?  Do weddings and Top40-type mobile work since these gigs remain (by FAR) the most lucrative, both in terms of hourly rate and frequency of work.  However, you seem pretty firm on playing only the music you like so the most you can do, barring finding a promoter who already loves what you play, is to promote your own nights – this can be a lot of work, let me assure you, and it comes with the added stress of you footing the bill.  If you have a setup that works for you, stick with it for as long as possible to get the best value from it, and bear in mind that unless you’re putting it to paid work new gear is going to COST you money, not make it.. the cost of a good hobby indeed.

    January 6, 2014 at 2:24 am #1023945
    Lamid45G
    Participant

    You want more money or you want to be an Idealist ?

    Two very opposite elements, cant mix them very well these days, its just not enough room for it, just like many stated above me, if you shoot for passion go the Idealist route with a very very very small amount of money involved, shooting for more money? The mainstream is pretty much the only way to go now

    Choose wisely, and welcome to the forum ! =)

    January 6, 2014 at 11:24 am #1023990
    tom cryonicangel
    Participant

    Yeah.. Sometimes i catch myself listening to house or dubstep, but i dont think i will like spinning this – its too “soft” and too slow for me 🙂

    And weddings are my horror – i`m a clubDJ a i have a huge respect for weddings DJs and how they manage to work that long (specially if they move all the heavy stuff like PA and light).

    I know i can do it, specially because im living in germany, but im a native russian and there is a market for russian weddings . Maybe i will start some day, but i will join a wedding DJ for a while as a helper to learn more about it, if i start with it.

    My main goal was to avoid mainstream as much as i can go – even in the underground, there is “mainstream” (popular bands almost like Rammstein – not really pop-music, but everyone knows it).

    But if its the only way to really get some money from this, i may start spinning house (really big here, almost any club, even the DnB-dedicated, is playing house music right now), but separate this from my older DJ name and get a new profile only for that.

    And yeah my setup works fine for me and it has nice sound and some unique features that most controllers (the smaller versions) dont have.. but this is the weak spot – its huge, i have problems with setting up how i like it.

    I had some great time learning from the best – DJs who also did loveparade and other big things here.. they fall back into mainstream – RnB/hiphop/house..  They also said – if you want to get some nice money, you have to play what ever people like right now… Specially if you live in a small town and not in Berlin – there is not enough room for underground music and getting paid well.

    Traveling in Germany is pretty expensive, so most small clubs dont book people from far away (and 300km is far away in Germany) – they dont want to cover the extra cost for traveling and hotel.

    And promoting my own nights.. Did that – it was a big minus in my pocket. Not possible where i live right now – its great if you want to make a good night for like 20-40 people, but not if you want your money back…

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