Well a decent indicator is good moderated forums like ours 🙂
In the Mix section you usually find people saying who they are, we have people that are really good there (like Neonglass etc.) and some say flat out they are newbies, but some might feel inclined to work for free.
Of course our staff are professional DJs.
However charity events are a different matter totally especially for more professional guys.
So for example what I would want to know if you send me an in-call (aka you ask me to DJ):
– What charity
– Why would I want to take part in that charity (some charities have political implications)
– Are there any associations of that charity that I should be aware of
– What is my take on the charity (aka do you want me to play for free, give you a discount on my rate,…)
– How about expenses (flight, transfer, hotel, food,…)
– If I take part in the charity would you cross-promote (aka I play for you there, but you will check if you can find suitable gigs that are fully paid around your charity event in local clubs etc.)
– What is the time you want me to play
– Why do I not get the main slot, as I surely deserve it (kidding here but you get my drift)
….
These are all things a semi- or professional DJ would want to know for such an event.
Especially for a charity you prolly cannot be that picky.
As:
1. You will get flooded with newbie DJs and many will prolly suck, but want to play out
2. Many good DJs will want money or some other form of compensation other than “there will be lots of people that will most likely be drunk and not remember your name anyways…”. So other than being a really high profile charity that has TV there and mega PR you are not going to win with that argument alone.
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