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First Club Gig- Getting Paid?

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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • January 21, 2013 at 5:13 am #35393
    Daryl Northrop
    Participant

    Sounds shady. I would go with your counter offer of “under $2000, then I get nothing.” Yes, you should help promote your night, but the club should bear the bulk of the promotion and responsibility for getting people in the door.

    January 21, 2013 at 5:19 am #35394
    EpicDJ
    Member

    I would never take a deal such as this one. The club knows how much they are typically making, you do not. I would try and negotiate what you spoke of or a flat amount. These types of ‘deals’ are a win win for the club and a lose lose for you in my opinion.

    January 21, 2013 at 7:28 am #35396
    NietzSKY
    Participant

    While I think you should take a little initiative for promoting any show you are playing in, I don’t believe you should assume full responsibility as artist. My sketch radar is going off on this one, do you have a running average of what the bar pulls in?

    January 21, 2013 at 10:52 am #35409
    kubin
    Member

    Don’t take that deal, it sucks.
    I know that it’s hard to get gigs in the beginning, but that doesn’t mean you should sell yourself.

    Of course you promote your own shows because you want people to get there,
    but that doesn’t mean you have to take the club’s risk – either they want to book you, or not.

    If they opened the club anyway that night, just tell them you’ll play for free or a fixed amount of cash (like $100 for the whole night), that doesn’t hurt them – it’s not your responsibility to make the club run.

    Another option would be, that they don’t book exclusively you but get another artist they think will pull more people, and use you as a support in the beginning. So you’ll play until 01:00 a.m. (or whenever their peak hour starts) and than the “more famous” guy steps in. That’s how I got my first gigs.

    January 21, 2013 at 2:32 pm #35419
    DJ Johnny Fantastic
    Member

    Run from this if they are insistent on it. I’ve never heard of any club making the artist pay them to play, it’s suppose to be the other way around. They are going to be open any ways so what difference does it makes if it’s you as a DJ or them plugging an iPod in? They are going to make what they are going to make (but yes, you should promote yourself as well. At the start, I almost always got 20-30 of my friends to come out). My first few club gigs, I did for free or for gas money. Usually after my set, they’d throw me a bit extra if I really had the floor going but I wouldn’t take that deal in a million years.

    January 22, 2013 at 8:20 am #35450
    Terry_42
    Keymaster

    I would even call this against the law and practice of conduct in most countries of the world.

    The worst contract I ever had was 200 bucks straight up for 6 hours (which is hugely underpaid).
    Every beginner DJ in the worst clubs gets at least some minimal amount of money, NEVER play for free.

    Everytime I play nowadays I take a base salary and if the venue crosses a certain line I get a percentage. But I get my base salery NO MATTER WHAT. You should do the same.

    And if this guy is such a person: do a written contract!

    January 23, 2013 at 5:10 pm #35523
    “Big Daddy G”
    Member

    Every beginner DJ in the worst clubs gets at least some minimal amount of money, NEVER play for free.
    I concure, you don’t need that type of exposure!

    BTW:
    NEVER play for free!
    NEVER play for free!
    NEVER play for free!
    NEVER play for free!
    NEVER play for free!
    NEVER play for free! or you will be the FREE Dj everyone goes to for charity, We get 50% when a charity calls, here in the states they wil get a kid with an IPod in the back of some boom box, before the pay a professional? not like the beer and food comes for free or the hall they rent!

    January 25, 2013 at 9:55 am #35674
    Dizzle
    Participant

    I’m pretty sure Phil has a post about tricks promoters play to take advantage of new Djs…this reads almost exactly like an example he gave

    January 25, 2013 at 3:21 pm #35693
    aaron altar
    Participant

    Bad deal for sure. Decide on a base rate, counter offer with that (or a number above it if you want to barter). If he won’t pay then forget it, if he will then get a signed contract.

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