How to get involved with more Top-40, electronic dance gigs?

Thanks Terry for the vote of confidence…

Branden, read the series on how to succeed at DJing for starters. Here’s part 1:

http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2011/03/how-to-succeed-at-djing-part-1-what-type-of-dj-do-you-want-to-be/

NOW…the good news is you’re WILLING to play Top-40 and EDM. Too many (like myself) would rather play the more underground scene, which is even harder to break into.

My suggestion is to start small. Look at bars. The kinds of spots college students and 20somethings go to. In many of those venues, promoters/owners aren’t looking for DJs who “bring heads”, but more those who put the crowd ahead of themselves. That means if a pack of hot women want Miley and Bieber, you play it. That means you’re not going to drop some hard-edged dubstep and be fist-pumping while half the crowd walks out the door.

Start there, and build on it. Don’t just play, but interact. Give out CDs or something…build a following there. You show competence, meaning a mainstream promoter can count on you, then you’ll move up the ladder.

From what I’ve seen, the college/sports/trendy bar scene isn’t like the club scene. More often than not they take on DJs like job applicants, put them on the payroll, and some more corporate-owned venues even provide music and gear.

Like I said, they want competence over popularity. They’ll do the work getting a crowd, but want someone they can rely on to keep them there.

Network with resident DJs, ask managers (when they’re not busy) if they’re taking applications. You just might have to risk annoying someone to get the big rewards.