Struggling DJ

This is the right one…

Ask yourself….How are you different/Better than the millions of other djs that want the same thing as you.

Find Your sound/style……be different.

Really focus on your producing…tell a story through your music. Study song structure-this is where many mess up.

And always….love what you are doing or what’s the point…..right?

Jeremy,

I want to first address the issue of “amateur DJs around those areas that train wreck non-stop, mix songs that don’t flow together, or slam transitions in such a way that completely kills vibes, yet they are headlining nightclubs and other festivals in the area”

Like it or not, and it was a hard thing for me to accept, but the club/rave/festival scene is a huge popularity contest. I was at fourteen years a DJ, and I saw a hairdresser who took to the booth, couldn’t play well, but was getting booked because 50-80 people would come out for him. I had a former coworker who had only DJed for a year, and was opening for major names…because he was socially extroverted enough to get 50 friends and coworkers out…while I could barely get anyone out for me.

I speak often about how I backed off and stayed a bedroom/hobbyist DJ, and how happy I am with it. I never will say this is the ideal for everyone, but I’d also like to toss in that much of what drove me out of gigging was that I wasn’t HUNGRY anymore. Driving 3+ hours to play 40-60 minutes at a rave, or carting myself to a club to deal with trixies (and their requests) didn’t appeal to me anymore. I liked sleeping at night, seeing mornings, and having a new life with my now wife.

In your case, you either need to get hungry, or back down to a point where you’re happy. Yeah, you have a SoundCloud, Facebook, and Twitter…but I can see you’re not hungry enough.

Not ready for a website? I built my first website 8 years after I started, but much of those 8 years was when most didn’t have or need websites. You’ve been in already 7 years. If I had started back when you did, I’d have a website up a year later. It’s not about “ready” or not. It’s about having that central core of where you can put “all things CHA V”. You can easily get a site set up with WordPress or Squarespace. What have you got to lose?

I’d also tell you not to be so quick to reject sites such as MixCloud, MixCrate, and House-Mixes.com. I set up accounts on all of them. Do I see massive hits? No…but I see some, and often many of them find me on Twitter and Facebook. There is no quick fame where you get thousands of fans in a week. It’s a slow process.

So maybe you’re like me…more introverted, and unable to get loads of coworkers and pals out, then you seek out other ways to grow. I look at a guy like Skrillex and think he probably was an introvert who didn’t have loads of charisma to get bodies in the door. He connected up and pushed his dubstep scene, and he just got lucky.

I would say instead of trying to throw events, work with an established promoter. Be that solid reliable guy they always need. You might find yourself getting support. Post mixes, and keep posting tracks. Build slowly.

Most of all…BE HUNGRY. If you’re not hungry, then back off into a place that makes you happy.

I would suggest looking at the articles on the blog, and even considering some of Phil’s classes. I speak many times on building a brand, so at least look at things I’ve written in the past as some guidance.

http://www.digitaldjtips.com/author/d-jam/