Casie Lane
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Casie Lane
ParticipantNGDJ, I would rec. getting in contact with DJs who are from the areas of the spots you are planning to hit.
Connect with them, support them online by sharing with your peeps who you are interested in and all that jazz can go a long way.
I totally understand your initial question but it is difficult for anyone to give a direct answer unless you state where you are going. We don’t know all the licensing/visa laws for each country.
Sometimes you can just show up to a party, have a wicked awesome time dancing your butt off, make friends and get invited to play at tomorrow’s party when you finally tell them you are a dj at an afterhours. (true story!)
and sometimes you’ve gotta plan ahead.
ParticipantTosatto, I always see the dudes playing their music in the tunnels of public transportation and I say to myself, “wouldn’t it be cool if there were a DJ there?!” too.
But then reality hits…these guys aren’t playing for a proper audience. it’s just a split moment, perhaps that they can give someone joy. It’s not really a sustainable way to live off a music career. (maybe, this is why we only see coins and a couple bills)
DJing in a shopping centre, is something I have experience in though. I’ve had a few bookings that were made with fashion brands that rented out the space. The first one was made by referral and the other one I did by digging into different brands PR people and special events peeeps.
How did I do this?
-Check out Bio and/or About page on their company website
-read their blog/website
-Twitter- An absolute GOLDMINE for all the things they’ve been up to recently/are
currently into. Don’t be afraid to go way back in history if you need to
-LinkedIn- Check their employment history, where they went to school and what they
studied.
-Facebook- Check their About. If you’re not friends, have they made any posts “Public”?
-Business Facebook Page…for anything personal they’ve written (ie other than links to their own site)
-Instagram- Find out where they’ve been, and what they’ve been up to.
-Pinterest- What excites them? What do they collect or long for?
-Google + and other social media…If you know they’re on anything else – have a look!So many ways of finding people who are actually in need of your service…they just don’t know it yet. 😉
ParticipantI’m just going to take this quote and flow with it… “pray and persevere…if God wants you to succeed, you will”.
So your music isn’t just for the masses…it’s for the people who really eat, sleep, breathe this mentality.
My advice is to RUN WITH IT!
Start with your branding.
1. Create a website that will absolutely draw the people who you want to book you in. How do you do this? Think about their needs, their beliefs and what they want out of a DJ service ONLY YOU can provide. If I am a director of a Christian camp and I need entertainment for a huge event will I choose someone who has a soundcloud page and maybe a small facebook fanpage that doesn’t reflect the message that I want Christian youths to follow OR would I pick the person who is the owner of a proper website that shows me what they stand for, who they work with and why they do it?
2. All other platforms will follow suit with that message. FB, Twitter, Soundcloud, Youtube.
3. Your communication to prospective clients/people who must hire you.
It’s not just you being a DJ. It’s about your message, what you bring with that message through music and how you can create an ever lasting message to every soul that listens with every set that you do.
I think there is so much opportunity out there for you Lauradi, I’m excited!!!
ParticipantHi Mike,
I’ve lived in Shanghai for 2 years. I still have plenty of friends and contacts there. Feel free to find me on any social media outlet with a quick google search. 😉
Warmly,
Casie LaneParticipantI love this forum and wish I had more time to spend on it. I actually put it on today’s to-do list and scheduled the time to pop in!
Participantthey say I’m the only one who asks why no monitors. :/
I know one of the DJs mixes internally from the computer, but I guess ur right. How would it make a difference? Maybe I should ask them again. lol
ParticipantI think Youtube is a fantastic promotional tool if you are producing your original sounds. Also good for showing live mixing tho. You can record a google hangout of your mixing and post it 🙂
when you do, share with me. I would love to see it.
Kind of like boilerroom digitaldjtipstyle
ParticipantFor the past 2 months I’ve been trying to get the managers at my residency at this wicked awesome tapas bar to bring in monitors for me. But since the other DJs use computers while I’m on my USBs (I like to travel light!), they say its not necessary.
At least I get some good practicing and I feel challenged somewhat while I take in the beautiful atmosphere there. 🙂
So my words for encouragement: practice, practice, and keep on practicing. You might end up at a gig where there are no monitors or crappy monitors but you’ll be prepared with no sweat and be all like, “yo, I got this!”
ParticipantHi Keegan,
Who is your audience? You can start from there too.
These sites might help you pick something cool out or at least get some juices flowin…
ParticipantakingDDJ, acapellas of the chorus can be used on top of another so it sounds cleaner.
ParticipantOWWWWW!
Eliah, This guy sounds like that movie Single White Female!
Participantyes, sir.
Would love to meet over adult beverages. Keep me posted!
Participanthahah!
well you can fake it, but people will know you are….
unless you’re a woman…chances are better at getting away with fakin’ it
ParticipantHi Eliah,
Looks like we can do a little bit of soulsearching here. 🙂 I’ll give you some things to help you find that perfect name and think of your branding…becasue it is all about how people perceive you! NOT about what you think people think of you.
Who is your ideal fan?
1. Don’t think about really what type of music you play but rather what they would like. Are they into EDM, House, DEep house, more underground, dub, hip-hop, top 40s, country music, national anthems….lol. you never know.2. Where do they hang out? both offline & online
3. What are their ages?
4. Lifestyles…are they into fitness, fashion, partying, fun-loving, drag queens, travel, sports, computers, fluffy furrythings, nudist camps?
5. What religion are they? (you’ll be suprised at the amount of gigs one DJ can get as the go-to bar mitzvah DJ in the town or the only Sihk DJ in a metropolitain area!!!)
6. Are they single, married, straight, gay, living in an awesome sexual utopia somewhere in the south Mediterranean sea? (maybe that does exist!)
you can also do this for your ideal client or venue
1. Who are they? professional, religious, nightlife…so many ways to think of who you want to work for and who you want to pay you.
2. What are their major needs? Do they need to entertain 400 sober guests for a few hours or would you want to DJ an open-bar thing?
3. What are their major obstacles? Will they have ppl of the same age group, mixed ages, mixed races?
So based on different answers to what you want your ideal fan to be and who your ideal client or your ideal gig is…. you can start thinking of branding and a name.
like if you are more for a partying crowd…something formal wouldn’t work.
likewise, if you are looking to have a more polished look for high paying clients…something like DJ
Buttwiper isn’t going to work. you’ll have to have something to attract them, and you’ll have to craft your bio and any social media post with them in mind. so swearing like a drunken sailor like me is out of the question!I love names that are not even real words… I love this app http://wordmergeapp.com/ 😀 it combines two words into one.
Branding is about how you connect & communicate with people not just about your name & logo. So looking at what those ideal people are into that’s how you would create your brand…your words on social media n your music profiles connect and communicate with people…attract the right ones.
Participantgreat question!
I think this is really important for a DJ who wants to get booked continuously…instead of looking at one gig as a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am sorta deal.
You’ve got your shot to make an impression with a crowd, if you are memorable…people are more likely to come again to your next gig. if it is in another venue, same venue, doesn’t matter…you can create a following.
Which then you can use as leverage when you are pitching clubs or bars for gigs. Say for example, in your town the standard rate for a club DJ is $200 per hour (hypothetically!). You have a passionate following that grew based on your ability to be different, stand out and cultivate a small tribe of 25 people you can definitely count on to be there. These 25 people always bring 2-3 people. Therefore, you can guarantee at least 75 people in the door for any and all of your gigs. You communicate this value to the club you are wanting to DJ at. This to them equals $$$.
So for me, what makes me different is important but how I use it is the key to seeing results I want as a professional.
What makes Casie Lane different?
The ability to read the crowd & play with them (smile, dance in and out of the booth), play those “oh yeah, I remember this song” edits with a housey twist exposing an older or unexpecting audience to electronic music, I communicate fully with my clients so I understand exactly what their wants and needs are and I double profits for them. This makes me a HIGHLY attractive DJ in this area because I consistently produce these results.It’s not that I’m the best DJ or even a great DJ, I would say I’m pretty mediocre in terms of technical skills its all in the presentation, communication and connection.
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