Dj's Charging !!!!!!!

o.k this gose out to all dj's

i must know why you all are charging to play music ????

can any one answer that.............

what makes your music more special than mine or the next dj
or the way you talk, or the 'Equipmet' you use it dosnt take much to be a dj in second life..
i mean do you have a real FM or AM station your broadcasting to ??

yeah i have my own stream..... but i dont charge and i still make over a K a night

seriously it stupid that you have to charge.............

and yes i play to top 40's and the top 100's and top 10's

but i still don't charge
and i have been in the business over 17 years

now In real life i charge....
but secondlife no ............. its stupid

if you don t like this post well im sorry live with it..........

your not boracasting on an FM station or an AM station

this is just my opinion ........

They charge to make L, it's another way to make a living on SL. Some only go by tips but charging is reasonable.

no its not ........

the clubs that are getting started cant afford dj's so the have no music being played making it hard for them to gt business started

Tough luck man. If they can't find a dj, they need to hire one that is willing to take tips only.

see thats what i'm talking about if you cant make enough that you have to charge then your at the wrong place or something is wrong.... right ?

Well tips aren't that helpful, since people aren't THAT generous. I'm telling you, charging for your services is in the right, whether you be an escort, or a dj. It's all the same.

Jump off your high horse and get your panties outta your crack and get over it.

This is just my opinion.

For someone that makes a K a night you sure are bitter.


If it b others you that is your problem, cant help that fact that no one will pay for your services.

This is just my opinion.

i dont charge if i did it wouldnt be 5 k a set that for sure

i do good very good...... so i dont have to charge ...........

and bitter ..... no just confusded..........

Whats the problem?

If others charge and you don't, surely thats good for you?

The only reasons I can think of it being a problem for you is if you are in fact not a dj and actually a club owner who doesn't want to pay, or your just out and out jealous of them.

"The only reasons I can think of it being a problem for you is if you are in fact not a dj and actually a club owner who doesn't want to pay, or your just out and out jealous of them."

Do the math venues have alot of overhead not the least of which is tier due every week, gadgets that have to be purchased for the venue itself etc It takes alot of time and L to run a venue properly and make it a place where people like to come and spend time and hopefully tip. This is not the realy world people where venues make thier money on cover charges and drink sales. Venue owners dont do this for the $ they for most part do it because they love the music and providing a fun place people enjoy.

It's true that Anyone capable of downloading the Free Winamp plugin, download some Free "illegal" music, and buy a cheap mic can DJ in SL if they want.... but that doesn't make them a GOOD DJ...

There are DJs in SL that use Premium Software, Full home studios and legal music... they have worked for years to develop their skills at Mixing Live Sets.... Mixing their own Music...and developing their On Air Personality....... And are Fantastic DJs! These DJs work to MAKE the Party... they bring their Fan Clubs to every set..
These DJs would call you a Playlister.... you load up the songs, you play them, you talk once in awhile... so what? Boring...

There are two reasons only to have a club in SL... Increase Traffic... no club has ever MADE money that I know,, their purpose is to increase Traffic counts for the Mall/Store/Etc also on that parcel. Secondly... have a club for your friends to hang out and have a good time. In either case, which would you prefer.. the Fantastic DJ that brings the crowd with them.... or the Playlister that.... well you get the idea.

You are happy with making $3US a night... Good for you. If people are willing to pay Fantastic DJs their going rates... Great for them.

If you think all SL DJs are the same... you should get out more and listen to others.

I dont charge if the club has a sufficient traffic base, or can guarentee i will make a certain amount.

The only time i will charge is for private functions such as weddings etc where you may have to get music you wouldnt normally play or go on for a longer amount of time than at normal club event,

Unless you have bought your music over itunes and legally own it..if you are downloading illegal copies then charging to play them no matter how much effectively you are breaking the law...

I doharge but if a club offers to pay me then Im not gonna turn it down. So you are basically saying that you are doing better because you dont charge? WHat kind of logic is that? If I were you I wouldnt question it. Your purpose of this post was to let club owners think hmmmmm.......he doesnt charge so lets hire him. I guess this was a ploy to get more jobs offersor whatever. If you are that good then this wouldnt be necessary. I do give you props for your clever way to get more work.

ill sum up why i charge and a very brief passage

total RL Money costs to DJ:

SAM Broadcaster 4- $400.00USD
Razer Magalothon 7.1 surround sound headset-$150.00
my turn tables- 500.00

so iv spent over $1,000.00USD on my equipment to make sure you have the best possible time.

more reasons why i charge

1. 3+ years of RL and SL DJing (work for rl radio station)
2. huge fan group of over 50 members (so pretty much guaranteed a packed house)
3. I voice!!!! not just introducing songs and occasional comments im CONSTANTLY on voice interacting with the crowd and making sure everyone feels welcome. this includes welcoming everyone that comes in the club over voice.
4. i have a huge library of mostly rock music and do ANY request.
5. the last and probably most important reason it costs me $1USD PER SONG. so tips simply don't cover this cost.

Now i don't charge much usually 250-1,000L/hour depending on the type of event... so for all the money i put into this i refuse to lose money.

Enough said.

Well, i can understand both sides of the arguement.

As an established club owner I can say that we have had DJs and bands and paid anything between 500 L$ to 15000l$ and to be honest I did not notice a difference in the amount of people attending nor the tips given out either.

I am happy to vouch for crisp as he has played in our club for us.

I now only hire DJs who play for tips, I like them to have their own group and in fact one of the best events we had was with a 100% tips DJ and we had 40+ people in the club. Infact one of our DJs who work for tips only made 4K the other day.

Our overheads are high, I own a full sim, my o/h are around 300 US$ per month for the tiers + all the other additional costs such as staff etc, I don't expect the club to make money and i am very happy to state that the club does at least break even which is more than alot of club owners can say, and i am just not prepared to pay out lots of money for a DJ who, quite frankly, won't bring in any more people than a free DJ who accepts 100% tips.

We also have had a wondeful comedian who didn't cost the earth and brought us in around 50 people to hear their show, they donated to the club donations box and this helped to equal out their fee. I have also paid 5k for a singer who was supposed to be one of the best on Sl, so good that we had to wait over 8 weeks for them to be available... they only brought in 28 people... so doing the maths it seems that people who are willing to work for tips bring in just as much traffic (if not more) as those who charge... so as a club owner i will go for the tips only option as it makes more business sense.

I am sure many of you will now reply stating that you charge and can promise me that you can bring in 40+ people every time you play, but in my experience this simply isn't true... sorry.

I pay every DJ that spins in my club. In RL you organize your set of music, get your equipment ready and soend your two or three hours spinning music - and enjoyable music that is danceable - and you probably take requests also.

Why is this activity any different from what you do in RL? Do you think all internet DJs should work for free. I believe the radio industry would crumble under your business plan.

It takes skill and training to create a 'good set of music'. No one wants to hear 'The Dark Side of the Moon' album for two hours. One needs to know their audience.

I belive venues are being robbed by Live Musicicans because what they want is ten times what we make - but DJs have always been reasonable and coorperative with SL venues.

If you can't afford a DJ on your club, don't hire one at all. Simple as that.
DJ's that don't charge anything to play on your club, aren't really that professional, or they wouldn't be wasting their time by working for free.

What I want to know is are all these dj's in SL paying royalties to stream music across the internet? That's illegal too....so how do they get away with it?

If you keep your shoutcast stream private then you are not charged royalities. That is the change they made in the law before it came into effect. Most Second Life shoutcast streams are not listed on http://www.shoutcast.com.

Unless you have some paying real life advertisers in a 24 hour rotation or you have a non-profit grant supporting your 'station' there is no way to afford making your shoutcast stream public and paying those fees.

I work at some places that tip poorly or are trying to revive. Without being paid, I wouldn't afford the stream. In fact, due to some changes, I am starting a work wanted one so that I can cover that cost.

Some of us work more then 1 club just to cover stream, teirs ( we like times to enjoy sl too ) I dont charge alot. I charge for call ins and privet parties. We have to charge new clubs make nothing for tips. Noobies dont tip. What am I to tell my landlord sorry I only work for tips. He'd still want his money and so wouldnt the stream company. And tips have gotten bad. Some places still make a 1 others if I make 400 its a good night. Yes I own my sam. So theres a 400.00 cost right there. Plus now up grading pc and laptop for more music. New laptop to a gamers one ( SL upgrades r killing this one lol ). And even thou I charge I still turn away jobs. Im on sl all the time to rock any club. I show up I work NO DRAMA.
You pay me too rock the place. Thats what I do. I dont like a club or where not a good fit there 9 million other clubs. And clubs that pay keep dj's and have them on call ready to step in. Bet your butt you dont want to jam Im right there w/ glowing ref's. So I smile nicly and put my hand out. Step up or go home.
Oh yea I dont do sl weddings sorry.

I'm not a DJ, but I have been managing clubs the majority of my SLife.

I understand in a way why DJs charge for their service. First off... it's because they can. A service is a service, no matter how small or easy you think it is. Secondly, most DJs that I know and have worked with personally, work in a select few clubs that they are scheduled at every week - same days and times. But occasionally, they take on extra work elsewhere and are hired in place of an establishment's "regular" DJ.

When you do this, you take on the job not really knowing what kind of a place it is. Sure, it could look and seem like a nice place. The traffic may look decent but who really knows? You could be pouring a lot of your time into a place where you might not make more than $200L for the 2 hour period. And I'm sorry... it doesn't matter how good you are. In my experience, not all crowds are the same. You could have 10 patrons in the room and they are all fantastic tippers.... and you can have 50 in the room and none of them tip at all. These things really happen! So yeah, you charge a base fee to assure that you come out of it with something.