DJ Broadcasting In World

For sure and if the dj is so bad that no one rewards his or her efforts with L$ then probably he or she will change something - maybe his or her line of work.

With DJ'sI think the situation can vary a lot.

I'm looking at it this way, if I hire someone to paint my fence blue and they paint it yellow I am not going to want to pay them. But if I hire someone to paint my fence and specify the color only as blue I will feel obliged to pay them for the cost of materials and labor even if it turns out to be a shade of blue that disappoints me.

If I hire a dj to play blues jams at a party and they show up with only a few blues songs and a lot of heavy metal mixed in I'm going to feel justified in wanting to renegotiate the price.

If I'm invited to a blues party as a guest I'll assume that the dj's renumeration is being taken care of by the host and will tip according to how much I enjoy his work.

If I go to a club or party where the understanding is that the dj is working for tips I will want to pay my fair share even if I personally don't like the job he's doing. Or I will leave so as not to lag the situation for someone who does want to pay the dj.

not a problem, please read below the sig.
******************************************************************

i wonder of those of you who are complaining about the lousy jobs some djs do, actually sends the Dj a request or two so they can work from there. i dont and cant speak for anyone else, but im not a mind reader. i have no clue as to what a patron likes to hear on a given day. which is why i DO ask for requests, it can make a huge difference than coming in and expecting to be entertained(unless the club/party is/has a themed setting ).

@ CX: i know i have heard some incredible Djs and have been intimidated by them. i am a long way away from many who do it RL, and they have my utmost respect.

Thanks for setting me straight. It's a long long time since I worked for tips in CA. Only slightly more recently I tended bar in Kansas (at several fairly high-end places) and I know we didn't get minimum wage there without including our tips. Working for you sounds a lot better.

I couldn't believe that I just imagined the part about estimating tips for the IRS, so I found this from 2006:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=160536,00.html

This is a good article for people who don't like to tip:
http://travelingonmystomach.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/its-never-okay-to-stiff-your-food-server/
or http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2003826000_taste08.html

Me too!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gJcxtOLoXrM&feature=related

Well, most of your questions were answered, but ya know how human nature is, so I'll drop my little 2 cents in ^_^


First *waves at Sassy* Hiya hon!!

Ok, I may bounce around a bit because of the different ways the topic has gone, but here goes:


I'm a new DJ in SL, I used to DJ a smidge on the side for my company way back in in RL and though it'd be fun to give a go.... With that said I've had so much help from other DJ's in SL, where I thought they'd all be close mouthed because apparently good DJ's are in high demand etc etc. This is not the case...for anyone looking to become a DJ in SL, just ASK a DJ that you hear and like ^_^

I personally have looked into using WinAmp and have always had problems with the program on my computer, so I went and got SAM. Yes it costs, yes your bank account will slap you silly for buying it, but yes..its well worth it in my opinion. It's very easy to use and set up, especially if you're fortunate enough to have someone who knows the software to walk you through it (like I was lucky enough to have a friend help me)

If you are going to purchase your own stream in SL, go to NeoStreams as someone already suggested...30 listeners for $1000L / month....dirt cheap especially if you're working as a DJ at a club. For private party DJ's, you may want to look into getting a 100 listener stream just for the simple fact that if you go to a sim hosted event, chances of having 100 listeners or close to it are very good.

Now, with all that said about streams etc, if you're only looking to become a DJ for a club and thats it, chances are they'll have their own stream and you just set up their stream in your encoders and hook into them. Keep in mind not all clubs have their own streams and require DJ's to provide their own. The key to making your life easier in becoming a DJ (good or bad) is just asking questions and asking for help to get set up. I was really shy at first about initiating conversation with others, so I went weeks torn between really really wanting to become a DJ and on the other hand torn because I was just too shy to ask.

Tips/Pay for DJ's.... this will ever be the biggest topic/issue about/for DJ's.

A) You go to dinner, it is customary by society standards to tip 15% gratuity....some tip more, some tip less, some never at all...it is up to each individual person to tip or NOT tip. Weither they know we as DJ's probably put out big bucks RL to get set up or not, makes no difference. Demanding to be tipped because you dished out $300 for SAM is in my opinion degrading and humilitating to the rest of the DJ community

B) Not all clubs will pay you an hourly rate + tips, and usually those tips have a % taken out for club costs....I know some clubs that pay 100L per hour for a DJ, + 90% tips...on the same note, I know another club that pays 0L per hour and only 85% tips...this is information you will want to get before you start working for them

C) While I am DJing, and this only applies to me personally mind you, I do not "expect" tips from anyone and I am grateful for every linden that hits my tip jar. Now granted if you're going to request songs from me, and I put them out (which I really bust my ass to get out every request/dedication sent to me) I would personally think you would tip for service, just like going out to dinner...but again, its up to each individual person. I've been tipped 100L just for a simple "Here's <song> for <name> enjoy!" while in the same shift, 1 person requested 6 songs, got all six in my set, and tipped nada, zip, zilch...Shrug it off and move on. You will also get some people that tip 1L per song requested...yes it can be fustrating, but think about if no one ever tipped at all because you demanded tips?


So anyway, sorry everyone for going on so long, thats my views and to anyone that ever comes to where I work and cheers me on while I DJ for you, thank you very much and hope to see you soon!!! <3 Tovya Fhang


Oh yeah, Sassy....you can come nekked or full of bling anytime hon, love ya!

Hi Maggie!

I always make requests of DJ's and tip accordingly. In fact, I'm a generous tipper in every part of my life.

The only time I didn't tip a DJ, was the aforementioned story I told above. In that instance, there was nothing I could have requested which would have pleased me since the type of music being played was completely out of the realm of my musical tastes.

Even asking for mainstream R&R when the DJ was obviously stuck in disco and pop, would have been inappropriate on my part. Obviously, either that was the type of music asked for by the host or the DJ was clueless to play anything else. In either case, that one time, I didn't feel that I should waste my money since to me, it said that I was pleased with the job being done. One song that I requested, would not have saved the evening for me.

Any employee who earns more than $20 in a month is required to report all tips to you. It's nice of you to do the bookkeeping for them as far as the charged tips go, but you need a system for them to report their cash tips - and for you to pay the FICA tax on all the tips they report, cash or credit, as well as dealing with withholding on the full amount reported. There is no estimating involved in this part.

Under some circumstances, if an employee doesn't report a reasonable amount of tips, the employer must report allocated tips separately on the W-2. These are usually based on an 8% rate, but the actual computation is more complex. It's an estimate according to a formula, not one out of thin air. It doesn't change the withholding and FICA for the employer. The employee has to report it (and pay all the taxes) unless they can prove it's wrong, but mostly it's just a red flag to the IRS that the employee hasn't reported enough to the employer. (I probably did a couple dozen returns for restaurant servers last tax season, and never once saw any allocated tips on a W-2.)

Just a question that arises from reading this thread. There are a lot of talk about software cost but what about the music? The music would cost many times more than any software if not stolen. So do the djs just play stolen music?

What? *again*?

Please don't get stuck in your USA cultural blind alley. The mores of "tipping" vary considerably internationally. I understand that in Iceland it is an insult to offer a tip to a waiter/waitress. Various Germans I have known would not just refuse to tip if the service was not superb, but would complain to the Management where an Englishman would stoically put up with it, never go back, and tell all his friends to avoid the place.

Pep (If a DJ asks for requests I assume he/she is not touting for business; I turn the music off if I don't like it)

The $100,000 question

I'm sure that some do, human beings are human beings and there are all kinds. I do not play stolen music. I love music and that is why I DJ in SL. If I didn't DJ in SL I would still love music and pay an inordinate amount of money to be able to listen to the music I love. My CD collection is worth more than my automobile or anything else that I own. I own a 60 GB Ipod that has no videos on it, which my wife cannot understand...lol. From my viewpoint, why have videos....it's for music!

Before this turned into a tipping thread, like we really needed another of those, this was a thread about DJing and what is needed and the cost involved. Three things are needed to DJ. The music itself, which would be mp3s or something similar, the software to play it and stream it out, and a server to allow others to listen. The software can be free with Winamp and the Shoutcast DSP, in which you CAN DEFINITELY use a microphone, by the way. It is not as simple to use as SAM, but then SAM costs about $300USD.

As many people mentioned, a stream can be found within SL much cheaper than outside. I looked for a stream outside and the prices were oppressive. I ended up going with Jamie Otis' service which costs a bit more than some, but is very reliable. And when I mean very reliable I mean perfect for me for over a year. I have not had one second of downtime due to his service. It's 4000L a month for 128kbps and 100 listeners. The most listeners I've had is 40, and I know I can go cheaper, but I'm happy with Jamie's service, so why change? Also, if I downgraded to 50 listeners, I might save 1000-1500L, which is negligible really. Not worth the trouble.

I already had the CDs, so that is not an extra cost for me, although I do pick up music now and then for requests, etc. My philosophy on what I do is that this is SL and I'm not a professional DJ. I don't pretend to be. I have been told that I am very good and that I have a group of people that will come listen to me because I can be fun and they like my musical tastes. I play basically three types of gigs: rock, blues and jazz. I can vary some from those, but that is what I play. I will not take a gig playing hip/hop, country or techno for a couple of reasons. One is that I don't know much about that type of music. Secondly, that is not music I'm interested in and this IS Second Life and I'm doing this for fun. I work hard at what I do, but part of the reason why is that it's very fun and exciting for me and if I'm playing Nelly or Toby Keith that would not be the case. I will certainly play requests when they come up, as long as it's not too far out there (ala the dude who wanted YMCA played at a classic rock gig..lol.)

I usually get paid 300L per hour, plus tips and I keep 100% of my tips. I see part of my job as getting people to the club, so if it's a slow night, I will tip some of my earnings back to the club because that's fair to me. I understand the economics of the SL club scene and try to do my best to be a partner with the owner.

One final comment about some people's perceptions of DJs. We are like almost everyone else here. Most of us are not professionals. Most of us do this because we love music and have found a way to express that here on SL. Obviously we're not musicians or we would express our love for music that way. It irritates me that people are so quick to judge and to label someone, whether it's a DJ or a live performer or any other type of content creator as shitty. "That DJ/singer/designer sucks!!" *sighs* If I like straight ahead acoustic jazz, ala Miles and Coltrane, does that mean that when I go to a gig and the DJ is playing hip/hop, which I abhor, does that mean he's a bad DJ? Not at all. That means that I'm in the wrong club. But if I'm at that club for a party and I need to be there, I WILL tip that DJ for doing his job. I won't tip him as much as if I'm at a club that is playing Buddy Guy or Miles or Led Zeppelin, and you know why. But to stiff him because he "sux" and doesn't play "MY" music.....no. Maybe I can actually request a song that I like? The only time I would stiff a DJ or a performer is if they're just rude to me, which has never happened.

I made a comment on a previous thread that most people have no idea what it takes to do something unless they've actually done it. If you don't like something, just move on, okay? There's a lot more content here in SL, so try to be positive and find something you like rather than tear down someone you see as deficient. But then some people like to go hang out at sex clubs and make fun of newbies, too. That doesn't work for me as I prefer to treat people with respect, but that's just me.

Yeah sorry. I should have made it clear that I was referring only to tipping as it is done in my own little part of the big world.



And I'm sorry too for derailing an otherwise very informative and interesting thread.

Last night I bought two complete cajun music albums from iTunes only to discover SAM doesn't support iTunes music.

The songs played great on Winamp. I have searched and hunted all through the help files on Winamp and I can not find any way to use a mic. I am now thinking of changing to yahoo music so I can use SAM and introduce the songs.

"G"

A way around Apple's idiotic ways is to burn the songs to a CD, and then rip the CD back to your hard drive. It's not ideal, but it's a relatively easy way around their short-sighted business model. I buy most of my music off of Amazon now. No monthly fees and the music is higher quality than Itunes anyway. The only downside is not everything is available via mp3 on Amazon. I won't shop on Itunes any longer, as I have no patience for their lame possessiveness that prohibits users from listening to music in a format that is preferable. It's very reminiscent of record companies that put anti-theft software on CDs that prevents me from ripping it to my computer and sometimes causes a CD to not play in an actual CD player. Just brilliant!

Actually wasn't referring to you at all, Kaimi. Your observations were similar to mine and I appreciate your viewpoint on this!

And Lord knows I've derailed a few threads in my time on the internet. Call me Mr. Tangent....

I was wondering if this would work, thanks.

well most of mine comes from my aunt, who has a killer swing/jazz/blues collection. i also use Rhapsody. although at one point i did use the forbidden site, but got scared after reading about others getting busted using it. i now take the time to order or hit my local Cd Trader store and purchase my music(very inexpensive as its used cds, and sets).

and Hi Elora!!! xoxoxoxo nice to see you back posting in the "Thread"!

to voice using winamp

press CTRL P

double clikc on the nullsoft shoutcast souse DSP

go to input tab

change it from winamp to soundcard input

then talk..... change it back to go back to music.... leave the little box open the whole itm yudj to swing back and forth between voice nd music

Owning the CD collection is not the same as having a license to broadcast its content. If you don't have a license agreement with organizations like BMI, ASCAP, SESAC et all, then you technically are broadcasting copyrighted material illegally.

I seriously hope these organizations don't start sending their investigators into SL. Eventually I'm sure they will, and believe me, they will throw the full force of their 800LB gorillas at even the small back-yard non-profit DJs. It's what they do.

QFT

you are assuming that i don't have one, (a license agreement). believe me, i do and have kept a close eye on this controversial subject, including whether or not the tactics used by them are legal(IP Tracking,) and is a part of a few groups(Uni of Ore, savenetradio) that are fighting the RIAA's and it's cronies bullying tactics. But until then, i am and do follow the rules below as much as possible:

* The webcast is not limited to particular users who pay for it (that's the ``non-subscription'' part.)
* The user must not be able to choose and receive a particular recording: that is, no playing songs on demand.
* In a three hour period, you can't play more than three tracks from a given album, and no more than two consecutively.
* In a three hour period, you can't play more than four tracks by a given artist, and no more than three consecutively.
* If the webcast is archived, the archive must be at least five hours long, and must not be made available for more than two weeks. The idea here is to make it hard for users to scan through the webcast to pick out and save individual songs.
* If the webcast repeats itself (plays in a loop) then the loop must be at least three hours long.
* The webcast must not publish prior announcements of the songs: you can't let the users know what songs are coming up next, and you can't publish your playlists ahead of time.
* You must identify the song title, album title, and the featured artist in text during the performance of the song.
* You must not ``encourage'' users to copy or record the music that you are playing, and you must ``disable copying by users if in possession of technology capable of doing so.''
********************************************************
i cannot speak for my fellow Djs in SL, but do not presume that ALL of us are not coverign our "assets" in this.

I'm not assuming anything about you, or anyone else. I just made a statement.

Any mixing solutions besides winamp? SAM is too complicated, cannot get MySQL to run on my computer. I need mixing software with a mike input and four line inputs. I want to do voiceovers atop musivc beds and play stingers and ID's - any help?