Why do clubs not pay DJ's more?

I think that you're lumping all genres into the techno group there. A jazz or blues or rock DJ does not mix music like say, Tiesto. Different animals. For me, I am not a fan of techno/house music, so the fact that someone like BT is mixing, etc makes no difference to me. Give me a DJ playing a great Dexter Gordon track and tell me about who's playing with him and maybe some trivia about the recording and I'm good. If it's rock, it's more about fun and maybe a bit of trivia....although if there is a killer guitar solo, it's nice to know who played it too. Just....please don't scratch records, kay? A real DJ plays music professionally and knows something about the music...and entertains. But that's only my opinion.

Of course this response is apt only if I understood you correctly.

No - wrong. The DJ is there to entertain the patrons. The DJ is NOT a greeter, a Host, a Dancer or anything else.

A DJ who makes tips by doing the job of others is doing just that: They are NOT a 'good' DJ, they are a DJ/Host/Greeter/etc. Kindly do NOT tell ANYONE to do a job they were NOT hired to do.

Further more do NOT put words into a post that were NOT there to begin with. NOWHERE did I say ANYTHING about 'talking about yourself on air'. Go ahead ... try and find it. You will be UNABLE to.

For each person that tries to say that a DJ is supposed to do the Host's or Greeter's job .... I will be right here, telling you to stuff it and cease trying to get people to do a job they were NOT hired for.

Here is what a GOOD DJ will do:

Talk with people: Yes.
Spin their tracks: Yes.
Make a comment or be funny on air: Yes.

That is ALL. ANYTHING else is doing a job for someone else: something I do not tolerate well in real life.

Talk with people: Yes.
Spin their tracks: Yes.
Make a comment or be funny on air: Yes.

That is ALL. ANYTHING else is doing a job for someone else: something I do not tolerate well in real life.[/QUOTE]


But But But, What about finding a contest winner? OH wait.. Host again right? LMFAO j/k

You know .... it's funny you should say that .... The last club I worked at had a severe shortage of staff. I myself ended up with several jobs and tags, one night having to Host while DJing ... and acting as a fill in Dancer to boot.

This is why I am so adamant concerning jobs, their descriptions and doing another person's job for them.

In one night I was doing my normal job (DJing), filling in for a sick Host (didn't mind that), and for a dancer that never showed (not something I like doing).

That is also why I will not work at a club if they expect me to do anything not in my job description ... I'm not there to be used and to multi task so much.

It's easy for a dancer to multi-task.. A DJ not so much, You must spend time off screen putting in songs.. Hopefully you have a fair amount of IM's with requests/dedications and if you are a good DJ you are working with the songs for proper segue between them. I hear this far to often where a DJ will go from one song to the next and it sounds like a train wreck.. That's when it's winamp or time to TP out..

That's the point I made a while back in this thread.. a good DJ makes more money.. I don't see why some disagreed with that statement. a Good Car salesman makes more money.. etc etc.

The problem is in the opinion of what a god DJ entails. for me, a good DJ does their job. They'll interact, but not do the job of the Host.

Now personally, my music is a large mixed bag: I'll play just about anything. for places that have themed events, I'll tailor make the list as much as I can to fit the theme. Sometimes this is good .... There have been times where doing so however is very bad: such as a TV/Movie/Aime/Video Game event. I have had to scale back how much the list fits the theme because of complaints, while at the same time patrons are also giving compliments (and tips) because of how well the list fits the theme.

I will not say that a good DJ should be able to do this: It's a plus, but not something the DJ needs to do.

There are also times when it is all but impossible - given the event theme - to properly piece together a list that does not jerk from one song type to the next. Let's face it: If the theme is one of the above types, you are going to have harsh changes in the music unless the list is dominated by tracks from a particular venue. Even then ... someone is going to complain.

You can normally handle a segue by setting the BPM in songs or matching tempo's fairly close.. Maybe use a few liners. Crack the mic and say a few things but break up a heavy tempo change somehow someway.

's what I usually try to do. Then again, there has been many a night where I could not get on the mic at all: Little Miss DJ Helper chooses those nights to be Miss Fussy Pants. (Kids, gotta love 'em)

LMAO, Damn producers huh?

Quite.

I was told by a lot of folks that i have a "radio voice" I suppose working in BBC Radio Scotland as an intern behind the glass tech i picked up the banter that the DJ's used during the early afternoon shift.

I got my hands on the sam broadcaster from my cousin who bought it for another reason he gave me another code which works off of his...or something like that anyway. I DJ'd once, it was a blast, the folks loved the accent (im scottish) but to be honest i cant STAND modern pop music...i always stick to 50's or 60's and sometimes venture into the 70's and early 80's but when i get to the 90's and music from today i suddenly start to get a headache.

I still have sam installed and i mess around with it now and again on my home parcel to figure out the other parts of the program, but I decided to go into the photography business instead.

The clubs i go to occaisionaly do have DJ's that regularly walk away with about 2000 to 4000 in tips for a 3 hour stint regularly, some of them talk, some of them dont but it is a hard thing to do, having to keep the audience happy, take requests, mess around with SAM and keep the general banter flowing in the club. Too much work for me to be honest, if i was gonna DJ regularly i wouldnt take requests and just do a hit parade of old classics fron the 50's and 60's but unfortunately "retro" (i soooo hate that word) clubs are few and far between in SL, its mostly 80's or rock.

Gee, I'd love to know where some of these places that have patrons who can afford to tip what ends up being close enough to 20US total are.

funny thing of all of this is: even on my best night, taking requests, playing music as seamlessly as bloody possible and interacting with the crowd .... the most I've ever walked out with was 1k.

Can't complain about that gig though as it was an emergency request from one of my friends .... and I got paid double for showing up to bail out the club than the DJ who was supposed to be there would have gotten (DJ was supposed to get 5k).

Haven't found a place like that since ... and they closed down due to RL reasons before I could get back to them concerning their offer of a steady gig at the original DJ's rate.

SHAZBOT!

Most of the time I pull in between 1000L and 5000L for a gig. It's rare I make less than a thousand for a two hour set.

All this without saying a word on a mic. I do interact a lot with people, and make jokes with the song titles, and play ALL requests. I dunno, just depends on the feel of the crowd, but most of the time when you play everything people want to hear, they're more inclined to stick around.

It probably also helps that I don't troll for tips. The only gesture I use for the job is one that says "I'm DJ Johnny, and I take all your requests!". Also one that says "IM me your requests". The rest of the time, I'm actually typing out my responses. I think people appreciate that.

People appreciate good music and responsive DJs, voice or no voice. I prefer to hear the voice, but have hired DJs that don't voice based on the quality of their performance. The trick is getting people in the door to hear these wonderful DJs...

I can't stand when I see a DJ with a titler saying.. Bad Ass DJ, DJ God stuff like that.. Also playing a Gesture "This DJ Rocks" is just totally tasteless. I see these things I know that I won't tip at all. Cocky attitudes are the worst. I know some of the Best DJ's won't play gestures at all and ask the hosts not to do it.

Now, not playing gestures to toot your own horn is fine and dandy ... but asking the hosts not to give their opinion?

I've noticed - in the places I have worked in the past - the hosts don't play gestures for every DJ, they only do so for the ones they like.

Nothing wrong with an opinion.

Okay, I'll hold my hands... I haven't had time to read through all this properly (i.e: every post).

But... is there a market for "live" music. I enjoy playing a bit of classical and jazz piano.... Are there restaraunts etc in SL? Somewhere that may need those sort of skills?

I'm not advertising myself, because I'm focussing my energy down other ventures right now, but just as a thought... instead of a DJ simply just playing music. Why not hold a live music event. Entry is $10L or something small and performer plays for tips only. Why not get 3 pianists to do a 30 minute set each or something?

Would be great for people to sit down, chat with each other, and listen.... You could even eventually hold music lessons and all sorts...

cor, my ideas are FLYING out this week!

There are quite a few live music performances in SL daily. However the 10L entry will never work.. The venue owner should pay the talent.

There is live music all around sl!

It's the only kind I'll actually take the time to go listen to. Usually the venue hires the musicians (who can also get tips as well).

There are also a few open mics to allow new artists a chance to show what they can do.

Tropical Delights has live DJ's for all events (lasting 2 hours) and they work for TIPS only. Most tip jars are at 500+ Linden by the end of a night.. so I highly recommend checking it out!

The place is fun on TIps alone.. I'm a dancer.. and I do pretty well for myself on a good nite! Drop Tammy John or Glen Bellic an IM and tell them Lyla sent you.. They can give you more info

I used to have this argument with somebody I used to work for all the time when we were talking about budgets.

Because there are two kinds of DJs: Playlist DJs, and Proper DJs.

Playlist DJs are playing mp3s over a stream and announcing the end of "Best in Latex" voting. It requires a little creativity and presence and charisma but is largely unskilled work anybody smart enough to set up a stream is qualified to do (even if they didn't do it 'well'). I wouldn't pay too much for this. Not L$150/hour but not more than L$500 (I would have gone as high as L$1000/hour for somebody I knew and liked, but they do really great work). For day to day unexciting events like "Best in Latex", I'd look to pay somebody about L$500/hour.

Proper DJs: They spin, they mix, they work the crowd. It's difficult and requires expertise and equipment, and is worth a lot more than somebody playing MP3s. I'd hire them for special events as a headlining act and expect to pay at barest minimum L$1000/hour and probably closer to L$5000/hour (the most I ever paid for a live act) or more.

If you're looking for DJ work and disappointed by the prices being offered, odds are it's the wrong kind of gig-expectation for you and not a factor of the state of the entertainment market. People do recognize talent and are willing to pay for it, just they're harder to find sometimes.

(The argument, bty, was that since he had heard of DJs who work for peanuts, we should ONLY use DJs who work for peanuts)

Actually there are 4 types of DJs.

1. The Playlist 'Silent' DJ (this one along with a gesture freak host is disaster for a club)

2. The Playlist 'Voice announcing next songs and politely request some tips to the host and house' DJ (this DJ along with a interactive host is good for the club)

3. The Playlist 'Awesome Charismatic with radio experience that not only says the tunes that are going to be played but also interacts on voice with the chat, greets the people, make their presence in the club felt, makes people interact more and gesture less and also throw awesome punch lines with delicious humor' DJ
This is a real entertainer, even if it only plays mp3's. I saw one of these creatures ONE time. This guy didn't need a host.

4. Live performers and Live mixing DJs - these are, without a doubt the ones I tip the most. (these hardly need host, since the presence of people is mainly justified by the listening experience rather than the interactivity experience).


Now about the clubs, the point of a club is interaction.
I'll be happy to have events with noobs that can have a decent chat, talk about the world, themselves, their opinions even if they "look" bad, and on the other hand I'm very sad sometimes to have SL old timers in the club with their automated IM interaction providing no environment at all and making the host task void. YES! A good club is made of the customers too. Live performances aside.


It's even more sad to say that, might not be bots dancing, but most of the time people sure look like it. What's the point of going to a club to IM? If you can get the Club/DJ stream in your winamp, going to a club to gesture and make private remarks in public is a sad, sad life.


Most of the people I see in clubs nowadays don't wanna talk, just look at themselves dancing in their new 5K outfit and feel they are making a huge sensation around them. And then make some fashionable gesturing so they can fit in the pack. Once again, live performances aside.

Because automated playlists are free.

Yeah, that's about as tacky as vampires with the "wanna be a vampire, ask me how" titlers".