As a DJ you’re no doubt looking to get paid a fair wage for a fair night’s work. But according to a new campaign by Pay The DJ, “60% of DJs have to play for free, many DJs get screwed over by shady promoters and venues and are left without a proper paycheck.”
Pay The DJ (http://paythedj.org) is a relatively new non-profit initiative connected to DJ booking service Beatsy. It says its aim is to “support DJs all over the world,” and help them get paid. The 60% statistic appears to come from a report by the Musicians Union (http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/The-Working-Musician-report.pdf), which states that ‘60% of musicians report working for free in the past 12 months’.
Of course, this 60% statistic relates to all musicians in general, and the same figure can’t necessarily be extrapolated to DJs specifically. But there’s little denying that some DJs don’t get paid for their sets some of the time, particularly early on in their careers.
Playing for pay
So what does the initiative propose should be done about this non-payment of DJs? For one thing, the Pay The DJ website says that the DJ him or herself, “should stick to an industry standard minimum gig fee,” which it says should be $200 (£127). Attendees should pay for tickets rather than trying to get their name on the guest list, the organisation says. It goes on to say that event organisers should, “prioritise on paying for the entertainment first, and only after that paying themselves.”
While it can be tempting to dish out your time for free because it’s for a mate of a mate or because the punters are having such a good time, it’s important to remember that you’re running a business. A business with plenty of overheads that won’t pay themselves, from keeping your equipment up to date, to paying out for DJ insurance, getting to and from gigs and promoting yourself.
The occasional free or ‘mates rates’ gig may help to get your name out there and aid you in securing more sets, but do it too often and you could find yourself struggling.