This is part 5 of a new series on Getting Started in Music Production originally posted on our sister company Audyolab. We started the series talking about what is considered the most important attribute: Learning. We then covered Choosing the right DAW, Music Production Process and then Mixing

So now you have produced some tracks (not records) and you want to get your name out there. This is the common Producer to DJ transition route, I happen to be one of them. Majority of my DJ friends were DJs first then started producing. DJ’ing is a lot of fun, especially if you are playing your own tracks. What a great feeling it is to be playing to a crowd of house heads jamming to a track you created. Trust me when I say this, it’s EUPHORIC.

In this day and age everyone can DJ, that’s a good thing because it creates competition which in turn pushes the boundaries and eliminates mediocrity. But can you really buy $300 DJ controller, get some tunes from Beatport and pitch a promoter to DJ? The short answer is “NO – don’t waste your time. I know some promoters would take issue with this and somehow I’m sure that there are some success stories with this method but trust me this is worst way to approach a venue.
Why is it a bad idea? Most clubs and promoters receive an unbelievable number of DJ pitches every week. It really is hard to process them all effectively so some sorts of filtering techniques develop.

Most promoters will figure that if you are truly a good DJ you’ll find somebody that knows them, develop a relationship with that person and find a way to get them to introduce you to them. If you can’t do that then you’re probably not really a professional DJ. It is like an old boys club. It may sound harsh but I think it’s true. If you can’t get an introduction to a promoter then how on Earth are you going to break down the doors to get bigger gigs regionally and most of all globally. In short, in most cases being a DJ requires a strong dose of tenacity.

And when I speak on this topic with upcoming producers I like to remind people that, “when I got gigs there were no easy ways to figure out who were the friends of the promoters (let alone the club owners) but in now you have all the social networking tools: Facebook, Twitter or even just plain old Google Search. It’s pretty darn easy. But aside from the obvious social graph information I’m going to give you a few tips:

1. Differentiate yourself

To me there are three types of DJs – Big Names, Underground and Mainstream/Club. Deciding on which path you want to venture on, helps a lot. David Guetta’s Nothing But the Beat movie kind of sums up the rise of an underground DJ to fame.
With that in mind, majority of DJs hover locally in their cities playing 1-2 venues (underground or mainstream) per week. Anything less than that is a hobbyist. Underground producers who have been consistently releasing tracks for 5-6 years, play at least once in a different city each week. Producers with 10-12 years of consistent releases with a hit in their belt, are crossing over to the “big name” status. It’s all sweat and effort! So decide and commit early on which path you want to venture on.

2. Get your tracks to a quality Record Label

Before hitting the streets networking and talking to promoters, try to get your tracks to a quality record label. The label should have a strong brand and presence in your region. A good record label is like an over-blown promoter. Everything the record label releases automatically reaches the venues and promoters you are trying to gig in. I call it the “top-down” approach. The organic “bottom-up” approach is like building a brand that people would follow on a regular basis, putting their faith in that brand to book quality talent, which allowed the promoter to have unknown DJs perform is fading away. Plus it takes years to build a solid brand. Also, having 5000 friends in Facebook has absolutely no evidence to date leading to actual fans who are willing to buy your records or tickets to gigs. False online hype never gets you anywhere and I strongly believe “being genuine and original, SELLS”.

So treat record labels as a traditional promoter.

3. Track down Underground or Mainstream/Club promoters

Before talking to any promoter, make sure you have at least 20 to 30 people willing to come out and support you. You must have some sort of traction. Either it’s your neighbor, grandmother or girlfriend’s hairdresser. Find a way to get them out. Most underground promoters host monthly events and sometimes weekly. Their line-up is packed with local talent and maybe 2-3 out-of-town DJs. If you don’t know where the underground events are, then again, you are in the wrong profession. Come early, buy drinks and get noticed. Promoters are either next to the DJs or busy talking with a lot of people. You can always ask the bartender who’s hosting the event. Wait until they are alone or by the bar then walk confidentially and deliver your pitch. If you have tracks released on Beatport or iTunes, mentioned that. I highly advise not to be that “too cool for school” dude, be yourself and a dose of enthusiasm plus confidence helps. Don’t hand them business card with a soundcloud link until they ask for it, other wise it will end up in the trash. Always get their email as a follow up. If you they don’t show any interest, come back to their next event and start all over again.

4. Other DJs in general

Another very obvious source of information is just to network as widely as you can with other DJs. They often get bogged down with their day jobs, promoting their gigs and dealing with hangovers. However most of them are cool and willing to help. Don’t ask them for gigs unless they are your friends. The best source of advice in general on how to build your following is from talking with other DJs who have recently done it or are currently doing it. Specifically they will be able to give you tons of information about local promoter and their experiences pitching them. You can’t rely on the information of the first one or two you speak with but if you meet with enough DJs you’ll be able to figure out the good guys and the bad guys. You can give back by supporting your local DJs by going to their events and help them create awareness of their events. Don’t be douche and continuously take without giving. We have a lot them.

This post was originally published on Digital DJ Tips

Developing your own DJ style sets you apart from the rest. A unique style doesn’t have to be having a unique DJ sound or catchy rare tunes. It could be your mixing style or your use of effects just as much as your choice of material. I’ve witnessed Danny Tenaglia, for example, playing different tribal beats for one hour, followed by one vocal track that took the crowd into a frenzy, creating a contrast which was unique to him.

As digital DJs, we have plenty of tools, techniques and music to help us craft a style that differentiates us from the rest. The recipe of finding what works involves experimenting with creativity and techniques, and is what will ultimately make you stand out. We’ve already looked at how to create a unique DJ sound; in this post we’ll cover five simple action items you can take to develop and enhance your ownstyle.

1. Improve your DJ skills

Before developing a style, it really helps to master the fundamentals of beatmatching and cueing early on. It should be second nature to you. It should be instinctive. This can be very difficult and undoubtedly turns off many would-be digital DJs, but there are real benefits. Upon improving your skills, you can then focus confidently on the creative aspects – things like mash-ups, creative looping, effects and using more than two decks.

Upon improving your skills, you can then focus confidently on the creative aspects…

I used to focus a lot on beatmatching and preset cue points while DJing. After mastering them, it allowed me to focus on other techniques (as described further below). I then started to run three or four decks in parallel with loops and sometimes vocals on a base track. This has influenced my style heavily. I haven’t seen an awful number of other DJs heavily using loops on Traktor, Serato or other platforms, and the results can be pretty cool. This style appeals to me because it’s improvisation, right there on the spot.

2. Listen to “live” mixes of your favourite DJs

SoundCloud and Mixcloud contain many mixes of popular DJs. Finding a DJ that fits your style shouldn’t be hard. Make sure the mixes are live sets from club events, and not bedroom/studio DJ sets. Some DJs are courteous enough to post tracklists. This is a great benefit to you because you can experiment with the list yourself and understand how and why it works.

Recordings of live mixes from clubs are solid gold for analysing how pro DJs mix create their own styles.

I find the best time to audition mixes is during working out or cleaning the house. I’m attentively listening, analysing and dancing (if it’s a good mix). If you aren’t dancing by track four, delete it and move on!

Listen and ponder why the DJ chose each track at that given time. Closely tune your ears and notice if they jump from different harmonic keys while transitioning tracks.

Most importantly, get a feel to the energy of the mix, which closely depicts the energy of the club at that time. Does the energy die down after a few tracks? When does it pick up again? Is it constantly going up in energy until you feel fatigued? Keep listening and analysing. It’s like exercising your sound muscles!

3. Hang around the booth and soak it all in

Most professional DJs are on CDJs or high-end controllers. Universally, they have developed personalised styles that combine active use of the mixer with intimate knowledge of the tracks.

For instance, if you visit venues where New York and Chicago house DJs are playing, you’ll see they emphasise in-and-out layering with the EQs and low-cut filters. That style creates a steady flow of energy for their dancers throughout the night, which is a distinctive flavour preferred by the underground deep house crowd.

If you visit venues where New York and Chicago house DJs are playing, you’ll see they emphasise in-and-out layering with the EQs and low-cut filters…

However, big room and Miami-style DJs are all about energy. Emphasis lies on the buildup and the drop by creating peak spikes and emotional bursts throughout the night. That mixing style depends heavily cueing your tracks in important places. Some tracks they use are edits they made just to fit their own style and room. Now that’s another level.

Maybe if this were you you’d choose to use a combination of both styles? Point is, by going out and hanging round near DJ booths, you’ll get to clarify your thinking on things like this. You don’t have to lurk next to the DJ to understand and adopt his style (they hate that). Give them space. You can stand from a decent distance and soak everything up.

4. Experiment more with effects

As a digital DJ, the creative use of effects also defines your own sound and style. Traktor software comes with 30+ combined effects compared to the 10 or so found on a high-end club mixer. Start experimenting with delays, flangers, and beatmashers. Develop a technique you haven’t done before that works for you. Practise the technique after say every four tracks and during transitions.

Dubfire has adopted the Allen & Heath Xone:DB4 and uses it to add distinct effects layers as part of his set structuring style.

Watching Dubfire DJ using an Allen & Heath DB4 mixer and two Traktor X1 controllers, he would play five minimal house tracks back-to-back, all dry without any effects. On the fifth track he would slowly add some delay to the track from the mixer. While transitioning to the sixth track, the delays are all over the place creating his own unique buildup, then he begins adding reverb to the delay effects taking the crowd to a huge elation followed by a drop. Wow!

Keeping the energy constant, then followed by an artificial build up created by the use of effects is a unique style the Dubfire took the time to develop for himself and his DJing. This is the kind of thing we’re talking about.

5. Penetrate your favourite producers’ promo pools

Playing unheard of tunes and rare remixes really sets you apart from the rest. These tracks aren’t yet available on any of the music retail stores. DJs who have these rare cuts and blow everyone’s head off are sometimes called “DJ’s DJs”. They have first-hand access to tracks that are only circulating within a small circle, sometimes referred to as a “promo pool”.

These tracks aren’t yet available on any of the music retail stores.

Getting access to the these tracks isn’t particularly hard: You can penetrate such circles is acheived by supporting the producer and his label. An easy way to do that is to email the label or producer directly and show support for their music. Ask nicely to be included in their promo pool and most of them will gladly accept, as long as you don’t share their music. Many producers release three or four tracks a month, and all producers need DJs to play their tracks in the clubs.

Your connections to producers and labels will definitely help you build an arsenal of tracks and remixes to enhance your unique style. 

Britain’s late prime minister Benjamin Disraeli said “Beware of endeavoring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed. These are fearful odds.”

Close your eyes and imagine this – You are playing the hottest tunes in a stadium with a sea of raving fans. For a quick second you remembered “it wasn’t long ago when I was in my bedroom, practicing technique, downloading bootleg edits and experiencing approach anxiety before talking to club promoters”.

That’s what most us DJs have in common, the dream. It is the essence of becoming more of what we are. Very few know how to make this dream into reality, unfortunately only 1 in a 1000 may succeed.

Whenever a DJ has huge kind of success the press and the public start asking: “how do they do it??!?” Unfortunately, this speculation is often unkind and unfair. The default assumption is that a DJ must be cheating somehow or using some trick to grow fans or getting high profile gigs.
This skepticism is actually justified because many DJs actually do use tricks or shortcuts to succeed. It’s not long before they start crashing down.

Everyone wants to play in the best club in town and travel the world gigging. But most are not willing to pay the price. Occasionally, they may be willing to pay part of the price, but they are not willing to pay the whole price. They always hold back. They always have some excuse or rationalization for not going out networking (marketing) or perfecting their technique (product development) or going out trying to land gigs (sales).

How can you tell when you have paid the full price of success? It’s simple: Look around you.

So what does it take to pay the full price? What skills does it take to become a successful DJ? After several years of talking, studying and modeling successful DJs like Kaskade, BT, Dennis Ferrer and Wolfgang Gartner, I noticed a common pattern. They all have an outrageous amount of fuel to keep them going and a high level of certainty – they know they are going to make it.

I concluded this: if you have a strong enough “why” (fuel), backed by “certainty” (optimism) and infused with a high dose of “persistence”, you are in the top 20%. In that spirit, I want to share some of my thoughts of about how few DJs succeed, why their success is based on hard work, persistence and some luck.

1) Long term focus – Know your ultimate goal

Knowing your utmost goal will help you achieve long term focus. What I mean is, every action you take must get you one step closer to that goal. You must go all in. It’s that target you always wanted to nail. For example, if your ultimate goal is to land a residency in the best club in your city and open for bigger acts, your thoughts and actions should be leading towards that gig. You might not know how you will get there, but you must believe that at some point you will.
Since you know what it is you want, you wouldn’t be focusing on landing wedding or small back-bar gigs. As they might be fun and offer some cash, but you might want to focus on playing at similar but smaller clubs which have the same vibe as your “goal club”. Also, you don’t want to play places in which they might be considered as the competition. Club owners and promoters have advanced social skills. They watch and know everything.

The quality of questions you ask yourself, determines the course of your actions. For the above example, ask yourself these questions:

• Who is the current resident DJ at the club?
• What music does she/he play and kind of gear do they use?
• How long has she/he been DJing?
• What skills do they have that I don’t? Beat juggling, music production, shameless-self promotion, fun and outgoing?
• How many ways can I get introduced to the club promoter or owner?
• What price am I willing to pay to land that gig?

Laser like focus and “going all in” determines the quality of your choices.

2) Hard Work – Pay the Price

After visualizing your utmost goal, it’s time to do in the work. Hard work is nothing but developing the necessary habits to achieve your goal. It means you have to be good at lots of small things. [pull_quote align="right"]“Greatness is a lot of small things, done well”[/pull_quote]But doing many things can be hard and actually be an advantage for you. It means that there are not that many other people trying to do what you do or capable of doing what you do. For example, popular clubs like booking DJs who are producers that are backed by record labels. Putting in the work to start producing and getting your tracks to a reputable record label might be the next logical step. At the same time you should be focusing on getting gigs and increasing your skills.

In the early days of my career, I had several promoters say they were interested in booking me if I could figure out a way to bring 50 people in to a club. I’m not joking. Majority of promoters prefer pure volume over DJs skills and music selection. Plus I thought that was the promoters job, not mine. However, how can an upcoming DJ bring 50 people? That means you have to promote to over 500 people and wish for to 10% of that to show up. Meanwhile, I knew the only way to get quality bookings is to become a quality DJ, producer, marketer and have incredible people skills. I set out to become excellent on all these categories.

In 4 years, I have learned to produce, got signed to a decent label, remixed a few popular artists and increased my social skills (online and offline). I still have ways to go, but so far it was all hard work in small things that helped me get better in time. These small things developed into habits. Slowly the quality gigs started to come and it increased my momentum to work even harder.

3) Persistence – Stick through it

Persistence is probably the most important attribute in all successful DJs. It’s the person who never gives up – who never accepts “no” for an answer. It’s the heart to keep going after you been turned down by every gig, every promoter and every record label. It’s paying the price in action! The world is filled with doubters who say that things can’t be done and then pronounce after the fact that they “knew it all along.” Look at Wolfgang gartner, he has been sending demos to record labels for seven years before before getting his first record deal. If you’re already a full time DJ you know all this. But others have that extra quality that makes them never give up. And I see this extra dose of tenacity in only about 1 of 10 DJs that I meet. And if you’re not naturally one of these people you probably know it, too. You see that peer who always pushes things further than you normally would. What are you going to get further out of your comfort zone and be more persistent? It is really what separates the wheat from the chaff.

One major setback for me was when I landed a weekly residency at a new club in Washington DC, primarily playing Deep House. I endlessly handed out flyers, hired an awesome street team and had most of my friends and their mothers in the guest list. But no one would show up and three months later I lost the residency because my dance floor was empty. The club decided they wanted bottle service clientele and needed Top 40/mash-up music. I felt like a complete failure and thought no one would ever book me again. On my last gig, I noticed that I lost my focus and got caught up with the local gigging scene. Which wasn’t my ultimate goal. I decided there and then that I’m responsible for my own success, so I re-strategized and got back on track by endlessly improving my skills in DJing, production and marketing. Two years later I was playing at the Winter Music Conference in Miami next successful DJs and producers.

[pull_quote align="left"]“To become something you are not, is to do things you haven’t done before”[/pull_quote]

If you fold in the first major setback even a complete career disaster, this is when you demonstrate what you are really made of. Your true character strength and determination to keep going. To remain optimistic, look for the good in every setback, there’s always a hidden message that requires you to improve in one of your skills. It’s a gift!

Persistence will pay off.

4) Some Luck – Unexpected fruits of your labor

A big part of anyone’s success has also been luck. People don’t like to admit it but skill is 60% luck. If you kept doing the hard work continuously and persisting endlessly, I promise you will get a break. When that break comes, people will label you lucky and forget the past 5 to 6 of hard work that got you there.
In many cases, getting very lucky has to do with timing. Calvin Harris got his big break when his managers kept sending his demo CDs to EMI. On his own words “Had those three people not sent the track at the same time, I’d probably still be Nobby No-Mates, pissing around in my bedroom.”

But Success Is Fragile…

It’s easy to get excited and arrogant when things are going well but it is important to remember that success is very fragile. There is always someone practicing for numerous hours trying to beat you to the top 20% and you are likely to fail if you get complacent or stop evolving.

That’s why you should continuously focus, work hard, be persistent and keep on pushing what you do to the next level. Since you are already reading this, it means you have done amazing work in the past and looking for more. And to thrive in the future, you need to stay humble, enjoy the journey, and continually evolve and improve.

Introductions. They’re the lifeblood of networking – the currency of mavens. They are your route to landing gigs and remix work.

We couldn’t live without them.

But when misused, overused or abused they can diminish your personal brand, consume your valuable time and waste time of the relationships you value the most.

I would like to make the case for being judicious with your introductions. I would like to encourage you to closely guard your most hard earned relationships. And in most cases, I would suggest you to ask for permission before green-lighting an unsolicited emails and messages to high profile people in your industry.

I personally give introductions frequently. I also request them for time to time. It’s a simple reminder that whom you do introduction for and how you do them will have a great impact on your credibility with those relationships you’ve worked so hard to build.

DJs need access to promoters and club owners. Producers need access to record labels and A&R reps. It’s hard and closely impossible getting a reply from them these guys from unsolicited email. I frequently suggest that the best way to get a meeting with high-profile person is to get a highly-qualified introduction. These are people who they trust, I call them influencers.
But all too frequently people send influencers too many unqualified introductions via email and try following up in person. The thing about an intro is that I know that one person is trying to help a friend get access to gigs. We’ve all been there.

My belief – I’d always ask for permission first before soliciting.

The Details

What happens to local DJs and producers after 8-10 years in the business? They become club owners, superstar DJs or move to the suburbs with a trophy wife. Most of them still have strong connections in the nightlife industry. They pull off a lot of strings to help friends and other people they know to get gigs and other favors. Having access to that top echelon network opens up gates of heaven for most upcoming DJs. I’m lucky to know some of them and it took years of quality relationship building.

However, before social networks it was hard to know who had the keys to the city. That’s all changed now with Facebook and Twitter. It’s easy to send unsolicited messages to high-profile club owners and promoters asking them for a gig, but they are the most ineffective way to land one. Plus it’s frowned upon.

I frequently get these type of unsolicited messages. Here’s one I recently got in Facebook:

Anonymous
“Hey, i know you have a connection at club xyz and was wondering if you could help me out, i contacted them a few days ago with a link to my soundcloud mixes and they said they would send it on i was wondering if you could help push this forward here is my soundcould”

I’ve never met this guy before, never heard him play and I didn’t like the unsolicited email.
So should I help this guy out of good will? Help him get a gig with connections I worked hard for? Should I care? Is a soundcloud link enough to qualify and validate a DJ?

And then there is the email blaster from the DJs “manager” (in most cases it’s the DJ himself). They think they’re doing themselves a favor by casting a wide net to promoters and influencers. By the time I’ve gotten 4-5 of these garbage emails I just start hitting delete (or ask them to remove me from their list). Remember as an upcoming DJ – the person who sends the intro to the owner matters a lot.

These are not easy questions, as I was once an upcoming DJ, I wished for someone to hand me gigs at prestigious clubs after sending a simple email. Fortunately that’s not how the world works. In that spirit, I would like to show you how to send an effective unsolicited email to influencers that you don’t know yet.

Email Introductions

I do this often. I also try to help friends / close acquaintances get access to other people I know in the industry.

Recognizing that each time I ask an owner to check out a DJ, I’m putting my reputation on the line. If I introduce a time waster or somebody trying to put his ego on the decks, then the person whom I introduced them to will necessarily think less of me. If I do it to them twice it may start to affect our relationship. I carefully guard this privilege that allows me to periodically do high-profile introductions.

Before sending any unsolicited emails, understand the “introducer” (myself) would exhibit the following rules:
I must know the individual whom I introducing well enough to vouch for their character and therefore the likelihood that their music and skill is of high quality. If I don’t know you, make an effort to know me.
I must be able to mentally make a connection of how the person whom I’m introducing owner/ promoter to would benefit. If it’s strictly a favor I will ask before I intro and I will state specifically that it’s a personal favor
In 80% of the cases I will ask permission in advance. Where I don’t it’s usually because I’m highly certain of the relevant of the introduction.

Here’s an example of an effective email to an influencer:

“Hey (make sure you know their name)
I hope you’re well man. I really enjoy your house sessions at club xyz. Also I met (someone that I already know) the other day and he mentioned you have new track out. Congrats! (If you don’t have anyone in common, do some research and see what they have been up to, then comment on that).

Speaking of, I would be thrilled to spin at club xyz given the quality of that establishment and their good musical taste. I’ve been there numerous times and the vibe is just awesome.

Given your experience, would you recommend anything in particular to approach them the right way? Thanks !
Cheers and looking forward to your next gig.

DJ Newbie”

In Summary
Introduce people. It’s good karma. But be judicious. Introduce people that would genuinely each benefit from meeting. Whenever possible ask permission. And if you’re tempted to send numerous unsolicited emails, please know that you probably damaging your personal brand.

One customer asks:

“I’m a new and looking for a DJ gig, preferably a club. All I have right now is my laptop, controller and really great music. I’m presently playing to my friends and family and it has been very positive. Do you know any promoters or clubs I should approach?”

Most local hometown DJs had superior skills and a local following before they got their first gig from a promoter. Clubs want to see skills and preferably a local following (at least an email list of 300 people) unless you already have a significant track record. But,

If you only have an your laptop and some music.
If you have no local following, track record, or skills —if you have nothing but a your music and a controller, the only people who will meet you are:

1. Family and Friends: People who already know you and are willing to help you based on your history together.

2. Other DJs: DJs who need openers for their gigs and aren’t willing to spend much cash. Some are ac

3. Once Removed DJs: These DJs trust or regularly book with one of your family, relationship, or idea investors.
These investors sometimes have little to no experience investing in companies, but that is not an insurmountable hurdle. You will need traction, a track record, or a product to get meetings with other traditional seed stage investors.

In general, the more you beg for gigs, the less likely you are to get them. But making something out of nothing is what good DJs do. Actually it’s what all entrepreneurs do

Salesmen are an exception.
Salesmen are good at getting people to comply with their wishes. That’s what it means to be a salesman. Great salesmen can get meetings and gigs with just hanging around venues and clubs (and maybe a sprinkling of track record).

DJ Tech Tools posted an awesome post on many reasons new DJs aren’t getting gigs