Question for DJ's / Club Promoters
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- Frosty_spl
So I might get to DJ at my first club in Atlanta. But they just want to know how many people I'm going to bring out. The main promoter guy said that Friday nights will be mine if I can get people in the door. He wants me to write up a business plan kinda thing to give to the owners, with my ideas on how I can get people to come out. It's like I'm going to be a promoter for my own party. Is this a normal thing?
Any ideas on how to make people want to come, besides the generic posh look and feel? I was thinking about coming up with a catchy name and spreading flyers around with no info. Then a month later, dropping flyers everywhere with all the info. I like the whole zombie theme.
I suggested partnering with a liquor company and giving out free drinks before 11, but the promoter said that only works for one night.
- mikotondria30
Sorry, did you say the OTHER guy is the promoter ?
He wants you to come up with a concept, promote it, get people in, AND DJ ? Just exactly WHAT is he going to be doing ?
Saying that, coming in a the ground level you need to do the apprenticeship of talking to a million people and handing out fliers in the rain, when you don't want to, and you haven't got any money - it's part of the business, and you can't skip it. Hours and hours of slog and talk and talking to twats who don't share your vision of what a night could be, and just a smattering of cool people that do...
Ideas about making people want to come ?
Play something original and unique, from the heart - music you love and that you'd want to hear played out. Forget trying to be popular and please everyone, learn you craft, find exactly the music you love and learn to put it together. It'll take time but if you've got talent and vision are prepared to put in the hours then a core of people that like what you do will come back and tell some of their friends and if you can manage the expectations and income of the club management you might hold on long enough to get something decent going. It might (it will) takes months, then years to move up gears and start calling the shots.
If you do it right it will take over your life, age you 10 years and break your heart time and time again and you'll want to pack it all in as you sit there without the rent sometimes, with only your visions and a few loyal skinny friends. Then, if you're very lucky, it'll all come together by magic, and you'll be at the center of a hugely wondrous event, with hundreds of people having the time of their lives, and everyone will love you and for a few hours it'll all be worth it. It's a fickle mistress who keeps a tight score on what you do - have faith, work hard, never lose sight of that talent that makes you 100% sure that the next record you play will be just the perfect choice, and the next and the next..cause that's what it's about - the right records at the right time - that's why people go out to clubs, that's the glory, do the work, be the man :)- My partner with whom I promoted clubnights for 10 years: http://www.djpauledg…mikotondria3
- ukit0
Zombie theme sounds good. Throw some tits and ass in there and you're gold.
- BattleAxe0
So they want you to DJ and Promote?
In my exp. The Ladies run the nightlife . Work with some agencies to hire a few VIPs to hang out and bring their friends. Hot Go Gos the more eye candy , the more wolfpacks will show stay and drink
Owners care about liqour sales you can have be at capacity but if no one is drinkng no real money will be made.
Getting people thru the door is easy with gimmicks and hooks , keeping them there and not ditching after the free drinks is the key
Get all your hot friends to help you out and bring friends, work a deal for the door money plus your dj fee if you are going to be promoting , most times a promoter just hires a dj to dj . Besta Luck
- I would get the door money too. And part of Bar sales along with my base DJ fee.Frosty_spl
- bmacneill0
I've been a DJ for sixteen years. While I have heard of this tactic between club/promoter and DJ, it's not really the way to go if you're looking for a serious DJ job with some sort of longevity.
The club should be able to give you the job based on your DJ talents alone. It's their job to find a great DJ (you), fill the club up and sell liquor to make a profit. If they need your help filling the club with customers, there may be bigger problems lurking below the surface.
- microkorg0
bmacneill is right. if they want you as a DJ then they should be looking at your skills in djing, not in promoting.
Am I right in saying it's not a DJ spot the guy is offering though, it's the chance to have your own 'nights'?
You need a hook!
Viral idea sounds good or building up a mystery about a night.Get some hot female friends, film them dancing in strobelights, slow it right down, make some short teaser videos with beats and put them on youtube with a name and date of event on there.
Get some flyers/posters with QR codes (links to youtube vids) and cover your town in them. That'll start a buzz.
- Raniator0
If they want you to DJ it *should* be because of your DJ abillity/music etc. If they want you to promote as well, it won't end well. If the night isn't a success it is easy for them to blame you and they can use that against you to replace you.
I've been in the same position – it never ends well. And as tempting as it is to say "sure, I can promote... I'll bring loads of people in", it just isn't that easy.
- It sounds to me like they are already failing and looking for an excuse to lay the blame elsewhere...Raniator
- pillhead0
Do they want you to build the fucking night club to!, sound like the promoter, if that is want you can call him is taking the piss.
- Raniator0
How big is this club anyway? Having to write up a business plan sounds a little over the top unless it is a huge recognised brand.
Fill it with women, fill it with booze, play cool accessible yet not too commercial music and that is about. The music part is all YOU should have to worry about.
- Frosty_spl0
The place is a lounge / restaurant during the day, and they move tables out to make it a small club at night. They have good lighting and a nice sound system. I think it's pretty dead though, but I think a lot of people haven't heard of it, even though it has been around for a few years.
I want to get the hipster kids to come out, but they don't like that side of town, because its where the douchy people hang out.
I've been spinning for 15 years, but now I'm trying to get off my ass and play out. The main promoter heard my mix and likes it. If all I had to do was to play in front of the owners, I would be golden.
- microkorg0
"I want to get the hipster kids to come out, but they don't like that side of town, because its where the douchy people hang out."
What kind of pussy-assed-hipsters do you have in your town?
Isn't a big part of being a hipster all about finding the latest places to hang and arent these places usually in the worst parts of towns?
What you should do is put together a BUSINESS PLAN for this owner. Your plan should specify the profit percentage returns (on an ongoing basis) that you expect if you manage to turn his empty bar into the latest "place to be".
If you are sure you can do it then have the balls to put it to him as a business plan, as if YOU will be doing him a favour giving his business some real business rather than him doing you a favour by giving you a dj slot youve got to work yourself to the bone for.
- This club is in the rich part of town, hipsters don't like that.
Frosty_spl
- This club is in the rich part of town, hipsters don't like that.
- CALLES0
your job should only be to dj and band hot dj whore chicks and your bottle
- MikeColdFusion0
while I don't think its unreasonable to expect you to promote your own night you should be promoting *in addition to* the club's promotions. I've never had to write a business plan to get a club night. sounds like these guys got "niteclubs for dummies" and are in it to hook up their friends with a bunch of free drinks and play mr. popular.
in my experience theme nights don't seem to last unless its sex related, but I also play drum and bass so its probably a little different.
also, consider a small cover charge. our sunday night weekly is free for obvious reasons (in st. louis, drum and bass, and sunday night) but if you want to get taken seriously think about charging $2-$5, especially if its a friday. Klute (uk d&b producer) said to me in regards to our free night: "$2 is free, $5 is cheap, $10 is a show". The idea is if people pay for it they feel like they are getting something of value. if you have to give it away it for free it must not be very good, looks desperate.
- Free = looking desperate is what the current promoter said as well. But I do go to a packed bar with DJs that is free.
Frosty_spl
- Free = looking desperate is what the current promoter said as well. But I do go to a packed bar with DJs that is free.
- Miguex0
"besides the generic posh look and feel?"
I'm sorry, but your "DJ Skills" have nothing to do with packing a club.
Most venues want to make money, SPECIALLY on a friday night.
They are wondering if you have a following or not, to know if it will allow them to profit, the music you play or how well you mix is not important to them.If you have no following, they will find another DJ period.
If you have no following and you are just starting, what you need is a consistent concept for the night and start bringing people in. You want people to come? bring DJs with a following from out of town, do it enough and you might get a crowd going.
I think it's normal that DJs start their own night and they work day and night to promote it, promoting is hard and in my personal experience its very competitive and very unpredictable, all it takes is another guy like you, with a better headliner/ soundsystem and you will be missing 200 people on your next event.
I doubt there is a formula for this to be honest.
- duhsign0
good luck, toughest business ever. Most good nights are at hot new places or well known standbys. The only way in is to come up with something really unique and fresh and meet an unmet need in your nightlife community, or if your lucky ride the coat tails of whatevers most popular in your area.
Did some years of promoting everything from undergrounds in a local abandoned gym to Electric Daisy, Nocturnal, Audiotistic, Jujubeats. Small club nights are really hard because you need to build, every week has to be better than the last. Do you have 200 people you can get in the door twice a month to start? If not I would suggest they run the promotions and you will spin for a set fee and call it a day. If you want to take on the whole deal then you will be spending way more time and energy than money coming back in. That's the way it is. And you will have to deal with slow nights and feeling like an ahole because no one came.
You should be concentrating on your music not promotions. That way if your DJing is good then people will come to see you not to come to some restaurant that you are promoting for that you promise will be a lot of fun but when they get there it's not that fun and the dj is all stressed out from promoting and poor turnout and plays a typical set you could hear anywhere in town.
- rockstars don't promote bro ; )duhsign
- < this, yep.mikotondria3
- duhsign0
find a couple more djs you like. Figure out a one off night at a decent location in town that you can promote the hell out of. Figure out a hook, 420, earth day, the night of the "slutparade" (real thing happening in SD soon...) whatever it is, a night that people are partying for sure and need something to go to that will be different and rad with high potential for sex and drugs. JK about that last part...Anyways start small, make one night as good as you possibly can and document the entire thing. Facebook, blog, photographers, video, record the sets, cross promote with some brand or business your audience will be stoked on. Basically blow your whole load for one night and that becomes your foundation to build on. Then repeat...
- are you in SD?Miguex
- yessir
duhsign - you do a beat night in sd right? dubstep or? wheres it at?duhsign
- kadan, maybe we met before? yes?Miguex
- i don't think so but maybe, i stopped going out a while ago, I go out once in a blue moon if a friend is djing or performing. my days of partying were the late 90's, pretty much stopped after 2000 to finish school and get a life : ) as you can see it didn't workduhsign
- duhsign0
and get to know your competition and find alliances because theys some crooked mfers and will try to ruin you game so you may as well get know who they are.
- Frosty_spl0
Thanks for the input. I'm gonna start gathering my thoughts. I really like the blog mikotondria posted.
- sherm0
Its Atlanta bro. Have a thong contest.
That place would be filled to the brim.
- Frosty_spl0
Ok so I just compiled everything and sent it off. I will keep you guys posted on what happens.
- Can you put all our names on the door ? Oh go on, just me. And a couple of +1s. Oh and my brother. And his girl. Or two.mikotondria3
- vaxorcist0
interesting thread....