Get Up, Stand Out, Get Down!
By Paul Dakeyne
| Posted in Writer's Block
There’s a lot of DJ’s in this country. There’s a lot of music producers and remixers too. Many are solitary bedroom activists, beavering away with a limited amount of high-tech gear perfecting their art. Quite a few have reached out to play small parties, local gigs and started dabbling in remixing. A lesser number are bonafide professionals earning their living at a variety of industry levels. No matter where your own personal bar is currently set, no doubt you’ll want to get ‘noticed’, recognised for your work, gain a good DJ/production reputation and maybe, just maybe, earn some cash money along the way. Here’s a few boxes you should perhaps think of ticking…
1: Social Life. Put it on the back burner… seriously. Like any goal that is to be considered usually unattainable, the only way to get to it is via sacrifice, dedication, hard work and more sacrifice. In my early DJ days when mixing records together was still in its infancy, I would on most weekends after I’d finished my gig, greet the club’s cleaners as they came into work the next day having spent the full morning (2am ’til 8am) practicing, perfecting and recording ‘mixes’. I’m not saying don’t live life and enjoy yourself, but believe me, your peers will notice your dedication, respect will be earned and your physical production output will show that you are most definitely ‘on it’.
Speaking of sacrifice, time isn’t the only currency of course – how about ‘not’ buying that new car, not going on that luxury holiday or splashing out on a new designer wardrobe? Instead, invest in the gear you need to push your productivity further. A new DJ controller perhaps? That killer synth plug-in you’ve drooled over? A new computer to handle the next generation of pro-audio power tools?
2: Find a partner and be loyal. In the DAW department that is. Ask around, read blog reviews like here at DV247, go to DV pro-audio stores and chat with the staff, download demos if possible, but do your research. Choosing your sequencer, digital audio workstation, call it what you will, is a long-term commitment. Then ‘Read The Manual’! You are not a geek – you are a professionally minded, dedicated artist and by knowing exactly what your gear can do, how it does it and how to make it do it quickly, your mind and fingers will go on auto-pilot leaving creativity to flow unabated.
3: Get ‘Bespoke’ on yo a*s! Your DJ sets have to stand out from ‘Dave DoubleDex’ and ‘Larry Laptop’ in the neighbouring clubs. With music globalisation, pretty much no DJ, other than the super high echelon members, have exclusive tracks. Big independent online music retailers seem to be so ‘finger on the pulse’ these days, and MP3 promo companies are pushing out legit, upfront tracks which (unfortunately) those dreaded torrents supply shortly after. The need for a DJ’s set to contain bespoke productions is, more than ever, a super high priority.
What are the options? Grab that ‘big’ track that just won’t go away, that doesn’t seem to have the mix you want for your floor, or that has been played so much that your audience has tired of the released version. Then remix it. Cut it up, sample it, mash-it, wrap some fresh beats behind it and ‘own it’! Experiment too with a top line or acapella from one iconic track and see what other dance classic it can work with musically. Dig deep, deep, deep into yours and your friends archives, your parents’ record collections, or take a trip to London or Brighton and seek out some rare vinyl emporiums – all these sources can provide a loop, a melody, a beat that could be your next inspiration, your next starting point. Once you start pushing fresh, innovative tracks, mash-ups and individualised remixes into your sets, tongues will wag and feet will dance.. But remember kids, as long as any ‘sampling’ of other people’s work goes down, you can play it in your clubs, even broadcast it, but of course you can’t ‘release’ it commercially to the general public, for sale or profit (without the owner’s or label’s consent). But, hey, you knew that right?
4. Become a ‘Brand’ and network, network, network. I’m not trying to teach those savvy enough to think on sucking an egg, but the importance of social networking to raise your brand awareness can not be under-stressed, or the lack of it underestimated.
- Prepare digital mixtapes using your favoured DJ software and featuring (erm, mostly) your own tunes and productions.
- Start a Facebook ‘fan page’ for your DJing and music activities, distribute said ‘mixtape’ accordingly.
- Twitter like mad (but keep your tweets relevant – “say unto others as you’d like said unto yourself”). Follow those DJs and producers you feel are important enough and establish communication with them there on Twitter or via their Facebook pages.
- Find out the best MP3 promo companies, contact them and show them why you should be on their (e)mailing list.
- Write your own Blog (using a .com that contains your DJ/producer name/identity). Download a free blogging software solution and get ‘stickied’ on Google – the more fresh, (again) bespoke content you create, the higher up on search engine rankings you will eventually come.
- Enter mix competitions initiated by labels and websites alike. Put full commitment into every production you submit!
- Subscribe to RSS feeds of blogs from gear manufacturers, record labels, reputable industry pros, fellow DJs and artists – you’ll get a compendium feed of what’s going down every day, without the time and trouble involved in surfing to tens upon tens of individual sites.
- Join music-tech discussions and communities such as DV247 Forums – get your name noticed as a serious player.
- Delete your MySpace account… just kidding…
Right, jog on… and go and make some music!
Tags: DJ Gear, mixtapes, networking, profile, promo list, record label, record producer, remixer
I’m sorry but I found this post extremely patronising. Everyone should enjoy what they do and not feel pressured into everyone liking it or being accepted. Music is about expression and yes you should put the effort in to get the required results, but giving up your social life and practising ’til 8 in the morning to ‘perfect the art’ – maybe that amount of practise was required…
Dave
Hi Dave,
Read the post again and you’ll see I didn’t infer actually ‘giving up’ one’s social life, my quote was, more precisely, ‘putting it on the back burner’.
I found your end comment about practicing through the night (and that it ‘may have been required’) quite harsh. My intention was not to patronise, but to simply point out the type of dedication necessary to further the chance of realising an ambition.
It was always about ‘the music’ for me, but that passion fueled the drive to my own particular ambition, which was, eventually, to get a top ten record and get Radio 1′s main dance DJ to not only play it, but sign it to his label too. I achieved that and more, and yes, I sacrificed a helluva lot to get there… including working through the night..
Paul Dakeyne
To be honest I have to agree with Paul here. He doesn’t say “give up your social life” but like anything that we want to perfect, it doesn’t just happen overnight and without some considerable time and effort put in. So if you want to put your social life on the back burner, you could get a lot out of it, but don’t let it take you out of the music scene, don’t let it stop you from going to gigs and socialising/working with other musicians becuase you will learn more from them than you will on your own. No musician/producer is an island. It is all about inspiration and influence after-all.
HarryGarcia@DVNorthLondon