To make up for it, here’s an article I wrote recently for one of the publications I contribute to. Although the content is specifically targeted at DJs, you will find it relevant to any freelance professional
Too many times, many aspiring DJs charge low fees in order to get more gigs. While it can work to a certain extent, these DJs are shooting themselves in the foot and are guaranteeing themselves a pathetic career. Discover why you should NEVER sell yourself short.
There’s DJing just for fun, there’s DJing just for money and there’s DJing for the love of music while getting a reasonable fee because after all, if you intend on making it a part-time or full-time career, you need to be able to charge as much as you think that you are worth.
The golden rule of every DJ that cannot make a living just by playing music is to NOT QUIT HIS/HER DAY JOB. Apologies for the caps but this is one the main reasons why some DJs settle for peanuts while some charge fees that seem astronomical.
Without a doubt, the reason why DJs sell themselves short is due to desperation. They are so eager to play or so eager to make their ends meet that they will settle for low fees while ruining it for the rest of us.
Before we go on, let’s deal with the puritans that say that DJing should be a labour of love and not as mean to accumulate money. To that I say: “Very good for you and you should probably leave this site as you have come to the wrong place.â€
Come on!!!! It costs money to purchase records, it costs money to get to your gigs, it costs money to buy equipment. Promoters and clubs make money out of your talent.
Should restaurant chefs die of hunger just because they should be cooking for the heck of it? If you happen to love your non-DJ career, should you go and tell the payroll department that you will now work for free just because you are in for the love?
Admittedly, some DJs charge astronomical fees. Superstar DJs can charge more than 10 000 pounds for a 2 hour gig. But you know what? That’s good for the rest of us because it just gives more credibility to the DJ industry and helps it grow.
Furthermore, if a club is willing to pay a DJ such a fee rest assured that it will directly or indirectly make more than ten times the amount. Like I said before, business is business!
One last thing before I go on… if you go on eBay, you will see that some vinyl can sell for up $ 500 a pop. For the fun of it, I sometimes give my local used record dealer a call and see if he has one in stock and when he usually has a copy it is less than $ 10.
Or, why do people pay half a million dollars for a car where no matter how much you pay for one, you will still have to be stuck in traffic just like someone driving a piece of trash!
Moving on…
Don’t sell yourself short. If you are worth a certain fee, stick to it. Never compromise on this! Believe it or not but just like DJs chat among themselves about given promoters (if they are shady or darlings to work with) so do promoters. And if word get around that you are worth peanuts it will be hard to dig yourself out from that grave hole.
Selling yourself short is usually a result of desperation. If you are desperate to make your ends meet, get another source of income. The journey to success can be long so don’t work hard to get on top only to have promoters offering you embarrassingly low DJ fee whereas they are willing to give another three to five times that.
If you are desperate for gigs and to get them at all cost you sell yourself short believe me, in the promoter’s mind you will be placed in a box called cheap and the day you ask for a raise or your normal fee will be the day this promoter shows you the club’s exit door.
If you follow the advice found on this website and manage to differentiate yourself from the DJ masses, automatically you will be worth the reasonable fee that you will charge. It’s that same reason why you pay almost nothing for tap water yet quite a substantial amount for a bottle of Evian. If people can buy something that you can get free like water for quite a high amount, then why sell yourself short?
Hang in there… do not use a low DJ fee as a promotional tool. It will come back to haunt you and to be honest you will be doing a disservice to the whole DJ industry as you teach promoters that DJs are not worth much.
Does this mean that as DJ new in the game, you must charge high fees? No. You need to charge what you are worth. You control value and this is what you will learn about here. The differentiation process is what will allow you to not only get the gigs on top of everyone else but also charge more and still get it!
Do not sell yourself cheap otherwise your career will be over before it has even peaked.
