The next time you're asked to DJ for free

Yeah, actually. If you're expecting to get paid, and nobody knows who you are, nobodys going to want to give you a cent, and you dont deserve a cent. Play a few free gigs, meet some people, get some friends, make some promoters feel closer to you, and once you're actually on their side, they'll pay you without any trouble at all.

Going from "some guy that's playing for us" to "one of the people who runs the events," isn't hard at all, and doesnt take much time, assuming you have the slightest amount of people skills. Getting in the door and getting known as a guy who gets things done and doesn't give the promoters trouble is a shit ton more effective than being an ass and demanding resident pay before you even talk to them.

The other solution is to go all out with promoting and managing the event for free, showing them you can run things as an equal, and then after the show, sketch out some plans for a regular gig, and assert yourself in an executive position in that gig, citing all the work you did that evening as a sign of good things to go.

That's really kind of stupid, but have fun watching a regular gig get given away to someone who understand the fundamentals of networking, I'm sure sending a promoter a smug email he won't even finish reading will be totally worth it...

That's really kind of stupid, but have fun watching a regular gig get given away to someone who understand the fundamentals of networking, I'm sure sending a promoter a smug email he won't even finish reading will be totally worth it...

Fair call. I play free gigs for folks I know (and like). But not for people who send me a generic "great opportunity" blanket email. I also won't play for free twice, thats just taking advantage.

Yeah, actually. If you're expecting to get paid, and nobody knows who you are, nobodys going to want to give you a cent, and you dont deserve a cent. Play a few free gigs, meet some people, get some friends, make some promoters feel closer to you, and once you're actually on their side, they'll pay you without any trouble at all.

Going from "some guy that's playing for us" to "one of the people who runs the events," isn't hard at all, and doesnt take much time, assuming you have the slightest amount of people skills. Getting in the door and getting known as a guy who gets things done and doesn't give the promoters trouble is a shit ton more effective than being an ass and demanding resident pay before you even talk to them.

The other solution is to go all out with promoting and managing the event for free, showing them you can run things as an equal, and then after the show, sketch out some plans for a regular gig, and assert yourself in an executive position in that gig, citing all the work you did that evening as a sign of good things to go.

That's really kind of stupid, but have fun watching a regular gig get given away to someone who understand the fundamentals of networking, I'm sure sending a promoter a smug email he won't even finish reading will be totally worth it...

That's really kind of stupid, but have fun watching a regular gig get given away to someone who understand the fundamentals of networking, I'm sure sending a promoter a smug email he won't even finish reading will be totally worth it...