LEARN FROM THE SUCCESSFUL
Everyone loves success stories, especially when it comes to DJs that you personally know. I have friends who actually “made it”. Sometimes I do brag about them and at times envy them. When I was starting out 7 years ago I used to ask myself questions like “How did they make it?, how did they attract raging fans, why are they getting high profile remixes, what am I doing wrong?”
While statistics on DJ success rates are non-existent, I took the liberty and counted every DJ that I know personally in my hometown (Washington DC!). The total amount was 176, and only 4 of them achieved success – which I define here as incremental growth in music knowledge, fan-base and DJ-technique in a 5 year period.
That puts the rate of success for DJs I’ve known at 2.2% – pretty low. Either way, the “hurdles” to become a successful and scalable DJ are high, and they get higher every day as challenges continue to increase.
One of the major obstacles to a DJ’s growth is mediocrity - failing to use your abilities to do and be more.
Most of us have found ourselves in that awkward-yet-comfortable position of settling. Mediocrity is self inflicted and so is excellence. If DJs have the ability to chose mediocrity or excellence (good or great), why do people choose the former more often than not? Here are some traits that defines mediocrity in most DJs – and how to avoid them!
STUCK ON REPEAT: Playing the same set from previous gigs
This happens all too often – a resident DJ who plays the same set over and over again every week. Unknown to them, people do notice and comment about the lack creativity and effort on their limited track selection. These DJs developed a habit of knowing what works and fail to innovate when they play to a new/more selective crowd.
Yes, the set they played last month really rocked the crowd and received numerous compliments. That doesn’t mean the same set will replicate to next week’s gig. This habit is a silent killer to your creativity and plunges you to the pits of mediocrity. It can be challenging for weekly residents to come up with new sets every week. You constantly have to be looking for new music and rare remixes.
Here are some tips to get out of this routine:
Follow your favorite producers and labels and ask to be in their music promo pool. Most producers are constantly looking for gigging DJs to play their unreleased tracks.
Go through your library and listen intimately to tracks you haven’t played in a while. You’d be surprised to find some gems you forgot about.
Take a break from the booth for a week or two and listen to different styles of music
Breaking away from old routine will make you a more versatile DJ and an experienced music programmer – something that being an expert at mixing doesn’t teach you. You want your audiences to come back expecting something new, even if it’s still the same genre or theme.
Read More: How To Stay Productive In DJ Sessions or In The Studio