I’m wondering what I should expect to get payed for a gig at a club? How much do you get payed and what state?
Also, how much do you think guys like diplo, crookers, and fake blood get a gig?
I know you can not be exact, but what do you estimate?
Thanks in advance.
[quote]samuelalbritton (7/28/2009)[hr]I’m wondering what I should expect to get payed for a gig at a club? How much do you get payed and what state?
Also, how much do you think guys like diplo, crookers, and fake blood get a gig?
I know you can not be exact, but what do you estimate?
Thanks in advance.[/quote]
When artists are booked through a booking company, they usually have a rider that accompanies them. It includes things that the artist wants aside from payment, like food, alcohol, or guest passes. If you are new, I wouldn’t anticipate much more than $100 a night and free drinks and a few guests entrance for free. Once you build up your name a bit more and you get a following or you get some releases signed under a label, you can charge more.
A regional headliner will make anywhere from $500 to $1000 for a 1 to 3 hour set. Someone like the Crookers or Fake Blood would make somewhere between $1000 and $3000, depending on the night of the week, how much entrance into the gig costs, and how many people they are expecting. This is all stuff included in the application to book artists from a booking agency. Big name DJ’s will charge anywhere to $5000 on a Tuesday on up to $10,000 for a weekend, where as the mega stars (Oakenfold, Tiesto, van Dyk, etc.) will vary, but probably about $15,000 to $20,000.
Once again, it all varies tho.
unless you’ve got a name for yourself i would not expect to be paid at all the only time i’ve made any real money out of djing (i’m not good enough to do a ableton live set yet lol) is when i’ve put on my own events all the biggest gigs i’ve done have mainly been for free i was just glad to get my name out there and play alongside some top names:D
[quote]chris17 (7/28/2009)[hr]unless you’ve got a name for yourself i would not expect to be paid at all the only time i’ve made any real money out of djing(i’m not good enough to do a ableton live set yet lol)is when i’ve put on my own events all the biggest gigs i’ve done have mainly been for free i was just glad to get my name out there and play alongside some top names:D[/quote]
+1
Think of it this way…
Estimate how many people you could get right now, to pay 5 bucks to come see you dj.
Now multiply that number by 5.
Let’s be generous and now halve that number.
Thats how much you will be paid.
But most likely the fraction is much smaller.
For example, how many people will show up to see oakenfold or any of the big names play a set? 10,000 would be a fair estimate imo.
Now how much do you think each of these 10,000 spend at the event? AT LEAST 10 bucks.
So now we have $100,000 total, with 15-20k going to the dj, a 20% cut at most.
Thanks for the advice guys.
AM was getting $50,000 US a set a couple of years ago.
i do it for the love, money means nothing;)
[quote]nik muzka (7/29/2009)[hr]i do it for the love, money means nothing;)[/quote]
I agree totally. There’s begining to be too much talk about how much you get for gigs and how much for putting a record out. Most (if not all) career paths in these trouble times are laced with tough competition for the top bucks (there even telling law students to choose another career path). I say do it for the love, have something (or someone else) pay the bills and let the money chase you, not the other way round.
If you are unique enough to have formula/sound that has your signature, can stand out from the crowd and be personable, you’ll have a very good chance at being successful. There’s plenty of room for new talent out there…
Now lets get back to making some storming sweet music:)
i know a few promoters and they tell me that it works on a simple set of rules.
and they also tell me it wouldn’t matter to them if you were a big name of relatively new to the scene, the more butts you get through the door with your name on the flyer the more you get paid.
i know a couple of people who get quite regular bookings and to be perfectly honest there nothing special and unknown but they bring a crowd of friends everytime so keep getting bookings
its not about money in my opion anyway i just love playing live:)
I do music for love, but I’m not one of these people who do not want to get paid. Money allows you to do what you love more often. If you get paid more, thats less I have to work at a job that does not help my production skills. So, I chase money where my music can mature faster.
the “BIG REASON” there’s not much money in dj-ing these days is that everyone is a dj and MOST claiming they do it for the love. we’ll if “EVERY BODY” stopped doing it for the love then the promoters would have to start to pay more and would only book djs that get butts through the door, this in turn helps to make for a better nights.
doing it for the love means that promoters can get away without paying and don’t have to bother so much with finding talent.
DOING FOR THE LOVE is imo what has wrecked the clubbing scene.
You aint lying fisher! Quit doing it for the love. I want to get paid more and I’m tired of crappy djs.
Where I from playing our kind of music would make you a crap dj. The only thing people around here want to hear is brittany spears and 50 cent. Louisiana blows.
Doing it for the love does exist. I have even come across DJ’s that have asked to pay the promoter just to get a spot!!! WTF! “I’ll pay you if you let me play!” now that’s doing it for the love, but going a little too far. I feel that the problem with the club scene right now is realllllllly bad fidget artists sampling recognizable tunes. The music and the scene is getting lazy and thoughtless. All it takes is one brittney spears sample in the middle of a **ked bassline, and people don’t even notice that the song and dj’s sound is complete sht. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of great fidget artists, like WoNK, Stupid Fresh, Micky Slim, etc etc for example. But there is a whole mass of them that don’t have any production skills and are getting gigs because they know how to manipulate a sample and that’s it. Fidget is starting to sound more like Garage these days, and it’s got to stop! We finally got rid of all the whiny electro house pop remixes and sent them to commercial radio, and now fidget is going “Garage Pop”. WoNK! I petition you to be the fidget team leader to stop the madness!!!
The whole point of this rant is kind of what Samuel said. The majority of people that go out want to hear pop and hip hop, and that’s everywhere… So, if your music has those samples you’re in! Otherwise, you have to do it for the love, and hope that some day someone realizes that you are the shiza. I can definitely tell you here in LA, if your not famous already, you will play everything for free, and be lucky to get three drink tickets and your girlfriend in the door at a discount! Unless of course you play some sort of floor filling pop riddled electro, then you might get $250 USD for a 2 hour set, 10 names on a list, and a comp tab. That my friend is the very best case scenario.
Most importantly though, screw clubs!!! Support your local underground! What’s the point of paying $100 to hang out with people you don’t even know, when you can spend $10, meet like minded people in the scene, and get something going. It’s not the “do it for the love” dj’s that are ruining the scene. It’s lazy people that don’t ever want to look past the club because they want an all in one stop…
2 cents from me,
Raymond
besides, the drugs are better at the undergrounds 
I possible came across wrong there raymond lol what i mean is that if dj’s don’t charge the promoter he’s not gonna drop the price on the door and he’s not gonna do anything else with your wages except line his pockets. promoters have money set aside for what they should be paying dj’s. so if every dj charged then the promoters would be forced to pay of play them selves lol. i know in reality there’s always gonna be someone the will play for nothing but they are only damaging themselves. believe me if a promoter isn’t paying for you he’s not gonna be promoting you and if he’s paying for you he’ll be doing his best to let people know he’s got the best dj’s playing (even if your not).
i won’t play a night for free and even though i don’t dj at the moment i have no shortage of offers to play in several clubs most nights of the week.
I knew what you were saying, Jon! I just had to go on my rant. I f’n hate clubs, but I don’t live in the UK!!! It just seems that people are so set on playing at a certain venue, instead of playing in general, that they will do almost anything to get into that venue. Even if it means playing for free!
Raymond
side point: if you’re a ****ty dj at a great club, your still a ****ty dj.
totally mate, i was quite lucky in one sense, when i started mixing, illegal parties, tent parties and traveler sites where very common around the area that i live and getting a set was just a case of turning up and waiting. i went through a 18 month period where i played 4 nights a week, so when it came to playing for a club promoter i had no problems getting paid. i think the best place to get a following is at the illegal parties always has been and always will be imo. but in the uk it’s getting harder and harder to find illegal parties, it’s not that they don’t happen, its the fact that people broadcast it on facebook and myspace so 70% of the time its shut down before the first dj has finished his set
when i was playing on the scene from 2001-05 i was getting an average of £80 for a 90 minute set. Most i ever got paid was £140 and that was playing the main room at the fridge in brixton so it really can vary depending on venue\promoter. if you’re just starting out take what they offer you unless they ask for a price and if that’s the case be realistic with your quote
make sure your worth what you charge or you won’t get booked again.
also agree with mat that anything from £50-£200 is a good range for a 1-2 hour set
never fall for the getting paid a percentage of the bar take hahaha its a sure fire way to get your self robbed 
In Oz the money is still good.
I did it for aorund 4-5 years and i used to get paid 300aud (150punds)
But I dont have any interest in it now, Next time i perform live I want it to be my own music on my own live set