How much do DJs earn?

Just a quick question I've always been interested in... how much do DJs earn?

I'm not talking about the famous DJs such as Tiesto etc., more club night DJs who say do a weekly club night.

Reply 1

The_Jammy_Witch

10

My brother does a weekly night for £150ish

Reply 2

username89060

OP

9

The_Jammy_Witch

My brother does a weekly night for £150ish

How many hours would that be for?

3-4

Entirely depends on circumstance and how well known you are.
For my first gig I was looking at being payed £30 at most.
£150 would be pretty good really.

Reply 5

fox_the_fix

13

Depends entirely on the situation and your status. I started when I was 12, I was doing house parties for the older years around 14/15 and getting about £50 per night (which would allow me to buy 10 new pieces of wax :biggrin:

). 16/17 I did a lot of under ground raves - primarily in London but would travel to Bristol occasionally. Usually in those nights, it would be around £100 typically, however if the event was on lockdown (aka illegal) and the only alcohol you could bring in was what you purchased at the (rip off) 'bar' it would be more like £200ish. Then of course, a lot of the times I would promote the event and take a % off the door cover revenue. Then I did clubs, relatively unknown at around £200-250 per night. Now I am signed and can earn anything from £500 to £1200 per night.

All of the above^ - I do not use my own equipment. If I did, I would add a significant amount + cost of travel and potentially security (I would usually pay friends, bouncers etc, to make sure I and my gear got home safely).

Money in DJ'ing is crap. It is an incredibly expensive hobby, and you seriously need to drop a few thousand on the proper gear before you can even contemplate playing live.

Reply 6

Skull_Kid

What do you DJ? What years were you DJing at the raves?

fox_the_fix

you seriously need to drop a few thousand on the proper gear before you can even contemplate playing live.

I don't agree. I have some really cheap Soundlab decks but I could play a set at a club.

Or do you mean an actual live set using hardware etc? In which case I would agree.

Reply 7

jonzza

Skull_Kid

I don't agree. I have some really cheap Soundlab decks but I could play a set at a club.

Might have just been me but the first time I played out on Technics, having learned on a pair of beginner Stantons, I really struggled getting used to the different torque power for pitch-chasing or even just when releasing the record.

I guess I was also well nervous but I still think changing from one type of deck to another can be tricky...

Reply 8

Skull_Kid

Yeh I know exactly what you mean. I've used technics before and they are a whole lot different.

Still, you can pick up a decent second hand pair of 1210s for about £250 if you're lucky, maybe a bit more.

Reply 9

booshpower

my brother doesn't earn that much and he djs once a week at various nights. best bet is to be a producer as well as a dj

Reply 10

Joshua098

Did you pay for your own equipment when you was 12 doing house party's ???

Reply 11

zKlown

19

Original post by fox_the_fix

Depends entirely on the situation and your status. I started when I was 12, I was doing house parties for the older years around 14/15 and getting about £50 per night (which would allow me to buy 10 new pieces of wax :biggrin:

). 16/17 I did a lot of under ground raves - primarily in London but would travel to Bristol occasionally. Usually in those nights, it would be around £100 typically, however if the event was on lockdown (aka illegal) and the only alcohol you could bring in was what you purchased at the (rip off) 'bar' it would be more like £200ish. Then of course, a lot of the times I would promote the event and take a % off the door cover revenue. Then I did clubs, relatively unknown at around £200-250 per night. Now I am signed and can earn anything from £500 to £1200 per night.

All of the above^ - I do not use my own equipment. If I did, I would add a significant amount + cost of travel and potentially security (I would usually pay friends, bouncers etc, to make sure I and my gear got home safely).

Money in DJ'ing is crap. It is an incredibly expensive hobby, and you seriously need to drop a few thousand on the proper gear before you can even contemplate playing live.

What kinda music do you play?

Reply 12

Tom78

18

Lots of people including my self, play for free / free drinks etc. can't really argue if you're playing somewhere decent tbf. And if you're at a club you only have to bring your tunes, not all of your kit like you would to a house party etc

Reply 13

username1221160

19

Original post by zKlown

What kinda music do you play?

Given that the post is 5 years old, I'll answer for him. He plays euro trance and 90s happy hardcore.

Reply 14

djsingh96

2

I get paid a lot from £300- 2k mark depending on packages/clubs. Djs that play for free or cheap djs is what is fing up the industry at the moment. being a proper dj is a hard job and not easy. thanks to virtual dj every c*nt thinks he is a dj lol

Reply 15

e aí rapaz

16

Original post by djsingh96

I get paid a lot from £300- 2k mark depending on packages/clubs. Djs that play for free or cheap djs is what is fing up the industry at the moment. being a proper dj is a hard job and not easy. thanks to virtual dj every c*nt thinks he is a dj lol

Like any saturated market, desperate people who accept low rates (or no rates!) devalue the market for everyone involved. I personally know a lot of professional and semi-professional DJs and they all deal with that same problem.

Reply 16

ikhan94

16

Depends on how much each venue charges

Reply 17

jamesthehustler

19

i know 3 djs one is a friend one is my american cousin and one is my uncle
my friend works in the local pub as he's the landlord's son in law to be and earns £400 a week for two nights basically £200 a night
my cousin work in washington state and works 5 days a week at a full club along with another guy and they makes $1000 a night each so around £600
and my uncle works for a pub once a week and earns about £500 for his services due to his own equipment usage and nearly 40 years experience

Reply 18

martinthebull

Anybody knows something about Birmingham area???Is it really that bad ??? Btw...Im 26...is it too late to start with all this ?? I mean...yep...everybody can say its never too late when you are doing something that you love and you are good in that (hopefully) but seriously...is it real to get some gigs when i practising only for one last year at home...? I not expecting to play on biiig gigs....just some small clubs but if this is a situation that djs are playing for free....that is ****ed up.... =(