Top 3 Ways To Make It As A Local DJ

‍

How To Breakthrough As A Local DJ

Wether you're just starting out fresh as a DJ or you've been playing out for a while we all have this constant question in our heads, “when are you going to make it?” This isn't an uncommon question to ask yourself in the current scene. No one can truly answer that question other than yourself, but I will try my best. 

‍‍

STEP ONE: Do you have what it takes? 

Ok, lets say you're fresh out from the bedroom and you've been practicing/taking lessons for ages and now you just want to get out there. Thats great! But you have to ask yourself if you have what it takes to actually pull through in the scene. It takes a lot of time, skill and can be costly but most of all it takes a whole lot of passion. I want to focus on the skill it takes to succeed in your local scene. Skill is what will separate you from other DJ’s and make you stand out to a crowd, so a lot of practicing is a big part of the commitment. Skill doesn't only entail being a technically advanced DJ but it includes having a great knowledge of the music you will be playing and how you play the music to translate it to a crowd. We teach all of this on our Elite DJ course which you can book here.

Now, lets say you have been Dj’ing in your local scene for a couple of years and you are getting to a point where you feel as if you don't know wether something will happen or not. The only advice i can give in this situation is to keep pushing and to remember that very feeling you had when you first started out. Something that will set you apart from others is having a catalogue of your own music that you have produced and possibly a couple of releases under your belt. Sooner or later people will notice your music, its just a matter of time. We offer music production courses here at LSA and we also have our own record label which will feature releases from some of our graduates.

Something to remember here is that everyone has their own path and is on their own time schedule. Don't beat yourself up if its not your time. 

STEP TWO: Have an image.

Having an image on the scene is super important. We live in a day and age where everything evolves around social media, it has its perks. People want to know who they're going to see, maybe you killed it at a show and someone wants to look you up and book you for one of their events, you're going to need to have platforms on social media where you can connect with people. How you decide to run your social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook etc) is entirely up to you but I would advise to keep it very professional. Invest in logos, press photos, artwork and keep it up to date! There’s noting worse than that guy who posts once every two months about an upcoming gig, stay on it!

STEP THREE: Network, network and guess what? Network.

You're a DJ, you play at events, I'm assuming you must also go to events once in a while too? Great. Now go and have a chat with the people that run the event. In all honesty most things in the industry are done via networking, its a HUGE part of the scene. You have to be able to sell yourself to promoters, make them want to book you for their event. This includes having a good track record of playing events that have good names in the industry. Not only events come from networking with people but also record label releases, its good to put a face to the people you could potentially be working with. “Click here to read an earlier blog post from LSA on how to get your music signed” 

‍

‍