Paying for your guest DJs?

[Rhino]

i would gladly pay a bit more on the door if the dance floor is full and keeps them dancing. That's what you pay your hard earned cash for to enjoy your night.with this you go home think you think what a great night and possibly arranging your dairy for the next event. you talk to other friends on the scene and say belting night at???? this brings more punters and the repeat punters. what im trying to put across is doesn't have to be a top name dj but someone who is a punter as well as a dj and understands what the people want and play for them and know when to slow the tempo and then pick it up again. As an old mate of mine says allnighters/soul nights are a journey and its down to quality djs to provide the trip 

 

[Shsdave]

On 9/1/2016 at 10:45, Paul Jnr said:

Once a promoter tried to book me to guest and still expect me to pay on the door....not going to name drop  

Ha ha heard of that before, can't name drop even if I wanted to as can't remember who was running the night (short lived I think). Guy in London booked a DJ from LEEDS & still charged him entry !!! 

[Guest Soultown andy]

19 hours ago, Quinvy said:

Come on Andy, I Dj'd for you a few years ago at Keele and never got paid. Not bothered at all, but just saying like.

utter bolloxs phil,ive never not paid my djs.Its just up your street takin cheap shots ,feel free to come and see me at stateside  in aprill.

[Quinvy]

1 hour ago, Soultown andy said:

utter bolloxs phil,ive never not paid my djs.Its just up your street takin cheap shots ,feel free to come and see me at stateside  in aprill.

PM sent.

[Steve G]

There's an old saying pay peanuts, you get monkies. 

[Guest Soultown andy]

Quinvy tells me when he dj,d at keele for me and mr minshull a few years ago he didnt get payed.He tells me he did the first spot and wasnt to pleased about being on first,so left straight after his spot without informing me or keith.Feel free to pick up your wages at the next stateside event phil.I  stand by my original comments on this thread. 

19 hours ago, Steve G said:

There's an old saying pay peanuts, you get monkies. 

spot on,worse still the you do mine i,ll do yours crew.

 

[Ik001]

37 minutes ago, Soultown andy said:

Quinvy tells me when he dj,d at keele for me and mr minshull a few years ago he didnt get payed.He tells me he did the first spot and wasnt to pleased about being on first,so left straight after his spot without informing me or keith.Feel free to pick up your wages at the next stateside event phil.I  stand by my original comments on this thread. 

spot on,worse still the you do mine i,ll do yours crew.

 

A lot of this goes on I'm afraid (I'll do yours and you do mine). Didn't appeal to me when running the L.M.S. in Skipton thus the attendances were very much up and down (down being the norm). Don't get a lot of calls to d.j. around my area but must say the new Skipton promoters are genuine and appreciate my attendance and spots. Likewise Pete at Fulledge, Burnley pays a decent fee (just pity we don't go down there anymore due to a certain "showman".

[Little-stevie]

Another topic that ends up with folk looking to blow smoke up their arse...

 

 

No hard fast rules for me.... As long as you keep the an agreement whatever that is......

[Kev John]

I'm doing a spot tonight at The Cock O' Budworth for Mr Jenks 

It's a small venue but a great place to be 

He always offers me a small fee to DJ but i always waver the fee & tell him to give it to a charity of his choice 

Like most of the Collector DJ's on here its a hobby & it's about the music & the passion we have about the scene NOT MONEY !!!

Yes there is a lot of you do mine & i'll do yours in the Stoke-On-Trent & Crewe area but because they don't know any better IMHO

I don't get involved in those sort of social events

atb Kev 

 

Edited January 15, 2016 by Kev John

[Md Records]

If you agree a fee, you pay that fee - Simple as. The fee agreed will depend on the type and size of the event though? To me, the only thing that has changed in the last few years is the number of budding D.J.'s with the heavy duty ammunition, capable of spoon feeding the oldies venue customers with their weekly diet of the "tried & tested", which could possibly make it more of a "buyers market" for anyone wanting to put on a "Northern classics" event?

Des

[KevH]

On 13 January 2016 at 19:07, Steve G said:

There's an old saying pay peanuts, you get monkies. 

Monkey's.

[manus]

 

I remember a promoter in the 70s who wanted the local DJs who did his events to not only do it for free but to sign an agreement not to DJ for other promotions and also to put their records into a collective pot to be held by the promoter. He was a very nice guy but it was a time of venue wars and heavy friction between rival promoters and I think rational thought disappeared.

 

[KevH]

Whats all this "you dj for me,i'll dj for you".? Cant mates who run clubs do that anymore.Or is it "fuk you,my old mate,find your own way"?

[Mace]

6 minutes ago, KevH said:

Monkey's.

Actually, it's Monkeys ........unless you were referring to the 60s pop band The Monkees.

[KevH]

10 minutes ago, Mace said:

Actually, it's Monkeys ........unless you were referring to the 60s pop band The Monkees.

Ha.!

[Frankie M]

this thread has certainly caused a stir , promoters expect invoices through the door anytime soon , on a personal  basis it is nice

to get a " drop " at the end of the night , but it aint life changing if it does not happen and with the 1000s % increase in venues

most  local nights are lucky to cover room hire /bar staff etc , but that's another thread that's done its turn here .As a " warm up"

man I have never "agreed " a fee because a kick up the a***e often hurts !

Edited January 15, 2016 by FRANKIE M
non

[Mace]

10 minutes ago, KevH said:

Ha.!

Ha! (full stop not required)

 

[KevH]

14 minutes ago, Mace said:

Ha! (full stop not required)

 

Cheers Mace.

[Steve L]

2 hours ago, Mace said:

Actually, it's Monkeys ........unless you were referring to the 60s pop band The Monkees.

Beat me to it.....

[Mace]

1 hour ago, KevH said:

Cheers Mace.

People in glass houses.........    ;o)

[Jordirip]

4 hours ago, KevH said:

Monkey's.

Monkeys actually. Or Hey, Hey, we're the.......Monkees

[Jordirip]

3 minutes ago, jordirip said:

Monkeys actually. Or Hey, Hey, we're the.......Monkees

Oops, sorry Mace, I've just got down to your comment saying exactly the same.

[Maryam Snape]

I've been both a DJ and promoter for 14 years, only recently specifically on the soul scene but the same applies

As a promoter I think manage expectations, if you agree a guarantee it has to be paid, if you have an understanding based on turnout then it needs to be very clear before the event

As a DJ once you've been DJing a while you know what your own going rate is and I guess it depends how much you want to play at that place/event as to whether you'll lower it.

I've had everything happen from bomb scares, to snow, to generator's exploding, if you've built a reputation as a promoter who looks after their acts then a one off once in a blue moon with a frank conversation and mutually agreeable arrangement can sometimes be made. 

Flip side I've had a couple of times I've DJ'ed at a new place and no one's turned up, if I'm not relying on the money then I would usually offer to take a lower fee but that's just because I csn feel the promoters pain  

[Billywhizz]

1 hour ago, Maryam Snape said:

I've been both a DJ and promoter for 14 years, only recently specifically on the soul scene but the same applies

As a promoter I think manage expectations, if you agree a guarantee it has to be paid, if you have an understanding based on turnout then it needs to be very clear before the event

As a DJ once you've been DJing a while you know what your own going rate is and I guess it depends how much you want to play at that place/event as to whether you'll lower it.

I've had everything happen from bomb scares, to snow, to generator's exploding, if you've built a reputation as a promoter who looks after their acts then a one off once in a blue moon with a frank conversation and mutually agreeable arrangement can sometimes be made. 

Flip side I've had a couple of times I've DJ'ed at a new place and no one's turned up, if I'm not relying on the money then I would usually offer to take a lower fee but that's just because I csn feel the promoters pain  

it will come good maryam over time billy

[Len]

On 19^th December Andy McCabe (Soultown andy) paid me for D.Jing at The Stateside Soul Club All-nighter, well covering the amount that would be expected for that size of venue, and I must add that I appreciated the fact he came up on stage when I was D.Jing to check on things / make sure I was ok etc (Professional conduct) Spare needles and the back-up for technical matters sorted when required 

On 27^th December Steve G paid me for D.Jing for him at his ‘Filthy Soul’ event down in ‘that there London’, which I greatly appreciated because it went towards my hotel and train expenses.……I, like so many others do it for the love of it (that’s a given), if there’s something towards expenses from time to time that’s a bonus, but that fact should never be taken advantage of.

All the best,

Len 

 

Edited January 15, 2016 by LEN

[KevH]

2 hours ago, jordirip said:

Monkeys actually. Or Hey, Hey, we're the.......Monkees

Got it Jordi.!

4 hours ago, Mace said:

People in glass houses.........    ;o)

Don't know what you mean mi owd.

[Chris Anderton]

Some events are still charging £3.00 entrance fee.....events used to be £3.00 when I started going in the late 80s!

Charge a proper door tax and pay the DJs a proper rate and get some decent equipment in. 

Anyone who begrudges paying £5/6 (less than the price of 2 pints) for 5-6 hours of music is not there for the right reasons.

Chris

[Chalky]

36 minutes ago, chris anderton said:

Some events are still charging £3.00 entrance fee.....events used to be £3.00 when I started going in the late 80s!

Charge a proper door tax and pay the DJs a proper rate and get some decent equipment in. 

Anyone who begrudges paying £5/6 (less than the price of 2 pints) for 5-6 hours of music is not there for the right reasons.

Chris

Allnighters the same Chris, still 10/12 quid.  Been that for donkeys.  Go to a  "normal"clubs and you will pay a lot more, often 4,5 or 6 times more for the decent clubs.  Trouble is too many promoters out to undercut others, some afraid of losing customers if they up the fee and the worst are the punters, many who complain about the prices charged now.  Plenty still do whatever they can to get in free as well.  

 

[Dave Rimmer]

44 minutes ago, chris anderton said:

Anyone who begrudges paying £5/6 (less than the price of 2 pints)

Chris

You're drinking in the wrong pubs mate !

[Mace]

19 hours ago, jordirip said:

Oops, sorry Mace, I've just got down to your comment saying exactly the same.

Thought there was an echo in here at first!  ;o)

Edited January 16, 2016 by Mace

[Dave West]

One of the problems with dj fees etc is IMO the fact that WMC's can no longer afford to pay for a quality "turn" on a weekend so instead pay a dj/promoter to be the turn for the night. Thats why so many local do's are free entry. The promoter gets £100 for the night so pays the guest dj £20-£30. Theres no door staff or security to pay and thats lead to an increase in dickheads attending our scene. I have dj'd at some of these type of events and the payment i got hardly covered the petrol money. My own fault really as no fee was agreed on beforehand but i am happy to just cover my expences. 

I have dj'd at "proper" northern do's too where the promoter has said "When ive paid you i wont make a profit as theres only 100 in and ive only taken £400 on the door"(venue clash) to which i said "what did you get last month" - "300 in" - "ok then take it out of last months £800 profit then".  Nuff said..

Dave

[KevH]

On 16 January 2016 at 10:25, chalky said:

Allnighters the same Chris, still 10/12 quid.  Been that for donkeys.  Go to a  "normal"clubs and you will pay a lot more, often 4,5 or 6 times more for the decent clubs.  Trouble is too many promoters out to undercut others, some afraid of losing customers if they up the fee and the worst are the punters, many who complain about the prices charged now.  Plenty still do whatever they can to get in free as well.  

 

Donkey's lol

[Guest Soultown andy]

Interestin topic but no real answer as the scene has new promoters with very different approaches to runnin venues ,practicaly every week.I  do think the price charged on the door will always vary from area to area,it helps to know your audience and cater for it.

 

[Guest Byrney]

Just out of interest, anyone know what the big 500 - 1000+ nights pay? Main room and back rooms?

[Quinvy]

16 minutes ago, Byrney said:

Just out of interest, anyone know what the big 500 - 1000+ nights pay? Main room and back rooms?

Ask Kev Roberts mate, he's on here.

[Guest Byrney]

1 hour ago, Quinvy said:

Ask Kev Roberts mate, he's on here.

Question's open to anyone; DJS or promoter. A dimension that hasn't been discussed so just interested. 

[Paddy Ferry]

Surely whatever payment made is a confidential agreement between the promoter and the DJ , their business and theirs alone.

[soul45s]

On 1/12/2016 at 20:09, Quinvy said:

Come on Andy, I Dj'd for you a few years ago at Keele and never got paid. Not bothered at all, but just saying like.

Phil, I lost count of all the times I DJ' d for you at all the pre Burnley niter events plus the actual niters themselves without getting paid..!!

Yet, the first time I attended the Burnley Niter as a punter you still charged me £10 entry! 

 

[Stevie]

43 minutes ago, soul45s said:

Phil, I lost count of all the times I DJ' d for you at all the pre Burnley niter events plus the actual niters themselves without getting paid..!!

 

Yet, the first time I attended the Burnley Niter as a punter you still charged me £10 entry! 

 

 

The fact that you DJ'd at all the pre Burnley events  implies that you were happy to DJ for free. I imagine that a number of people might be willing to do the same in the hope that if they're playing a good set, they may be offered a spot elsewhere on the strength of it. No axe to grind here as I don't know either party.

[Winsford Soul]

On 16/01/2016 at 09:42, chris anderton said:

Some events are still charging £3.00 entrance fee.....events used to be £3.00 when I started going in the late 80s!

Charge a proper door tax and pay the DJs a proper rate and get some decent equipment in. 

Anyone who begrudges paying £5/6 (less than the price of 2 pints) for 5-6 hours of music is not there for the right reasons.

Chris

Chris. A Rave/  Dance night local to me in Manchester  charged £45 a ticket New year's eve and was rammed. . Greedy promoters or  business savvy. 

Steve

[Quinvy]

2 hours ago, soul45s said:

Phil, I lost count of all the times I DJ' d for you at all the pre Burnley niter events plus the actual niters themselves without getting paid..!!

 

Yet, the first time I attended the Burnley Niter as a punter you still charged me £10 entry! 

 

 

Paul, you have obviously got a problem with me. That's fine, but don't come on a public forum trying to score points. If you have a problem, take it to PM's. 

You always said you just wanted to be the "warm up" DJ. But you kept bragging that you had some big ticket rarities hidden away, so when you asked for a prime spot, (which I gave you), I was expecting you to bring out the big guns and pack the dance floor. However, you just played the same set of records that you always did and killed the room.

Then you threw a hissy fit and resigned, no reason given. 

So as far as I'm concerned you became a customer.

[Stanley]

can any of you beat this then, i,ve offered to dj for nothing and then pay £200 to dj up here in carlisle with all original top tunes and i mean top stuff and donate to the eden valley hospice or macmillan nurses to help any soul event here and still be ignored  ? because the promoters want top dj,s so i,m led to believe ?,i,m sorry but  i don,t want to play bootlegs ,and won,t dj at an event who fleece the public if you charge playing bootlegs.is this the norm now ? no worries if you play boots and don,t charge.on entry no worries ....thats up to you.........but i give up with the clowns up here !!!!

i still have fantastic 45,s in my collection as the true collectors and reputable dj,s know ,its just a shame it not appreciated by your fellow collectors who i thought were soul brothers.

Edited January 21, 2016 by stanley

[Russ Vickers]

I was charging £5 the £6 entry to a Soul Night in the 9ts.  I had great venue, top sound system, security & 'name' DJs who always got paid, even if it had been a quiet night & it came out my back pocket (fortunately there wasnt too many of them).

Promoters should be using good venues & quality equipment & have security (I thought security was a legal requirement ?).

If I was to promote again, my prime concern would be to provide a quality night, with all the above & more. I would be charging at least £8 entry, possibly more & that folks, is it in a nutshell, you provide a quality experience, & when you work out your outlay for the promotion, you charge an admission that covers all the costs, as well as your personal costs as the promoter, if you cant afford to do it & do it properly, dont bother, thats why we have every Tom, Dick & Harry promoting, using f*cking Scout Huts, with sh*t equipment & mates DJing for free thinking theyre Fatboy Slim or summat, with a box of bootlegs & re issues....the worst thing is, that idiots actually attend these cowboy events, which takes punters away from the REAL Nights doing it properly. IMO a quality Allnighter should be charging at least £15, if they are doing it proper like.

Best Russ

[soul45s]

14 hours ago, Stevie said:

The fact that you DJ'd at all the pre Burnley events  implies that you were happy to DJ for free. I imagine that a number of people might be willing to do the same in the hope that if they're playing a good set, they may be offered a spot elsewhere on the strength of it. No axe to grind here as I don't know either party.

I did it to help get the first couple of nights off to a good start.
An offer of some petrol money would have been appreciated.
The early events were not supported very well. Then suddenly everyone wanted to DJ there.

Everything has a shelf life, the rest is history.
I commented because of Phils remarks to Andys post.

I think Phil is extremely bitter that the niters folded (under his promotion) and were then very successfully resurrected under the current promoters hand.

Phil is very angry that he gave up the niters at Burnley in a rush. He rarely says anything positive on here!

[soul45s]

12 hours ago, Quinvy said:

Paul, you have obviously got a problem with me. That's fine, but don't come on a public forum trying to score points. If you have a problem, take it to PM's. 

You always said you just wanted to be the "warm up" DJ. But you kept bragging that you had some big ticket rarities hidden away, so when you asked for a prime spot, (which I gave you), I was expecting you to bring out the big guns and pack the dance floor. However, you just played the same set of records that you always did and killed the room.

Then you threw a hissy fit and resigned, no reason given. 

So as far as I'm concerned you became a customer.

Ok Phil. I will have to look at the emails you sent me at the time and re-visit your complimentary comments on my playlists on here.
Thankfully I keep copies of playlists / emails etc.

You also said some pretty nasty comments about your new guest DJ friends too.
Those emails are quite sad to read. I don't think the people concerned would be very happy if they knew the contents.  Maybe you should have taken it to PM's...

I never had a hissy fit before I left as a resident DJ. I just told you I was leaving, that was it!
I left mainly because you would ask about records I had played that you didn't know...
If they were expensive you liked them, if they were under £100 you didn't. Very sad. You were so desperate to get DJ spots that you got into tons of debt, you know you did.
The DJ spots were never offered which made you even more bitter!

I know you missed out many years on the soul scene whilst you were fishing etc. (Now't wrong with that either)
Therefore you were pretty much out of the loop and desperate to catch up & impress. You absolutely hated the fact that you would have some of the current top DJs guesting for you, but you were rarely, if ever asked to guest anywhere..

Back to the thread, you wanted to run the best niter but didn't pay the fees.
It was bound to fail with your attitude. It became stagnant in my opinion and if more people were really honest they would agree. That's why so many stopped attending.

I don't have a problem with you, I don't really know you and don't want to.

Finally...
Please stop sending me friend requests on Facebook. I'm not interested ok!

[Quinvy]

Pathetic, you have PM.

[Jnixon]

14 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Chris. A Rave/  Dance night local to me in Manchester  charged £45 a ticket New year's eve and was rammed. . Greedy promoters or  business savvy. 

Steve

It appears that these days even in this climate kids on that scene expect ticket prices like that. Ive been a few techno related parties over the last few years and where in the past id usually get in free (im way out of that loop these days)  ive had to go for the early bird tickets

I wonder how much it costs to get Robert Hood or Derrick May or Semtex to DJ these days. Footballers wages Im guessing. 

Price point is what people are prepared to pay I guess but with those kind of parties raves events whatever you want to call them there is a high risk to reward ratio. 

 

[Frankie M]

phew we charge £4 at the Greatstone   anymore would "price "us out of the market  in this area  , we get great guests and all get

paid by the Greatstone who potentially only enjoy the bar takings , so in my opinion if you can charge little  and not go bankrupt

then your a winner , unsure on the economy elsewhere  but  theres not a great deal of money up north  but yes we have

a great time  and no politics  and just a bit  of squabbling ( but not from me ! )

[KevH]

My buddies and i ran a little club for 4 years,tried to pay what we could, many were ok to waiver a fee.(thanks btw to all who dj'd - you know who you are)

£3 otd.

When it ended we had £17 each in the kitty.The enjoyment far outweighed any "wages" to ourselves.

[Russ Vickers]

50 minutes ago, JNixon said:

It appears that these days even in this climate kids on that scene expect ticket prices like that. Ive been a few techno related parties over the last few years and where in the past id usually get in free (im way out of that loop these days)  ive had to go for the early bird tickets

I wonder how much it costs to get Robert Hood or Derrick May or Semtex to DJ these days. Footballers wages Im guessing.

Price point is what people are prepared to pay I guess but with those kind of parties raves events whatever you want to call them there is a high risk to reward ratio.

 

Sorry...who ???....:-)