You might find two or three people charge that, the reality is that for most DJs, when you take into account travel and drinks, food, and sometimes overnight accommodation, never mind buying records, we make a loss on every booking we do !
Here's an example. I'm being paid £125.00 for a booking next year. It will cost me:
£8 taxi to the station
£108 return train fare
£5 taxi to the venue
£5 taxi back to the station in the morning
£8 Taxi home from the station.
So before I've even bought a beer, I've spent £134. Then as I'm out of the house for nearly twenty hours, you have to add in food as well. Never mind buying records !
Now I have no doubts whatsoever that I will be paid at this event. However, in the past promoters have turned round when I've travelled and DJ'ed and said "Sorry, there's no money to pay you, I'll pay you later in the year."
That happened to me two years ago when I DJ'ed at the Grand Atlantic in Weston Supermare.
I'm still waiting for that promoter to pay me ! He's on here as well, so perhaps he might read this and feel that it's about time that "later in the year" arrived !