Todays DJ Prices?

[seckle]

It's not just one hour of my life I have lost. Its going to be 24hours, including travel to and from airport. waiting around etc.

exactly. getting to and from gigs is 3 times as big a time waster than the actual gig itself. all that wasted time needs to be compensated. people don;t have any idea how draining travel can be. airport security and the dance at customs on their own are a mess. customs people love musicians.

if you hire a plumber to come fix your kitchen, he starts charging you from the moment he leaves his shop, not when he's at your door.

[lj rekid]

Well it seems at that point you are paying for name recognition and draw to fill your party more than skill or musical taste. So you are in a sense using each other to get something.
I agree it is less than fair to all the lesser known djs who are absolutely amazing but don't or have not yet gotten recognition.
There have definitely been djs I have paid way to much for to play based n hype that I will never hire again due to lack of performance skill.

[buckfaster]

It's not just one hour of my life I have lost. Its going to be 24hours, including travel to and from airport. waiting around etc.

exactly. getting to and from gigs is the nearly 3 times as big a time waster than the actual gig itself. all that wasted time needs to be compensated. people don;t have any idea how draining travel can be. airport security and the dance at customs on their own are a mess. customs people love musicians.

if you hire a plumber to come fix your kitchen, he starts charging you from the moment he leaves his shop, not when he's at your door.

Fucking THIS.

Also, having a terribly muslim name doesn't help.

[Pistonsbeneath]

i guess the key is to build your night so it doesn't rely on names so much and then get some smaller names that are incredible to promote as well as provide good music for people..

this is very hard though in smaller areas where the guys pulling 2k a set are the only ones people will know...

if you look at braindrop they do very well but don't have the very biggest names...i think they had reso play the last one and he is totally sick and im sure everyone had a good time....depends on your market really......if i ever do events again thats precisely what i will do...a mixture of semi names that are fucking amazing and total unknowns that i know will deliver...

[intoccabile]

Have a look at what some grime performers are charging nowadays...

Was told it was hype city's price list but I can't find it anywhere on their myspace.

Grime
Adam Deacon [Kildulthood & Adulthood] 2-3 Tracks £550 £650+Dj
Aggro 2-3 Tracks £350 £450
Bashy 2-3 Tracks £800 £900
Bearman 2-3 Tracks £350 £450
Big Narstie 2-3 Tracks £350 £450
Boy Better Know 30 Minute Live Show £1,500 £2,000
Chipmunk 3 Tracks & mc set £800 £850
Doctor 2-3 Tracks £400 £500
Flirta D 2-3 Tracks £400 £500
Frisco 2-3 Tracks £400 £500
Frontlinerz 2-3 Tracks £500 £600
Ghetto 2-3 Tracks £450 £550
Heartless Crew 2-3 Tracks £1,750+vat £2,000+vat
Hypa Fenn & Marcie Phonix 2-3 Tracks £550 £650
J2K 2-3 Tracks £400 £500
K Sounds 2-3 Tracks £450 £550
Lady Fury 2-3 Tracks £400 £500
Lethal B 20- 30 Minute Live Show £5,000 £5,500
Lightning 2-3 Tracks £350 £450
Lil Rascals 2-3 Tracks £500 £550
Mayhem 2-3 Tracks £500 £550
Nu Brand Flexxx 2-3 Tracks £550 £650
Scorcher 2-3 Tracks £450 £550
Splurge 2-3 Tracks £500 £600
Stutta 2-3 Tracks £350 £450
Tinchy Stryder 2-3 Tracks £850 £900
Wiley 2-3 Tracks £4,000 £4,500
Wong 2-3 Tracks £300 £450


Grime dj's
Dj 279 1 and a half hours £400 £550
Dj Ace & Invisible 1 and a half hours £1,000 £1,500
Dj Cameo 1 and a half hours £550 £650
Dj Mastersteps 1 and a half hours £650 £800
Dj Maximus (BBK) 1 and a half hours £500 £650
Dj Reepz 1 Hour Bassline Set £400 £450
Dj Spyro 1 and a half hours £300 £450
Dj Steppa 1 and a half hours £350 £450
Dj Swerve 1 and a half hours £600 £800
Dj Vectra 1 and a half hours £300 £400
Kray Twinz 1 and a half hours £750 £900
Oxide & Neutrino 1 and a half hours £750 £850

[boomstix]

if i ever do events again thats precisely what i will do...a mixture of semi names that are fucking amazing and total unknowns that i know will deliver...

this. quality FTW

to be fair to the artists. you're not just paying for their time, you're paying for all the hard work that led them to that point.

and it makes good business sense to just charge like a wounded bull if you can draw a crowd to cover the price

[morro_e]

at the prices

[scp]

gota say im surprised it doesn't cost more to get chipmunk/tinchy these days.
BBK/Heartless kinda does equal out (for each member) cos they're groups/collectives
but at some of the lesser known names on there

[sonofrave]

gota say im surprised it doesn't cost more to get chipmunk/tinchy these days.
BBK/Heartless kinda does equal out (for each member) cos they're groups/collectives
but at some of the lesser known names on there

They must be old prices, Tinchy Stryder 2-3 Tracks £850 £900, no way the boy has had two UK number 1 singles now!

[seckle]

gota say im surprised it doesn't cost more to get chipmunk/tinchy these days.
BBK/Heartless kinda does equal out (for each member) cos they're groups/collectives
but at some of the lesser known names on there

They must be old prices, Tinchy Stryder 2-3 Tracks £850 £900, no way the boy has had two UK number 1 singles now!

he just passed 800,000 in album sales the other day. no way you're getting him anywhere near £900 now. those prices are definitely old.

[threnody]

i know that preparation for a show takes time. You have to finish off and export any new bits you have been working on to give the punters the freshest beats you have, then burn CDs or cut dubs....admittedly CDs is much less expensive but if you have 25 new tunes to burn to CD since your last show that is still £10 for blank CDs and a couple of hours at least to burn them...then there is travel to the location (trains with a record bag are a nightmare!!!). Hotels etc are usually covered but there is taxi travel, getting something to eat before the show, drinks at the show.

Great fun tho but for a DJ the money reflects more than just an hours show.... £50K is outrageous but then again if i thought i could get that then i would defo ask for it haha

Agents fees also come into the equation and prices will be hyped to reflect this. It's all about communication between artists/agents and the club to see what they can afford and try to work out a package which suits everyone. As long as a DJ plays a blinding set with exclusive tunes and the club promotes the night then everyone will be happy.

[matta]

Used to work in an agency, you would not believe some of the prices for certain house people that was offered and then refused by the artist. Daft Punk springs to mind...

You find that people with genre specific nights who know a lot about their scene will book people 9 months to a year in advance, then when the artist gets big around the time you are promoting your night, you have an absolute bargain. Not saying you should just book an artist to predict whether they get big if you dont like them personally or think they are right for your night but someone getting a bigger profile helps promotion i am sure.

Old place i worked at got Dizzee Rascal for £850 for a night. Unfortunately he only turned up for 30% of his gigs the agent said after the no show...

[Pada]

Dj Spyro 1 and a half hours £300 £450

If he still does it for that price everyone should jump on that.

[Whistla]

this has turned out to be quite a good thread in the end.
50k for a set = 2 years wages (or more) for most people. surely this is for like stadium gigs? i mean if you are charge £10 to get in you need to sell 5000 tickets just to pay for that artist let alone the venue and the other people on the line up, would quite like to know who charges that much.

[godflesh fiend]

Yeah very interesting thread indeed.

Now I want to know what folk like Elton John and Kylie get per gig.

[Horza]

Yeah I really do agree with alot of whats being said here. Its all about the mid-level (no offense meant) artists who are absolutely smacking it and pouring there heart and soul into their music career.

I really don't mean to cause an argument here but I am gonna state what I feel:

IMO when you start charging over £1,000 for an hours set and are DJing at least twice a month you clearly aren't in it for the music anymore.

Feel a lot of respect can be lost for an artist when you hear their fee's and then here them say in an interview they are in it for the music.

You can still easily live comfortably off two gigs a month for half that fee if you aks me.

Don't want to cause an argument Im just curious about peoples views on what Ive said

[solo strike]

Nonsense, if you get offers like that then there's nothing wrong with taking them. The only questionable thing I think is when you start making music that has less depth, more aggro in order to make crowds go mental.

[promo]

We have over 1,000+ heads every month. I just cant see myself handing over that much money for someone to play an hour of tunes and then fuck off.

I agree and you don't have to. Fact is a big name dj will not cover his cost. Take for instance you pay xyz dj £500. You charge £5 on the door that means a 100 people would need to turn up entirely independently (of promoters friend's/contacts etc) just to see him - ain't ever ever gonna happen. Its the promoters friends etc that turn up especially if its a small night. Putting on a name dj really makes jack shit difference and is tantamount to pissing in the wind. The scene is big but not that big. People often over estimate the size of the scene. Also there are so many nights that people are spoilt for choice and can see their fav djs all the time especially in London. 99% of nights barely cover their costs so the economics of it simple don't work. Anyways there's a lot more I could go into but I'll leave at that for now.

[freqone]

if you don't know about livenation and the paradigm shift in the music business away from the archaic album/single revenue system of the last 70 years, then you should. livenation, and their concept, is where most of the music industry is heading. far away from the old system. its turning into a music industry fueled by performance, marketing and merchandising, before actual sales of music. sure, this is underground music in our scene, but trust me that the agencies and agents in dance music, are all seeing this as a watershed moment for them as well. all you're going to see is asking prices and fees rise. its inevitable, and not even worth getting upset about, because something has to give. businesses will always do what they have to do to remain competitive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Nation
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/musi ... ntPage=all
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009 ... t_seabrook

this guy is on point 110%!!!!!!

[shamwow]

An artist doesn't just come and play tunes for an hour then fuck off.

Depending on the name of the calibre of artist they also draw in a crowd.

Skream vs DJ Joe Bloggs Bedroom DJ

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Someone above mentioned it's not about the DJ? No? Sorry I saw 2,600 people raving hard to Benga b2b Skream at Matter and then half of them fucked off when Spyro came on.

All three are sick DJ's in their own right, but the former are hot stuff at the moment.