DJing: A labor of love. But let's get paid too!

I've been doing this for a little while, this DJ thing. Since the summer after my senior year of high school, I've been dedicating a significant portion of my life to a genre of music, pouring my money, hours, tears, laughter, joy, and heartache into it, making myself the best DJ that I can be. I've practiced, I've created demos, I've networked, I've kissed ass, and, at times, I've played for nothing -- basically, I've paid my dues. Or, at least, I've paid one or two.

Today, after talking to a venue owner interested in having a DJ on hand for semi-regular events, I came to a gratifying conclusion: I'm at a point where I'm perfectly unconcerned with having a quote that I provide turned down.

Honestly, I'm typically fairly easy-going about the money I make playing music that I really enjoy. And I approach each booking on a case-by-case basis. It's not unheard of that I'll take a gig without pay, but that's usually a calculated move. I generally expect that I'll create other prospects from that gig, and feel like, overall, it's good for my name (note: these circumstances are generally for a non-profit event, or something of the like). Otherwise, I get paid what I feel like is worth my time and the energy I've spent into developing the expertise I have. But fairly often, because one of the forms of music that I play is so perfectly catered to corporate events, wine tastings, and lounge-styled gigs, I find myself approached by prospects who would like the added touch of a live DJ, but who, because they are not a regulare "venue", do not possess equipment. This is when I become fairly obstinate about that fee.

The added time that it takes to pack up equipment, load it up into my vehicle, unload it at the venue, set it up, sound-check it, pack it back up after the gig, load it back into my vehicle, and unpack it back home makes what would otherwise be a fairly easy process, a whole new project. Not to mention the wear and tear on fairly expensive equipment. But what these venue owners or corporate accountants don't realize is that they're not just paying for a DJ to come and play music that they've spent hours and hours finding, buying, and creating playlists out of, but that they're paying for a fair amount of work as well. They see the process as a fairly painless thing, because we're good at making it look that way. So when I have these conversations, and they're pretty cognizant that I'm a perfect fit for the event that they're doing, it's always a bit of a downer when I have to draw a line and say, "Yes, I would be perfect for this event, but what you're offering me just isn't enough."

I suppose that my willingness to draw that line when I know full well that there are others who won't, and who will probably end up being booked in my place, is because I'm just too damned busy to not have it be worth my time. I work a full time job that is fairly fulfilling. I also am in a very lucky position to be playing music regularly enough that my time is already valuable. But that should also tell the prospective client that, when I make a certain quote, it's not because I'm looking for money, but purely because I know the value of my time -- and others who are paying me what I'm worth clearly do as well.

I'm a firm believer that DJs need to put in their time, pay their dues, and take whatever gigs are offered them when they're doing what they can to create their name, their brand. But, despite the competitive nature of what we do (the mere fact that so many are willing to play for next to nothing), there does need to be a point where we recognize the labor that has been put in to this love, because I don't think that any of us do what we do without an intense, burning desire to do it. It's just too expensive, too time consuming, too much of who we are to be anything less than an actual passion. There's just a part of us, a voice that first spoke when we heard of the concept of "the DJ", that knew that this was something we had to do.

I don't suppose that I'll ever quit being in love with what I do, but I will continue to balance this love with the other love I have: Life.