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What does it take to organize a party..
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DiMiTry
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
70
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2299
Posted : Mar 2, 2005 06:28
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indeed, mistress, those are wise words.
i am not sure why nobody has mentioned organizing parties with crews of people/DJs instead of a single promoter. Almost every time I've dealt with promoters, something went wrong, and this lead me to mistrust them and their intentions. (This does not refer to anyone on this board. I am sure there are good promoters out there, just as there are bad crews).
Personally, I am much more comfortable getting together with a group of people I trust who share a common vision and a common goal, and working with them to put together events. Yes, this means you won't make very much money, but it also means you won't lose very much if things don't work out, and that you will actually get some sleep in the two weeks before the party.
cheers |
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obu
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
27
Posts :
403
Posted : Mar 2, 2005 06:41
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I think Megan hit the nail on the head with order of importance. To me intent is by far the MOST important thing, good intentions lead to great parties...bad intentions well...you can guess  . This applies to everything else also..hehe...
About DJ's getting paid: It would be ideal for everyone to get paid but the simple fact is, as long as there are many djs willing to play for free this will not happen. Mr. Kiva, well said and offcourse Gadi more promoters could learn from you.
What I'm curious about is what dictates when a dj gets paid? Some things are over my head
Hope your all having an awesome day!
Boom |
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Surrender
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
506
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5388
Posted : Mar 2, 2005 07:14
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btw, i was never a promoter - i considered myself an organizer along with my 2 partners - i guess you can call it a crew. i would also include the flyer/graphic designer and deco people as part of the "crew" although they were diffrent orgs.
a promoter (in my opinion) is someone who has less responsibilty, due to the fact they need to deal with less things.
an organizer does things from scratch - start to finish.
obu - i think promoters/organizers have gotten local dj's used to the fact they are not definite on the pay list. mix this with the fact you mentioned: that many "dj's" will play for free just because of the opportunity that they often do not get and you have a long road ahead to establishing a standard way of business.
Meghan - good point, i agree. yet, i have seen terrible people (promoters/crews) with bad intentions making good parties. i never thought to mention that fact cause to me good intention is the only reason to throw a party.
btw- what do you define as "bad intentions" lets see if we are on the same page.
 "On the other hand, you have different fingers."
http://myspace.com/gadimon |
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Surrender
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
506
Posts :
5388
Posted : Mar 2, 2005 07:19
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more about local dj's not getting paid:
i think its alright not to get paid as long as you strike a "deal" with another promoter/organizer to have an booking exchange program between you at your events. in the ideal - the exchange of money is meaningless since you will give here and they will get there, so there is a cancellation.
most of the time this doesnt work out 100% - and until there are good promoters/organizers this can be used as a political tool to "draw" a crowd from a particular org by "using" their dj's (names and local fame) for their benefit...
again, we have to consider the eagerness of the dj's who sometimes walk into a situation where they know they are going to be used but their ego leads them blindly.
food for thought.
"On the other hand, you have different fingers."
http://myspace.com/gadimon |
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David(KIVA)
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
36
Posts :
487
Posted : Mar 2, 2005 21:27
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All very good points Gadi is it?(surrender). And I once made a deal that you speak of where there was an exchange. Once upon a time I was disillusioned by a promoter (who I wont mention) that told me that in exchange for my free Graphic design and if I handed out flyers at local events held here in LA she would give me a chance to play-which is why I agreed to do it. Well lets just say that didn’t go to well. I managed by chance to get on the decks playing vinyl back then, because my friend who was booked to play for her in the same room left the gig because she was not going to pay him. That time I was in the right place at the right time. That night was awesome in other ways because that’s where I met Jon Mark and my long time teammate T.Wyse. The other times she booked me I played in the chill room when I clearly was not a chill dj nor did I collect chill music. Her way of giving back(not). Oh and she cut Total Eclipses time slot so she could play.
SOOOOO that whole experience taught me that you should trust whom your working with and if you get a bad vibe- just don’t associate yourself with them. I paid some more dues with another promoter (Electric Blue) who was cooler and who gave me chances to prove my worth. That was back in 99. And then with another promoter who was also very cool and fair (Five Star). I did all there flyers which I was paid for and he also gave me time on the decks with way better time slots. All of this time not getting paid for djing.
I totally agree with you on that Obu- as long as people don’t ask they wont get. And the first time I ever asked for money and was denied my slot to play to someone who was more eager and wanted no money I learned that I just have to prove that I’m worth paying for. It only gave me more determination. But you have to be true to yourself. Plus I got a family and partying for free just doesn’t cut it.
Answering your question Obu. When a dj has put in his share of dedication to the scene and has played his fair share of FREE gigs with no gas money and has driven all over the city or desert or forest, and he or she has proved his or her skills by exciting the crowd to ask who that person is and when is he or she playing next. When someone has worked his or her way up the ladder and draws more crowds on top of the crowd that will come for the main attraction- that is when they should be paid. I think it’s up to the promoter to choose whether he wants to kill some time with an eager dj who will play for free or if he wants to pay someone who will ad to the whole musical experience.
There is the exception though if a promoter looses his ass on a party I never expect to be paid even if we agreed that I would be paid. Whether my wife like its or not. hehe
http://soundcloud.com/djkiva |
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Eklypz
Started Topics :
7
Posts :
359
Posted : Mar 8, 2005 01:16
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I think the issue is that everyone is a DJ, so there are lots of people that will play for free  Heck, most of them are practically BEGGING to play at one of your events free.
We personally do all our events as a communal type thing. If we make money all the locals and friends will split it up. I am just happy to break even (which happens very rarely). I have actually had DJs kick me money back because they know that I do not keep anything for myself lol.
I also will not get DJs that have egos about getting lots of cash. I have found they are not worth it (and we have gotten some giant 'rave' djs back in the day). There are lots of talented DJs out there that love the scene and aren't greedy. I can understand asking for a fair share in larger cities but Iowa (and the midwest in general) just doesn't get the numbers that events in the '90s did. So, a little scaling would be nice! I won't even go into how much I dislike agents
That said, most DJs are understanding if I explain that I do not like charging more than $13 (10 with a can of food or some other donation  ) and that we usually only get around 300 people at the very most for an event. Most agents are hard to budge, so not worth it due to the plethora of talents artists in North America. I have also found that a good 60% or so of event attendees have never really heard of most the well known people anyways (especially Europeons). |
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