djs and wages.....

[Chris Hutchinson]

...had a bit of a 'discussion' on the tidy forums about djs who charge silly money for playing other peoples records - what does everyone think on the subject??

 

Personally, I think its [censored] outrageous how somebody can dj (quite often a VERY average set) for 1-2hours and get away with charging £thousands for their 'services'.....

 

Unfortunatly, nobody seemed to agree with me, although on the other hand, nobody actually gave a proper reason why.... It just seems that djs are getting greedy, and in turn, this cost is being passed onto the clubber....

[jon_m]

Basically if a dj can fill ur club with his name simply on a flyer then he is worth being paid x amount.

simple as really?

[Chris Hutchinson]

jon_m said:

Basically if a dj can fill ur club with his name simply on a flyer then he is worth being paid x amount.

simple as really?

 

not really, no.... why shouldnt they be paid less and then entry costs wouldnt be so high?? The amount of money certain djs are paid is ridiculous! Fair enough if its like £500 and they will pull more people to event, but (in extreme cases) £10000 is just silly!

[jon_m]

Chris_Hutchinson said:

jon_m said:

Basically if a dj can fill ur club with his name simply on a flyer then he is worth being paid x amount.

simple as really?

 

not really, no.... why shouldnt they be paid less and then entry costs wouldnt be so high?? The amount of money certain djs are paid is ridiculous! Fair enough if its like £500 and they will pull more people to event, but (in extreme cases) £10000 is just silly!

 

Yeah i guess but if a clubber is willing to pay £50 - £100 to go to an event/festival and see oakie and the like get paid £10,000 then nothing will change!

 

its similar to footballers wages really

[Chris Hutchinson]

jon_m said:

Chris_Hutchinson said:

jon_m said:

Basically if a dj can fill ur club with his name simply on a flyer then he is worth being paid x amount.

simple as really?

 

not really, no.... why shouldnt they be paid less and then entry costs wouldnt be so high?? The amount of money certain djs are paid is ridiculous! Fair enough if its like £500 and they will pull more people to event, but (in extreme cases) £10000 is just silly!

 

Yeah i guess but if a clubber is willing to pay £50 - £100 to go to an event/festival and see oakie and the like get paid £10,000 then nothing will change!

 

its similar to footballers wages really

 

so ya reckon its djs egos being fuelled into thinking they are worth more then they are, by stupid clubbers then?

[tommy]

Chris: its supply and demand mate. Clubs are gonna charge as much as they think they can whilst still filling the club. And djs are gonna charge as much as they can whilst still getting work.

 

Certain djs do deserve it tho. i.e. Carl Cox, Jeff Mills, Sasha & Diggers etc.

 

Makes me laff that people pay loads of money to go see djs like Jules and Lashes tho.

[jon_m]

Chris_Hutchinson said:

jon_m said:

Chris_Hutchinson said:

jon_m said:

Basically if a dj can fill ur club with his name simply on a flyer then he is worth being paid x amount.

simple as really?

 

not really, no.... why shouldnt they be paid less and then entry costs wouldnt be so high?? The amount of money certain djs are paid is ridiculous! Fair enough if its like £500 and they will pull more people to event, but (in extreme cases) £10000 is just silly!

 

Yeah i guess but if a clubber is willing to pay £50 - £100 to go to an event/festival and see oakie and the like get paid £10,000 then nothing will change!

 

its similar to footballers wages really

 

so ya reckon its djs egos being fuelled into thinking they are worth more then they are, by stupid clubbers then?

 

possibly - all i know is unless clubbers stop paying the silly entry prices - nothin will change!! if no one went to the big expensive events promoters wouldnt have the cash to pay the cunts! innit!

Edited November 2, 2003 by jon_m

[tommy]

BTW: Slinky last Fri was £7 on the door to see Scott Bond, Montana ([censored] me was he good), Matt Hardwick and Dave Lea.

 

And it was open till 6am.

[ReBirth]

Chris_Hutchinson said:

so ya reckon its djs egos being fuelled into thinking they are worth more then they are, by stupid clubbers then?

 

you nailed it

 

It's the same with everthing in life...as long as the demand's there then ppl will try to push the price as high as they can.

 

I'm quite biased on this really...because a lot of DJ's get a much higher fee for an hour's set than a producer gets for his track.....

 

But I guess if u ca nget awaya with it..then fairplay

[LiquidEyes]

Success breeds contempt. Yes, I agree it's mad that people will pay so much dosh to see someone like Jules or Oakenfold.

 

Then again, I think it's mad that 100,000 people will fork out 4 quid for a single by some shitty boy band.

 

It doesn't take a genius to work out that, if you're running a club that regularly turns people away (due to capacity) you might as well bump up the entrance fee as much as you can get away with.

 

Supply and demand. You vote with your wallet.

[Wonky]

 

what jon & tommy said

[LiquidEyes]

I'd add that (& this is pure conjecture) the sort of people who go to see the big names all the time will probably get bored of clubbing more quickly. The novelty of seeing famous DJs wears off after a while!

[LittleMissLoud]

Tommy, I don't think even people like Sasha and Cox are even worth that much.

 

Carl Cox is immensely talented, but is he really worth thousands?

 

Put it this way, I'm a nurse, which I believe is a very worthy and essential job - yet my wages are not particularly good. Doctors are not paid much either, considering the hours they work, the vast amount they have to know, and the huge responsibility they have. So how can a dj be paid more in one night, than a doctor of nurse earns in a month? It's madness!

 

However, as Jon mentioned, like football, it's supply and demand, and I don't think the dj's are really to blame. I don't think anyone would turn down 2 grand and say 'na, just give me 50 quid' if it was offered to them.

 

It is also a viscious circle. If DJ's start getting greedy, promotors should stop booking them. But they don't, as this puts bums on seats, hence more money in promotors pockets. Also, clubbers must take some of the responsibility too, as they are often unwilling to watch new talent, and only want to hear the same big names.

[Phil B]

this is a subject that will always raise its head, one other consideration...a djs shelf life may or may not be a long term thing. this then brings into the question of 'can a dj get other work doin somethin else'...all depends on the qualifications etc.

 

the way i see it is that a professional dj has to think of his/her future after djing...the more money in the bank gives for a life after djing. while I dont agree with some of the amounts djs get paid, and like ali said, theres alot more jobs that should be paid alot more because of there importance, but as has already been stated...while people pay these amounts people will charge it!

[LiquidEyes]

LittleMissLoud said:

Put it this way, I'm a nurse, which I believe is a very worthy and essential job - yet my wages are not particularly good.

Such is life. Unfortunately there are many factors that dictate why profession X commands more dosh than profession Y.

 

This is why it annoys me when people bandy around over-simplistic comments like (in the context of the recent-ish fireman strike) "yeah they deserve it because they're risking their lives day-in day-out".

 

But this is only one thing that dictates your pay-packet. Some others are:

 

* Supply-and-demand: (i.e. how many people want to do a given job, versus how many people will pay for such-and-such a product/service and how many people are required to make that product / perform that service);

* Skill: how many people can do a given job. E.g. not many people could be a brain-surgeon; equally not many DJs are well-known enough to command these "silly" fees.

* Personal sacrifice (e.g. do you have to risk your life, or work silly hours and sacrifice your social life).

* Career prospects: (as Phil points out) e.g. look at supermodels. The top models get silly money but very few retain their looks for more than a few years.

* Public service: what kind of contribution a given employee is making to society. Or put another way, how [censored] our society will be if we can't motivate people to do that job.

* Job satisfaction: one of the reasons teachers don't get paid much is the "those that can, do" thing. Nobody becomes a teacher for the money! Likewise, although I could earn more money working for an investment bank in the city, I get more pleasure out of working for a small software firm. Hence my boss can "get away with" paying me less.

 

...and surely many more factors!