Being Professional
This does not refer to being a professional DJ with a 2-year contract behind your back (although, that wouldn’t hurt). It’s more about how you interact with the people around you, how you treat people on whose help you rely, those who depend on you and your loyal fans. Your professionalism (or lack of thereof) can seriously affect your performance as a DJ and is a useful thing to keep in mind.
Your attitude matters
There is an impression among people who deal with the music industry that DJs who act friendly and content with people tend to get more gigs than those who do not. That impression is true. Those open-minded, friendly people really have it easy (for the most part), but there’s no reason for you not to be one of them!
All it takes is to watch your attitude and the way you may come off to others. From avoiding to insult or anger people by accident, to holding back when you want to do it on purpose, a friendlier image will go a long way with promoters and club owners, who may be considering every little detail about you before considering to invite to work with them again. There are tons of aspiring DJs out there who are looking for gigs and being unprofessional just puts you in a disadvantageous position.
Having a generally positive attitude will help you with negotiations, promotional efforts, fan interactions, relations with staff and everything else a DJ must deal with. The industry makes it hard enough for everyone, so add your unprofessionalism into the mix for others to deal with.
Don’t double book yourself
When you’re offered to show up at a high profile event for a very good payment, but you’ve already been booked for a gig in a different club on the same date and time, what do you do? Well, whatever you may decide, here's what you don't do.
Double booking is one of the worst sins a DJ can make. It’s completely understandable to do two events in the same day, done a few hours apart, if you can make to both of them. Showing up for one and suddenly deciding not to show up for the other is a different kind of story. It may even seem absurd now that you’re reading it, but make sure to remember your current feelings when a situation like that comes up and you have to make a decision. The least you can do as a professional DJ is notify one of the clubs that you won’t be making it and tell them how sorry you are.
Control your emotions
As a music artist, you are bound to feel greater emotions than most people and when you find yourself surrounded by other DJs, performers and artists, things can get complicated. Emotions are fine and can actually help you in your career, as long as you’re able to keep them in check. No matter what may be the reason, you can’t lose control over your words and actions. If someone’s trying to provoke you, that’s one more reason not to give in. Be a professional, don’t resort to petty insults and threats, or people will start to look down on you.
Don’t drink too much
Seriously? Yes. Drinking is a big part of any music scene, but it can also ruin your performance. Everybody knows their own limits, but always seem to overestimate them in the end and it leads to their downfall. In some cases, a literal fall from the stage, which will seem a lot less funny to you than the crowd.
As it happens with these kind of things, you can quickly lose track of the number of drinks you had in the feel of the moment and make a complete joke of yourself in front of others. It’s not as bad if you actually make people laugh, but in most cases, the outcome is much worse than that. The people you’ve booked your gig with will definitely not be as understandable of your drunk behaviour as fans who had a great time at the club. It can seriously damage your career and put your future as a DJ at risk.
The same goes for drugs, which, unfortunately, are also prevalent on the music scene. It’s not about what anyone says or does, how things work or don’t work. It’s all about your career as a DJ, so before you do anything you might regret later, think if it’s worth it.