thinkin about starting

well my friends dad used to be an international dj and he said he could get us in the business. just wondering about all the ups and downs of the dj business.

how bout' relying on talent, rather than connects. I've worked my ass-off just to get where I am and I still see WACK-ASS deejays playing out there that are getting all kinds of gigs.

I meet this one cat who was a fairly known dj in my community. He opens up for alot of shows and headliners yet whe I invited him to go spin sum records down at my crib. I thought I was gonna be dazzled but:...he actually sucked like none-other!!! and I was wondering myself how'd he get all those gigz!

..It kinda pisses me off!

(that'z all I gotta say)

just make sure your in it for the right reasonz

I was going to say something very much to that effect... There are too many out there who get by on who they know instead of what they can do with music.

The truth is that just about any other industry is like this though. Many people I've worked with in completely unrelated fields only have their jobs because of people in high places they know, and don't really do their jobs well enough to justify their positions.

In the case of dj's this becomes incredibly frustrating. The dj job market is very competitive, and if you see somebody with no skills at all getting gigs that could otherwise be yours of course you'll be annoyed. I also find it irritating that venue operators and to a certain extent even their customers care less and less about what a dj brings to the table besides their name and collection of top-40 hip hop. I think the market niche for the dj that really strives to be creative and excel at the task is shrinking to the point that only the people that know people can get the jobs, and half of them suck.

I'm not implying that this is you, but many people from similar situations have turned into someone like Mersy's recent acquaintance. If you ask me, a love for the music, the job and making people happy has to come before the disire to make it big in the biz.

I know it's easy for someone outside of your position to say, but I think the best thing for you to do would be to get yourself a decent setup, a boatload of music, and spend a few months practicing before you spend too much more time thinking about the business end.

Don't be another Paul Oakenfold, have actual skill. If you just join the business because you can, that's stupid. Do it after you practice for awhile, and only if you're sure you like it.