Being a DJ has become so much more than blending tracks, performing or presenting. It’s become a multi-disciplinary skill, and taking this on requires so many aspects relating to business, self-promotion, community building, and of course, generating an income. The word ‘income’ may mean different things depending on how you look at DJing. If you’re a professional, it will be your main goal to make money to finance your life and career. Whereas if you only DJ for fun, a little bit of money could finance more tunes and better gear.
Whatever your approach is, making money from DJ mixes enables you to reinvest in your creativity as you grow and develop. In this article, we share our top tips for making money as a DJ, whether you’re a career DJ or a hobbyist.
Live DJ gigs
Performing a set live is one of the most accessible and enjoyable ways to make money as a DJ. Not only are you earning, but you’re gaining practical experience in real time about how to programme your set and move the crowd. This will be valuable as you do live sets more often.
Build your digital footprint
But before you think about playing live, make sure your online presence is strong. Build your portfolio by uploading mixes regularly and consistently. Make sure that you’re regularly on your social media channels (more on that later). This will let bookers, promoters and event planners know that you’re active. It will entice them to get you to play at their event. What’s more, you can build a community of listeners around your content while you’re at it. That way, you have a solid fanbase who can attend your live shows. And you have more of a case that you’re valuable in the eyes of organizers.
Network with DJs and bookers
Connecting with your fellow DJs can open up opportunities. Talk to them online or IRL and ask if there are any gigs going that you can take on. If you’re a House DJ, you can connect with other House DJs around your mutual love of the genre. They may recommend you to a booker of House events. Share their content on your socials and let them know you’re supporting what they do. This will place you in good favor with them.
When talking to event planners, you will need to show your worth to them. This will build trust with them and secure gigs for you. If they’re running an event, show up and support it. Offer to do a warm up set so they can see your skills in real time. The hard work doesn’t stop once you get the gig. Make sure you show up on time and are super engaged. Record the event and upload it on your socials to keep the hype going. This will show you care about the event’s success and the bookers may book you for future sets.
Make yourself available
It may seem daunting at first, but once you feel confident enough to play out, you can make yourself available for all manner of DJ sets. Things like club nights, private events, weddings, corporate events. This can help you gain more fans who might be willing to check out your mixes, live streams or other live shows. That way, you build a loyal following for when you choose to play out. This can lead to other opportunities such as becoming a resident DJ for places like bars and retail stores. Getting a regular income while you’re at it.
Once you find your groove, you can start thinking bigger. If you’re a professional DJ, throw your own events and make an income from ticket sales. Look to your friendship group to help you out, especially if they’re DJs too. They could help promote your events or even play a set. Start at small venues and work your way up. A 100-200 cap venue is a good start. If you have a little bit of budget, you could run paid ads on socials. They can get your event in front of people outside of your following.
Make mood-based mixes
Thinking outside of the box, you can cater your content to particular places and moods. Places like gyms, bars and cafes will always need music and they might be willing to outsource that task to DJs. Make a mix that you can pitch to these establishments. Add this to your regular creative flow so that it isn’t extra work for you. You’ll be surprised at who is listening and will be happy to pay for your content. They might want you to DJ live for them off the back of it!
Live stream your sets
Building a loyal following will no doubt lead to greater chances to make money. Once you have your core base of fans, they’ll be able to see you take more creative strides and be compelled to financially help you. Live-streaming your DJ sets can help you reach them further and talk to them as you spin. We’ve built our platform Mixcloud Live to that end. You can play music safe in the knowledge that your streams won’t be taken down by copyright strikes and the rights holders of the music you play will be paid. To help you get paid, you can ask for Tips while on stream and build deeper connections with them via our live chat feature. Once you’re in the groove, you can find new and exciting ways to entice your fans to tip, whether that’s planning a specialist show or having guest DJs on your streams.
Rent out your DJ gear
If you already own a lot of DJ equipment, renting them out to other DJs for their use could go a long way in earning you some cash. If a fellow DJ is in town for a gig and needs something you own, work out a price with them so they can utilize your gear while you recoup a fee.
Upload mixes on a platform that enables monetization
You need to make sure your mixes are hosted on a platform that gives you the tools to make money from them. Allowing you to get more bang for a buck as you build a catalog. Mixcloud is continuously building tools that help DJs make extra cash from their content. We’ve built two ways to earn money: Tips and Creator Subscriptions.
With Tips, fans can make a one-off payment during your live stream. They can be as large as fans choose. 80% goes to you and 20% is split between transaction fees and Mixcloud. You take home a handsome slice of every tip and you can collect transfers handled by our trusted payment processor Stripe. Creator Subscriptions is a direct fan-to-creator subscription model that gives listeners access to exclusive content for a small monthly fee – starting from (£/$/€) 2.99. That way, you can build an inner circle of fans who directly sustain your creativity.
Mixcloud user Mike Marrone is one of the platform’s highest earners of Creator Subscriptions. He uses the money to buy more music while giving his most devoted fans extra material. For the hobbyist DJs out there, this is a surefire way to earn a little more for your collection. This is just one way to utilize the money you earn, though. You can also buy more equipment that will help you create more shows. Whatever suits you and your needs!
Grow your social following
A larger social following can really put you in a good place when it comes to making more money from your content. In the current climate where it can sometimes feel having a large fanbase is more important than actual talent, having a healthy balance of both can set you up to earn. Schedule time to post everything you want to. Be consistent with how often you post and how often you release mixes that you can promote. Connect with your followers on a regular basis, check in to see how they’re doing or other music-related conversation. It might spark a healthy debate!
If you have an idea for a mix or live stream, share it with your followers to get their opinion. They may suggest ideas you can bring to life and will help them feel heard. Whatever you do on traditional social media platforms, replicate it on Mixcloud Posts. We enable you to send direct messages to your followers. Hear from DJs Kavita, Colin Dale, Lowlight and Liza about using Posts to build their own community hubs.
When you get to a stage where you can afford a photographer or videographer, that extra polish to your posts could give your socials a professional feel that could appeal to your supporters. DJ Hunny Bee has mastered social media, building up her TikTok page to amass over 650k followers and more than 17 million likes. Check out her top social media tips here.
Work with brands
Many creators earn money from other sources such as brand partnerships and activations. This might not sound the most accessible. But you’d be surprised at who’s watching you and how open they might be to work with you. Many brands are interested in playing their role in building cultural relationships and platforms with like minded up and coming talent.
If you feel you align with the values of your favorite brands or are really passionate about what they offer, reach out to them to see if you can work with them in some way. It could be advertising their products on your page, DJing at one of their events or something bigger. Tag them in your posts to increase the chances of grabbing their attention, in posts where their products are featured. Or, they may want to work with you and reach out so you can represent them. Building relationships in this way can generate good favor with these companies. It may lead to more work with other brands in the future.
Create and sell merchandise
A great way to make money, you can create merchandise related to your brand as a DJ. You could create your own logo and then place it on t-shirts, hats or even accessories like USBs for your fans and fellow DJs to store their music! Then, you can sell them online or at your live shows. This contributes further to you creating not only a digital footprint by having your mixes online, but also a physical one with your fans having your product to take home.
Mixcloud legend DJ Blighty has successfully launched his own line of merchandise, from hats to t-shirts to hoodies. Thus, he has channeled his DJ talents into physical mementos for his fans to access. There are several examples of DJs creating their own lines to draw inspiration for your own direction! If you’re technically savvy, look into creating custom DJ drops that you can sell to other DJs for a little extra cash.
Teach others how to DJ
A regular income can come from lending your skills to others. Teaching may not come naturally to some, but if you’re a professional DJ with some experience under your belt, you might be compelled to prepare the next generation of great DJs. Host workshops or DJing events where you can ask for a fee for imparting your knowledge on the audience. This will most likely come about once you’ve proven to be an authority but can become a real earner if you begin to do it regularly.
Break down your teachings based on topics like technical skills, music management or blending particular genres to give your lessons all of the detail that would be DJs need. Not only are you giving people an education and making money, but you can also treat lessons as a chance to tune up your own skills. Institutions like Point Blank in the UK and Scratch DJ Academy in the USA are good places to look into if you’re looking for a teaching position.
Work hard to earn more
Making money as a DJ is achievable through many avenues, but each avenue requires some level of dedication and consistency. The level you put in will vary depending on whether it’s just an activity for you or if DJing is something you want for your career. But DJing is generally something that needs to be treated with care as you find new ways to entertain your audience and encourage them to support you.