So You Wanna Be A Dj? Part 11

Hi and I hope you are all well, great responses from these blogs, glad I can be of service...

On this blog I wish to talk about how you as an artiste can really help yourself especially when signed, the biggest mistake all of us musicians make is we tend to think our job begins and ends with making music. It doesn't!!!! As a label owner ( PROPA TALENT/IMPROPA TALENT) I had to learn this the hard way for myself, but also have to explain this to my "budding artistes" that I had signed on my labels. It is a very different story when you are signed to a giant label that is prepared to spend hundreds of thousands on you to promote your ass and get you to the masses who will in turn, hopefully buy (not steal) your music. Think about it, if you make drum and bass for example, the amount of financial return you can expect is very small unless you are PENDULUM, RAM RECORDS, or any of the legends. I know that only a small group of us made it in that genre. Now imagine you own a label, why should you spend thousands of your hard earned money for no return? You begin to see things in a different way, it effects what music you sign, should I go for hip hop... pop? Of course I am sticking to what I know, drum and bass, house and breaks, I have spent 20 years around that music! But, when my artiste record comes out, I will probably look for help in releasing it, as songs are a different kettle of fish.

So now you have the label perspective, what can you do if you chose an indie label like mine? (stupid to sign to a label that has no clue how to understand your music). You make electronica in whatever form, and you need to let people know you exist so they can buy (not download for free) your music. (of course I nag about stealing music, it's fucking wrong!)

The best thing I can tell you is what I have learned, so always look at what other DJ'S are doing who are successful... PAUL VAN DYK, DEEP DISH, TIESTO, check out their website, how they are presented, where they are presented, do they blog? what do they do?

I am a firm believer in the thought that god helps those who help themselves, so get your fingers out of your ass and set up a MY SPACE, FACEBOOK, I LIKE, YOU TUBE page.... Start talking to your fans, if you have none, make some! Look at all I do, from blogging to podcasts, there is always something to say, so many people are interested in music and want to Dj, or produce, you will never be lonely for fellow humans who wish to share in this topic.

Pod-casts are great too (see PROPA PODS) and really help get your sound out there......

The most important tool you have is your website (www.djrap.com) and the internet. It is there at your fingertips and this generation never had it so good. We are in the wonderful position to create opportunities for ourselves, it's so much better nowadays in a way.

Of course, there is a lot more you can do, there is always more, it never ends, from hiring a publicist to an army, I could go on, but for those who do not have the cash to do this, these baby steps will help you in your quest for fame and glory.

Being an artiste means you live, breathe, and shit being an artiste. I have met many people who are in love with the fantasy of being an "artiste", they are romantics! The reality of being an artiste is very different from what most think. Imagine an iceberg, what the public sees is one tenth of it, the performance! What joe public does not see is the other nine tenths it took to get there. The long hours for very little money, the obsession you have to have in the studio, the passion you will need to get you through those tough times and a stubborn iron will to say "fuck you I believe in me" when all others say you're finished. We will talk about what the daily grind actually involves in my next blog, but that's all for now. Hope it helps!

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