DJ Competition

[Saymore]

Hey guys, was wondering is it a good idea to join dj competitions if want to get the name out? Anyone here has join any dj competitions before? If you do, please share your thoughts on this as there's a competition coming soon and I not sure whether its a good or bad to participate.

[aut.t.n]

Depending on who organizes the competition / who is the jury etc, I think it can help to get in contact with some "important" people. (People who may afterwards help you to get some bookings.) You will still have to work for it afterwards, even if you won, nobody will beat a path to your door to book you. But it is a chance I think. At least that's my experience. And it's fun anyway.

[G3rard]

getting a chance to play out can be hard when you first start out and DJ competitions are a good way for new or bedroom DJs to get experience playing to a crowd. If you perform well then you could catch the eye of promoters or djs who may be on the judging panel. I won a few when I first started DJing and it got me quite a few gigs.

Also think about entering things like IDJ Magazines Raw Talent and DJ Mags Mix Tape competitions I won the IDJ one a few years back and it helped get me a residency with a decent club in my area.

Like aut.tn said it takes more than a few DJ competitons to get regular decent gigs, its just a bit of fun and a chance to showcase the music you play.

[cloutier]

i entered one as a joke years ago and ended up winning three of the four weeks in a row. i purposely threw the fourth one away because if i would have won it, i would of had to open up for paul van dyk, and i wasn't even going to bother with that.

i did, however, end up getting booked a LOT by the club that was throwing the competition, so it did come to work out in my favour.

[PsyTox]

if it's a serious competition go for it. It can really boost you if you meet the right people and you take advantage of the opportunity to play well and -most of all- to talk to promotors backstage. Networking is very important these days (whether that's a good evolution is a different matter).

Unfortunately, there are lots of dj competitions as well that are a joke. Clubs that want to fill a line-up with free young dj's (f.e. because it's summer and the clubs are empty anyways). Some even ask you to pay a fee to enter the competition, which is totally wrong imho.

[Saymore]

Sounds like its a good deal to join but I was thinking what if I lose would it affect anything? haha

[sherman]

... there's a competition coming soon and I not sure whether its a good or bad to participate.

Any excuse to put together a mix. Have fun with it and use it for practice / feedback.