Cocoa Chanelle is a DJ at Hot 97 in New York
The deejay can make or break an event. The right music sets the tone, creates a mood, emits emotion and has the power to leave an indelible mark on the memory. Deejaying is not just about spinning records. It’s an art form, a passion and a business that can also be quite profitable. A six figure income is not unusual. According to the American Disc Jockey Association, while rates vary greatly, a four hour booking for a DJ on average pays $1,200.
Those who are in it, say there’s no other place they would rather be. “When I bring up what I do in a conversation everyone is like, ‘oh, that’s awesome!” says Will Curran, a junior at Arizona State University, who has been deejaying for a few years, and whose company Arizona Pro DJs has expanded from just a DJ business to an entertainment, production and planning company targeted to teens.
Relative newbies and veterans alike say the DJ business just keeps getting better and better thanks to technology. “With the advancement of technology, you can carry your entire music collection on an external drive. There are now speakers with built-in amplifiers, so you don’t have to carry a 60 pound amplifier. You can do more, with less to carry,” says John Young, a member of the American Disc Jockey Association, who has been in the business for more than 20 years. Vinyl turntables are becoming extinct.
The game has definitely changed. “Technology is not only the driving force behind the industry, but it has also made the craft much more readily accessible to people who would like to learn,” says Zach Loczi aka DJ Loczi. “When I started, you had to buy all the equipment and you had to buy each song you wanted to play on a vinyl record. If you wanted to play the song back to back then you had to buy two records (each record cost between $4-$12). Today, you can buy a laptop and download MP3s for free or at most $1 per song, then plug it into a sound system and you are technically a ‘DJ’,” says Loczi, who has deejayed at high-profile events like the official Grammy’s After Party, Madonna’s Closing Tour party, New Year’s Eve Millennium Ball Drop and has worked with the likes of Black Eyed Peas, The Rolling Stones and others.
He recently kicked off his once a month Studio Saturdays from San Diego’s Ivy Nightclub in the Andaz Hotel, where he makes himself virtually and instantly available to a worldwide audience. An hour of audio from his live set is recorded and available for download free of charge. His performances are broadcast live via Ustream.tv.
“Social networks are huge in the DJ world. We are now able to promote, market, and develop online personas that may or may not be true, but regardless have international reach and can literally make or break a career,” says Loczi. Blogging, tweeting and websites decked out with bells and whistles also go a long way in building a following.
Technology has also lowered the barriers to entry. “Technology allows an individual with no background and no blending, scratching and mic skills to buy a cheap DJ system and charge a ‘peasant’s fee’ which cheapens the market and devalues our profession,” says Young.
THE DJ LIFE
Cocoa Chanelle’s brother used to rap and DJ. She wanted to do everything he did. And she did. She started as a MC and started to DJ at local talent shows when she was 13 years old. “He got me in this game,” says Chanelle, but as fortune would have it, he would not have the opportunity to see his inspiration fully blossom. He was shot and killed three months before she got her gig on New York’s hip hop station Hot 97, where she has been on the air for 14 years
When she started in the 90s she says there were less than a handful of other female DJs. It was a male-dominated field. “Reputation meant everything back then. I became known for my scratching and turntable tricks which added to my popularity and helped get me an audition for a show on BET called Teen Summit. I became BET’s first resident DJ, which led to me being offered a radio job with Hot 97. From there I was able to continue building my business and brand internationally,” says Chanelle, who typically gets booked to DJ at clubs which have crowds that enjoy Hip Hop, R&B and reggae, not just in the U.S. but in Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Greece and Japan. She has also branched off into music production over the past couple of years.
What does she know now that she wishes she had known earlier? “It’s very important to start building your brand early on so people can easily identify you, your company, and the quality of service you can deliver. Be ready to work 10 times harder than the next DJ to get yourself noticed, especially if you are new.” As for what she most enjoys, “I love seeing the crowd’s reaction. It gives me a natural high.”
For DJ Dee Wiz, there was no confusion. A trained musician since seven, he always knew what he wanted to do. He started on radio, building a name as a party DJ, then moved into deejaying at clubs. These days, he makes around $70,000 a year spinning at concerts for artists like Doug E Fresh but he primarily does corporate events for people like Magic Johnson, Earl Graves and Tom Joyner. The former Julliard student plans to transition to the production side of the music business.
Loczi, who makes a healthy six figures from gigs at big clubs, concerts, festivals and radio, shares his recipe for a successful business. “Never miss a show, ever. Do your best every single performance, be creative in marketing, strategic in distribution and continue to evolve, staying focused, connected to what sound is going to move people tomorrow and remember that each day we have is a gift, embrace the opportunity to thrive and act on those beliefs.” Loczi is currently working on and producing a project that incorporates live musicians, acrobats, custom visual animation, custom dance choreography and costumes as a live stage show in Las Vegas. He also runs a record label.
The DJ life is not only lucrative but soul satisfying. Says Loczi, “I’ve been able to bring happiness and joy to people’s lives. Just knowing that playing and making music is affecting others in a positive light is honestly the most special aspect of what I do.”http://atlantapost.com/2010/11/17/inside-the-business-life-of-a-dj/2/
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