About dj agencies?

[Orange]

What are dj agencies supposed to do for the dj? What do dj agencies usually do? What makes a good agency better than the rest? Does anyone have a dj/agency contract they could u/l? Thanx for any help here.

[JACKSTAR]

I'm on DJ Rush's Kne' Deep Berlin agency and have been for the last 2 1/2 years and i'm really pleased with it. What a good agency does is each month they send out mailers to promoters & party organisers giving a list of who's on there books and what free dates they have. If the promoter is interested then a contract and agreement has to be signed with the agreed DJ fee. If the promoter is new to the agency then most times 50% of the fee is made before the night so if the promoter pulls out then at least the agency & DJ does not lose a total booking for that night. Most agencies take 10-15% of the DJ's fee but if say the DJ's fee is £1000 then that is what he/she will get plus the flight / hotel is paid for. The agencies job is also to find the best flight for the DJ and also to book the hotel too. If ever a promoter pisses a agency or DJ about then you'll find that the next time they come to book a DJ from them that they will be told to go else where.

I use the agency for all my international gigs but take all the UK ones myself.

P.

[Anonymous]

I think you should have mentioned that it is really hard to get onto an agencies' books!!!

[Patrick]

In response to the question "what makes a good agency better than the rest ?", I've got a few comments based on my recent experiences in trying to book DJs.

They should know their artists and music styles. I promote predominantly techno nights and I am now fairly sick of emails/faxes/calls from agencies offering me DJs who play completely different styles. What am I meant to do with a DJ who plays jazz-house on a techno night ?

As well as the DJs and music, they should also know the promoters they are trying to deal with. I approached one giving details of our night, explaining capacity, budget, style of music and opening hours. They now continually send me details of oversees DJs who have got a booking fee that is between 6 and 10 times greater than our limited budget, and that's before I even add travel, accomadation and flight share prices to the equation.

It's also preferable if they have got some connection to, if not a love of, the scene, and aren't solely interested in getting their 10%. Some have point blank refused to shift on fee and commission, wouldn't pass on details to the DJ to let us talk in person. I later spoke to the DJs in question and found that they would have reduced their fee in order to help out a club that was only starting out because they love the scene and are more interested in spreading their music than making money. Their agents prevented these conversations from taking place, so both us and the DJs lost out.

That's just some stuff imho that makes some agencies better than others.
It might seem like a lot of negatives, so I should finish on a positive. I think the way Stay Up Forever do their bookings in house is probably the best way and I have nothing but praise for them and the way they helped us out.

[Orange]

thanx for sharing in your experiences.

[JACKSTAR]

Yes Ryan it is hard to get on an agencies books but if you getting your name about with various releases the more countries & people get to knowyour name making more of a chance to get booked. At the end of the day you might be the best mixing DJ in the world but unless people know your name and releases a promoter won't take the financial risk.

P.