The first impression how today's DJs grow up to be so popular often fools you. Too many times people talk about the happily quoted luck - being at the right spot at the right time and so on. You want to know my opinion about this? It is all nonsense. Success has nothing to do with being lucky. The universe is fair.
If someone succeeds, this someone has earned it 100%. This luck is almost without any exceptions no success that comes over night. A popular DJ and Producer said something very wise to me some time during my research: 'Success over night is just great, but unfortunately it usually takes about 10 years.' I have been talking to Moguai, Tom Novy, Special D.
, Marcel Woods, Mark Norman and many others. They all just agreed. Faith and Vision You have to believe in yourself, which means, considerably longer than up to the first disappointment.
You make mistakes to learn from them! Stay focused on what you want to achieve. Make a clear plan of it. Make a mind-map of where you want to go. Go in details! It will help you to believe in it.
Do not let anything or anybody lead you astray. If you take a closer look on the DJ success stories of each single professional in the DJ business, you will find the most diverse ways to achieve their goals and even more diverse possibilities to go on from there. Nevertheless, there is a common denominator in all of these stories. Little, sometimes casually mentioned sentences, will tell you about the small factors that caused something big to happen and that could possibly cause something big for you. During my research over the last 18 months, I tryed to outline these small factors, these different variables that could provoke success.
The 'DJ Success Formula'! The provocated luck It is mostly a concurrence of circumstances that leads to success. I want to show you how you can use the circumstances, which have potential to 'accidentally' lead to success, in a deliberate and goal-oriented manner. These circumstances have often more to do with marketing, promotion and psychology than with music. You should not be startled by that, but motivated to learn some principles. A simple, solid basis is all you need. I am not giving any guarantees that you will find yourself among the Top 100 DJ of the world in the next DJ Mag Polls evaluation.
How could I do that anyways? There is still the weakest factor in the system: YOU yourself. Be honest: How often did someone give you really useful tips and you thought to yourself 'Yeah that could really work'. And more importantly: How many times did you really try to use them? From now on I want you to move your ass and work on achieving your goals. The only promise that I can give you is that you will go faster, more determined and straighter towards the right goals, that you will recognize them and that you will avoid mistakes that hundredth of other DJ had to make.
The most important DJ-skill Your 'mindset', the inner attitude, is your most important DJ-skill. Some 'old hands' will be arrogant, because your biggest role models might not be 'Kraftwerk', 'Lfo' or 'Harthouse Label'. Funnily enough I still experience this: Clubbers over 30 years of age label newcomers with imbecile comparisons and try to impress with rave-historical general knowledge.
This is the biggest nonsense. Do not let yourself be dominated by people who did not make it themselves. It is all about music, entertainment, and fun. For everyone to one's own liking.
In conjunction with me there will be no music-racism. No over- or underground nonsense. Be aware. Whichever style you prefer and however old you may be: you walk your own way.
I will remind you of this over and over again. However, mind that you will not be disrespectful. YOU should always be friendly and polite and have respect for every person and every style that you will encounter. Take action and make your own way! That is exactly why I am going to take you to the other side of DJing, the "marketing" which in my opinion is even more interesting, because this is really about DJ gigs, travel, foreign countries and leveraging your very own DJ success. DJing itself is pretty easy to learn by yourself.
Getting booked for gigs is difficult.
Norman Freeman, active DJ, label- and club-owner since 1994, did dozens of video-interviews with top-DJs and combined the knowledge in a unique website/eBook project called where members can download the eBook and 20+ hours of DJ-Video-Interviews. DJ Book and DJ Interviews
