The Business of DJing

This conversation covers DJ Chase Morgan's journey into DJing, the evolution of his DJ business, the impact of parenthood on his business, and his business administration strategies and tech stack. We talk about music discovery and streaming, the use of Lexicon software for music management, DJing for sports events, and the Chase's DJ style evolution.

Chapters

Notes and Links

Summary

The episode features a conversation between Jamie Selects and Christian Putnam, a CPA, discussing DJ taxes, business structures, and financial operations. They cover topics such as business structures for DJs, including sole proprietorships, LLCs, and S corporations, as well as income, expenses, and sales tax considerations for DJ businesses. The conversation covers tax considerations for DJs, including sales tax, expenses, travel deductions, home studio deductions, estimated taxes, record-keeping, and hiring considerations. Christian P provides insights on tax deductions, self-employment tax, and the importance of tracking income and expenses. He also emphasizes the need for estimated tax payments and proper documentation. Christian P's website is www.auger.cpa.

Key Takeaways

Chapters

In this episode I welcome Stockton legend, DJ Frank G, founder and owner of Exclusive DJ.  We talk about his intro to DJing the music industry, what it was like digging for music in the early days, why and how he built a mobile DJing business, simple and effective mobile marketing strategies. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too! 

Note: some timestamps may vary by platform. 

0:00 - Gumroad store announcement

2:14 - Intro to Frank

3:55 - Early events in Stockton, CA

8:25 - Frank’s intro to music and DJing

22:12 - Getting into radio 

25:07 - Discovery of music in the vinyl era

30:00 - The value of finding a rare gem

34:00 - Starting Exclusive DJ

37:47 - Marketing at bridal shows

40:13 - Building a long term business

43:42 - How customer acquisition strategy changes over time

46:36 - Different styles of DJs

52:17 - Software tools to run a DJ business

54:35 - Recognizing where your money is coming from

59:34 - Advice for young DJs

1:06:49 - DJ Style: Music taste and library organization

Links

jamieselects.gumroad.com

Follow DJ Frank G

Instagram:@exclusivedjgroup

Website:⁠exclusivedj.net

Follow Jamie Selects

Instagram:⁠https://www.instagram.com/jamie_selects⁠

Twitter:⁠https://twitter.com/jamie_selects⁠

Website:⁠https://www.jamieselects.com

In this episode I welcome Bay Area native Baywav. We talk about building residencies, how to break out of your city, building a brand, managing a rebrand, content creation, and much more! This was a great conversation and it was cool to connect with someone else who is helping DJs build their businesses.   

0:31 - How did you get into djing?

2:11 - Transaction from practicing to real gigs 

5:06 - The process of getting the residency

8:39 - Lessons learned from swapping gigs.

12:16 - Navigating difficult conversations with DJs you book

14:24 - Building Cornerstone post pandemic 

19:40 - Optimizing for health

24:00 - Rebrand to Baywav

27:00 - Online presence

28:27 - Building out a team

30:45 - Gumroad and selling digital products

33:33 - The problem with committing to one style of content

36:13 - Strategy for content creation and video editing tips

42:55 - Goals for this year

46:34 - What’s your music style?

49:46 - Library organization

Links

Capcut video editor

Follow Baywav

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baywav/

Website: baywav.com

Follow Jamie Selects

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamie_selects

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamie_selects

Website: https://www.jamieselects.com

In  this episode I welcome my long time best friend and music industry expert, Alán Hensley, aka Soul7.  We go way back to our college days at Pacific and talk about how he came to study music business, learned to DJ, took a leap of faith going across the world to Berkeley College of Music, building EMPIRE Latino, and how DJs can market themselves professionally.  I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too!

0:00 - Intro

2:10 - The early days, finding a love for music

5:00 - Finding Pacific for studying music business

7:30 - Being music bro and getting the first DJ controller

9:50 - The Getdown days

15:10 - Marketing The Getdowns

20:10 - Utilizing a street team

22:10 - Getting stuck post grad and finding new opportunities

26:00 - Finding Berkeley College of Music and taking a leap of faith

30:10 - Arriving in Spain

32:10 - If you want to work in music business, do this...

33:55 - Find a DJ group chat

34:30 - Favorite guest speaker 

35:45 - Getting DJ gigs in Spain

43:05 - Finding a job post Berkeley

47:00 - Transition to EMPIRE

50:40 - Preparing for the interview

53:00 - Leveling up from the position you're hired for

56:00 - What is the role of a Product Manager at a label?

58:40 - How to pitch music to a label?

1:02:34 - What can DJs learn from artists to promote themselves?

1:06:05 - Pro tips DJs can take away from the music industry

1:12:20 - Selecta Style, DJ taste and library organization

Follow Soul7

Follow Jamie Selects

In this episode I welcome DJ Fishfonics from San Diego, CA.  He has been the main reason I've been able to gig since I moved to San Diego, so super grateful to him! In this conversation we talk about how he became a top booking manager with a bunch of venues in SD, how you can get booked as a new DJ, maintaining professionalism, negotiating rates, and more.

0:00 - Intro    

1:03 - Start to DJing

3:37 - Transition to full time DJing

5:37 - Twitch phase

7:35 - How did you start doing the bookings?

10:25 - How can new DJs lock in their first gig?

15:00 - Gig swaps

16:22 - Maintaining professional relationships with venue staff

20:13 - Making sure your computer works with gear at new venues

22:30 - Facilitating gear purchases with venues

26:06 - How not to ask for a gig

27:00 - Negotiating rates

31:54 - Fish's style of DJing

33:22 - What do you listen to when you're off?

39:40 - Library organization 

Follow DJ Fishfonics 

Follow Jamie Selects  

*NOTE*

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only does not offer constitute financial advice.

In this episode we cover tips for filing your taxes as a DJ.  It's split into three sections: 1) tax basics for DJs, 2) filing current year taxes, and 3) how to prepare for next year's tax filing. Check out these time stamps if you want to jump around:

0:00 - Intro

1:32 - Tax Basics / Business Structure

7:41 - Current Year Taxes

25:50 - Next Year Taxes

In this episode of The Business of DJing I interview the cofounder of  Plural Music, Selecta MC.  We talk about the history of the company, how  to go from being a bedroom DJ to owning your own production business,  how we navigated the pandemic, and much more!

Follow Selecta MC and Plural Music @selecta_mc and @pluralmusic. 

Five rules of Networking for DJs.  Learn how I connected with one of my favorite DJs in the world, Miles Medina, and more.

In this episode Jamie Selects covers five financial tips for DJs that can be implemented immediately to improve your DJ business and financial situation.  For more information and access to DJ Tools head to www.jamieselects.com/djtools.