Why Budding DJs and Music Producers Should Get to School.

For many aspiring DJs and music producers they are either self-taught or have been lucky enough to be shown the basics by a friend. No matter if someone is a beginner or seasoned professional many still go to DJ school. Like any profession there is no shame in honing skills and learning new techniques.    

It is probably surprising to many that numerous main stream DJs and music producers have actually been to DJ school at some point and hold down regular spots at big clubs and music festivals. You only need run a Google search to find dozens of DJ schools and academies in just about every city on the world. Choosing one is more complex and down to reviews and personal recommendations for example. The fees are generally the same at around $50 an hour and courses offered usually range from beginner to advanced and are usually on a one on one basis. 

What are the advantages of a DJ school? 
Irrespective of being a beginner or an advanced student you are getting access to top grade equipment and the support of a team of professionals who know all the techniques required to produce a slick performance. Generally, most schools are not genre specific and the tutors will tailor your course to the music you want to play. Another big advantage with a lot of the DJ schools are the networking and industry contacts they have, helping to shortcut one of the most difficult aspects of becoming a professional DJ, hustling and networking. Some schools even have agreements with big name clubs and other venues that enable students to actually get gigs, assuming they are good enough.

The same principles apply for music production courses, and many schools run these courses in tandem with DJ skills as there are many overlapping skills. Once courses are completed schools can help music producers get their material published or certainly connect students to the appropriate industry contacts.

For live music event organisers looking for new fresh material and artists there are opportunities to discover talent coming out of DJ schools and most will be happy to enter into an agreement, formal or informal. These should be healthy relationships and is a great way to help developing talent. Many music festivals will have an allocation of sets for new artists albeit with strict time limits. Should a new DJ be allocated a set it will be artist management representatives along with event organisers who will be monitoring performance usually based on the audience engagement and reaction. A new DJ may be given a 20-minute set but this could be extended if the audience reaction is positive and engaging. Coming from a DJ school that has arrangements with music festival organisers the tutors will have the experience to fully brief their DJ student on what to expect and how to remain professional throughout. 

For live music events organisers managing artist selection using a software platform like FestivalPro can help manage relationships with DJ schools and has full functionality for artist management. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The FestivalPro platform is easy to use and has all the features and functionality a live music event organiser needs to plan and control their artists.

Photo by Gaby Tenda from Pexels

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