‘Master Mix’.
You now have one file made up of all your changes that sounds as though you’ve never done anything wrong.
If you made beatmatching errors, volume or EQ control mistakes, or any- thing else went wrong in the mix, you can patch it all up by using this editing method.
When saving the file, save it as a Wave file (WAV) (or as an AIFF for Mac) and be sure to check that the save settings are the same as the record settings (44.1 KHz, 16 bit, Stereo). You may also want to save the file as an MP3 or any other audio format you’d like. Saving as an MP3 at 192 Kbps (kilobits per second) gives you great quality at a massively reduced file size compared to the CD quality WAV or AIFF files, and is perfect for uploading to the Internet for others to listen to.
Burning a CD
After you save your final mix as a WAV or AIFF file, you can burn the mix to CD. Depending on your operating system, you can probably just insert a blank CD into your CD recorder, dragthe WAV or AIFF file onto the CD icon on your computer, and follow the prompts to burn an audio CD (rather than a data CD, which won’t play in a normal CD player).
Or, if you have designated software to control your CD burner (like Toast for a Mac, or Nero for a PC) you can customise the information that’s burnt with the CD. It’s normally this software that enables you to split the one large file
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up so that instead of one long track burnt to CD, you have a different track on the CD for each tune you used in your mix, without any audio gap between these tracks.
Creating a track-split CD
If you want to increase your professionalism stakes by a point or two, make sure to create a mix CD that’s split into individual tracks. Not only does this method make your mix seem a lot more professional, but this presentation means that the people you send the CD out to can easily scan through the CD to listen to just the transitions between tunes to gauge how good you are as a DJ, rather than listening to the entire CD or trying to scan through one long, 74-minute track on CD to find your mix points.
You can split a CD in two ways:
The hardest way:You can create a CD with multiple tracks by using your audio editing software (see the section ‘Editing your mix’). The software gives you a time code for the music, and this code is essential to doing this method properly. The time code is a precise measure- ment for working out where you are in the tune. The measurement is normally shown as hours, minutes, seconds, and thousands of a second (HH:MM:SS:DDD). Here’s how to do it the hard way:
1. If your first tune (out of 15) starts at 0:00:00:000 and you want the second track on the CD to start at 0:04:15:150, then save the mix from 00:00:00:000 to 00:04:15:150 as an individual file.
2. If track two ends at 0:09:35:223, save the mix from 0:04:15:151 (notice that it’s one thousandth of a second ahead of the last cut point) to 0:09:35:223 as another separate file.
3. Go through this process for the whole mix so that you now have 15 individual WAV files to that make up your mix. Give the files num- bers when saving them not titles, which makes life easier when you come to keeping them in the correct order.
4. With each file saved in sequence (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and so on) use your CD burning software to add each of the files to the list of files to be burnt to the CD (in numerical order).
5. Set the gap between each track to 0 seconds. You may have to refer to the manual for how to make this setting. If you don’t set the gap to 0 seconds, and it remains at the default setting (nor- mally 2 seconds), you will get a two second gap between each of your tracks, which won’t sound like a proper DJ mix and will end up being filed – in the trash can!
6. After you’ve added all the tracks and set the gap in between each track, simply burn the disc to CD and listen back to it to make sure that you’ve split all the individual tracks up properly, without gaps or blips in sound caused by getting the time-codes wrong.
The simplest way:Create a track split CD by using the built-in track splitting functions on software such as Nero Burning Rom, Dart Pro, and Sonic Foundry. Each piece of software has a way of marking where you’d like to add track split points, without having to physically split up the wave file itself.
As long as you remember to set the gap between each of the tracks to 0 seconds, the finished CD is neatly split into all your chosen tracks, with- out the danger of missing 1,000th of a second that may cause a blipin the sound.
The process is almost the same as splitting the file into 15 (or however many tracks you used) separate files. The software normally shows a waveform of the music (see Figure 18-2), which you play through from start to finish, adding markers to the waveform as you review it. You don’t need to play the track in real time from start to finish, you can skip ahead, back, play slowly, and so on, all in aid of finding the exact point you’d like to add the track split marker.
Check the manual that came with your software for more detailed instructions on how to make CDs with individual split tracks.
Mix CDs you find in shops tend to put track splits at the end, or halfway through a mix, but when the club owner hits Nexton the CD player, he’ll skip past your DJing skills. So for a demo, you may want to put them before each of the mixes start, so that the club owner can just skip forward to hear how you perform each of the transitions.
Creating a transition only mix
If you’ve recorded your mix to computer, and you have enough space left at the end of your CD, you may want to include a transition onlyversion of your demo. As some club promoters may only care about how you mix from tune to tune, and can get enough of a sense of how you’ve programmed your set by only listening to the highlights, or maybe just don’t care, you can help your cause by including a series of audio tracks that just contain the 30 sec- onds (approximately) of time spent mixing from one tune to another.
Before you begin, you need to work out if you have enough space on the CD to include a highlights mix. On a 14-track mix, the highlights probably take up to 7–10 minutes of CD space. So if your mix is longer than 65 minutes, you may have to edit this taster down to a bare minimum.
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Open up your Master WAV or AIFF file, and for each mix, select the start of a phrase before the mix starts, until the very end of a phrase after you’ve com- pleted the mix. Save each of these ranges of the mix to an individual WAV file, from phrase start to phrase finish for each transition of the mix. You should end up with twelve different files to cover the 14-track mix.
If you’ve accurately selected each of the transitions at the exact beginning and end of a phrase, you should be able to copy and paste them all into one long file in your audio editor. This instantly creates a highlight mix, which shouldn’t jump from track to track (unless you increased (or decreased) the pitch of a tune in the middle of it, so the end is faster than the beginning. In which case, you’ll just have to make do with a ‘jump-cut’ in which the transi- tion version suddenly gets faster).
This taster mix may sound a bit quick, and if you have the space on the CD, you may want to extend the length of time given to some (or all) of the high- lights. However, if the manager only cares about the transition, and you can still keep the beats pounding and uninterrupted, brevity may actually be rewarded.
Sending Off the Mix
After you’ve created your demo tape/CD/MiniDisc, the final stage is to create a packagethat sells you properly, and make sure that whoever receives it knows where it came from, even it the demo gets separated from the rest of the package items you send in the padded envelope. (See Chapter 19 for more info on where to send your demo.)
To create a selling package, you may wish to include a brief CV along with the demo, covering your experience as a DJ, the styles of music you mix, whether you drive, how old you are, where you live, whether you DJ with vinyl, CD, or MP3s on a laptop, if you are comfortable speaking through a microphone, and a quick paragraph explaining why you’ve applied to them for work, and why it would be mutually beneficial for you to be their DJ.
If you don’t look like a monster, popping in a photograph to include in the package is a good idea, too. If you can show how presentable you are, they’re more likely to consider you, and if you’re good looking, they may not even listen to the mix, and just hire you based on how the ladies (or guys) will fawn over you!
Decide whether you want to send in multiple formats of the mix. Obviously, a tape, a CD, and a MiniDisc version of your mix covers nearly all the bases,
and you won’t be faced with the excuse of ‘I didn’t have a MiniDisc player to listen to your demo, sorry’ – but this can get costly when you’re sending out loads of demos. So if you can, send a CD and a tape. If not, just send a CD.
Include a track list of your mix, and indicate key moments in the demo if it’s not split into separate tracks. If you’ve added a highlights mix at the end of the CD, be sure to make that plainly obvious. If the people listening to the mix don’t know that it’s been specially edited for their convenience, they may wonder what it is (and be amazed at how fast you can mix from tune to tune).
I can’t stress enough the importance of following this piece of advice: Clearly write your name, your phone number, and your e-mail address on every piece of paper or plastic, every cover, CD, tape, MiniDisc, photograph, inlay sleeve, and covering letter that you send out with your demo.
If you can print the label on your CD, make it a nice design, but make sure your details show up clearly. Add stickers to your tapes, make sure that you type up your CV, and include your contact details on everything– keep it clear, keep it neat, and remember, the devil’s in the detail, get your phone number and email address right!
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Chapter 19
Getting Busy With It:
Working as a DJ
In This Chapter
Marketing yourself the smart way Dealing with DJ agencies
Schmoozing your way into the DJ booth
When you start off as a DJ, the hardest thing you do is mastering how to beatmatch. Now that you’re a great DJ, the next hurdle to overcome is getting yourself that first DJing job.
You’ve put together a demo CD or tape; you love it, your cat loves it, your mum loves it, and even your best friend can’t pick any holes in it. So now’s the time to put it to good use – selling yourself as a DJ.
This chapter provides you with advice and guidance on how to approach bars and clubs for work, gives you a pep talk about persistence, and though I can’t guarantee that you’ll get any work, this chapter should fill you up with ideas and enthusiasm for the task at hand.
You have three main ways to get ahead, and get work:
Market yourself Join an agency Network
Marketing Yourself
Self-promotion is the key to success. No one else does the work for you. Sure, when you make it as a big DJ, you can farm the hassle onto other people, but
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when you’re starting off, you need to promote yourself diligently and single- mindedly. The same unfaltering perseverance and determination that kept you going through any difficulties you had when developing your DJing skills are exactly what you need to effectively sell yourself.
Flood the world with your demo
You should have a pile of tapes or CDs that are properly labelled with your name on them and a tracklist together with an accompanying CV (and photo), packaged up ready to be delivered to the clubs and pubs you want to work at. If you’ve not got that far yet, check out Chapter 18 for advice on making a good demo.
Include a covering note in each of your demo packages, specifically tailored to the bar or club you’re trying to get work from. Do your research; if it’s a club that plays different genres of music each night, mention which night you think you’d be best for. Or, if your taste and music collection is suitable for a range of their nights, let them know that you’re a versatile DJ. Be as specific as you can; nothing’s worse than being on the receiving end of a vague letter that simply says, ‘I want to be DJ, here’s my CD, I hope you can help’.
Show them that you know their establishment, tell them what you can add if they hire you, promoting the fact that you’re a focused, professional DJ with a goal of working at their club.
Handing over your demo
By far the best approach when submitting your demo is to hand it in person- ally. Bars are easy as they’re open for most of the day and night, so ask to speak to the manager or bar manager and hand over your demo. Ask them if they’d mind listening to your demo, and tell them you’ll be back in a week to see if they like it. Be polite and friendly when speaking with them, no matter how long the conversation lasts, and whether or not they’re polite and friendly in return.
If no management is available, don’t be tempted to just leave it with the bar staff, come back another day when you may have a chance of meeting some- one who can help.
Clubs can be a little harder when trying to get hold of someone of responsi- bility, as when they’re open, these people are either preparing for the night ahead, or dealing with all the nuances of running a club. Even if you have to return to a club a few times, striking up conversations with the bar staff or
stewards to find what’s the best time to come back with your demo is well worth the effort. And as long as you’re polite, and don’t take up too much of their time, your demo shouldn’t end up in the bin.
Knowing where to send your demo
Do some research in the areas you’re going to spread around your demo so you know all the best places to apply to. Don’t just stick to the places you go to on a Friday night, have a look around the entire city, and make a list of all the appropriate pubs and clubs that may be interested in your skills.
Choose clubs and pubs that play the music you’re playing. If you’re a drum and bass DJ, don’t bother sending a tape into a commercial dance club, and if you’re an R & B DJ, you’re wasting your time by sending a demo tape into an underground jungle club.
If you’re in a city with enough variety of bars, no doubt they’ll demand the same qualities in a DJ as a club would. This news is good for you though, as by now you’re a professional sounding, club-ready DJ.
If you live in a small town with no bars or clubs that play your kind of music, you’ll need to develop some wanderlust. Look to the nearest city or large town to where you live for clubs that play the music you want to play. Don’t try to force your music on people who don’t want to listen. But at the same time, don’t give up. Don’t feel that a brick wall has been placed in front of you that you can’t get around. You just need to go to neighbouring towns and cities and dedicate yourself to spending a lot of time there instead.
Geography of a club: How far is too far?
You may want to try for global or national domi- nation, but if you can’t get to the club, what’s the point? If you do live 500 miles from a club you’re sending your demo to, have a think about how you’re going to get there, and if it’s financially viable to travel that distance. If you’re only going to get £100 for a night’s work, consider how much you’re willing to pay to play by catching a train/plane to get there, then staying overnight in a hotel as you can’t get back.
Or, it may be you’ve booked a two-week holiday to Ibiza in the hope that you can get a spot in a
pub or club out there for one or two nights. Send out a whole load of tapes to places you think might let you play a few weeks in advance (or months) before you travel, take some tunes with you, and follow up your submission personally.
If you’re spending the money to go there anyway, why not give it a bash?
At this early stage in your career, the problem of getting a gig 500 miles away is unlikely to occur, but try to think about every eventuality now, so that you’re not surprised when it happens.
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Following up
When you’re sure that the bars and clubs have your demo, follow up with a friendly phone call about a week after you sent it. If someone is kind enough to take your call, ask politely if they’ve received your demo. If they have, ask them what they thought of it, and hang on every word they say as they criti- cise your performance. Thank them for their time, and their honesty, and if they don’t want to use you, ask if you can send in another demo that reflects their comments.
If they haven’t received your demo, tell them that you’ll send in another one by the next post. Amend your cover letter to include the name of the person you spoke to, and include a line about chatting to them on the phone.
If you suffer from phone phobia, get over it. Don’t be scared of phoning clubs and bars. You’ve nothing to lose in a phone call, and everything to gain.
Handling rejection
You can’t afford to have a fear of rejection. You need to put yourself out there, and hope people like you. Different club owners and promoters reject you in different ways; some take the time out to say no, some just don’t get back in touch.
If they don’t respond, keep sending demos until they do get back in touch – remember, persistence is key. If they do respond, but don’t want to hire you, then hopefully they told you the reason why they didn’t like the demo. If they comment on something you didn’t realise, and you agree with it, fix the prob- lem and send off a new demo. They may say ‘I was actually just being polite before’, but perhaps the time you’ve taken to make another demo reflecting their comments may show them how serious you are about working for them.
The knack is to keep trying until they either take you on, or tell you to stop sending in demos because they don’t like you! You have to be very strong minded because the rejection letters will come flooding in, and a lot of them won’t be polite, but if you have the skills, you’ll find someone, somewhere, sometime, who’ll give you a chance.
Every time you start to wonder if this way truly is an effective form of selling yourself, think of John Digweed. He got his big break when he sent a demo to Renaissance, and he’s now one of the most well-known DJs in the world.
Play for free
Play for free are three little words that can get you very far. Ask yourself this question, would you rather play for free, or not play at all? As you try to get work, getting your foot in the door is more important than getting paid.