Mobile DJ BUSINESS requirements

[Funky_Steve]

OK becaase we were starting to hijack another thread, I thought I'd start a new one specifically for this topic.

What do you think is vital for running a Mobile (or any other for that matter) DJ Business?

Registered business name?

Appropriate licences (ie PPCA)?

Insurance?

Backup equipment?

Website?

What do you think is the distinction between running a business or just a hobby?

Thoughts? Discussion?

[SolDios]

The main thing for me distinguishing it from a hobby would be the fact that if it is your main source of income or not.

PPCA licence isn't required imo, in my view it's just a well marketed scam, I mean there non-government they can't enforce shit.

Also the fact that that they say the money goes towards the artist's I think is bull, 99% of that would go towards administration fee's.

If I buy the music, I should have the right to play it wherever I want (Within reason).

Website/flyers/ect can get you gigs occasionally, but the major marketing tool is word of mouth. It's how most dj's I know (Including myself) get pretty much 100% of gigs.

Backup equipment isn't really necessary if your primary is reliable, and if god forbid it breaks just hire it until it can be fixed.

I wouldn't worry about a business name either if it's just a hobby.

[GREMM1S]

To reply to a few of your points sol.

The difference between hobby and job would mainly be the amount of income, whereby once you reach the threshold and have to start paying taxes for it.

PPCA is very much a grey area, but tieing in with your next point, any music/video/games you purchase are done so under a private use which restricts public broadcasting of the content, eg having your friends over to have a movie night is technically illegal.

It all comes down to enforcement which is pretty much non existent.

Insurance and PPCA may be required for some venues/events which is important to keep in mind if you have any inclination to go corporate/high end stuff.

With flyers and advertising it will depend if you are like a moby disco type service you may want some listings on yellow pages etc.

Business name is free to register, and might help later on to avoid confusion with a similarly named company.

Really though majority of this stuff is unnecessary for majority of people on here unless you are using it to provide all your income, in which it would be a smart idea to cover all aspects legally.

[russell]

If I buy the music, I should have the right to play it wherever I want (Within reason).

But you don't. Any commercially sold music is sold for private use only.

[Lurk6r]

If I buy the music, I should have the right to play it wherever I want (Within reason).

But you don't. Any commercially sold music is sold for private use only.

What about off beatport?

As for requirements

Registered business name - wouldn't hurt

Appropriate licences (ie PPCA) - waste of money (the artist/label doesn't get any of it, as long as music is purchased legally that should be enough

Insurance - making sure gear is included in home and contents insurance. Public liability would be a nice idea, but I don't think its 100% necessary if care is taken to barricade ones self and putting up sufficient posters to warn about posible seizures

Backup equipment - yes, do you need completely sepperate rig? a bit overkill, making sure your rig is redundant and modular, yes. eg - powered speakers, if one dies the rest will keep playing, my traktor s4 has a through function on chan 4, keeping a mix lined up on my phone on the offset the laptop crashes (hasn't happened yet)

Website - depending on the clients your looking to attract, I find facebook and word of mouth is more important, but I believe if you want big clients you need to present professionally, eg have a website.

Otherwise I believe being professional means being able to deliver at all times, regardless of your mood or how much of a bitch the bride is. Also, the little things that back up the performance, such as tidying up cable behind a table cloth, contacting the clients to confirm details and such. A CONTRACT.

Also, if you want to be a proper pro. Get an abn, print receipts and pay taxes.

[russell]

What about off beatport?

From beatport terms and conditions...

A "Download" is a purchased Product that you can (1) transfer to a compatible portable device, (2) save to your hard drive with unlimited playback time, or (3) burn to a CD/DVD, in each case for personal private use only and not for commercial or public use or distribution. Beatport shall have no liability for lost, damaged, or destroyed Downloads. Any security technology that is provided with a Download is an inseparable part of the Download. The Download capability does not operate to limit any rights of the copyright owners in a Product or any works embodied in them.

[Funky_Steve]

Running a business has nothing to do with it being your main source of income. I've been DJing for years and been running it as a business all that time but it's never been my main source of income.

One of the first things I did was register a business name. That way I could use that name on any advertising and especially my Yellow Pages ad (which was extremely effective back then, not so now) and not worry about anyone else using it. Imagine if you spent hundreds of dollars on Yellow Pages and as soon at it came out someone else registered the name and you were no longer legally allowed to use it!

Insurance - most people only think if it when they need it and by then it's too late. You may be able to cover the loss of equipment under your contents insurance (make sure that you can) but no matter how carefully you set up your gear, you cannot 100% defend yourself from someone injuring themselves and sueing you. Me, I'm rather attached to my house and all that I own, so is it really worth the risk? As mentioned before, some venues will not let you in the door without proof that you have public liability cover (and it's not that expensive).

Licences - it seems the attitude is that if I can't get caught then I don't mind breaking the law. Playing music publicly and without a licence is breaching copyright law. Pure and simple. No matter how you justify not paying the licence fee (ie I know for a FACT that NONE of the money reaches the artist). So is it ok to run your business illegally? I guess that's up to the individual.

Back-up Equipment - Tough call if you are on a limited budget, but again you will find for the true professionals this isn't an issue and is always on hand. With reference to one of the other posts, it's not about making sure your gear is reliable and hiring some for the next gig if it breaks down. It's about what do you do when you're playing at someone's wedding reception on the other side of town and half way through the night your amp or your controller dies? Do you have a back-up amp or a spare CD player and enough CDs to get you through the gig?

Just things to consider if you plan on running a successful (and legal) DJ business.

[GREMM1S]

Running a business has nothing to do with it being your main source of income. I've been DJing for years and been running it as a business all that time but it's never been my main source of income.

One of the first things I did was register a business name. That way I could use that name on any advertising and especially my Yellow Pages ad (which was extremely effective back then, not so now) and not worry about anyone else using it. Imagine if you spent hundreds of dollars on Yellow Pages and as soon at it came out someone else registered the name and you were no longer legally allowed to use it!

Insurance - most people only think if it when they need it and by then it's too late. You may be able to cover the loss of equipment under your contents insurance (make sure that you can) but no matter how carefully you set up your gear, you cannot 100% defend yourself from someone injuring themselves and sueing you. Me, I'm rather attached to my house and all that I own, so is it really worth the risk? As mentioned before, some venues will not let you in the door without proof that you have public liability cover (and it's not that expensive).

Licences - it seems the attitude is that if I can't get caught then I don't mind breaking the law. Playing music publicly and without a licence is breaching copyright law. Pure and simple. No matter how you justify not paying the licence fee (ie I know for a FACT that NONE of the money reaches the artist). So is it ok to run your business illegally? I guess that's up to the individual.

Back-up Equipment - Tough call if you are on a limited budget, but again you will find for the true professionals this isn't an issue and is always on hand. With reference to one of the other posts, it's not about making sure your gear is reliable and hiring some for the next gig if it breaks down. It's about what do you do when you're playing at someone's wedding reception on the other side of town and half way through the night your amp or your controller dies? Do you have a back-up amp or a spare CD player and enough CDs to get you through the gig?

Just things to consider if you plan on running a successful (and legal) DJ business.

Are you answering your own questions haha.

Majority of what you wrote is correct, but more aimed at doing gigs in proper venues for clients as opposed to local house parties/birthdays etc.

Of course running a business has nothing to do about being your main income, BUT if it is your main income then you should endeavor to run it legitimately and with less risks as possible.

Some of the legislation in terms of copyright and public performance in many instances has hurt the industry more than helped it imo.

The running a business illegally thing is a bit rich as things like PPCA is bullshit but again feel as though majority of this stuff is overkill for anyone except djs with professional contracts with big clients.

[overit]

For the record my business is as kosher as grandmas chicken soup. It wasn't always that way but once it became a bona fide business I thought it only fair to rep the industry, even if I thought the way they were doing things were wrong. How you gonna change a system if you aren't a part of it anyway?

but i'm in the U.K. so no point me going on as our laws have different names to yours.

anyway:

+rep steve for starting the fred.

[djpeterd]

Check out www.djaa.com.au

There are standards getting put in place and it is worth have all the boxes ticked.

Pay the fees and there will never be an issue don't pay the fees and one day you could be caught out.

Just saying

[SolDios]

Check out http://www.djaa.com.au

There are standards getting put in place and it is worth have all the boxes ticked.

Pay the fees and there will never be an issue don't pay the fees and one day you could be caught out.

Just saying

There not a government agency they can't enforce shit.

All those licences are just well marketed scams IMO

[Cupe]

Check out http://www.djaa.com.au

There are standards getting put in place and it is worth have all the boxes ticked.

Pay the fees and there will never be an issue don't pay the fees and one day you could be caught out.

Just saying

There not a government agency they can't enforce shit.

All those licences are just well marketed scams IMO

Great comments aimed towards the chairman, sol.

[Kodiak]

Great comments aimed towards the chairman, sol.

And Sol would know this how?

Should he also have a different opinion depending on who he is talking to?

Is well known that the intended recipient of these funds, the artists get nothing. All money is eaten up by admin and bureaucracy costs. Happy for any of our successful producers to inform me otherwise if this isn't the case... But that's a discussion for another thread.

[Cupe]

Great comments aimed towards the chairman, sol.

And Sol would know this how?

Should he also have a different opinion depending on who he is talking to?

Is well known that the intended recipient of these funds, the artists get nothing. All money is eaten up by admin and bureaucracy costs. Happy for any of our successful producers to inform me otherwise if this isn't the case... But that's a discussion for another thread.

It's in the users profile he is directing the comments at.

Not a different opinion but a bit of fucking maturity maybe.

[SolDios]

I stand by my statement, a scam is a scam.

[Cupe]

I haven't even looked into it, so I don't have an opinion on either side of the fence.

[djmusicalhost]

The PPCA licence is only required if your going to be playing at a public event such as the Sydney Music Festival in the domain at a local festival in the street . Private Events such as your mates 21st at home or a wedding you don't need a PPCA also it is not enforced.

I did inquire with them. I am a mobile DJ only doing private events as long as the music has been purchased legally.

If you intend in doing people's events as a business you need public liability insurance.

[djvalandi]

The PPCA licence is only required if your going to be playing at a public event such as the Sydney Music Festival in the domain at a local festival in the street . Private Events such as your mates 21st at home or a wedding you don't need a PPCA also it is not enforced.

I did inquire with them. I am a mobile DJ only doing private events as long as the music has been purchased legally.

If you intend in doing people's events as a business you need public liability insurance.

I second this. I also enquired, and was told not to waste money on a PPCA if I only do private gigs up to 300 ppl like a wedding ect...

In regards to public liability, how would this be the DJ's responsibility? It should be covered by the event holder or the venue for example ?

[Lurk6r]

The PPCA licence is only required if your going to be playing at a public event such as the Sydney Music Festival in the domain at a local festival in the street . Private Events such as your mates 21st at home or a wedding you don't need a PPCA also it is not enforced.

I did inquire with them. I am a mobile DJ only doing private events as long as the music has been purchased legally.

If you intend in doing people's events as a business you need public liability insurance.

I second this. I also enquired, and was told not to waste money on a PPCA if I only do private gigs up to 300 ppl like a wedding ect...

In regards to public liability, how would this be the DJ's responsibility? It should be covered by the event holder or the venue for example ?

If some kid trips on your speaker stand and it falls on him.

Or if a photographer's camera is busted by your laser.

or if somebody has an epileptic fit and decides to sue you for the ambulance cost.