Demos..a thing of the past??

[wavygravy]

Hello all,
Been quite a while since Ive been on here, hope yer all keeping well :)
So a wee question for you learned ones, I've been DJing for years in the oul club scene, playing dance music to crowds who come to here a specific type of music.
Over the Christmas period though I got some corporate gigs, great money but was tougher, the mix of people, the cross of genres, but oh so much more satisying than a bunch of gurners who dont even realise if you play the same track twice :o)
I've also branched into new styles, (particularily the whole nujazz elctro swing thing) but more about that some other time :innocent:
Anyho...as a result of the gigs Ive now been approached by a few people, agencies and venues for demos...
I am stuck and to be honest forget, how to go about doing this, how long should it be, do I mix or not mix, snippets of songs.
What Im doin at the mo, is catorgorising, with the intention of making minimixes that I will then burn as seperate tracks and label as 'oldies' 'disco' 'pop' whatever :)
Am I making too much work for myself or am I on the right track (pun intended)??
Or am I wasting my time, does anyone listen to demos anymore or is it all gone Soundcloud? Problem I find with soundcloud is that well known songs can be blocked.
Any guidance and advice would be most graciously received.
:flirting:

[leggo]

Soundcloud is the way forward (unless this SOPA business spoils the fun for everyone). Even if you don't publicise the tracks and just have them there to mail onto clubs...just make sure you hide the stats in that case as not publicising = low plays = looks bad even if it's not the case. Most club managers and promoters don't have a clue about what makes a good DJ so foolishly use the stats as a guide.

If people ask for a demo CD, then just burn a Soundcloud mix off. Job done.

P.S. Also don't make the same mistake I did when I first started putting stuff online and throwing out experimental stuff looking for feedback. These can be used against you...just keep it simple (all Soundcloud is there for, in terms of the average club DJ using it for professional purposes, is to show you can mix and put together a set) and get some DJs/producers etc you trust to give you feedback instead.

[wavygravy]

Thank you.

So when you say not publicise it and hide stats, do you mean I keep it private and then they cant scan it?

Nearly drove me mad a few months back I did some of the swing sets, loads of time and energy into getting that 'perfect' set and mixes and then the silly thing wouldnt let me upload it :nutter:

Personally Im quite freaked out with all this SOPA/ACTA thing :swearing:

[leggo]

Shit buzz man. Now I've only had problems with two songs in two sets (which I just uploaded to Mixcloud instead, not ideal as I'd prefer to have them altogether, but better than completely changing around something I'd worked hard on)...both were at the start so maybe it's something to do with it just being the first song that's scanned. Plus I'm guessing the BPM is key to the auto-scanning so if you change that then maybe they might upload?

As far as stats go, when you're uploading they give you an option at the bottom to hide how many have listened to, favourited and downloaded your tracks. So if you're just going to use them to send out to potential employers, and not advertise them publically, then I'd hide them as the listen counts will be relatively low. They shouldn't judge you based on that...as the trick to getting high listen counts on Soundcloud is basically follow as many people as possible, share your stuff with them and then hope they listen and follow you...but again, what do club managers know about DJ-ing?

I'm guessing the SOPA saga will end with music & movie bosses being forced to climb down from their pedestals and lower prices to force a compromise. Hopefully anyway. The backlash against them is too high and any blanket law is only going to result in protests and boycotts which will see them earn less money than they are now! But I've no doubt there'll be some serious collateral damage along the way (Soundcloud itself being one possible victim). It'll be interesting to see how it pans out anyway. But the key point to remember is that they need us more than we need them. :)

[Caretaker]

Last time I made a demo was 1991.. would dread the thought of making another..

[HammerJ]

Last time I made a demo was 1991.. would dread the thought of making another..

I have never made a demo,except for radio and they were none too successful.

[Caretaker]

I have never made a demo,except for radio and they were none too successful.

Got two long term clubs gig out of it at the time and the only demo before that was in the 80s for tamango.. again got an offer of a Saturday night but already had a Saturday night gig.. reallised big mistake made years later by not accepting it.

Only thing I will say, that at the time of the demos a DJ bought his music week in week out and no downloads or cd copys were available .. all vinyl

now a days every one seems to be a DJ, so having a music collection does not have the same Credibility it did back then.

[wavygravy]

Only thing I will say, that at the time of the demos a DJ bought his music week in week out and no downloads or cd copys were available .. all vinyl

now a days every one seems to be a DJ, so having a music collection does not have the same Credibility it did back then.

Well said!
I agree, I hate the ipod and what its done to music collections and collectors :swearing:
Struggling still with making these demos, as my collection (from 30 years of buying!!) is too much!
Do bar managers even notice the effort put in? Will they know the difference, from me and someone who just random playlists?:frust:
Dam my perfectionist ways!
All gigs Ive gotten in past 10 years have been word of mouth, why a demo now, why why why?? ;o)

[leggo]

now a days every one seems to be a DJ, so having a music collection does not have the same Credibility it did back then.

Am I the only one who's glad of that? Maybe that's just cus I wasn't around in the days when it mattered. But it's a pet peeve of mine having people come up to me in clubs being like "Ah I'm a DJ myself, sure I own 20,000 songs!"

Have a top collection myself (don't keep count tbh...sure I've a portable hard drive worth of a few thousand album tracks/old school hip-hop etc that I've been meaning to dig out for years now!), but a DJ who can do amazing things with 1,000 songs is going to be better than someone who can do shag all with 20,000.

Do bar managers even notice the effort put in? Will they know the difference, from me and someone who just random playlists?:frust:

Imo, and I think most will agree, you're ALWAYS going to get a gig much quicker on a referral than a demo because...as you say...managers won't notice, simple as. Unless they love EDM themselves, if they even bother then they'll listen to the first mix of the first track, see if it does the job and that'll be that.

What I'd say 90% do is go "Ah he's got a Soundcloud!", go to the page to see does it look professional and as if people are listening (same as with a Facebook, they'll see if you've got a lot of friends and they are 'liking' stuff and so on).

I prefer to use my Soundcloud as a hobby on the side, even though it has got me work. For example: I got a residency not long ago from a girl that I know playing a mix of mine in the background while her and her friends got ready for a night out. They loved it and went off to the manager of their local club saying "You should book (me)!" Fortunately, I had sent him a generic email with contact info shortly beforehand and he got in touch. Job done.

It's a good Plan B, like, if you're finding it hard like the rest of us and want to try a new strategy. But I wouldn't put all your eggs in that basket either. And, like I said earlier, Soundcloud is the industry-accepted way of sending demos these days.

[wavygravy]

Cheers, thanks for all the advice people.

Reedited my mix and now seems soundcloud is allowing it..tank jeebus!

Wish me luck in the corporate world, its scarier than clubland ;o)

Oh btw, Im back in college as a 'im'mature student and we are broadcasting next week, www.ittfm.ie, i have a one hour slot Monday 8-9pm doing me swing thing..if anyone is interested (this is not spam, but a genuine feedback request)

First time infront of the ic after many years behind the desk...ooohh me nerves :o)

[leggo]

Good stuff man, add me on it and I'll check it out.

www.soundcloud.com/raginrick

Good luck!