What of... Dj P.A's?

[Technocratic Girl]

I finally finished a rush of exams- I am exhausted... but bored- since I am not doing well at relaxing now!

I am curious to know if anyone cares to share some information/knowledge about the new job opporunity which I am running into quite a lot lately.

I think as techno djs have started getting more commercial they need more help managing their careers and thus a new idea: the DJ's personal assistant has come up as a formal job opportunity- different from running an artists lable, booking agency, or management - but somewhere in between- or for a younger person (maybe?)

Does anyone have insights, and Ideas about how much a P.A. should be payed? - Depending on the income the artist makes, and the PA's level of expertice! What percentages do booking agents commonly make?

Curious to know,

-Amanda

 

[beaker]

usually, artist's personal manager receive between 10 and 20 percent of all the artist's income related to his or her profession (this may even include sponsorship money).

the booking agent will probably receive slightly less (around 10 percent at most), as their job is not necessarily to go out and find the artist money, just to help manage their bookings.

if you make enough money to be DJing full time, then you probably have enough time to manage your own contacts, networks, scheduling, accounting, etc... it's not that hard, unless you're flying all over the world. if a DJ maintains a day job, it's probably because they either don't make enough money to support a full time career (in which case, a personal assistant would be out of the question), or they simply don't have any desire to do it full time. personal managers for DJs are therefore extremely rare. however, most big-name DJs are at least signed to booking agencies.

as a personal assistant, what would you be offering? do you have an extensive network with club owners, promoters, management, record labels, store-owners, etc... and on what geographical scale? i guess what i'm saying is that you have to be able to offer someone something that they don't already have or be able to take their career to the next level before they'll willingly give up 10-20% of their income. and someone who is full time and has been playing out for 5+ years probably already has a pretty advanced network.

if you do have a pretty good network, but don't think you would be of much help to a more established DJ, you might want to consider signing on a few good up and coming DJs and start a small DJ booking agency. if you work hard at it, then your roster can grow, but like most things in this scene, it's a lot of hard, unpaid work to get anywhere.

 

[Technocratic Girl]

Thanks for your great information!!
I appreciate that...

I think the person I was talking to needs someone to stay at thier house/studio and take care of a lot of little things they don't have time for- due to thier extensive tour schedule.

Thanks again...

 

[derek]

Originally posted by Technocratic Girl
Thanks for your great information!!
I appreciate that...

I think the person I was talking to needs someone to stay at thier house/studio and take care of a lot of little things they don't have time for- due to thier extensive tour schedule.

Thanks again...

If you can make a living, and you already have the contact then go for it. As beaker mentioned it's a rare, very rare opportunity. I

Cheers,

Derek

 

[kid kinetik]

how fun would that be???

How cool would that be? To have a personal assistant to help with bookings and blah blah blah. Id love to have one - and if I did Id pay em well. I dont think I could supply them with enough work to keep em going full time, but part time or as a side thing - for sure.

This could be the first step to having an entourage. hehehe ooooOOOOOooooo. Hey so if any one wants to be a part time P.A. goto my page and e-mail me. HEHEHEHE that wouold be so fun!

www.webspawner.com/users/kidkinetik/index.html

 

[poly]

Originally posted by Technocratic Girl


I think the person I was talking to needs someone to stay at thier house/studio and take care of a lot of little things they don't have time for- due to thier extensive tour schedule.

i dont mean to be disrespectful, but, you've gone to college/university to become a dj's housekeeper???!!!

 

[Technocratic Girl]

HAhaha...
(sorry, had to laugh...)

Umm- First of all, I am only graduated from highschool, and I think this is a good job to have for someone my age, and with the experience I have- It could help me learn A LOT about the industry, so that I can decide what I will do when I am done my degree (in 4 years- maybe longer if I do another one, or go to J-school).

Second of all- I don't think the idea is to be a house-keeper. I hope not!

Third- this job is probably quite hard to get, w./ some competition- believe it or not!

Fourth- it's true, it is pathetic and pretty menial the things people have to do in any job... I am young, and I have time- and right now, I want to do things in a feild or atmosphere that interests me...

Is serving coffee or working in a restaurant any better?
Anyways, I don't have that job this summer.
I'll be working at U of T as a research assistant, and it will be very different from being a Dj's PA!

 

[Technocratic Girl]

I made a mistake...
I am done 1 year of school in MTL- so 3 more yrs. opps