"See this? We'd like you to take it and shove it where the sun don't shine. You're fired!"
Ever been fired? If you’ve been working for any time as a DJ, chances are it’s happened to you. It’s certainly happened to me, more than once.
The reason for a DJ’s dismissal can vary – doing a poor job, partying too much, not focusing on work or the boss just wants to switch things up, for instance. But as I’ve found out myself, whatever the grounds are, it’s never pleasant, and can easily damage your dignity.
That awful “you’re fired!” moment…
I remember the first time I got sacked from a gig; I was DJing at an upscale club, things were going really well, and I was enjoying great reviews from the staff and patrons. Then, eight months later, my time was up – they simply fired me.
Turned out they wanted to shake things up, and unfortunately that involved terminating me as the club’s DJ, so they simply told me they were releasing me from my duties, and that was that.
I was devastated to say the least. Up till that point I had never been fired…
I was devastated to say the least. Up till that point I had never been fired from any job – so I took it hard and very personal.
This club had had a revolving door of DJs before I got there and apparently I lasted longer than most of my predecessors, but my dismissal still didn’t sit well with me.
It hurt me on so many levels – my earnings had dropped, my ego got crushed and I was out of the loop within the club circuit. I didn’t feel relevant in the DJ world for a while – and that’s a dark place to be when your livelihood is DJing.
Dealing with being dismissed
Here’s what I’ve learned about dealing with dismissal. First, you need to understand the reason for your dismissal, and if it’s something you’ve done, endeavour to learn from it and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The most important thing is to get back behind the decks, as soon as you can.
The best way to get gigs is by doing them, though, so once you’ve got that sorted, it’s imperative to come back hard after your dismissal. Unless your name is Tiesto, nobody is going to come headhunting you unfortunately.
In my case I’m a persistent individual so I found it relatively easy to persevere and look for another gig. Being that I had DJ experience and I’d made some quality connections during my residency, it wasn’t long till I found another job.
If you’re an inexperienced DJ, losing that vital residency means you simply must do all you can to get back in work. You’re in a far, far better position than DJs who’ve not got any experience, so make that pay for you.
And if it wasn’t your fault?
Maybe the most important lesson I learned from my firing was I shouldn’t have taken it so personal. I was let go based on a business decision, not for personal reasons. It was hard for me to understand that, but as time passed and I analysed the incident, I realised that anyone can get fired – no one is bulletproof.
I realised that anyone can get fired – no one is bulletproof.
In retrospect I really loved that gig and I wish it had lasted a little longer then it did – but I’ve had plenty of other gigs since then, and I continue to DJ regularly to this day.
The sweetest revenge was when my former manager contacted me about a year after my firing and asked if I was interested in DJing New Year’s Eve at my old club. I was flattered for the call and the consideration, but I was already booked for that evening, so I said no. The beat goes on, my friends.
• Chris Mihas aka DJ Kitcho is a DJ from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and is currently writing a book on DJ culture. Visit his website at cmentertainment.net.
Have you ever been fired? Why? How did you deal with it? Did you end up having the last laugh? Please share your stories in the comments…
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Tags: business of djing, djing as a career, finding work as a dj
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I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve never been fired, but the city I work in (Glasgow) treats DJs very badly. The scene here is very insular, and everybody plays the same stuff. It’s very difficult to get bookings, because the clubs and promoters don’t have the decency to call you back when you contact them. Due to the level of unprofessional conduct, I don’t DJ there anymore.
[ link ]Well I’m sorry to hear that, but here’s my response and I hope you never stop DJing
[ link ]Hello,
Frankly speaking I’m very surprised of the scene in Glasgow. I’m from Poland and here is the same situation as in your city. But I’ve thought that POland is the only country where DJ plays the same music in every club around the country. But I’ve learned that you must do whatever you can and sooner or later you’ll achieve success.
Now it’s time for my story. I had one resident dj night per mothn in one smaller club. Everything was ok, I’ve even played something harder there and people were dancing all night long. After few gigs the owner didn’t booked me anymore. I’ve learned from other DJ that he said that I play too hard. the owner showed himself as a shitty businessman, because people were dancing and having fun and he fired me only because he didn’t like the music.
Some timme passed and now I see that his club has some financial problems. I think that’s because people just don’t go there, because of the music which is the same every evening.
Cheers
[ link ]Bummer. I know how it feels, I had a solid bi-weekly gig that totaled an extra $500 bucks a month, and was just quietly sent on my way. All of a sudden I had no gig. I loved the room, the people, but unfortunately it wasn’t really the scene for my usual crowd. While everyone is used to me dropping over the top Electro-House, when I got to this room, I was in full on funky house mode, which most my friends didn’t dig.
[ link ]I would have rather been told outright that I am no longer needed, not worked around and ignored. I was contacted recently by the place as they had an “emergency” and needed a DJ. They offered me half of what I was playing for previously, but I just couldn’t go back. It wasn’t about money, it was then about pride.
I have never been fired but I have quit before. I got shouted at by a bar manager in the same way a psychotic father shouts at his son for loosing a football match in the parking lot in front of all the other children after the match. The reason was for playing fatboy slim praise you to a wedged dance floor, it was a human jukebox style gig and someone had requested the song. Apparently it isn’t chart music? I told the skinny little man to go fornicate with ones self and I grabbed my gear and calmly walked out leaving the packed pub silent for the rest of the night. I didn’t get paid that night but I kept my dignity. Some venues want people drinking not dancing sad truth.
[ link ]This happened to me, although the reasons were slightly different. The bar owner, a known drunk, was fond of getting inebriated yet still think he could run the place at the same time. This led to a situation where a full dance floor was not enough, it had to be a full dance playing precisely the music he liked and I should be clairvoyant enough to know this without him telling me. That I didn’t know brought a string of abuse from him, quickly followed by silence from the sound system, me verbally tearing him a new one in full view of everyone and his bar emptied within 10 minutes.
I wish I could have taken a picture of his face so I could frame it and put it on my wall at home.
Anyway, apart from that I have been fired numerous times. Unfortunately in this job there is always someone after yours, and you will also have to deal with club owners and promoters who are, by and large, complete idiots. My only advice is that, apart from keeping the faith and picking yourself up, where possible be the bigger man and don’t burn your bridges. You never know when someone needs a favour that you can really make them cough up for.
[ link ]The manager of that pub has since drank it into the ground along with another venue he was managing and is now sitting on the dole. Karma I guess. I would agree to not burn any bridges. If you are DJ’n as a business your rep and popularity is what keeps you working so it’s best to try and keep everyone happy and not step on peoples toes. If it was any other gig I would have put up with it but I felt it was the right time to quit and focus on more rewarding things.
[ link ]Not been fired exactly, but had a bad experience that ended up derailing my regular gigs at a venue for a couple of years…
I’d been lucky enough to get a few semi regular breaks gigs at a club I’d been frequenting every week for a few years, and wanted nothing more than to get a regular slot there… one evening I was asked to cover the breakbeat room warm up dj slot while the usual Breaks residents were away, along with another DJ, who had played regularly there too and was a good friend of the residents… Now as a guy that had dreamt of nothing else for 2 years since buying decks, this was a big opportunity.. I was supposed to be doing the warm up slot as soon as the club opened, and hand over to the other guy at peak time… I was usually the first person in the breaks room as soon as it opened, along with a few die hard bass loving fans that would be straight in and at the prime spots near the speakers and booth where the sound was good and room to dance before the rest of the club trickled in… so i spent a month preparing for this, and assembled a set that started off with some weird shit and built from there.. In my head, it was my job to play records that the regular dj’s didnt, as it seemed like that would be stealing their taste, and as a warm up I didnt want to steal the thunder of the guy on after me…. anyway, the night arrived and i turned up with my intricately planned set and nothing else in my record box… only for the other dj (who had been put in charge for the evening) to insist that he go first, for whatever reason… I pleaded to stick with the original line up but nothing i could say would change his mind, so i deferred to his experience… so 2am came along, i took the rains and started off with the only option i had… a really abrasive fucked up track “I like countdown” by the cheapo card company, followed by a pioneering glitch hop remix of some fucked up japanese hip hop by Si Begg perfect for a room thats just opened while people fill it up but not a peak time slot… this was 2002, and glitch along with dubstep were just bubbling up, so the room full of people grooving along to funky breaks, and the Trance fans who had meandered in from The main room didn’t know what the hell was going on… The dance floor cleared immediately and took 15 minutes to start to fill up again as my set progressed into more familiar territory… The news of the (temporary) mass exodus led to me not being booked again for 2 years nearly and I was heartbroken every time I went in there..
On the positive side, the set did get some serious love from the people I knew would be there at the beginning of the night, and they are still my fans and friends now, and my reputation as an experi-mentalist dj who pushed boundaries was spread to those who appreciate that sort of thing.. since then, I’ve stuck to the edges of scenes rather than taking the middle road, and although I’ve never made much cash, I’ve built a steady career and following…
The Morals of the story?
1….Don’t let other Djs Strongarm you into doing what’s best for them, there are lots of self centred people out there who may not be doing things out of malice, but definitely dont have YOUR best interests at heart… if a dj/promoter books you to do a job, do it, they know what they want and should know what to expect from you if they have booked correctly..
2….ALWAYS have a back up plan musically, dont get tunnel vision when it comes to your set… unless its being recorded and promoted or burned to cd as a concept mix, you never know what could happen.. people in the industry and punters are very unpredictable..
3…. When one door closes, find another door, they are out there, don’t give up… You may have dry periods, but scenes change, this years cutting edge dubstep will be next decades “old school” keep your music tastes open and evolve with the times…
4…. If you’re ever in charge of an evenings entertainment, do what’s good for the dancefloor, not just for you and your mates, it can have a serious effect on other djs and the image of the club you have been charged with looking after…
5…. even a bad dj experience is still experience.. learn from it, and share your mistakes so others dont repeat them…
Nowadays My experimental nature is really paying off, Im currently in 12th place in a global tubular bells remix comp even though mine was a late entry and its 19 minutes of weird wonky multigenre influenced progressive rock, seems like the time is right for my sound to break through… you can see for yourself by visiting ….. soundcloud.com/penance
soundcloud.com/m-v-p-mashups
you can also click my name and check out the Tubular bells remix comp…
hope this helps prevent someone from making the same mistakes!
[ link ]“The sweetest revenge was when my former manager contacted me about a year after my firing and asked if I was interested in DJing New Year’s Eve at my old club. I was flattered for the call and the consideration, but I was already booked for that evening, so I said no.”
Absolute best thing to do! As tempting as it may be to tell him to shove it, you’ll just come off as a complete dick. It’s all business and as such there’s no need to burn bridges.
[ link ]I was let go from a club after a 2 year residency, and was given the old “we’re making changes because things are slow”.
[ link ]I was replaced with another guy, and the club shut down two months after that.
here in the bankrupt but still beautiful and full of nightlife Greece most DJ in the last 2 years we have learned to be mobile go from one gig to the other without a secure place. i was only for 6 months i was playing at an underground club(hip hop,dnb,dubstep only) but then they wanted to become a more mature(progressive house,pop dance) club so i was slowly i was replaced by a really popular radio produced who couldn’t mix at all but heia the owner of the biggest dance radio station and celebrities still pay him a visit. i don’t blame the owner nor me this is how it works become popular,make money.now on the mobile djing it is more easy cause you go to a job them at 70% you will be called back or asked to do a set set or if you are lucky one every week. this why many djs who use cdjs can’t find a job and why many others like me have gone digital
[ link ]i was fired last year from a pub for the silliest of reasons. before i got there, their saturday night crowd was zilch, and worked real hard to build a solid packed house every saturday night, and i did. then the new “younger” manager came along. he thought he could name drop some dj’s he’d seen in ibiza (no big deal) but decided that the night should be more like an ibiza club than a pub.. so he went out hired a house dj and then after 3 months of dropping bar takings he was sacked. and when the new manager asked me to come back, sorry mate i got a new gig. it hurt to be fired but it was nice to say sorry i cant help.
[ link ]The club I Dj at recently fired 5 DJ’s (out of 8 or so) these guys were pals and were acting like they were stars. However, everbody hated them for playing awful music. They couldn’t get any gig in their own town because of that, so they have been DJ’ing in my town until they got fired. Turned out that they were playbacking most of the time using a prerecorded set. It got too obvious one night when ne of them was turning the EQ knobs like someone having a stroke, but no one could actually hear the changes. It was very bad playbacking, lol. Luckily the manager and most of the audience think I do a good job so I have never been fired.
[ link ]This article actually opened my eyes a bit about the business of djing. As a bedroom dj with only a few minor gigs under my belt, this isn’t something I’d really think to be a problem.
[ link ]As a side note, I noticed that the author Chris resides in the same town that I’m moving into next week for university. Perhaps you could spare some tips to get me on my feet in the Waterloo club scene eh?
Hello Phil! I’m glad you found the article informative. Which University will you be attending – Waterloo or Wilfred Laurier?
[ link ]There’s no shortage of DJ’s in Kitchener-Waterloo but the nightlife is pretty vibrant. If you’re attending Wilfred Laurier, they have their own pub/club on campus that you should definitely look into DJ’ing at. I spin at Club Renaissance every Saturday night (10 minute drive from the Universities) and I’m in Oakville (which is about 60 minutes south/east of waterloo)on Friday nights.
I’m attending Waterloo so the Laurier pub might be out of the question, but I’ll definitely have to come see you spin. Even though I’m only 19, I’m more into techno and deep house with r&b vibes then the typical ragin’ electro, although I can really spin anything. Are there any clubs that cater to the more mature sounding stuff?
[ link ]I don’t worry about that because I’m my own boss at Gigs. (I just have to listen to my DJ assistant) My DJ assistant & I run our own DJ business
[ link ]Lost a job or two because I don’t play some kind of music.
If it rasist, sexist or music that attracts rednecks, white trash or plain stupid people I don’t play it.
If the manager don’t like my music, I just find someone that does. I rather walk than bend over………….
[ link ]I have the same general attitude, which is why I will never get a gig in the immediate area.
The local clubs cater to essentially all of the above at once when they’re not spinning the same 10 trance songs or dubstep until you puke.
There are a few awesome DJS in this town that push the envelope, but they are usually replaced by residents that more or less stick to the same style for every night.
I’m not kidding. The main ‘underground club’ has 4-5 nights a week, and some big weekend parties. All of them are dubstep centric, with a once a month ‘trance’ night.
There was a bit of hope when they decided to host an exclusive progressive house night, but it did not go over well, as they have reverted back to dubstep.
Even their weekly trance night wasn’t drawing anybody, so they turned it into, you guessed it, a dubstep night.
Even the DJs that cater to what they want cannot get a regular gig more than once a month at best.
It’s a sad state of damned if you do damned if you don’t here.
You play something edgy and you get canned, you do what they want and they bring in somebody else cheaper or to ‘switch things up’.
My contemporaries tend to handle it reasonably well, but I’m afraid it would be kind of hard on my end of things.
So what do you do if you can’t find regular work or get canned and there is not a regular scene within 200 miles?
[ link ]I think building your own following is key here.
[ link ]I DJ’d in Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and London for the better half of the last 20 years. 17 of those years (believe it or not) were at The Palace Nightclub in Guelph. I decided to retire from the business in July of 2012 to pursue other opportunities, so I fired myself.
[ link ]Hey Steve, nice to meet you here. Ha, firing yourself is much better than having someone else doing it to you; it’s nice to leave on your own terms. Wow, 17 years at the Palace – that’s a long residency you held. I actually DJ’ed a few nights at Trappers many, many years ago. I think I caught a bit of your last DJ gig on the radio; it was broadcasted live to air right? My first real DJ gig was at Stages in 1998 and I was there for about four years. The club I wrote about in my article (the one that fired me) is located in Toronto.
[ link ]Good to see some fellow Canadians on the site! I currently live in Ottawa but am not old enough to go clubbing yet
I was wondering if you knew what the scene is like here? What about the rest of Canada? (All i hear about is the states and england)
[ link ]Been fired a few times in my almost 20 years of club DJ’ing…ironically enough in about 3-6 months after each dismissal the venues business slowed way down or closed. Coincidence ? I think NOT!! Lol
[ link ]That’s confidence for you, Sam!
[ link ]