Your Questions: Should I Play Two Gigs In One Night?

Digital DJ Tips subscriber Sigmar writes: “I am already quite an established DJ, meaning that I get regular gigs and people trust my parties. I am sometimes invited to two or more clubs on the same night. And I guess that DJing in competing clubs in the same city or town is sometimes not a good idea. What do you think? Have you ever done this?”

Digital DJ Tips says:

Lucky you, to get offered lots of gigs in the same night! You’re obviously doing something right. 🙂

When I was a promoter, we often flew in a DJ and I shared the cost of the flights, hotel etc with another club or event, but we’d be careful to ensure we weren’t directly competing with each other – so maybe a 50 mile drive away, or very different timings (one a peak time set, one after hours), or totally different types of event (one as part of a big line-up at a festival, one a small underground “extended” set). The point is that if the multiple appearances complement each other, it can be a great thing.

Also, there are certain nights like New Year’s Eve where this kind of thing is expected; you can command much higher fees on New Year’s Eve, so it’s understandable a DJ might want to do an early, a middle and a late set.

My advice would be to show some loyalty to the promoters who want to book you, first and foremost. Share information and don’t surprise someone with the bombshell of a near-identical booking two doors down on the night, and try and pick gigs that are a win-win for everyone. If you do that, I see no problem with playing more than one gig in a night, and you should find the gigs keep on flowing in, instead of drying up as people realise you’re spreading yourself too thin.

What do you think? Is this OK, or do you think a DJ should play one set and hang around and show some commitment to the event or promoter who booked them? What do you do in this situation? Please share your thoughts below!