Starting your pursuit as a DJ is a way to make money while enjoying your hobby.
First, you’ll need to learn and have the requisite equipment to make the venture a reality. However, a standard DJ equipment setup can cost you a lot of money. Even so, you can find innovative ways of making deejaying a reality even when you’re short on funds. So, Top 7 Tips For Starting Out As A DJ On A Budget costs shouldn’t intimidate and deter you from pursuing your passion. With that in mind, here are the top seven tips for starting as a DJ on a budget:
Purchase Affordable Equipment From Reliable Stores
You can acquire reliable DJ equipment at budget-friendly prices from online or brick-and-mortar stores. A diligent search and comparing prices from a few selected shops should lead you to incredible deals. However, be careful not to purchase counterfeits in a bid to save money. You must insist on quality, ensuring your audience loves your music. To this end, shop only from reputable DJ equipment stores with a wide-ranging stock fit for beginners and professionals.
Here’s some essential equipment you must purchase to start deejaying:
DJ controller: This constitutes a traditional deck and a mixer in one kit. You can connect it to a laptop or tablet to control and mix tracks from the software you’ve downloaded.
Mixer: This helps combine inputs from different sources, including microphones and music players, and feeds the amplifier and speakers with a single clean output.
Turntable: This enables you to produce unique classic analog mixes that aren’t achievable with a digital controller.
Use The Speakers Or Headphones You Already Have
You don’t need a complete set of new equipment to start deejaying. You can start with the equipment you already have. Chances are high that you have a pair of headphones and speakers. After all, that’s expected of any person with a passion for music.
If you incorporate your creativity, you can find a way to connect your DJ turntables and controllers to the loudspeakers you have at home. You can also use your headphones to gauge the audio quality at a close-up level. But take caution not to overstretch your speakers. They have limits, and setting the volume too high for a long time can spoil them.
Use Free Sources Of Music
Since your budget is tight, buying music isn’t advisable. Most professional musicians may need royalties if you play their music in public. Fortunately, you can take advantage of a wide range of royalty-free music.
Take your time and look for sources allowing you to download music for free, such as online audio streaming and sharing websites. Once you register to these websites, you can save music, follow musicians, and create playlists for free. The good thing is that you can download music on multiple devices.
Look For Free DJ Software
High-end DJ software usually comes at a price. You don’t have to subscribe to such for a start. You can find free DJ software with fantastic music mixing features. Take your time to master them, and your music will come out well. It’s a prudent approach to DJ without spending a lot of money.
Do It Yourself
A DJ business doesn’t end with spinning music on the turntables. Another critical aspect you must get involved in is marketing. You may need to create websites, distribute printed flyers, and engage your targets on social media. These marketing strategies are essential to creating awareness about your existence, which goes a long way to landing paid gigs.
But since you’re working on a budget, you don’t have to hire specialists to handle such tasks. Think about doing it yourself. You can learn most of these things quickly and handle the marketing during your free time. Later on, when you get busy with gigs, you can onboard assistants to help you with some administrative duties.
Use Free Tutorials
Professional deejaying requires extensive training. That’s why it’s recommended to attend classes before holding public gigs. It helps you learn deejaying dynamics and the latest techniques, such as digital deejaying.
But you don’t have to attend in-person classes in high-end DJ schools if you’re short on cash. There are numerous free online tutorials on video streaming platforms. It may take time to put all the bits and pieces you gain from different channels into perspective, but it’s worth it since you’re not spending any cash.
Look Out For Volunteer Gigs
It’s not always a guarantee that you’ll perform in front of large crowds as you start your DJing venture. Such masses are associated with good pay and are the desire of every up-and-coming DJ. An excellent approach is to start small and gear yourself up for such popularity. You can even begin volunteering at gigs to get the hang of things. Small performances don’t cost you much, given the minimal equipment requirements. By and by, you’ll gain ground and start getting paid contracts, which will enable you to invest in more advanced equipment.
Conclusion
Starting as a DJ doesn’t have to cost you thousands or millions of dollars. Creativity can help you start with just a few hundred dollars. Ideally, use your equipment and purchase additional budget-friendly ones from reliable stores. Also, take advantage of free software and music for a start. Consistency and passion in your actions will gradually propel you into stardom.
